Simplicity by Addition

Lately I have felt the burden of unnecessary possessions and routines in my life. In my resulting efforts to simplify all things reasonable and possible, I had reduced my on-hand razors in my bathroom cabinet to two: the c.1948 Gillette Tech and the recently-made Rimei RM2003 razor heads, and the single c.1948 Gillette ball-end handle.

I'm still thinking, thinking, thinking....

Yet the drive for simplicity caused me to ponder further my shaving-tool options. I have been comparing the Rimei to the Gillette, and I can't tell much difference. So the obvious solution is to eliminate one redundant option. And so I did.

The Rimei, though an excellent value and option for the new DE user as well as for a low-risk-if-lost, easily-replaced travel razor, it really has no justification for a place in my bathroom cabinet when I have the post-WWII Tech on hand. So, whoosh, the RM2003 was broomed from the bathroom and banished to the bedroom closet shoe box that holds my too-many unused razors.

And if you read my article from yesterday, you know that I'm the low-need-for-variety guy, so you're probably thinking I've finally simplified myself to a single razor head and handle in the bathroom cabinet.

Well.... um.... not exactly....  But it's not as foolish or inconsistent as one might think.

The only hardware I need on a regular basis.

After all, in my large collection of work-shop tools, I have many screwdrivers and wrenches. Not because I have a desire for variety, but because they are somewhat specialized. Obviously there are different sizes of nut and bolt heads and there are different types and sizes of screws. So it is function that drives my tool-box variety, not whim.

So when I removed the Rimei razor head from the cabinet, I filled its former spot with my trusty Merkur 33 Classic razor head. This will be used for those morning-after shaves, when on the previous day, using the Tech razor I get a little carried away going for the baby-smooth shave. If I fail to achieve that goal and instead do a bit too much damage to my ultra-sensitive skin as I did yesterday, I can use the slightly milder Merkur Classic razor head and three passes and get a very good shave with minimal insult to my damaged dermis as I did today.

So I have simplified by reducing redundancy in my bathroom cabinet, but added a functional option. Simplicity by addition.

Happy shaving!