When I grew up, I wore home made clothes created with the best natural fabrics my parents had available.
Then I grew up and almost exclusively bought new clothes. The thing is, most of them barely lasted a season.
After many years of discarding clothes, I went back to my childhood ways, buying clothes made with organic cotton, wool or linen. Spending a little more on clothes that now stay with me for years, not a season.
I do keep out of season clothes separate from my wardrobe so every season it feels like I have new clothes I’ve just bought.
Lately my quest for quality branched out to my office supplies. I only buy what I know will last me, so no throwaway pens and crappy paper notebooks.
In my major office declutter, I let go of so many crappy notebooks and pens. It made my heart ache to see all that bad paper and plastic go to the thrift store, knowing that most might end up in recycling.
In what area can you focus on more quality vs stuff that starts to break down when you buy it?
Most of my furniture in college and just post-college was MDF crap from liquidation type retailers. But through the years I've gathered and inherited pieces that are better made, if starting to look a little worn. I'm planning on repainting, restaining, and reupholstering many things to give them new life and to work with a new decor theme.
Learning to reupholster is one of the things that are so valuable to me, so wonderful that you are intending to do that too!
As for repainting and staining, I can highly recommend researching how people used to care for and stain their furniture in the past.
For instance, my grandmother maintained her coffee table with beeswax. And I use the same stuff on the table and it looks so good!
As for painting, I cannot recommend chalk paints enough! I’ve painted with a lot of different paints but chalk paint + wax just makes my vintage furniture shine.