I will admit this benefit of minimalism came unexpected to me. For some reason, I didn’t combine owning fewer things and owning nicer things in my mind. But the truth is, they go hand-in-hand and are directly related.
When we made a commitment to buy fewer things, we opened up our lives to the opportunity of owning nicer things.
Take your wardrobe for example: if you are like most, you have 25 mediocre shirts hanging in your closet – even though you really only wear 10 of them and truly love even less. A much more sensible approach is to have 10 shirts that you truly love hanging in your closet rather than 25 that you just “kinda like.” Based on the budgetary reality that we only have a certain amount of money that we can spend on clothes, you can either purchase 20 shirts at $20 each or 10 at $40 each.
In this way, a minimalist lifestyle allows you to purchase higher quality items. Remember, more is not better… better is better.
Hazel says
Hi, I’m Hazel. I would like to renovate my house. I have to seek for furniture to complete the details. So, I’ve fetched for the furniture coupons and finally, got a discount of 40% Off from Lumber Liquidators at MyCoupons. Got benefitted!!
Bryin says
Minimalism is not about earing a hair shirt (at least not to me..)… it is about owning/buying what you need but not more than you need. You can always make an argument that you don’t “need” a higher quality item. But if you enjoy something and use it then buying up is not a contradiction of minimalism.
Despite the ugliness of our consume more society it does offer the opportunity to own high quality items at great prices, if one is willing to shop a bit.
David says
I have lived in my apartment for about a year and it has been quite empty until now. It has been tempting to run to a particular popular mega store (No need to mention the name) as a way to save money. Ultimately though, I would be paying for cheap, poorly made crap and it wouldn’t feel good. So having saved, I can purchase good quality furniture that I find beautiful and functional.
Mercedes says
And by the time you save up the money, you’ll be 100% sure it’s the one you want because you’ll have had the time to do the research and think it over.
MiniMouse says
Being of French origin, I’ve been preaching this for decades. All my familiy in France has lived by this principle. You have few, but valuable things, and you take good care of them. For example, I once bought a pair of timeless, handmade Italian shoes. They cost a fortune and the sole had to be changed two times. But that was over a period of 16! years. Now, how many people wear they shoes over such a long time? Right, nearly noone. We’d rather have 30 pairs og cheap, highly fashionable shoes in our closet. If we think of handmade shoes, we think this is an outrage luxury. It is not. Those shoes ended up costing me far less per year than the cheap shoes that last one or two seasons. They gave work to a local craftsman, and they had a lower impact on the environment. So it’s a win-win-win.
Really, the cheap stuff is too expensive for me.
Mercedes says
My friend, a student, always says “I’m too poor to buy cheap stuff.”
David says
Capsule wardribw is my friend.
David says
Wardrobe that is. ?
Cate says
This topic has been on my mind for the last few weeks regarding my work wardrobe. First let me say that I work in Manhattan in a field where dressing nice matters. I have a few very expensive items that are in constant rotation but old since I’ve haven’t allowed myself to spend that level of money in a few years. But the truth is the inexpensive stuff just wears out and and I always get complements when I wear my good stuff, some of which is 12 years old. I think it’s time to be honest with myself and budget a few pieces in a year. It’s better for the environment too.
Alma Gideon says
I had conflicting personalities growing up. I was OCD (still am) and was exposed to clutter having a hoarding mother. I finally broke away from the hoarding and started to minimalize my life. It was refreshing and freeing. My family moved and as a result I found I had accumulated a vast array of hand tools both electric and manual. I decided to de-clutter those and chose only the quality ones to keep. My sons benefited along with our local thrift store. I now only purchase the top of the line tools, if needed also after researching and saving for them. I purchased an electric drill that I’ve had for 15 years that works as well today as it did when bought (it’s built a 180 cedar fence and a 10 X 14 redwood deck). I use an eight year old high end laptop and watch TV on high end Sony that is at least 6 years old. All were purchased with quality in mind, paying a little more initially but the cost of ownership is low. Our only auto is a 2005 high end compact car (Mini) that has just over 120,000 miles that’s been maintained regularly.
Great site with great ideas.
Mercedes says
This raises a good point: top of the line tools are expensive, so you’re not likely to just impulsively pick one up because it’s on sale (even on sale, they’re still expensive). When you do buy it, you’ll likely be able to find a quality one used from someone who consumed it and didn’t need it after all.