When I tell people that I do The Compact, (buy nothing new) they seem to assume that I am filling my house with tons of second-hand junk. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
It is because I do only buy used, that I can afford to fill my home with wonderful high-end antiques.
Even the most un-savvy investor has heard the term, “buy low, sell high.” This is exactly what I am doing. I buy everything for less than it’s worth, and I only shop at thrift stores and garage sales.
That cool looking Scandinavian mega-store dresser with the frosted glass panels? It depreciates sooner than it takes to digest those must-have Swedish meatballs.
That pretty 1920’s garage-sale dresser with the beveled glass knobs? Immediately worth more.
By following this mindset, I have been able to fill my home with classic, high quality furnishings.
- 1920’s white-oak craftsman-style Carnegie library chairs for the dining room (11 for $75).
- 1919 Maxfield Parrish print in original art deco frame ($21.50).
- Vintage channel-back mohair couch ($125).
- Free 1914 piano.
- Assorted alabaster lamps (free to $15).
None of these furnishings will ever look dated. But if I did ever choose to sell them, it would be for more than I paid.
I also employ this “buy low, sell high” strategy for clothes, gift giving, toys and books. Pretty much all consumer goods.
-Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You’ve inspired me to be a non-consumerist, too! It’s a greener, more thoughtful, happier, less stressful way to live.
Maybe, also, it’s a reaction to being advertised to all these years. I think of all the money advertisers pour into trying to make me want to buy buy buy – new new new. I think how all that money could be used in better ways. I shall be a non-consumerist to spite them – Ha!
Can you do a post on where you do shop- not specific stores, but general categories, eg, thrift stores, antique stores, yard sales, etc., and where you consistently find things of good quality.