This morning, in a moment of digital housekeeping, I opened my spam and junk folders, only to be greeted by an avalanche of Black Friday sales. Every subject line screamed urgency—“Last chance!” “Don’t miss out!” “Once-in-a-lifetime deals!”—and for a brief moment, I wondered if I might be throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime by hitting “delete all.” 

Spoiler: I wasn’t.

Black Friday, for those who’ve somehow missed the annual frenzy, began in the United States as the day after Thanksgiving—a post-turkey marathon of shopping madness. The name originally referred to the chaos of traffic jams and overcrowded stores, but marketers swiftly spun it into something more lucrative: the start of the holiday shopping season, with deals designed to lure even the most budget conscious.

But why stop there? In recent years, Black Friday has evolved from a single day to an entire season. We’ve got Cyber Monday, Black Friday Early Access, and “Extended Black Friday” sales that seem to stretch well into December. And thanks to the internet, those deals now land squarely in your inbox (or, in my case, my junk folder).

As I deleted page after page of promotional emails, I had to wonder—are we all suffering from sale fatigue? How many deals can we ignore before they stop being deals? Maybe there’s something comforting about hitting delete and reclaiming a little bit of calm from the chaos.

So, to those who braved the Black Friday madness online or in stores, I salute you. As for me, I’m sticking to my plan of decluttering—both my inbox and my shopping list. Because sometimes, the best deal is no deal at all.