Why Quality Matters, even for the minimalist

Becoming a minimalist means that you’re willing to reduce the amount of items–clothes, accessories, electronic gadgets, kitchen gadgets, furniture, tools–that you own.

In order to do this, you want to keep the reliable items–the high quality gear–and sell, giveaway, or donate what remains.

Keep what you use
Let’s be honest, most of you are probably computer addicts. If you have a reliable computer, keep it. The rest of your stuff–furniture, decorations, and excess clothes and accessories–are just taking up room.

You don’t need them. The fact that they act as identity signatures, showing the world what-kind-of-person-you-are-by-what-you-own, usually means that you’ve made some kind of emotional bond with them.

Listen, most of us do that, but you don’t have to keep the stuff for that reason. Get rid of what you don’t wear and don’t use, and keep the essentials. This is why quality matters.

A few quality items
On your path to becoming a minimalist, it’s better to have a few quality items–a few items of clothes that fit, are comfortable, made of good material, and that look good on you–than to have a closetful of junk.

Get the good gear.

Durable clothing
Living in South Burlington, Vermont, in the winter of 2010-2011 has made me realize the importance of owning a few quality clothing items.

This includes smart wool socks, polyester-cotton t-shirt, fleece lined gloves, patagonia capilene pullover, pierre cardin down shell jacket, down gloves – leather insulated, aston shearling rounded hat, sorel boots. I had most of these items except for the gloves and hat.

I had cheap gloves and a cheap hat. The rest I got from thrift stores, from my friend’s former roommate who didn’t want them, and found the wool socks in a bag, left at the curb for garbage pickup or curbside find. Even living in a place as cold as this place gets during the winter, you can still be a minimalist, provided you have the right gear.

Feeling tired all the time?
If you’re tired, grumpy, fatigued, feeling overwhelmed, you might be overlooking the obvious problem and the inevitable solution. You’re crowded by an excess of things that you don’t need, and, subconsciously, you feel overwhelmed. It’s time for you to walk around your place with a garbage bag and start tossing stuff in it.

Then, trade it for something useful, sell it, donate it, give it away to someone who will appreciate it, or leave it at the curb with a sign “free” sign beside it.

You’ll find that as you get rid of your excess stuff, the psychological burden of owning stuff, that leads to the treadmill of the upgrade, maintenance, repair, cleaning, and warranty, is lifted.

You’ll discover that when you own less, you can breathe easier and travel more freely, not having to worry about a room full of junk that’s crowding your space.

Minimize your possessions to a few reliable items. Keep the quality gear and get rid of the junk. Quality matters, even for the minimalist. You can change your life for the better. Own less, so that you can live more.