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Buy well, buy once

fellow.ventures

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Re: Buy well, buy once

#111

Post by xyzzy123 »

Maxi checking in. I have racks of labelled drawers full of bearings, screws, glues, specialty tapes, oodles of hand tools, power tools, ad infinitum. I'm honestly not super competent or anything (I barely know what I'm doing, in any domain) but I do learn new things all the time and it brings me joy.

I miss the clarity of minimalism, but I can also have a different view on wallets - they're just leather and some stitching and such, and I can change them to be what I need.

Of course it's a very particular type of programmer disease to fixate on having equipment that can compile any possible wallet to solve the problem of having a wallet.

I get a kick out of dumb stuff like fixing the dishwasher latch by bending a new spring rather than getting the $70 replacement part (... probably spending $100 of my labour, good thing my free time is worthless!).

I spend a lot on storage systems and need a lot of discipline around stuff like deciding a place for things before acquiring them. It's a tradeoff I'm OK with.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#112

Post by [deleted] »

rootsudo wrote: post #40
throwaway22032 wrote: post #10

This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. I can't believe this at all. My utility room, which basically just has stuff like cleaning products and rags/cloths etc, has more than 200 items in it. It's all useful, we're talking things like bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. My house probably has 50 or more pieces of art on the walls and then another 50 pieces of…

"Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. Which is it?" It's just a different lifestyle, there are obvious exceptions to it - but I was there once with a house and countless things - most of them I forgot I had and such. The idea is to do inventory and then catalog and see what you need and don't need. But no, I can say with assurance my l…

[deleted]

Re: Buy well, buy once

#113

Post by opello »

throwaway74513 wrote: post #91
nicbou wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to be interested in minimalism, but I realised that they just obsess over objects in a different way. I wanted to save money, avoid maintenance and reduce my mental load. I found people who keep spreadsheets of their stuff and debate whether it's okay to own tools or multiple coffee cups.

> I used to be interested in minimalism, but I realised that they just obsess over objects in a different way. This is really interesting, particularly since you use the word “obsess”. I meet all of the criteria for OCPD (obsessive compulsive personality disorder — NOT the same thing as OCD), except for “unwilling to throw out broken or worthless objects, even if they have no sentimental value”. In fact, I’m quite th…

Hm, I find aspects of myself in this description that seem like they should be troubling.

Nail Clipper: Green Bell G-1008

The frustration of needing to build expertise in things you want to not do shabbily is particularly familiar. Especially with home repair tasks that contractors end up doing but not doing well ... I've learned far more about roofing, flashing techniques, the guidelines for handling, installing, and storing prefinished siding that were nowhere near followed by contractors ... than I would have expected or even truly wanted. It really emphasizes the "ignorance is bliss" mindset which is a hard pill for me to swallow.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#114

Post by sundvor »

rpearl wrote: post #66
sundvor wrote: post #32

Amen. Not exactly a minimalist thing this, but more about sourcing quality to "buy once": Rotel multi channel sound system (amp and pre amp) from 1997 here, still going strong with one repair five-ten years in, along with Infinity Kappa speakers from the same time - their surrounds replaced once, a decade ago. Amazing sound, I love how it feels. Where it loses most is connectivity. Amps use DB25 cables both between e…

I respect using that stuff for a while (my amp is about 12 years old but I'm upgrading this year). Stick with what you have if it sounds good to you, but I do feel the need to point out two things: There have been significant improvements in room correction DSP algorithms particularly in the last decade. You don't need to ditch your amp to add these, there are DSP boxes you can put in the preamp stage. These will imp…

Thanks for those tips, great to know! I hadn't thought of maybe upgrading the pre-amp only (one with a room processor built in, for simplicity?), that's actually something that would make sense especially for connectivity also.

I haven't really been following hi-fi products over the last couple of decades, due to wanting to "settle", but it wouldn't surprise me if things have improved since January 2010 (checked the date they were repaired) - or maybe the technician just had a particular affinity for the Kappa 6.2is (4x same plus their centre speaker).

Re: Buy well, buy once

#115

Post by kccqzy »

I find that wallets are easy to buy once. The last wallet I bought was from 2016, made from leather, able to holding quite a few bit of cash and cards while maintaining slimness. I can't foresee needing another wallet until it broke, but it still hasn't broken from daily use since 2016.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#116

Post by dieselgate »

xyzzy123 wrote: post #111

Maxi checking in. I have racks of labelled drawers full of bearings, screws, glues, specialty tapes, oodles of hand tools, power tools, ad infinitum. I'm honestly not super competent or anything (I barely know what I'm doing, in any domain) but I do learn new things all the time and it brings me joy. I miss the clarity of minimalism, but I can also have a different view on wallets - they're just leather and some stit…

I was using a broccoli rubber band as a wallet for years but they have a tendency to break after a while. Have settled on a metal binder clip and it’s worked much better - less friction in/out of pocket too

Re: Buy well, buy once

#117

Post by xyzzy123 »

dieselgate wrote: post #116
xyzzy123 wrote: post #111

Maxi checking in. I have racks of labelled drawers full of bearings, screws, glues, specialty tapes, oodles of hand tools, power tools, ad infinitum. I'm honestly not super competent or anything (I barely know what I'm doing, in any domain) but I do learn new things all the time and it brings me joy. I miss the clarity of minimalism, but I can also have a different view on wallets - they're just leather and some stit…

I was using a broccoli rubber band as a wallet for years but they have a tendency to break after a while. Have settled on a metal binder clip and it’s worked much better - less friction in/out of pocket too

This is my favourite kind of minimalism.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#118

Post by gooseyman »

xyzzy123 wrote: post #111

Maxi checking in. I have racks of labelled drawers full of bearings, screws, glues, specialty tapes, oodles of hand tools, power tools, ad infinitum. I'm honestly not super competent or anything (I barely know what I'm doing, in any domain) but I do learn new things all the time and it brings me joy. I miss the clarity of minimalism, but I can also have a different view on wallets - they're just leather and some stit…

I relate to this so much.

I love bring the extra screw up from the basement I saved 4 years ago knowing this moment would one day come where I need it. Now is it on the bottom of the red or the blue folgers coffee can.

That said - tools and home improvement objects are allowed in the maximum as long as they fit in the basement workshop, that’s my only rule.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#119

Post by ksec »

nicbou wrote: post #64
jrflowers wrote: post #35

I enjoyed this article about the minimalist man getting two minimally useful extra wallets.

I used to be interested in minimalism, but I realised that they just obsess over objects in a different way. I wanted to save money, avoid maintenance and reduce my mental load. I found people who keep spreadsheets of their stuff and debate whether it's okay to own tools or multiple coffee cups.

It was suppose to be like Simple, but not Simpler. But modern minimalism went to an extreme.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#120

Post by aidenn0 »

s5300 wrote: post #11

Things I have bought well and once: Vitamix 5300 - going strong after 13 years of near daily usage, 4 family blenders from department stores failed/poor quality blending before this Zojirushi Rice Cooker - also close to 13 years, usage of a few times a week Breville Burr Grinder - decade or a bit older, frequently used Sonicare Toothbrush - $150ish or so model, probably 8 years of near twice daily usage. Presume I’ll…

Mi Zojirushi/Micom rice cooker is good, but the battery is essentially not user-replacable. I just set the clock any time I'm going to use the timer; it's a real letdown in something that otherwise has lasted me over a decade.
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