61–70 of 392 posts
I enjoyed this article about the minimalist man getting two minimally useful extra wallets.
Therein is the kernel of every hoarder pathology, which is ironic. “This is too to get rid of!” Wrong. Throw it away and don’t replace it.
either it finds its way to somebody who will value it, or somebody will throw it out for you. either way is a win.
But at the same time, I've realized that buying the best of everything every time is not the best way to go. Sometimes your taste changes but the object still is in a great condition with no other takers. So you're stuck with something you don't like anymore.
A good compromise seems to be buying the cheap version of everything the first time around. That way if you don't use it as much, you haven't spent a lot of money on it. And if you do it use it, the cheap stuff will wear out sooner and you can replace it with better made stuff.
I enjoyed this article about the minimalist man getting two minimally useful extra wallets.
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.
Thought the saying was buy it nice or buy it twice
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…
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 improve sound quality considerably. Audyssey, Dirac, and Anthem ARC are common names; there are others.
And there are a huge abundance of speakers in the mid range $200-$600 that are absolutely fantastic; it's a pretty wide market segment. There's plenty of old options too, but... it's not hard to find a new set of speakers capable of great sound at a decent price these days. I don't know what exactly Speakerbits was implying, but it's not true now.
In a way I admire committed minimalists. But I often wonder what their long term lifestyle is like. Surely many of them are single (or they only count the items which are solely theirs). They surely rent at a higher rate than own property. They surely own vehicles at a lower rate. And so on. I just get this picture of a person in an urban area, living alone in a studio apartment, dependent upon everyone else for basi…
I’m fond of the conspiracy theory that the rise of minimalism is actually propaganda to placate Millennials who can’t afford the same level of material comfort as their parents and other earlier generations enjoyed.
My relationship to stuff is at a weird point. I've watched a bit too many documentaries about impact of overproduction on our world to a level where I tend to over analyze and over scrutinize every purchase, probably to unhealthy levels. I tend to use objects i have to the point they become unusable, trying to get their full worth. But at the same time, I've realized that buying the best of everything every time is n…
I have the same obsession as you and this is how I reconcile with it. If I'm not ready to meet someone across town I probably don't need it.
In a way I admire committed minimalists. But I often wonder what their long term lifestyle is like. Surely many of them are single (or they only count the items which are solely theirs). They surely rent at a higher rate than own property. They surely own vehicles at a lower rate. And so on. I just get this picture of a person in an urban area, living alone in a studio apartment, dependent upon everyone else for basi…
I’m fond of the conspiracy theory that the rise of minimalism is actually propaganda to placate Millennials who can’t afford the same level of material comfort as their parents and other earlier generations enjoyed.
All true, but having kids was never a choice for you given your financial situation so let’s not pretend you had a say in the matter.
I’m in the midst of a life transition and I’ve found that it’s a good opportunity to do some culling. I’m fine with some extravagances (I have probably about 1500 books, of which I’ve cataloged 1,166 on LibraryThing (my transition has paused cataloging activity as my library is mostly living in boxes now and part of the cataloging is shelving everything by Library of Congress call number). On the flip side, I have a…