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Buy well, buy once

fellow.ventures

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Re: Buy well, buy once

#31

Post by rootsudo »

mazugrin2 wrote: post #27
rootsudo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends. A fork is a worldly possession, after all. You're assuming people are the same as you - I follow the same but I live out of suitcases and can travel at a moments notice for the best flights and pick up an airbnb somewhere. But this is the…

Can't people who live out of chests of drawers and closets also "travel at a moments [sic] notice for the best flights"?

Suitcase, chest, drawers, yes - it's just the thinking and not having "possessions."

The bigger takeaway is learning what keeps you grounded or anchored. Nothing is wrong with that - can be family, can be cars, can be real estate/houses, can be business, etc.

The idea is you inventory your life and see what is the most minimal you need (haha, MVP basically.) and go from there.

You can do it for spending, you can do it for consumption via money, diet - eating/consumption/purchasing,etc.

It's fun, I enjoy keeping an inventory list, knowing what I have where and for larger valued items, e.g. $500+ I can put in last time usage so if I don't need it, I sell it - lower value items giveaway/free.

For me, I've live in the PNW too - and it's quite fun to just have a suitcase/duffel bag, and just camp out in my car or drive somewhere new and do that - or like I said above, hop on a flight and have everything I need for the duration of my stay.

I get it can sound boring or non-exciting to many people, but once you get into it - it really is fascinating. What things do you need for everyday life?

Up in the air had a great segment about it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo I haven't read the book, but I should - I've been seeing it quite a bit.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#32

Post by sundvor »

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 each other and for input, so the audio cable I've got hooked up to the HTPC's Xonar Deluxe with RCAs out is a very special one indeed - I'm amazed I found it at all, all those years ago (DB25-RCA). All audio has to go through the HTPC, for that reason, so the Samsung 65" QLED from 6-7 years ago is just a dumb display (not a bad thing!).

For longevity I rarely if ever power the equipment down; it's gotten a bit finicky to start the preamp after a power outage, but for now it's still coming back.

I'll attempt to have it repaired prior to getting a replacement if it ever fails.

Oh and the Win10 HTPC is a decade old at the core too, but I've updated it with a modern case, cooling and storage - works fantastic with a wireless Logitech keyboard.

Speakerbits in Melbourne who did my surrounds (they had all disintegrated) has ceased to exist now, but they did a stellar job - guy said the speakers had appreciated since my purchase, as decent mid range speakers just didn't exist anymore, it was either low end (rubbish) or the extreme high end.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#33

Post by ip26 »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #24
nvy wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There is nothing special about having just 100 items. Depending on where you are located geographically there may very well be something special. I live in the PNW and I bet if I counted all my forks, spoons, coffee cups, pots and pans, etc., I'd have more than 100 items right there, to say nothing about my tool chest. Between my home office and my wife's purse I probably have 100 pens and pencils around the house.…

My minimal backpack camping checklist has 25-50 items on it, and that's with counting "first aid kit" as one thing, "tent pegs" as one thing, not counting clothing I'm wearing, "food" as 1 item, etc. There is no way that an adult has 100 things inside an entire flat they eat, work, leisure, and sleep in. I assume that they mean 100 valuable things that they wouldn't want to just lose.

You never know, some people go to extremes. One fork, one toothbrush, one sleeping bag, one laptop, one credit card, done. Toothbrush doubles as a shower brush and credit card is used to scrape off water instead of a towel.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#34

Post by throwaway22032 »

rootsudo wrote: post #22
crazygringo wrote: post #7

> I even keep a record of all my worldly possessions in a visual catalogue spreadsheet on Airtable. 192 items at my last count. > I don't count hoodies, t-shirts, socks or usb cables but I really don't own many. I count a pair of shoes in a box as 1 item. Huh? Either you're counting things or you're not. Saying you own 192 items except for the 800 (?) you're not counting doesn't make a lot of sense. Why are shoes an…

>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends. A fork is a worldly possession, after all. You're assuming people are the same as you - I follow the same but I live out of suitcases and can travel at a moments notice for the best flights and pick up an airbnb somewhere. But this is the…

Is the idea that you're renting apartments and counting the pots and pans, toilet brush etc as not being yours because you leave them with the house?

So my bath mat is "mine" because I own the house and had to buy it myself, but yours isn't because it's rented?

Because if we can cut that out then yeah, now I own far fewer things. It seems like a weird distinction to make.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#36

Post by ip26 »

nonethewiser wrote: post #29
duxup wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The few hard core minimalists I’ve met are single, get paid well enough to buy whatever they wish… and their parents are all holding their old stuff at home. All extra luxuries that enable them to live minimalist type lifestyles, but it’s not quite the whole story.

I think its a bit different. When you can buy whatever you want, you realize stuff doesn’t really improve your life.

However, not having to drive to Home Depot every single time you need a screwdriver does. As does having more than one bowl.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#37

Post by throwaway22032 »

ip26 wrote: post #33
throwaway22032 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My minimal backpack camping checklist has 25-50 items on it, and that's with counting "first aid kit" as one thing, "tent pegs" as one thing, not counting clothing I'm wearing, "food" as 1 item, etc. There is no way that an adult has 100 things inside an entire flat they eat, work, leisure, and sleep in. I assume that they mean 100 valuable things that they wouldn't want to just lose.

You never know, some people go to extremes. One fork, one toothbrush, one sleeping bag, one laptop, one credit card, done. Toothbrush doubles as a shower brush and credit card is used to scrape off water instead of a towel.

Lol.

Of course, the shower isn't yours so it doesn't count. Using this, we can get rid of the sleeping bag and just roll up the carpet in the rented flat and sleep in that.

What else can we cut?

Re: Buy well, buy once

#38

Post by rootsudo »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #34
rootsudo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends. A fork is a worldly possession, after all. You're assuming people are the same as you - I follow the same but I live out of suitcases and can travel at a moments notice for the best flights and pick up an airbnb somewhere. But this is the…

Is the idea that you're renting apartments and counting the pots and pans, toilet brush etc as not being yours because you leave them with the house? So my bath mat is "mine" because I own the house and had to buy it myself, but yours isn't because it's rented? Because if we can cut that out then yeah, now I own far fewer things. It seems like a weird distinction to make.

It can be - if you do a STR/Airbnb/Hotel, the pots and pans should come with the place and they're not yours. Many hotels do include the above, especially mid to higher end ones.

If you're renting on a standard long term lease - not short term rental, and it isn't furnished with them, yes they're yours because you bought them.

It's up to you what you want to "count", but toiletries are like petty cash. Pots/Pans can have realistic value, and the rabbit hole for them goes deep from cheap iron, stainless steel, ikea standard purchase, etc.

The idea is to take a break, catalog what you have and go from there. You can catalog 1000+ items and just get rid of ten but then you know "oh just ten items were fluff" vs not knowing or getting rid of 200.

The idea is the exercise.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#39

Post by ip26 »

crazygringo wrote: post #7

> I even keep a record of all my worldly possessions in a visual catalogue spreadsheet on Airtable. 192 items at my last count. > I don't count hoodies, t-shirts, socks or usb cables but I really don't own many. I count a pair of shoes in a box as 1 item. Huh? Either you're counting things or you're not. Saying you own 192 items except for the 800 (?) you're not counting doesn't make a lot of sense. Why are shoes an…

wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends

Don’t be silly, having three friends is hardly minimalist. Have you ever considered how friends weigh you down? One is more than enough, and frankly even that might be too many.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#40

Post by rootsudo »

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 life right now is basically two suitcases, by choice - and airbnbs/hotels. 20 lb of clothes/about 80 pieces total.

Misc electronic stuff takes a ton of space, spare usb - chargers, usb cables, etc - having spares for spares.

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