The Long Road to Simplicity

If you’re thinking about buying something, buy the best quality possible. Notice I didn’t say the best quality you can afford. Buy the best quality you can find. Period. You see, when it comes to enjoying life simplified, quality counts.

I know, quality costs more. There is a reason for this. Better materials, better workmanship, better finished product, better support. The bonus? No buyer’s remorse.

Buyer’s remorse often comes from making impulse purchases and not doing our homework. Buying things we didn’t even know we needed until we saw them. How is it we went from not knowing something existed to not being able to live without it?

Remember, every single thing you say yes to owns a tiny part of you. The first step on the long road to simplicity is to need something first. Live with that need for a while, thirty days at least. Longer is better.

Longer gives you time to imagine the detail, the design, the correct size and color. Longer gives you time to figure out where the new purchase is going to live and what kind of care and feeding it may require. Longer gives you time to realize, before you make the purchase, that you can live without it.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How long have I had this need? If less than thirty days, practice restraint.
2. Is this a replacement? What works or doesn’t about the current item? What improvements will the new item offer, or what changes will I have to make to use it?
3. If I have lived this long without it, do I really need it?
4. What is the best quality product on the market?
5. Do I have the budget for the best model possible? If not, do I need to save up for it?
6. Find customer reviews to discover what other people are saying about the product or about the company I’m planning to purchase it from?

Another important consideration is this. What happens to items that are not well made? Rather than become heirlooms, they end up in our landfills. We are but tenants of our land. Our future requires our mindful responsibility, today and every day.

Living with a need, doing our homework, and buying the best quality possible are all practices of good stewardship. They help us enjoy a great life, simplified.

Bettina Blanchard

About Bettina Blanchard

It’s not what we have, it’s what we do that makes life fun. Professional organizer, business owner, radio show host, accordion player, I love to live and write about finding the balance between having and doing.