In a world filled with discounted products, it’s easy to get wrapped up in buying things that you don’t necessarily need. This is the reason behind, and the complete opposite of, a minimalist lifestyle.
Quantity vs Quality
When you’re making a buying decision, always think about quantity versus quality. Quantity means you’re buying something because it’s cheap or replaceable, and you can buy a lot of it for a little. Quality means you’re buying something that will probably cost you more at the beginning but will last you much longer. That long-term investment, that’s what minimalism means to us—buying for quality and keeping it for a really long time.
One-Time Use Items
Buying something for one specific purpose can end up not only costing you money, but you also have to store something that you don’t use very often. It’s that “Maybe one day I’ll need that thing” syndrome, and realistically you never end up using it and it just clutters up your space.
1 In, 2 Out
You’re probably familiar with the 1-in 1-out rule whereby any time you bring something new into the house, you get rid of one item. Essentially you’re performing a 1-for-1 replacement, which helps you net out with no additional clutter. However, if you actually want to reduce the amount of stuff that you have at home, and live that more minimalist lifestyle.
Let the example of if you buy a new book, you donate two old books. So, if you pick up a new book, you get rid of two old books. If you get a new pair of jeans, you replace two old pairs with that one new pair. It’s actually a pretty great idea; it really forces you to think before something comes into the house, and the new thing needs to be really great.
Get Rid of Duplicates
We’ve talked about duplicates before, but it’s for a really good reason! The more doubles, triples, quadruples of items that you have, the more clutter you have to deal with. We’re big proponents of this, and it’s something we’re really mindful of on a daily basis.
We often come across duplicates and extras of things, so we try and centralize everything and get rid of the ones that aren’t great. Think about things like wine and bottle openers, scissors, pens, screwdrivers… all that kind of stuff. If you have duplicates, pick the best, and get rid of the rest!
The 6 Second Rule
We’ve all heard of the 5-second rule, well, now there’s a 6-second rule for minimalist living. Pick up and item and ask yourself, “Do I need this? Do I use this? Do I love this?”. If after 6 seconds you can’t answer yes to any of those questions, then you probably don’t need that item anymore.
That Hobby Life!
Sometimes we take on hobbies that require us to have items, supplies or equipment.
Shop Critically
If you want to start living with less, you have to bring less into your home, period. So when you’re out there picking items up, it’s not easy but stop and really consider what it is that you’re bringing into your home. Do you need all of that stuff?
Always ask yourself, “Are you buying this because you need it, because you like it, or because it’s on sale?”. If the other person irrefutably needs and wants that thing, sure, let’s get it. But I can’t tell you how many times both of us have said, “You know what? I actually don’t need this”, and we just put it down. It’s literally that little pushback, that extra second of critical thought that can make all the difference.