Learning to Simplify, or, Baby Steps

I've recently become a parent, and while I love it and all that comes with it, often I am thinking back to "simple" times. When I spent 9 weeks at home with my little one and rarely left the house, I realized just how easy it is to make life too complicated. I also noticed that I spend way too much money- like it's going out of style. So in addition to learning how to be a parent, I've made it my goal to life life simply - making things easy, simple, saving money, and giving myself more time to enjoy little things. This blog will be an account of my dive into simplicity.

A big theme for me over the past three months has been to learn to ask questions. If the answer seems obvious, or the question seems dumb, I ask the question anyway. It's actually quite rewarding. Recently I ordered a new diaper bag from Target.com. The bag was discontinued by the manufacturer so it was not easy to locate. I had originally ordered it from an online seller through Amazon, but they were wrong about their inventory levels and ended up not having a bag for me after all. So after I found one at Target and it was delivered, I was elated! I got the bag in the mail shortly after ordering and promptly filled it with all sorts of baby paraphernalia- diapers, onesies, toys, many extra socks- you name it! The bag came with a plastic wipe case that you could stuff with wipes and reuse again and again - which was exciting for me since I'm trying to be more green. Unfortunately the plastic was warped just enough that the lid of the case wouldn't stay snapped. Now, this little plastic case was not a deal breaker for me- I was so excited to actually have my bag that had been discontinued that I wasn't going to let it get me down. I called their customer service to ask if they could just pull the plastic wipe case from another bag and send it to me. I figured the answer would be no, and in the past I wouldn't have bothered asking. I called anyway. Of course the answer was no; however, the customer service rep sent me a $15 gift card for my inconvenience (the bag was $40, so it was totally worth the inconvenience)!

So what is the lesson learned by my harrowing tale of a bag with a plastic wipes case adorned with a loose lid? Call customer service and ask for their help. Even if you know the answer is more than likely going to be NO, it never hurts to try, and can sometimes surprise you!