Can Less Be More
August 17, 2010
Do we need all our stuff? How much stuff do we really need to live? What does one really need? Just received the link to interesting site via Josh. Kelly Sutton’s site where he has listed all of his possessions and is selling everything off except what he can fit into 2 boxes….
Inspired by a a book or two, I’ve decided to try to see if I can rid my life of most of the clutter. The goal? Condense my life into 2 bags and 2 boxes.
How will I do this? It seems simple to just say: get rid of everything. To realize how much junk I own, I have put myself through the misery of documenting every single possession of mind, no matter how insignificant. This gives me a solid metric to measure my progress against. I will be explaining the finer details of this in future posts.
The 2 bags and 2 boxes principle will hopefully allow me to live anywhere and move instantly. This is the Cult of Less.
“On the whole, it’s led me to cherish my few purchases more. Every possession also requires a certain amount of upkeep, and I find myself with more time and less possessional guilt. Every thing owned begs to be used constantly; every second not utilized comes a shred of buyer’s remorse. Everything I own I use at least once per month, save for my winter clothes.”
I say, all well and good if yu are young and it is feasible to live that way. Everyone in the US particularly accumulates lots of stuff. I feel burdened by the house and the contents that have attached themselves over the past 25 years. But as someone replied:
“This is a completely crap and meaningless “trend”. There’s no real sacrifice involved whatsoever, and the people involved seem to enjoy the illusion of asceticism without the actual hard work involved. If you’re happy only owning five pairs of underwear or whatever, more power to you… but to blog about it as some great emerging movement or philosophy is a waste.”
I could do without the potted plants, but they do give me oxygen and bring life into my home. I could without the art on the walls, but most of the art in my house was created by people I know and it enriches and inspires me to have it around me. Do I need 2 pianos? No, anyone want to buy one? It’s not easy to sell a piano. I also don’t need more than 1 cutting knife but I have 4 or 5. I don’t know that I will go minimalist, but I certainly could as Josh recently suggested: hire someone to help me, put up a tent in the backyard and bring it all out into the daylight and then make some choices……Perhaps it would be comforting to have a list of everything I own in one place?
Bayleaf Studio on Etsy
November 9, 2009
Hand knit hats on to my friend Lili who has launched her Bayleaf Studio’s ETSY site with yummy, cozy and creative accessories and hand made invitations and cards. I will attest to her powerfully creative industry and talent having been the recipient of cards and useful gifts from this prolific knitting, sewing and collaging artist. Lili’s studio is full of baskets of deliciously soft yarns and projects. You can also go to Bayleafstudio.com for more news and info. Hurray!
Sunshine, SPF Clothing
May 30, 2009
As everyone is learning, sunlight is important for our synthesis of Vitamin D and Calcium. Sun for bone health. And, we also know that he sun’s UV is stronger than ever. So although we need to be in the sun unprotected for 1-20 minutes a day, we do need to protect during the rest of the day. HOW?
The safest way to protect yourself from the sun is with a hat and to stay out in the sun short amounts of time so you do not burn. There are wonderful sun screen clothes. www.coolibar.com , www.sungrubbies.com, www.alexandme.com are just a few of the many SPF clothing companies out there. I recently bought a great looking SPF shirt from www.exofficio.com, see photo above.
I intend to enjoymy summer and not hide from the sun, yet be smart about protection and non-toxic sunscreens. Stay tuned for that post soon.