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We haven’t had this discussion yet, but I’ve had this discussion dozens of times. I’m getting quite tired of people using the guise of owning “fewer, nicer things” to re-label extreme consumerism as simple living.

I need to unpack this for the sake of my own sanity, and I figured you might enjoy coming along for the ride!

The philosophy that we’re questioning here is called (by me) “fewer but better”. This philosophy has two components – “fewer” and “better”, and they’re yin and yang.

“Fewer” is a philosophy of disposal

“Fewer” says that if you have twenty sweaters, you don’t need more than a half-dozen or so (and that’s being generous). Ditch the rest.

“Fewer” says that you don’t need a hundred kitchen knives – and with extremely limited exceptions, you don’t need more than one knife that performs the same function. Ditch the rest.

“Fewer” says that there are probably a number of beauty products, food items, etc. that you never really use, but you feel guilty throwing away. Ditch them too.

The idea behind a “fewer” mindset isn’t lack per se, but in being able to enjoy what you have. In the process of getting to “fewer”, you typically keep the best of each item, with “best” being a subjective term that you define.

“Better” is a philosophy of acquisition

Everybody has their own idea of what quality means, but most people can agree that a given item has a job to do. If the item does that job, reliably, over and over again, it’s typically considered to be high-quality.

“Better” says that you should acquire items that are of a high quality.

Sometimes these are expensive, sometimes they’re not. Cost isn’t even on the table for the purpose of this discussion.

“Fewer” Meets “Better”

Somewhere along the line, these philosophies met and got hitched. There’s nothing wrong with this; it’s simply a statement of fact.

“Fewer but better” says rather than buying a big pack of plain white t-shirts, you should consider buying two nice t-shirts that you’ll enjoy wearing.

“Fewer but better” says rather than buying a huge set of poorly-made pots and pans, you should get one nice, heavy, well-designed pan – and learn to use it well.

“Fewer but better” is concerned with both the amount that you own and the quality of those items.

A closet with five outfits you enjoy wearing is infinitely better than a closet full of outfits that you don’t. That’s “fewer but better”.

When “Fewer But Better” Leads To Churn

“Fewer but better” can lead to problems, however, when the focus is continually on “better”.

If you throw away your old TV every year and buy a new one, you’re probably accomplishing “better” in at least some sense of the word. And if somebody did a count of your items, you still wouldn’t have any more stuff.

But you do have more stuff. You have a TV that you’ve bought, and a TV that you’ve disposed of. Even if you sell it, at a certain point the secondhand market gets saturated with TVs and other TVs get disposed of to make room.

This constant acquisition/disposal cycle is what we call “churn”.

Avoiding Churn

For “fewer but better” to be a valid philosophy for a minimal, simple life, you need to focus on the amount of stuff that flows through your hands, not just the stuff you have at any one given time.

After all, part of the point of buying “better” is that most of the items you’re buying shouldn’t have to be re-bought with a high degree of frequency.

When I say “fewer but better”, it needs to be understood implicitly that I don’t mean “one in, one out, with high frequency”. I mean “I’m going to buy a single, high-quality kitchen knife, and I fully expect to not have to buy another knife for ten years or more.”

Acquire Infrequently, Sans Delusions

This doesn’t mean you don’t replace things that wear out or break.

It does mean, however, that you need to be honest with yourself. How it it worn out? How is it broken? Why does it need to be replaced?

Or is it just an excuse to buy something new?

It’s not wrong in my mind to splurge and get something nice. But continually chasing the latest, greatest versions of everything (or worshipping at the altar of “new”), all the while using the “one in, one out” rule to claim that you’re pursuing minimalism and simplicity by owning “fewer but better” things, is the ultimate delusion.

You can whitewash the tomb all you like; it’s still a tomb.

Bringing It Back Home

Am I the only one that’s seeing this attitude? Has anybody else had an experience with it? Any personal stories to share? Let me know in the comments!