The hoard/purge cycle...

Does anybody else find themselves riding a wave of AD only to be dashed against the rocks of minimalism? At the moment I can't seem to get rid of my soaps/creams/razors fast enough and just feel confused and dizzy when I look into my den and see so many soaps/creams I'll never use. There is much discussion here concerning ADs but what about its ugly and inevitable bedmate: the urge to purge oneself of unneeded items and get back to one's innocent beginnings? Am I the only one who buys and PIFs soaps in the very same day? I look at the 8 soaps currently in my rotation and find myself wishing that 7 of them had never been created. And yet at the same time I find myself prowling vendors' sites looking for new soaps to try. I loves it, I hates it.

EDIT: Upon further consideration a horrifying prospect has presented itself. What if the whole 'purge urge' is really just the AD working its dark magic, simply making room in which it can continue to grow and fester? Oh dear.

My wave of AD lands on a beach of moderation. I'm not a purger by nature, so I just stop buying for extended periods.

ive been here a few years, and am yet to purge.

its all ADs here, baby!

I think this is something that you have to experience and work through. Whether we are disposed to a behavior of seeking a "best" product or whatever, we accumulate a variety of hardware and software when in fact we know fairly quickly what products make us happy and most likely should stick with them. The part of our forum where photos are displayed of luxury shaving items, the SOTD, is the main culprit of AD. You see tremendous variety of items that you are inclined to emulate. I myself have minimalized down to for the most part a magic number of "3" for each area. Three brushes, razors, soaps, etc. That still in my conscious mind is two too many of all realistically. For whatever reason, even though I truly long for total simplicity, I have NOT been able to whittle it down to the bare essentials myself. My purging is legend.... In the past I have sold huge "instant shave den lots", multiple Mystery Boxes, brushes and razors 5 or more at a time... and I STILL have too much!!!

Face it.... It is really not encouraged around these parts to be a true minimalist. With the exception of the small collective of members on a self imposed moratorium from shaving purchases in 2010, the greater majority of members do in fact collect, gather, hoard, and accumulate much more than they truly need. On the forum ShaveMyFace, the elder statesman in residency, "The Duke of Silvertip" (Gordon) has preached "Fidelity" to a select group of tools and products in a minimalist way for some time now. He is in fact correct.... You achieve your finest results by using a consistent daily setup.

I understand where you are coming from! Although I have been shaving with a brush and cream for a long time (sadly, with a multi-bladed monsrosity for a lot of those years) since joining B+B my collection of creams and soaps has expanded greatly. I enjoy trying new things and will be quite happy to PIF any product that really doesn't suit me.
The old rule- one in/one out would be an easy way to keep the den under control

i am familiar with this cycle. It's exhausting sometimes, but you have to admit--if you garner a couple favorites each cycle, and a lifetime keeper every couple cycles, over time you get pretty close to that ultimate shave.

I say that, but I'm the same guy who actually makes lists of what I have and what I need to sell or trade, usually alternating with a list of things I want to try...

Whatever I happen to be into, I run that version of the "Roach Motel,"

Items check in, but they don't check out!

It works for shotguns, chainsaws, razors... you name it...

I tend to hoard and purge. I went nuts the couple of weeks after i started and then backed down, and even sold of a lot of things that were either redundant or not my taste. Makes for good deals to newbies looking in the BST and PIF.

Nah!!! purging is a new age fangled invention and totally lame. It's an excuse used by those who are just too weak and unmanly to stay in the hunt!

I have been very fortunate to have purchased some very nice products. I am just a cheap bastard when it comes down to it!

I have 5 very nice brushes, 4 straight razors, two of which are RW customs that are awesome, and enough soaps and creams to give me some nice options in the morning. I have reached an equilibrium. I now only replace what I use, for the most part, and I have a certain peace with that.

The hardest part of all this razor stuff is that it is extremely difficult to know what you are buying because you can't handle and put your eyeballs on the product. That makes it extremely hard on new guys to make an informed decision which is why this site is so valuable. B&B at least gives us some good tools to evaluate our purchases.

The real problem is that a lot of guys here are compulsive anyway, why else would anyone go to such lengths to get the "perfect" shave? Moderation is good.

Take Care,
Richard

This all sounds awfully close to an eating disorder. Bulimia.
Food in, food out.
Should we found Shave Watchers support groups?

what's this "purge" thing you speak of?

Currently I'm placing another order to increase my A/S collection to 9. It's way too many. My soaps are steady at 3, brush 1, razor 1, cologne 1. Soon I will have tried all the A/S I want (except for uber expensive stuff). Then my purge of A/S will begin - I hope to get it down to 4 eventually.

Gordon is right about a minimalist consistent set up. But I still like to try samples of everything.

When I started on this journey a few years ago, it was intended as 1 razor, 1 brush, 1 soap / cream as a money saving exercise only. Little did I know what was in store for me.

Skip ahead to 2 years ago and I had accumulated nearly a dozen brushes, ~ 14 razors, more blades, soaps, creams, ASLs & ASBs and colognes than I'd like to admit and who knows how many other whizhgiggins & doo-dads.

When we moved 1/2 way across country 18 months ago, and I really realized how much I had when I had to pack it all up, I put myself on a self-imposed "exile" from buying anything shaving related

In this 18 months, I still haven't emptied a soap or cream, and only a couple of colognes and a few ASLs.

Two weeks ago I reviewed what I had and decided to "thin" the herd. I sold 5 razors last week, and have 4 more I'll be putting up when I get back from vacation. That will leave me with 4 razors, my Gold Slant, Gold HD, a Z3 Flare tip that was a gift and a 23C that is my travel razor. Brushes I'll keep, except for maybe 1.

I'll be replenishing a few aftershaves (Booster products and trying a few Bay Rums) but other than that, I'll stay where I am except for maybe refilling as I empty something.

So, after a long winded explanation; for me, I don't think it is, or will be, a repeating cycle as I know some go through.


I'd like to nominate this statement below as "Understatement of the decade".

Antique Hoosier said:

snip<<<<<It is really not encouraged around these parts to be a true minimalist. >>>>snip

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As long as you all do your purging, then I will have the best estate sale ever! Isn't that what it's all about? Strangers poking through the remains of your life, most saying "My God, what was the man thinking?" and maybe just the one, well shaved, proper smelling soul walks in and starts to tremble.

That is if SWMBO doesn't toss it all in a box, set it beside the curb thinking "geez, I miss the man, but what a dope he was for this crap!".



-jim

I am very familiar with the hoard concept, but I've not heard of this purge phenomena???

Thanks for the warning on what the rest of us have to look forward to. APCD (acquire purge cycle disorder) almost seems a worse disease than just squirreling everything away.

So far I only purged once, so I'm relatively new to this. Accumulated over 50 brands of soaps and creams early on trying to figure out what I liked. Too lazy to go to the post office, I just gave half of them away at a meet.

Seriously, I've kind of set a limit in terms of the space this takes up, although it's not a well defined space yet. I think this'll hold me for a while. Especially if I start hanging brushes and razors off the bottom of the shelf. There's stuff I don't use and don't really like that much, and it's more fun passing it along to converts or at a meet or in one of those traveling boxes to make room for better newer stuff. Probably if I just sold things that'd spoil the fun.

thunderball said:

Does anybody else find themselves riding a wave of AD only to be dashed against the rocks of minimalism?

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Yeah, I do that. I just went through a purge cycle, got down to one (type of) razor, a few creams, a few blades, but now I'm revisiting the blade/razor equation. Luckily, I can sell stuff off to finance new purchases.

gearchow said:

As long as you all do your purging, then I will have the best estate sale ever! Isn't that what it's all about? Strangers poking through the remains of your life, most saying "My God, what was the man thinking?" and maybe just the one, well shaved, proper smelling soul walks in and starts to tremble.

That is if SWMBO doesn't toss it all in a box, set it beside the curb thinking "geez, I miss the man, but what a dope he was for this crap!".



-jim

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This is the hard truth. I just asked my two boys if they would want my stuff after I go to the great den in the sky.

Ten Year Old: "I'd sell it!"

Seven Year Old: "Well, I'd take all the liquids and mix them up into the most awesome after shave ever, and same with all the soaps and stuff!"

Somehow, the thought of some lucky collector trying to suppress a Tabac-eating grin as he hands my wife a C-note for a big box full of my shave cave stuffings seems less disturbing.

Topgumby said:

This is the hard truth. I just asked my two boys if they would want my stuff after I go to the great den in the sky.

Ten Year Old: "I'd sell it!"

Seven Year Old: "Well, I'd take all the liquids and mix them up into the most awesome after shave ever, and same with all the soaps and stuff!"

Somehow, the thought of some lucky collector trying to suppress a Tabac-eating grin as he hands my wife a C-note for a big box full of my shave cave stuffings seems less disturbing.

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+1

So I just went and asked my 7yo daughter same question. First, she asked me why I asked. She can be so suspicious. Then she said she would put them in a box and make them an antique. Whatever that means.

I wonder what it would smell like if you mixed all the After Shaves together?



-jim