10 Purchases Worth It As A Minimalist
#MinimalistStyle, #SimpleLiving, #MinimalDesign, #LessIsMore, #CleanAesthetic, #ModernMinimalism, #MinimalVibes, #DeclutteredLife, #MinimalistHome, #MinimalFashion, #ScandinavianDesign, #NeutralTones, #ClutterFree, #MinimalArt, #SleekDesign
Sort of staying on theme with this series I've been doing about things I'll never buy or things
I'll only ever buy used, I thought it may be interesting to share a list of things I consider
worth purchasing as a minimalist, a person who considers themselves frugal, or someone who just
wants to live more intentionally. Admittedly, a few things on this list will be things my
girlfriend bought, but after spending some time around them, I've definitely found them useful
in some capacity. I'm also going to try and cover a few bases here, like home items and things that
aren't specific physical items. Of course, these are all just my opinions, so take them all with a
grain of salt and consider what makes the most sense for you. Here are 10 purchases worth it as
a minimalist. But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by. Here, we
talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature. So if that sounds good to
you and you end up liking the video, be sure to like and please have the subscribe button lead
the vanguard. Let's get started. A drying rack. Now, I clearly wasn't joking when I said some
things here are very simple, and I'm also aware that it's highly American to use drying machines
for your clothes. But for about the past two years, I found out how much better hang drying
clothes on this rack actually is. I never have to worry about my clothes getting wrinkled when I
forget about them in the dryer. Not to mention, it's a bit more energy efficient, reduces the
wear and tear on my clothes, specifically at the collar area, and it keeps them from shrinking,
which was a very annoying problem I used to deal with.
Electric kettle. Another thing that everyone in Europe will probably nod their head at is the
importance of having an electric kettle. I went 20 something years before realizing how convenient
actually having one of these things is. Because whenever I saw one of these, I never really
considered how many use cases it actually has. Once I started to care about the quality of
the coffee or tea I'm drinking, having an electric kettle became an essential part of that,
as well as to fuel the guilty pleasure of my cup noodles. This one was the first one I ever bought,
it's about four years old at this point, and what's really nice about electric kettles from
what I remember is that, for the most part, they are relatively inexpensive. If you drink coffee
or tea or make instant ramen like I do in any capacity, I think this is definitely worth looking
into. Air purifier. Anyone who's seen my videos over the years may have noticed that this has
changed location several times, but I still have it. My air purifier used to sit on my desk next
to the couch, and as of now, it just sits on the nightstand where I feel like it makes the most
sense. I think I got this back in May 2022, and it's held up very nice since then. And honestly,
I was a little skeptical about them in the beginning, but whenever I do have to replace
the filter and I see how much cat hair and dust is stuck to it, it's clear it's doing something.
It's also nice to have that little bit of circulation it provides. This one isn't
particularly fancy by any means, but at every location I've kept it, I've noticeably had my
allergies subside quite a bit. Just for a second, I want to thank the sponsor of today's video,
Morning Brew. Morning Brew is a completely free daily email newsletter that gets sent straight to
my inbox every morning. And unlike traditional news, it's short, witty, and actually enjoyable
to read. I recently read that Amazon is attempting to equip their drivers with glasses that identify
hostile dogs, as well as improve directions. We're officially living in a dystopian future.
Over 4 million professionals already read Morning Brew daily. Again, it's 100% completely free and
literally takes about 15 seconds to sign up, so there's no reason not to try it out. Sign up for
Morning Brew using my link in the description box, and thanks again to Morning Brew for sponsoring
this video. Water filter. I'm sure almost everybody who drinks water at all has this in
their home, unless you buy cases of water bottles. I've had a water filter for as long as I can
remember, and I don't remember what life was like before one. Buying water regularly could so easily
be avoided just by having one of these in your home. Even if you think you'd be too lazy to fill
this up constantly, and it's easier to just grab a water bottle, having a reusable water bottle
adds a little bit of incentive to actually use this. And again, it's something that's reduced
quite a bit of waste over time, and saved money because I never have to buy disposable water
bottles. This one just stays on the kitchen counter for convenience, and the filter gets
changed every few months or so. YouTube premium in music. Now, I can easily see this getting a lot
of hate, but let me explain. As someone who also watches YouTube, I'm very aware that ads are
especially unskippable ones. I played with the idea of getting YouTube premium for quite a while,
and after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to finally pull the trigger one day. And I'll be
the first to say it is such a quality of life improvement, especially when YouTube is really
the only thing we watch at home. And when I like to sometimes have videos up in the background at
work, it's just very nice to have. But what actually sealed the deal for me is the inclusion
of YouTube music, which I admittedly didn't even know it came with premium. I've actually got rid
of Spotify since then, and while it does suck, I kind of lost all the songs I had saved on Spotify.
In a way, it's really nice to have this fresh start. What was really nice about it was being
able to pay for a year up front, which wasn't the cheapest, but it's nice to have a one-and-done
payment, and I won't have to worry about it for another year. I definitely won't say that it's
for everybody, but after having it for a few months now, I would say at the very least,
it's worth looking into if YouTube is your main source of entertainment or video consumption.
And the next thing is something to get me outside. A few videos ago, I talked about playing basketball
and volleyball outside, and I can give a couple other specific examples, but I'm literally talking
about items that encourage me to spend some time outside. Since I was about literally 12 years old,
this meant a skateboard, but more recently, it's meant volleyball or just something else I suck at.
I know for me, and I'm sure a lot of people watching, in general, more people would spend
time outside if they actually had an activity to engage in, but they're also afraid of how they'll
look trying something new. And like I said in that last video, I can confirm for the most part,
people are willing to help out beginners. A small purchase that'll encourage some sort of
outdoor activity has proven to be a very good investment for me. Travel in any capacity.
I know that taking trips is expensive and taking time off work isn't always practical,
but I still think this is one of the best things anyone can spend their money on. I frankly had
zero interest in traveling until I was about 20, but I also had very little money to do it at that
time. Something I really embraced at this time was just traveling anywhere close to me that seemed
interesting or that was available for cheap. Because I think traveling, even if it's not far
or even if it's a relatively familiar place, has always led me to having a very fun trip
with a lot of good memories. I'm sure you have a relative or a cousin somewhere that is willing to
take you in for a weekend. An example is a three-day cruise I took about 10 years ago.
It was only a couple hundred dollars, I obviously had a place to stay, and food was completely
included. Not to mention, the location we departed in was only a couple hours drive away.
Taking advantage of what is nearby I would say is highly key to this. Things that make work
better or easier. Now this can sound incredibly vague and obviously vary from person to person
because we all have different jobs, but what I can do is give you a few examples of what I mean
from my own work. My current job is the first job I've ever had where I'm actually sitting at a
desk and clicking a lot, and I would have never guessed in a thousand years that my hand would
actually start to cramp from clicking a mouse all day. I had my wireless mouse far before starting
this job, and I decided to bring it in and noticed after a long day my hand wasn't starting to cramp
as much. I think because the click resistance was a lot smoother. And it's not like it completely
changed the output of my work, but making small changes like this throughout time has made every
little thing that was uncomfortable far better. I'm sure we could all think of a few quality of
life purchases that would make a huge difference during our shift, whether it's making something
less annoying or uncomfortable. I would say it's a purchase definitely worth making. Next is a dash
cam. Back in 2020 I got a dash cam for my car, and I've had it installed ever since. And while this
isn't something I'm actively using, pressing buttons on, and it's just passively getting used,
I feel like it's one of those things when the time comes that I do need it, I'll be very glad I did
have it. I've read stories of people's dash cams saving them from things like lawsuits or just
legal problems in general when it comes to driving. And though I wasn't involved, thankfully, about six
months after having my dash cam installed, I did have a car fly over a median, go straight in front
of me, and slam into a pole while I was just feet away. And I still think I have that video backed
up somewhere. My point is a relatively cheap purchase could potentially save me a lot of money
and headache in the event of an accident. Not to mention in my typical fashion, I searched for a
used one and got an open box one on Amazon for like half off just because it was an open box not
even used. I definitely recommend a dash cam just to look out for your future self a little bit.
And the last thing here is something that encourages cooking. A video I still plan on
making in the future is something revolving around diet and cooking. I think a purchase
that encourages cooking homemade meals or just eating healthier in general is a purchase worth
making. Because this is also investing a little bit in yourself. And what I mean is a purchase
that makes cooking less of a chore and more enjoyable. Or even if it's just purchasing
ingredients you enjoy eating. I've been on a Mediterranean food binge for quite some time now,
so purchasing ingredients to make my Greek salads are usually better and cheaper than running to a
And while I know it's quite a bit of work, but after the purchase of a bread machine,
the cost per loaf has come down to about 50 cents a piece and it's always far better. So
theoretically this purchase could pay for itself over years of use, which it has for me so far.
The point of this is a purchase that encourages better habits has proved to be a purchase that
is worth making in my opinion. These were just 10 purchases that I thought would be worth it
as a minimalist. I hope you got some value from this video and got some ideas
that apply to your own life and routines. Anyways, as always, I appreciate the time
you spend here and I appreciate you watching. If you did like this video and you like this
type of content, be sure to like and consider subscribing to my channel and I'll see you next
time.