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!
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.
- 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 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.
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 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.
