Today’s Saturday Project, is about half an hour to an hour to go around your home and find one or all the little things that:
- need to be cleaned and polished (such as boots)
- need to be mended (rips, zippers, hems falling down)
- need to be glued back together
Taking care of your items is one of the most important guards against wanting to purchase and bring more clutter into your home.
If the things that you own are well-cared for and lovely, you will not feel the need to buy a new, lovely item to add to your home, as a replacement for your uncared for items.
- It allows you to use the item again.
- It stops unnecessary shopping for substitutes or replacements.
- It cuts back on bringing in more clutter.
- It saves you cash.
- It makes you re-love what you already own.
The Unloved Boots
Sometimes it takes a salesperson to kick you in the ass to make you realize you’ve been a negligent person to your things.
A year ago, I had purchased a pair of well-made, beautiful brown nubuck boots.
A year later, they were covered in salt stains and turning a light brown colour, as if they had been scuffed one too many times.
I figured it was just the way the boots would age (like leather) and I couldn’t bring back their like-new shine again.
I went out for a day to run some errands and buy some things, and a salesperson in a store looked down at my boots and simply said: “You don’t take care of your boots.”
Slightly embarrassed, I replied: “Yes, I suppose I don’t…”
He replied with a very simple question: “Why?”
I was flummoxed.
I had no idea why.
I just never thought about it.
He then proceeded to sell me a conditioner for nubuck to bring them back to life.
Immediately, my minimalist bone kicked in (not wanting to have yet another bottle of shoe cleaning stuff in the home), and questioned his motives as a salesperson from top to bottom.
I finally realized that he was right.
I didn’t have the right cleaning supplies at home to take care of my rather expensive things.
It wasn’t a regular pair of leather boots, like how I had been treating them all this time.
I couldn’t just wipe and spray them down, I needed an actual conditioner.. which I knew but had conveniently forgotten.
So I bought the $10 bottle of nubuck & suede conditioner.
Then I went home, and set to work, spending about an hour to re-condition my boots.
At the end, I looked at my work (I wish I had taken before and after pictures), and was disappointed.
I didn’t see any damn difference!
Ready to take the bottle back to the store and complain, I gave it until the next day.
When I woke up the next morning, I checked on the boots and there they were, shining, conditioned and looking like brand new boots.
So, the moral of this story?
Always take care of your items the way they are meant to be properly cared for and they will last much, much longer.
Sometimes, it only takes $10 and an hour of free elbow grease to get brand new boots again, and you will fall in love (again) with what you already own and have paid for in full.
Actual boots. Like brand new again. They were a scuffed up light brown at the bottom toe area before.
Non consumer Girl
on Jan 24th, 2010
@ 7:58 am:
Like you, I have also been rediscovering the art of looking after what I already own.
Mending items with a few stiches if the hem starts to come down or the seam starts to split can save an item from being thrown away a little while earlier if you catch it early.
And as far as shoes are concerned, keeping them neatly in a shoe rack in season and then in their original boxes in the off season ( cleaned before put away !) really lengthens the life and keeps them looking great for longer.
Caitlin
on Jan 24th, 2010
@ 2:47 pm:
Wow, nice boots! *drool*
You make an excellent point – with a little bit of work (and sometimes a little bit of cash) you can fix up older items to look brand new again! It'll not only keep your home from filling up with excessive things, but it also helps your pocketbook at the same time. Good show!
Christine Simiriglia
on Jan 25th, 2010
@ 6:13 am:
Once again… you are right on the money. We live in a throw away society and are conditioned to think that things should wear out and we should replace them. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Things should be cared for and they won't need to be replaced. By the way… I really dig those boots. I've been on a hunt for the perfect pair this season and vowed not to buy anything that wasn't the perfect pair. Thus far, nothing has spoken to me… but I'm sure I'll find them. When I do, I'll have them forever.
Sam
on Jan 29th, 2010
@ 4:40 pm:
That is really a great point. Spending some time to restore old items can make it feel like you own something new again. Best of all, it's usually much cheaper than buying something new and will assuage that urge to go out and buy something.
Over caring for your things | The Everyday Minimalist
on Jul 7th, 2010
@ 6:03 am:
[...] talked about not caring enough for your things so you can avoid bringing in more [...]
@Lazymochabear
on Jul 14th, 2010
@ 7:29 am:
I love your boots. Where could I possibly find a pair similar to those? All of the ones I find either have a slight, bothersome heel or are terribly cheap (Also, sorry that this comment is so late, but I just discovered your blog and I am absolutely enamored by it. I'm trying to cut down on my clutter, and this is really really helping [=).
everydayminimalist
on Jul 14th, 2010
@ 7:59 am:
I buy all of my boots from Ecco. They’re AMAZING. I hear Frye is a good brand too.
Be forewarned, you will be paying $200 – $350 for a pair, but they’ll last for a long time if you take care of them.