Today’s post is about mastering the industrial revolution – that technological paradigm shift that drowned us in stuff, both of the useful and useless variety. 

Let’s build the understanding necessary to finally master this 200-year-old technological revolution. 

The true cost of consumer goods

All your stuff cost considerably more than the price you paid in the shop. 

First, there’s the opportunity cost: the returns you could have made if you instead had invested that money. 

In general, you can assume that investments will double in value every decade. So, buying anything should add more value to your life than this exponential doubling over the rest of your life. 

Second, we have the social and environmental cost. This includes things like climate change, habitat destruction and horrible working conditions involved in mass manufacturing. 

The true cost of this factor is much harder to estimate. But for cheap consumer goods, my guess is that it can easily double the cost of the product you’re buying. 

Where to draw the line

There certainly are many items that deliver enough value to justify purchase even when accounting for the factors listed above. But many things consumers buy today do not. 

So, where do we draw the line?

The single best measure of the value of stuff is how often it’s used. Anything that ever goes an entire month without being used should be viewed with serious skepticism.

Sometimes there are good reasons, like deep sentimental value or seasonal usage patterns. But most of the time it’s because that item simply doesn’t add much value to your life. 

Take a little trip through your house and see how many such items you own. Are they worth the large costs outlined above. If not, sell them or donate them to charity. 

Also, whenever you’re thinking of buying something new, honestly ask yourself if there’s any chance this item will end up in the beyond-one-month collection. If so, think again.  

Minimalism 

The minimalist movement offers a very attractive alternative to the consumerist norm. Take two minutes to read this minimalism elevator pitch to get an idea of what it is. 

In essence, an effective minimalist lifestyle is closely linked to that incredibly valuable intangible asset of life efficiency we discussed earlier. 

In the next five seconds, rate your life efficiency on a scale of 1 to 10. How good are you at getting lots of life satisfaction from modest spending? 

Those with permanently high life efficiency have finally managed to master the industrial revolution 🙂