I keep telling myself that I should jot down a date somewhere when I’d have the tendency to go on a shopping mania. Flicking through my planner and My purchases on Shopee, I realized that there is no biological trend yet. But I do realize that the spending tends to happen on days I feel gloomy. And that shopping spree seems to fill in some void.

The patterns of my spending also come in a range of choices. Last month was more about ‘house care’. The month before I went crazy on beauty products. The months before that the theme was my children, books, stationeries, food gifts etc.

The house-related stuff I bought included;

• printed rolls of ‘wallpaper’ for the kitchen. I wanted to give the cabinets a makeover. I wanted something brighter for my countertop. I bought a total of 12m and used it all. The workmanship was not as precise as a pro but I was content with the outcome. It took me like 4 to 5 hours to stick that damn thing. My feet hurt.
• wireless Philips vacuum cleaner that came with a free red rice cooker. I loved that this vacuum cleaner had this LED light at the end. You kind of get obsessed to clean the tiniest speck of dust. I am still using my Roborock for maintenance cleaning of the living room.
• a massage chair. I traded in my old Ogawa Smart Ace chair for Rm4K and bought a new chair. Had a little trouble getting it in through the door but it was a blessing as we needed to change the locks of the sliding door anyway.

I have a few other mini-house projects coming soon. I want to prepare the house for the transition of my children becoming young teenagers soon. That means personal private spaces for the kids and getting rid of baby and toddler stuff. Basically trying to create an environment that is teenage-friendly for them. It would also mean me preparing myself as a parent when they get to that stage.

Some of my planned projects include;

• Outdoor landscaping – I did enquire about a company regarding that a few months ago but they told me that they are not doing that anymore. Might consider hiring a weekly gardener to sort out the garden for me. The gazebo is also already in shambles due to the monkeys and it is worn out by the weather
• A new coat of paint for the rooms and outdoor walls
• the porch needs organizing again. We’ve had cats giving birth to her litter quite a few times at the bottom shelf
• Storage organization – need to sell off the less popular soft toys with consent from the kids
• Revamp my study room. Need a soothing colour and re-organize the space

That should keep me busy until the end of next year.

There is always something to repair, service or maintenance as a house owner.