Simple Sustainability: 4 Tenets of Minimalist Shopping
By Sky Trombly –
It might seem counter-intuitive for an aspiring minimalist to write about shopping. However, minimalists do shop and some of us really enjoy it. I don’t shop in the same ways that I used to, though, and today I would like to share what minimalists tend to look for in the things we wish to purchase.
Versatility
When something is versatile, it is adaptable, handy, and capable of being used in many ways.
It’s why we all love our smartphones. They are our cameras, our planners, our scanners, our language learning tools, our e-readers, … we might even take a phone call on such a thing.
Not everything useful is versatile, but the more versatile something is the more likely it will be used often and for a long time.
Consider the smartphone, again. Say that I no longer wish to learn a language and delete the app from my phone. Even though I have changed my behavior, I can still use the smartphone in innumerable ways. When I acquire a treadmill and decide not to walk or run on it, I really only have a large, ugly drying rack that is cluttering up my home.
This is not to say that I didn’t get a treadmill (or that I don’t love it), but as a minimalist, I considered getting one very carefully and was sure that I would use it regularly before bringing one home. During the winter, I use it 6 days out of the week.
Simplicity
Most people become minimalists in order to simplify their lives and therefore purchasing stuff with special care instructions or stuff with its own luggage is not ideal.
When I am considering a purchase, I consider how stressful owning the item will be for me. Sometimes owning something becomes less appealing and I decide not to purchase it (like a cappuccino machine which is hard to clean and not very versatile) and sometimes an item requires luggage but adds enough value to my life to make it worth it. A good example would be my computer even though I need a table to hold all of its belongings.
You may be seeing a pattern. These criteria don’t exclude purchases, but provide a means for evaluating a purchase. Minimalism isn’t about not buying anything. It is instead about having the right things for you and this takes awareness and consideration.
Combinability
This criterion is just what it sounds like. Combinability means that it will add to and expand what you already have. So, for example, you already have an X-Box, why get a game that requires a Wii in order to play it?
It is especially important for clothing. If by buying a plain dress with simple lines you can wear it with 10 different items in your wardrobe, why would you prefer the dress that can be worn only by itself to create one look?
Combinability requires some forethought because you’ll be investing many purchases into a greater whole. It also requires you to have a firm grasp on your inventory. One of its chief benefits is that it sets neat boundaries on your options and therefore decreases your choices while increasing your satisfaction.
For example, I decided a while ago that the color black does not suit me. I use dark brown as my black. Many style-savvy people agree that mixing black and brown should be avoided. Therefore, I no longer need a black purse and a brown one, black shoes and brown shoes, a black and a brown belt. I effectively have narrowed my potential closet down by ½! (Ignoring the style-savvy people would also work.)
When I go shopping, I don’t waste my time trying on black items because I know I will only choose things that look good in my closet. This saves me time, money, and decision fatigue. Furthermore, with solid boundaries in place, I’m more likely to be satisfied that I have enough.
Quality
The benefits of quality are easier to grasp than the definition. By buying quality items, they are more likely to last longer, look and feel better, and provide us with greater satisfaction. If you buy something with higher quality, you’ll likely (though not always) spend more money up front but will have to buy fewer replacements which will generally save you money in the long run.
Great. Sold.
But what is quality?
As I said before, it is much harder to grapple. Knowledge about the item we wish to acquire can help us to make smarter choices, but it is not always possible or desirable to become an expert on every item we wish to buy.
I recently bought a purse that is high quality for my budget. In order to make wise choices, I watched YouTube videos discussing what to look for and read reviews of the item, but I wouldn’t want to do this with everything.
Some things to consider:
− What is this item made out of and what do I know about this material? (I typically avoid synthetic materials and fragrances.)
− Who/What brand made this item and what do I know about this brand? (I consider the brand’s reputation if I know it.)
− Does the item offer a warranty? (A good sign that the manufacturer will stand behind an item’s durability. The longer the warranty the better the sign.)
− If you have the item in hand, look it over for weak points. Where is likely to break? What is the stitching like? Does the fabric feel durable?
Durability is key for quality, but it isn’t just about how long an item will last. Quality includes some subjective attributes such as aesthetic pleasure and performance. If the texture of a shirt irritates you or your purse won’t fit what you need for your typical day than it doesn’t really matter who made it, with what, or how long it could last.
Putting It All Together
I consider these tenets of minimalist shopping when I am thinking about buying something other than necessities. They aren’t as relevant for grocery shopping, getting gas, paying for utilities or for housing. Of course, these criteria could make their way into the necessities, but for the day-to-day grind, they are a little cumbersome.
They do work well against impulse purchases and for luxury items, though.
I usually start by identifying the desired purchase.
Then, I work through each category one by one: is the item versatile, simple, combinable, and is it of good quality?
If I really want something, I could stretch definitions and bend over backwards to explain how an item is any of these things, true, but generally I know when I’m doing this and my final trick provides all the perspective I need to make the best decision I know how to make. I wait to buy the item. Usually at least a week.
After a week, I usually have weaned out the impulse purchases and really had a chance to consider whether the item meets the tenets described above. If so, I buy the item.
I can’t say I never regret a purchase, but I have so many fewer regrets. Even my mistakes provide me with a clearer picture of what I want because I am making decisions so consciously.
