Home style Photo Streams to collect ideas and save money

I love making our home cozy and functional. It’s essentially a project I’m always working on. And finally, after eight years, I’m starting to feel confident in how I want to decorate and style our home. I have a lot of ideas about the yard, too. But all these ideas often lead me to want things for the house, which can quickly translate to spending money.

This year, Chris and I have an aggressive savings goal of $20,000. We chatted our our 2017 budget and savings goals in a recent Matrimoney episode if you’d like all the details. Our savings goal is possible but it requires sticking to our budget. Lots of spending for this and that around the house won’t help us get there. 

Even though I can’t spend a lot I still love collecting ideas for our house and yard. It helps me learn how to get the look I want, or to figure out a cheaper solution than buying new. Sometimes just capturing an idea and sitting on it lets me let go of the desire to change something or get something new entirely; I realize that what we’ve got is just fine.

Pinterest is great for collecting ideas, and I love to use it, but it doesn’t help me when I’m browsing Target, an antique store or a plant nursery. Me at all of these places: “I want EVERYthing!”

So I figured out something to help: take a picture!

Collect home ideas + save money | RISING*SHINING

Apparently I’m REALLY into giant pinecones. So if you’re looking for a gift for me…

I had this idea while using iPhone Photo Stream, the shared photo album option in your Photos app if you’re rocking an iPhone. If not, a shared Google Photos album is the same idea. And you know I love organizing photos with Google Photos. 

I already use Photo Streams for sharing pictures of the boys with friends and family, and for sharing podcast photos with Erica. I realized that I could create home style Photo Stream albums that were just for me, and that they would be a great way to “park” things that I want to buy. It’s a similar idea to Pinterest except with my own photos.

So I created two home style Photo Streams for myself: DECOR and PLANTS. Essentially it’s for inside the house and for our yard. I’m happy to report that these are helping me so much!

Collect home ideas + save money | RISING*SHINING
Collect home ideas + save money | RISING*SHINING

Now I take photos to avoid buying impulsively or when I see something that inspires me. Recently I’ve been leafing through old issues of Sunset magazine to get ideas for our yard. When I see something I like I just snap a photo and add it to the PLANTS album. And when I visited a friend in Tucson we walked around a cute neighborhood and I snapped lots of pictures of desert-scaled yards.

Taking a photo is strangely satisfying and removes the back and forth worrying over “should I get this?” Now the answer is, “Not right now.”

The impulse to buy is so crazy. In the moment acquiring something new feels so important. But for me, making the decision not to buy and walking away without spending extra money is much more satisfying.

 

10 responses to “Home style Photo Streams to collect ideas and save money”

  1. Kam Avatar
    Kam

    Wow, $20k is a great goal! I hope you share some of your progress here throughout the year 🙂 I think I’m going to try your photo/album method to help with impulsive shopping/really defining our home style. I think this is a great idea, especially during transitional seasons when it would be totally easy to buy a bunch of new things because they’re pretty but they don’t really translate well into the overall look of our home. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Yes, I hope to! And we’ll definitely be discussing on Matrimoney as well. Mint has been such a great tool for us. We got all our “budgets” in Mint cleaned up in Dec and now are obsessed with checking in and staying on budget.

      And yes, it does really help to scroll through and see the kinds of things I’m taking photos of and see what I STILL like and what was impulsive.

      Reply
  2. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    I love this. I’m also into photo taking to curb impulse buying but I love your tips on organizing those photos and using shared albums. Since I’m a shopper who likes to see all my options and analyze them, this could really help me! Thanks for the great ideas, as always!

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Yes! I’m also super indecisive and this really helps with that as well. Instead of fretting over making a decision now I can take a picture and not have to make a decision in the moment.

      Reply
  3. Allison Avatar
    Allison

    Yes! This is so helpful. We’re trying to practice delayed gratification at our house too. It’s so much better this way. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Oooo I LOVED delayed gratification! Haha. This is a great way to practice it and make it a habit!

      Reply
  4. Feisty Harriet Avatar
    Feisty Harriet

    I have started doing this as well!!! It really has helped curb my spending, and then weeks or months later I find I am not nearly so enamored with X, but am still SUPER digging Y. Win-win!

    xox

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Yes, totally! If something is still really calling to you then you can feel pretty sure it’ll be a purchase you’ll continue to get joy from instead of regretting/wishing you had saved the money. Love it for that reason as well.

      Reply
  5. Dawn Dockey Avatar
    Dawn Dockey

    Kelsey you’ve done it again!!! Another post of yours that I will be adding to my favorites. I use this technique with pictures of my family – I wait to delete them until at least a month after I take the pics. At the time of taking pics, I can delete the obvious blurry ones but find myself keeping a bunch of similar pics that all turned out great. Giving myself the space of a month to then look back on them helps me to easily let go of the similar pics and just save the best one. And you have turned this idea into saving money on shopping???!! Incredible!! I actually avoid going to stores because it always feels like a waste of time because I don’t want to spend money on anything… but your idea makes it productive. Take pics and let them simmer. Like you said, if it is still appealing later on, then you know it’s worth the purchase. And if the item is gone when you go back to purchase it, let it go. Something else will catch your eye again later too.

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      That’s so smart about waiting to delete the multiple pictures! I sort of do this in my photo management system but often just end up with all the copies in my Google Photos and never deleting them. But then I do only put one version in our family album. And yes, for the “stuff” it does really help to take some time. If it’s so great/important you can go back and get it. But most likely you can pass – and save!

      Reply

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