I was chatting with a friend about the number of items I own such as towels, shoes, and books. She asked. So I offered guidelines to help her get started. Not rules or mandates, just successful practices that help me live better with less. She stared at me in amazement but pressed for more answers. She appreciated the logic of my decisions and realized how overwhelmed she was by her own excess.
I don’t profess to know the perfect number of items. Minimalism isn’t about that. While people have certain possessions in common, like cups and plates, our circumstances dictate the appropriate number to own. But in my experience, duplicates always lead to more missing items. I could never find a pair of scissors when I needed them!
Minimalism challenges me to question every category from housewares to hours on the calendar. And when I say I own one pair of gloves, it really means that I own One At A Time. This is true of many items in my home.
Owning one does not mean I won’t replace it or add a second if the circumstance warrants it. Just like removing stuff from my home does not mean I can never purchase again for the right reason. What minimalism does is encourage me to re-use, re-purpose, borrow or do without before I buy.
Why Just One
- My items are high quality and fair trade. Are they more expensive? Yes. Are they high quality and made to last? Yes! Most importantly, they are made with labor that pays a living wage. I prefer 2 pairs of ethically made jeans versus 10 that are not.
- The average person loses 9 items per day. This can be the temporary loss of your keys or a permanently misplaced item. Have you ever re-purchased something because you could not find it? Minimalism spares you this cost. It’s easier to locate items with less. Consider setting up a landing spot to corral your keys, phone, and wallet. Practices like this mean fewer things lost and less time wasted.
- Once upon a time, we had a closet full of warm winter coats. Now, my husband and I each own two coats. And just one for my son who grows out of everything in a year. The extra coats, hats, gloves, and scarves were donated to charity. Minimalism promotes good donations that serve those in need.
- Owning less means we buy less and save more. Financial security goes hand in hand with minimalism. Decluttering is great but if you don’t address the habits that got you there, the piles of clutter will quickly return. My favorite quote from Dave Ramsey, “Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge.”
What if you owned just one pair of gloves and one hat? You’d be able to find them easily.
What about fewer towels? Can you picture how neat and tidy your linen closet would be?
Where might you own just ONE of something?
Recently my upstairs vacuum died. My inclination was “it’s time to get another vacuum”. But after a few days passed, I decided to wait and just use the good quality light weight Dyson I already have and carry it up when I need to use it. Turns out, it’s not that big of a hassle. I think we are a one vacuum house now 😉
Jamie – What a great example! Thanks for your comment. I can understand the inclination to buy but how cool is it that you already have a high-quality solution in your home? Sounds like it won’t just save you money but also provide better results than your old vacuum!