I was thinking about this today. I try to research products and save up before buying something, so I invest in quality (also trying to buy responsibly due to environment), but sometimes I buy something expensive and then half a year later realize I didn’t use it as much as I had hoped to… but feel bad about donating / recycling the thing so soon since I paid a lot of money for it.
Another example is shaving razors. I’d like to buy a proper, metal one with a replaceable blade, but then I’m thinking how much nicer it is to just dispose of it once I am done (no need to clean it or sharpen it).
Any thoughts, experiences, comments are appreciate it. Really interested about what people think about this topic!
- It’s OK to buy some things cheap and other things for life. Figuring out which things should be which will be a process.
- You should feel great about donating expensive things. You’re not just getting rid of stuff, you are giving to a cause.
- Regarding a traditional razor, specifically: Ooh boy, that could go either way. The wetshaving community references various “Acquisition Disorders.” Razor AD, Soap AD, and the list goes on. Not getting sucked in takes discipline, and you could easily end up spending more money and taking up more space. However, you are likely to have achieve a greater value experience that brings enjoyment to your life regardless.
Thanks for your thoughts! And I have to admit, I **love ** the process itself. It’s the reason I kept opening r/minimalism, because I wanted to see how others are doing with their minimalism journey and occasionally grab a new way of doing things.
And yess! Giving makes me happy and I try to think of it as giving a new, better home to a thing I no longer use.
Sadly the deep rabbit hole of shaving on reddit was what kept me from actually getting into it. I felt intimidated by all the info there is. This short youtube video is a perfect depiction of getting into a new thing lol.
LOL. That is not too far off.
You’re not “giving to a cause” though. I worked at donation centres for quite a while, and there’s a good chance that your stuff got tossed, and if not then it was picked up by a flipper. If you want it to be put into the hands of someone who needs it, you need to do it yourself.
I agree that it is a good idea to consider who in your community accepts donations, and try to make a mindful decision. As a matter of fact, I donate to a VERY small operation that I trust to be good stewards of what they receive.
I wish more people had something like that. Unfortunately “goodwill” at this point is just a fancy synonym for “feel-good junkyard”.
This is how I do it. I usually have good idea about what things I use regularly and ease my work. When they breakdown, I look for those that are well built and long lasting even though expensive.
For things I’m not sure about, I go with a cheap one and when it breaks/when I fing myself using it regularly, I replace it with a quality one.
However I’ve observed that the quality ones are not always the expensive ones. They are some where between the normal priced ones and the most expensive ones. That’s the sweet spot.
I really like your way! The issue I had recently was that I needed headphones for listening music and researching those was a really deep rabbit hole. But you are right, in the end I got something that was between expensive and cheap and turned out perfect.
I quite like the single use blades for razors. Easier to replace than the gym handle.
I think the rule is typically if you know you’re going to use it then buy quality. Things that your life depend on perhaps comfort. We all know the “what separates you from the ground, don’t cheap out: shoes, mattress, tires…”
I usually buy cheap for a lot or borrow from friends to determine usage. However, I decided to spend decent on a bike trainer and I genuinely hope I use it enough because like you, I put the info researching and saving. I’ll sell it if I done use it, but it’ll be really disappointing if that’s the case.
Agree on all points! And never heard of that rule before but is 100% true. Some had to be learned through a life lesson…
And the reason why I didn’t add -selling- to the “donating / recycling” part is because in my area selling secondhand online is a really big chore which causes a lot of headache while dealing with people. I gave up on that with everything except the really expensive stuff. But I’m envious if that’s not the case where you live.
Depending on what it is, research and buy quality or even secondhand. I don’t see minimalism as being frugal by any means. I’ve just come to terms that it’s okay to donate nice things, especially since I know someone else will be thrilled to get it at a low price. Our parents have stopped giving us a lot of stuff though because they know we’ll just donate it or throw it away lol.
Also getting a reusable handle for safety blades is so worth it. This is box of 100 I bought on Amazon like 3 years ago. A much better shave and nice using a fresh blade
I agree! I like that the discussions here are different from frugal communities, because it would be boring if they had the same purpose and we wouldn’t hear the thoughts and opinions of those who are not striving towards frugal lifestyle. And lol I feel you with the parents donating stuff!
Thanks for the link and advice! I have been on the edge of buying reusable handle for a very long time, guess I really need to start looking more into it since the price for the blades doesn’t seem too bad.
I also got a little brush thing and a soap shaving cream to go full old school, but regular shaving cream works just fine. I hated shaving before, and now I still do, but less. Skin feels wayyy less razor burned this way though.
I had that issue for a long time as well. Noticed that for me shower soap was the best option since I kept getting razor burns with almost every shaving cream I tried.
And I’m curious what kind of brush? Beard brush?
I love how off topic we’ve gotten lol. It’s a badger hair shaving brush. The shaving soap is kinda nice because it’s its own dish for the brush too.
I try to buy good quality things that will last longer (a lifetime whenever possible) even if they cost more. Having a policy of buying higher quality/cost things helps me think twice about whether I really need it or not, and I tend to cherish them more. Whenever it turns out to have been a bad decision, the sting is greater, but don’t beat yourself up about it, just let it be a learning lesson fir next time! It’s like a built-in penalty to teach you to be less impulsive. If you buy something for $10 and just have to throw it away, you don’t think twice, but if it cost $60, then that bad call will come to mind the next time you go to buy something.
Another strategy I use to reduce the risk of buying something unnecessary is that I’ll research, pick out what I want, save it to a shopping list, then tell myself I can buy it in three month if I still want it; in the meantime I’m forced to do without and either borrow from someone, find another way to do what I need, or just get over the perceived need if the thing (especially if its a fleeting hobby item).
On the topic of disposable items, I try to be as non disposable as possible because I get satisfaction from producing as little waste as possible. When I see that there’s a certain disposable item I use a lot, I’ll try to find a nondisposable alternative (paper towels is my most recent change to little washable cotton towel).
There as some things though where, for me personally, the burden of using a nondisposable option creates a burden greater than the dissatisfaction of using disposable. A big one for me is baby diapers; I feel some guilt, but I just can’t see myself using reusable ones.
Remember to be kind to yourself. I’ll bet your more intentional and deserning with your consumption than the average person; so if using disposable razors really works for you in your situation, that’s okay! Nobody’s perfect and the only bar you have to measure up to is the one you set for yourself 😃
Wow thanks for the thoughts!
First, I strive to do the same with buying more quality goods rather than cheap ones (because I’ve also noticed that I actually save money with lifetime warranty stuff). Second I saw the advice on r/minimalism about adding things to your shopping list or window shopping and waiting out for 3 months before buying it and took it to heart. One of the best advices ever!
And hey you sound a lot like the people over at ZeroWaste, is there an equivalent in the fediverse? I agree I can’t bring myself to replace all my things with reusable ones (diapers was a great example), but striving towards that is all I need!
Thank you for the awesome thoughts and advice :)
Glad to help! And yes there is a zero Waste community hosted on lemmy.ml!
Yiss! Thanks! And it has the same moderator as [email protected], awesome!
This is my policy if I’m not familiar with something, it’s not safety critical and it’s just for myself.
Get the thing that seems like it would work just barely, if it fails or is inadequate, I will get the expensive and quality or best price-for-performance product.
It’s a great strategy, but how about with stuff which are expensive even at the lower end of the price range?
I consider the price of the cheaper thing the price of trying it out.
If it’s expensive enough that I would be upset with myself for not going the quality/trusted brand (e.g. $450 for cheapo vs. $550 for quality) then it’s not worth spending $1000 to end up just using the $550 part. If it was $450 vs. $1550 then trying out the cheaper one is less of an issue.
E* But don’t feel bad if you do end up with the cheap thing not working, it’s part of the learning process. If you somehow break both the cheap and expensive part then that feels bad, and you have to fix your process first :P
Love the:
I consider the price of the cheaper thing the price of trying it out.
And your point makes 100% sense. Thanks for the tips!
I find this to be a catch-22 situation. If I buy cheap and then find it to be very useful (but inferior because it was cheap) then I would feel bad about replacing it with a quality item and wasting the cheap one (even if I donate it) because I feel strongly about minimizing waste and promoting the use of throw away products. Then again, if I buy expensive and the item sits around I have wasted needless money that frankly I don’t have.
Right now I have just downsized from a two bedroom apartment to a one bedroom due to skyrocketing rent. I have to shrink my WFH desk space and am considering transitioning from my 32" widescreen monitor to just my laptop screen and a 15.6" portable monitor that can be packed away. The portable monitor would also become my main monitor for my gaming PC. This may or may not work out as being practical for my use case. I could get a no-name cheap portable monitor for about $100 but the brightness and colors may not be that great and response times for gaming poor. Or I could spend $400 on one with higher refresh rate, better colors and likely better stand options but if it doesn’t work out I’ve likely lost a lot of money even if I resell it. On top of that I’ve now contributed to consumerism and pollution twice which goes against my ethos.
I think a third option of buying-used needs to be a consideration. Personally, I dislike buying used for most things (especially tech). I generally get burnt by finding out the item was being sold because of some unreported defect and that bugs me as I like to keep my stuff pristine.
No real answer for you there, just an acknowledgement that the struggle is real.
