Please welcome Sabrina who is hosting at Life, for instance for the first time! Sabrina has been a regular here on the porch for some time now, generously contributing her beautiful wisdom to the discussion. She blogs regularly here; treat yourself to a visit! Quality or quantity? Take it away Sabrina!!

I’ll admit it. I’m a minimalist. I’ll take quality over quantity any day of the week. I’ve had friends look at my closet and ask me where I’m hiding the rest of my stuff. I assure them that it’s all there…and honestly at times I feel that I could pare it down a bit more.

Heck, even our refrigerator is stocked with just the basics – veggies picked up at the market on a weekly basis, with just a few extras lining the condiment shelves.

You might think that I was simply born this way, but, in truth, the opposite was true; growing up, my family loved stuff and quantity trumped quality in our household.

I remembered my mom had a collection of party dresses that filled just one closet, as it wasn’t socially acceptable to show up to more than one event in the same outfit. My dad was a techno-geek, always adding the latest and greatest technological advancements to his collection. Even I had an overflowing collection of teddy bears and dolls that filled my bed, shelves, and space in other corners of the house (my dolls didn’t seem to like being restricted to my room…nor did I, come to think of it).

However, once I moved out of my childhood home, I began to see – and need – things differently. Part of this came out of necessity; living on a college student’s budget was one of the best ways to tap into my minimalist calling.

But rather than “missing the stuff,” I actual felt better somehow. Lighter. Freer.

This concept of quality versus quantity flowed into my approach to relationships, as I found I would choose to nurture a few close friendships rather than try to stay in touch with the many connections I had made.

I even made a conscious effort to give energy to fewer ideas – executed well – rather than allowing myself to become overwhelmed with every idea that popped into my head.

But then I started meeting people…people who had many friends, many ideas, and sometimes even lots of stuff. These people seemed just as happy and fulfilled as I was, and I realized it was time to open my mind.

And what better way to open my mind than to open up a discussion here? How do you approach this idea of quality versus quantity in your life? When do you feel more is actually better?

photo credit: McFarlanmo