by Guest Blogger, Adam Chase
Three months ago I was young. I was naïve. I didn’t own forks.
When I signed my first lease in May, I was the proud owner of exactly three pieces of furniture:
an office chair and two lamps. Having been in a long-term term sublet for 18 months, and now
moving into a fully empty apartment, few things have been more shocking to me than how
many things a person needs in their home.
It is not just that I need forks. It’s that I need a little silverware organizer thingy to put said
forks. I also need bowls and plates to eat off of with said forks. I need a dish rack for when I
wash them. I need a little scrubbing brush with which to wash them. I need a little kitchen
caddy into which to place said scrubbing brush. And this is approximately 1% of the things that I
need to be a person existing in society.
Making the process more difficult is that I have always had enormous anxiety around buying
things. I stress that I’ll pick the wrong thing, that I’ll have to replace it later, that I’ll never use it
and end up with a cluttered apartment full of junk.
But then I discovered a place that has changed everything. A magical place. A place called
wirecutter.com.
(I feel I should clarify that this is not sponsored content. Although I imagine that you likely
assumed that a multi-million dollar brand was not sponsoring my mother’s class project blog.)
Wirecutter’s mission is simple: they review products and makes recommendations. And they do
it in tens of thousands of product categories. “The best flatware.” “The best sheets.” “The best
LED smart bulbs.” Each review painstakingly thorough, each with an explanation of how it was
conducted, each with in-depth walkthroughs of why they are making their recommendations.
And it has freed me.
Wirecutter has given me permission to buy things without stressing about each purchase. Now,
if I need anything at all—from a pen to an air conditioner—my process is simple. I open a web
browser. I type “best [thing I need] wirecutter.” I click the article. I see the top-pick item. I
purchase it. And I know that it will be great.
And now, I live in an apartment full of things. Things that I need, things that work, things that I
can feel confident in.
Today, I am mature. I am cultured. I own forks. They are the Cambridge Silversmiths Julie Satin
Flatware forks. I am at peace.