I can't help myself...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Target. I remember admiring something in my cousin Meredith's apartment and asking where she got it (she's far more stylish and put together than I am, so this was the type of info I needed to remember).

"Tarjay," she answered in a vaguely French-ish accent.

"I'm sorry. Where?'

{sigh} "Target."

I had no idea what she was talking about. It would be many years later until the red bulls-eye would become a main fixture in my world. Target became my go-to for cute clothes, magazines, make-up and toiletries. When Target introduced groceries, my life became complete. There was no reason, ever, to go anywhere but Target. There can only be one, and it's Target. Forever and ever, Amen.

Target has served as a magnet for my money ever since. What was an already-frequent stop for me turned into a thrice-weekly event upon PJ's birth. The need for the store-brand diapers and wipes that we used kept us there on the regular. Then came the Red Card and the Cartwheel app to add fuel to my spendy fire. But at this point, Target has drawn me into a shameless death spiral of nonsense. The spiral is constructed from two parts:

1. Target has a huge offering of stuff to buy.
2. I am an extremely disorganized person.

A typical trip to Target begins with a cursory glance around the house and the realization that we are low on/out of {insert items here}. I head to Target to purchase Items A, B, and C. I purchase Items A and B and add Items D, E, and F. I get home to realize that I forgot to purchase Item C (which is, inevitably, the most important of the items I needed). I also realize that we needed things that didn't make it onto the list in the first place, so I head back to Target to purchase New Items A and B and Original Item C. Off I go, where I purchase Item C, but forget Item B and add New Items D, E, and F.

Seriously. Every single time.

I realize that this could easily be remedied by two things:

1. Making a list ON PAPER, not in my head, and
2. Exercising a modicum of self restraint.

So far I have had zero success implementing either of these methods. I am too disorganized and too in love with Target to get this shit in check. I am thinking of a Target ban and going cold turkey for a while. I can either order the stuff we actually need online or make Pete go get it. I can also make the effort to make lists and not make impulse purchases. But, either way, I just can't quit you, Target.


2 comments

518nymammaof2 said...

Hehe... I have the same Target problem! And now that there is a Starbucks there (Or TARBUCKS as I like to call it), there really is no reason to go anywhere else to shop!

SMD @ lifeaccordingtosteph said...

The struggle is real. I've basically had to shut myself down to once a month.