Or maybe you could invest in a quality filter like a Berkey. Perhaps then every time there is a sale we can stock up on lots of replacement filters so we always have them and we got them at a bargain price. We could spend a lesser amount of money on a water filter that would go on our tap. A good example of this way of shopping would be my Berkey. What exactly do I mean by this? I mean that instead of spending a dollar or two on a piece of tableware that may last a while before it fades or chips, let’s spend $5+ per plate and get something quality that will last forever.
Instead of filling up our homes with “cheap” things that we may or may not need someday, why don’t we skip the garbage and use the principles of minimalism to live a frugal life? I think it’s time to challenge that way of thinking. We live in an age where finding something for cheap means picking it up for a dollar or two at Walmart and hoping that it fills the need that we have. We live in an age where things are disposable and aren’t made with quality workmanship. Perhaps we grew up in a home without much extra money and thus it was ingrained into our brains that we need to keep things in order to have them for later and not have to spend money on them.īut we don’t live in that day and age. Many of us with a frugal mindset were raised in a home where nothing went to waste. I realized that the stress of keeping it all for “someday” wasn’t paying off and I needed to re-route my frugal thinking. This made it extremely easy to clean out and get rid of most of the things we owned. I saw something that I didn’t want to move with us because I never knew if I was going to use it or not.Īfter I made the decision on the fabric, I realized that the same principle applied to so many things in the house. I saw the space it was taking up in the house that could have been used for something else. When I finally looked at that big mess of fabric through clear eyes, I saw the stress. Stress over it beginning to fade, or the styles being something I no longer could use. Stress over the money I used to buy patterns to make something with it (that I never did). Stress of wondering what I should use it for. Almost all of it was purchased on sale at a deeply discounted price so it wasn’t that I had a lot of money into the fabric that was sitting around. Every single bit except for a few pieces that I needed to complete a project that was already in the works.Īll of that fabric that I had kept around for “someday”. It was so pretty, had such a nice pattern, or was such a good deal…how could it be passed up? After days of contemplating what to do with all the fabric, I ended up selling it. When I was cleaning out our house to sell it and working in my sewing room, I came across large amounts of fabric that I had purchased, put on a shelf, and never used. Perhaps not even things that we would throw away, it could even be things like extra fabric, craft supplies, kitchen supplies, etc.
We have to hang onto things we might otherwise toss just-in-case the day comes that we need them. That’s a common theme among those that consider themselves to be frugal.
Have you ever read The Tightwad Gazette? It was a very common re-occurring topic throughout those newsletters that we need to hang on to this or that “just in case” we would need it someday to avoid having to buy something else. In general (and this isn’t always the case), someone that is frugal tends to keep things or stockpile things that they think can be used later. Minimalism vs frugality…do they need to fight? Or is it possible to live a life of minimalism and frugality?įirst of all, we have to understand what these types of questions are referring to. Let’s explore this a little further today together. “How do I downsize or have minimal things and still be frugal?” Now that I’ve had all summer to gather my thoughts on the topic, I have more to share. I’ve already written about what it’s like to downsize your belongings by 75% so if you missed that post, be sure to run back and read it too. In so many different areas of our lives, I thought, “I am a minimalist”. Not only that, I keep a minimalist wardrobe, I’ve drastically downsized in areas that one wouldn’t think of, we keep minimal toys for our children. I dislike clutter, I don’t keep knick-knacks, I have minimal furniture clutter (if you’ve read my book, 31 Days to Simpler Living, you know all about furniture clutter!). I had always considered myself to be something of a minimalist. This spring as our family was preparing to move and I was cleaning out our home, I had a lot of questions for myself. Have you considered having less stress in your life by turning to minimalism but it doesn’t seem to work out with your frugal nature? Today I’m sharing my thoughts on both of these lifestyles and how I’ve become a frugal minimalist.
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