What to buy?

So far, my posts have been about stuff and getting rid of it. But let me focus on the flip side of it. What do you buy? What do you keep in your house? So far, we still have plenty of stuff. We’re slowly working into this process. Is there more that we could do without? Absolutely! But we’re not there yet. And the point isn’t a race to get rid of stuff, it’s determining what is needed and necessary.

The bloggers The Minimalists do what is called a “packing party”. You pack up your entire house and only unpack what you need when you need it. That’s pretty time and labor intensive, if you ask me! But how many newfangled kitchen gadgets do you need? How many shirts do you need? Pants? Shoes? And if you’re anything like me, you look for deals, bargains...and, well, I’m just cheap. And the old line “you get what you pay for” is very true. If you invest in things that are of a higher quality, the likelihood is that you won’t need to replace them as often. And if they cost more, the reality is that you’ll probably have less things.

But Christmas is coming up! How do you determine between a want and a need? Going back to my premise of minimalism being something that is beneficial, that’s a great question to ask. “Will this benefit me?” A pretty cool looking little flashlight gizmo that will end up buried in a drawer in 2 months is probably not a benefit. Time spent with loved ones and making memories is definitely a benefit! But who determines that? The great part is.....YOU DO!! There’s not a “rule book for minimalism”. It’s about your life, your stuff. What matters to you and what is beneficial to you.

So back to the question in the title of this post. What to buy? Does it always have to be brand new? Can you buy something used? Do you always have to buy it? Can you borrow it from someone else? There are plenty of options, it all depends on your choice of creativity. Over time, we’ll dive into individual things and unpack (pun intended!) how they play a role in your life and how they can be overwhelming, and how they don’t have to be!