Goods Step Five: Plan How You Will Get Your Goods

Before you rush out to go shopping or register for wedding gifts, give some thought to the best ways to get those goods!

Goods Step 5 is the fifth step in a step-by-step guide to acquiring what you need to set up housekeeping.

Did you miss Step 1?

How Will You Get Your Goods?

Why plan this? Here’s why:

1. So you won’t waste time and money in the future because you’re just winging it when you go shopping
2. So you’ll end up with fewer things you don’t need
3. So you’ll actually end up with the things you need most

Take out your list (or lists) from step four. Determine how you plan to get each item on your list. This isn’t the time for details (like who’s going to buy it and what store they’ll get it at). Instead, the purpose is to determine:

• What you want to register for
• What you could register for if you need to add more items to your registry
• What you might get as gifts (regardless of whether or not you registered for them)
• What you intend to buy yourselves
• What family members are making for you or that you will have someone else make for you
• What you will be making yourselves
  

Will It Need to Be Made?

Is it something that you can buy or does it need to be made? Are there things that could be purchased but that you’d prefer to be handmade (or homemade)?

Who will make it?

• Will you make it yourself?
• Will you have a family member make it?
• Will you hire someone to make it or have it custom built?

Make “to make” and “have made” lists (as many as you need).

Is It Something That Could Be Put On a Gift Registry?

This is a good time to think about where you might register ~ if you choose to register.

If you are going to register, note each item that could be put on a registry, in case you need more items (to register for) than you thought you would.

Is It Something You Prefer to Register For?

This will become your registry list. You may end up registering for more things, but this is what you want to register for and intend to register for from the start.

Is It Something You Think You Might Get As a Gift?

Is it wedding or shower gift “material”?

Do your family members or friends typically give such things as wedding or shower gifts?

Have you been promised a themed shower ~ a household shower, a kitchen tea, a garden shower, etc.?

Has anyone promised it as a gift? For example, when my sister got married, my brother and I decided to give her a set of dinnerware. Of course, she knew about that ahead of time because we wanted her to pick it out!

Would anyone give it to you if you hadn’t registered for it? For example, no one is going to give you china without you having first picked out your pattern.

Make a list of “likely gifts”. You can certainly register for these things, but you probably shouldn’t buy them yourselves ahead of time unless you will absolutely need it on your honeymoon or as soon as you return. In that case, you’ll need to purchase it at some point ~ preferably after any wedding showers.

For example, since towels are such a common (easy!) wedding or shower gift, I probably wouldn’t purchase any until the “last minute” unless I found an especially good deal.

You obviously don’t know what you will get as gifts, but ideally all of your wedding gifts won’t be something you already bought for yourselves! Taking note of likely gifts could help prevent that!

Will You Need To Buy It Yourself?

List items you want to buy yourselves because:

• You want to (you don’t need any other reason!)
• You can’t register for it
• You don’t want to register for it
• It’s not likely to be given to you as a wedding or shower gift
• It just isn’t “wedding gift material”

In addition to being a list of things you would like to purchase yourselves, this is also your “everything that is left list” so make it last (after your other lists are finished).

Summary

You should have several lists now:

1. Things we want to register for
2. Things we could register for if we need more items
3. Things we might get as gifts but haven’t registered for
4. Things we intend to buy ourselves
5. Things that are being made for us
6. Things we’re making

You might not end up with exactly those lists because you need to make lists that meet your own needs. You might choose to not register for gifts or you might not be making anything yourselves, for example.

Remember to consider food and other disposable goods in your plans (in most cases they’ll be things you’ll buy yourselves but there are exceptions). You may, however, want to do those lists as an entirely separate project. Either way, the steps will be the same.

Now you’re ready to go shopping, register for gifts, and give gift suggestions to people who ask!