Buyers Remorse

Buyers remorse seems to be a common affliction for aspiring minimalists.  As we start to go through the towering heaps, regret for the wasted money is inevitable.  I am no exception.   I have been moving in this direction for a long time, and being mindful about purchases is a long-time habit, so I have been paring down my wardrobe in particular for the last few years.  Insightful advice about purchases, such as "If it's a maybe, it's a no"  have already prevented me from some unnecessary items over the last few years. Likewise, recognizing that if I need something, and buy something on sale which fills the need, but in fact wasn't what I wanted, I tend not to ... (wear it, use it, insert verb here)

Surprisingly this lesson was inspired by a gift from my sister a few years ago.  In one of her many travels to southern California for work, she brought me a very generous gift.  Someone had gifted her a Coach bag (actually two of them) and she did not like the color of one of them so gave it to me.  I thought she was crazy, it was gorgeous, a perfect color, perfect size.  She was also honest enough to acknowledge that she wasn't going to use it since she had one she liked better.

Ok can I just say.....  I. Love. This. Bag.  Perfect travel size, goes with all my stuff (or what's left of it), fits all essentials in the plane, really classy for going out.

And I would never have bought one for myself.  (It's a  COACH, and I am an acupuncturist. Not in the budget). 
( I buy bags on clearance from Ross or JC Penney's).

As I began clearing out my closets over the last few months, again With an eye to rigorous honesty about my stuff, I realized that in the last couple of years since receiving said bag, that I only use a few of them.  My coach bag of course, a few others for every day, one basic black for dress-up.  That was it.  All of the others, nada.  Zip. Zilch.  Zero.  Little to no use.

(aarrgghh, Melting.  Regret.
Here starts the buyers remorse, since 10 cheap bags more than makes up for that nice bag).

Minimalism is not about cheap, not about punishment or going without.  It IS about looking at what adds value to our life and pleasure, and personal freedom.  And exploring how much of my time am I willing to trade for that freedom.

As a small business owner, I have already been doing that for years, specifically the idea of time for money.   Since I am in solo practice with limited staff, there is a physical limit to the number of clients I can see per day, per hour.  How many patients per hour does it take to pay for that purchase, and is it worth it?  More often than not, my time was more valuable to me than going to that store on a crowded weekend to save $15.  So I have been headed here for a while.  However, we get into habits, or go unconscious in certain areas of our life, or get seduced by pithy advertising campaigns that promise so much and rarely deliver.  I am no exception.  That next great thing in fact did not change my life.

So what did I do with this realization?   (squirm)  

I gave most of the bags to friends, and donated the rest.  Most of these were brand new, rarely if ever used.  The look on the face of the folks at Goodwill was utter shock.  Who gives away that kind of nice stuff?

My shame has been mitigated by their pleasure, knowing someone will use them with joy.  
And hopefully I won't jump down that rabbit hole again.  

Buy one thing of value, use it with gratitude until it wears out.  Replace with one. 
Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.

Thank you "Auntie" Kiki for a timeless lesson.