When we decide to become minimalists. One question we ask ourselves is how does a minimalist manage a minimalist inventory? I wrote this article, Minimalist Inventory Management: Essential Tips to help the reader answer this question.
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Minimalist Inventory Management: Essential Tips
The storage space problem
According to a French study*, 36% of French people are dissatisfied with the storage space in their homes. In reality, this is the main complaint made about their homes.
Inventory management is important in order to maintain good storage capacity, because too much stock makes storage difficult.
What is the ideal stockpile for a minimalist?
When we talk about minimalism, we often think about the number of objects we own. But another question deserves to be asked: How many products should be kept in stock?
Should you buy several copies to be on the safe side? Or, on the contrary, should you not stockpile anything and only buy when you need it?
In my opinion, the minimalist answer is quite simple: have the smallest possible stock, while keeping a small reserve for when it is really needed.
Each minimalist adapts their stock to their needs
Obviously, there is no ideal amount of stock that would suit everyone.
Our habits, our housing, our budget, our access to shops and our consumption are different.
A person who lives near a supermarket open every day will probably not have the same needs as a person living several kilometers from the nearest store.
Minimalism is less about applying a precise quantity and more about removing what is unnecessary.
Why avoid having too much stock?
Before determining the ideal quantity, it is necessary to understand why stock accumulation can be problematic.
1. The stock takes up space
A stored product inevitably occupies space.
The more products we accumulate, the more cupboards, shelves or rooms we need to store them.
Reducing your stock therefore allows you to reclaim space for living rather than for storage.
2. Stock ties up money
Buying in large quantities can sometimes seem economical, especially when a product is on sale.
But the money spent is then tied up in products that we do not yet need.
Buying less can therefore also be a way to maintain more financial freedom.
3. Some products may expire or become unusable.
The more products we have, the greater the risk of forgetting something.
This is especially true for food, cosmetics, or certain products that have a limited shelf life.
Excessive stock can therefore lead to waste.
4. A large inventory is more difficult to manage
The more products there are, the harder it becomes to know what we own.
You need to check the quantities, the expiry dates and sometimes even note the products in an application.
Of course, it is possible to organize a large stock.
But an interesting question arises: Why manage a large quantity of products if we can simply have less?
Before reducing stock, excess must be eliminated
To begin with minimalist inventory management, I therefore recommend a very simple first step: to sort through.
Do we really need all these products?
Do we have multiple copies when one would suffice?
Do we own products that we almost never use?
The more we remove what is unnecessary, the closer we naturally get to the ideal stock.
The ideal stock should be visible
Once the excess is removed, another principle becomes important: easily see what you own.
A product hidden at the back of a cupboard is easily forgotten. We then risk buying something we already own.
Conversely, a smaller, visible and organized stock is much easier to control.
That's why I personally prefer it a small stock that can be viewed at a glance rather than a large, perfectly computerized stock.
Organization can help, but it should not become an excuse to accumulate.
For everyday products, the ideal stock level might be… 0
In some cases, having 0 reserve product is not a problem.
For products that can easily be purchased locally, I consider that the ideal stock is sometimes 0.
Let's take an example: canned goods
Why keep five cans of food in reserve in your cupboard when there's a store just minutes away and you can buy them whenever you want?.
In that case, the worst that can happen is having to wait a few hours to buy a new box. I think you can survive.
In truth, in this situation, the store plays a role of our external stock in a way.
We don't necessarily need to transform our home into a storage warehouse.
This can also be an interesting way to reduce the space dedicated to storage.
For essential products: a small reserve
Obviously, zero inventory doesn't work for everything.
Imagine finishing your soap in the shower or your toilet paper and realizing you're out. 😅
For essential products or those used very regularly, Having a spare copy can be much more practical.
My principle is therefore as follows:
If a stock is needed, let's try to get it as close to 1 as possible.
For example, using one bottle of shampoo while keeping only one spare bottle helps avoid running out without accumulating multiple copies.
The goal is not to have exactly one product in every situation, but to determine the minimum required to live comfortably.
And what about food?
The principle remains similar for food: buy only what we can reasonably consume.
Some minimalists take this logic to extremes and buy their food on a daily basis.
Personally, this method doesn't suit me. I prefer to keep a small food stockpile, especially to avoid having to shop daily.
Here's how I operate:
- Fruits and vegetables: about a week.
- Common non-food products (e.g., toilet paper, shower gel): about a month.
- Foods that keep for a long time (example: rice, pasta): about two weeks.
These durations are obviously not universal minimalist rules. They simply correspond to a personal way of finding a balance between comfort, availability and no accumulation.
Analyze your stock before shopping
Reducing your food stockpile is not just about buying less. It is also important to avoid unnecessarily repurchasing what one already owns.
Before going shopping, taking a few minutes to look at what's left in the cupboards, refrigerator and freezer can make a big difference.
For example, if we already have several packages of pasta, rice and canned goods, it is probably not necessary to buy more.
The idea is therefore to shop based on one's actual stock, and not simply based on one's shopping habits.
That's why making a shopping list is particularly useful.
Before going to the store, I can look at what I already have, identify what I will soon be running out of, and note only the products I actually need.
This method avoids two problems:
- buy products that we already have in stock
- buying more simply because a product is on sale or seems interesting.
The shopping list thus becomes a kind of filter between our purchasing desires and our actual needs.
In reality, Good food stock management therefore begins even before shopping: I look at what I have, I determine what I need and I shop accordingly.
In this way, the stock not only continues to decrease: It also avoids unnecessary regeneration.
Conclusion: What is the ideal stock level?
For me, the rule is simple:
The ideal stock is the smallest possible stock that allows us to meet our needs without creating unnecessary constraints.
In some cases, this means 0 stock. In others, 1 reserve copy That's enough.
And for some products, especially food, it may be worthwhile to store them for longer.
Minimalism, therefore, is not about obsessively counting your possessions.
It mainly consists of asking oneself a question:
«"What is the minimum quantity I actually need?"»
In summary: Less stock, less management… and more living space. 😉
Minimalist Inventory Management: Essential Tips
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I decided to create this blog to develop and help readers who are looking for a simpler and more economical life.
Compared to before, I was a person who consumed a lot until the day I realized that my consumption made me sadder and poorer 😑
Now I prefer the minimum of my needs to be happy and achieve my financial freedom.
Without realizingI started to focus on saving and investing to depend on a boss for as little time as possible and to speed up my personal projects.
For several years I have felt happy and I have become richer in a way that I would never have imagined given that I have an average salary in Switzerland.
It is for this purpose that I decided to create this blog. In order to share and learn with other people who seek freedom and simplicity 😉
Are you rather minimalist or frugal Jonny?
I am as minimalist as I am frugalist. However, there are situations where I lean more towards an art of life.
To conclude, I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable in your lifestyle 😊
Minimalist Inventory Management: Essential Tips
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