Less is More

Close your eyes and imagine this.  No wait.  Open them.  Open your eyes!  You have to keep them open to follow along with my vision!  Sigh.  Let me start again.

Imagine yourself waking up to a stunningly beautiful day in February.  No, you haven’t been miraculously transported to a faraway land, you are still in the midst of winter in Alberta (or whatever cold climate you are imagining), but today is different.  The sun is shining, the snow is sparkling like a blanket of diamonds and you check the local forecast -- they are calling for a 5 degree day!  In FEBRUARY!  (That is like 40 degrees Farenheit for all of you Americans), which isn’t that warm but hey, in February, 5 degrees feels like a mid-summer’s day!  Anyway.  You get the idea.  It is a beautiful day.  An unexpectedly beautiful day, in the middle of a long cold winter.  A GIFT.  

Not the day in question, but you get the idea...

Now, imagine how you would like to spend that day.  You would surely go outside, maybe even sit on your deck and enjoy a cold beverage.  (Judge not ye warm climate people, a warm, sunny winter’s day definitely calls for a few cold ones).  

We just happened to have one of these days this past winter.  And do you want to know how I spent it?  Inside.  Moving and sorting through stuff.  (Can you sense my complete and utter disdain for this situation?)  

Yes, you read correctly, I spent what was without a doubt the nicest day of the winter dealing with my belongings.  Ohhhhhh how I wished for my van-living days right then.  When life was much simpler and our belongings consisted of a few bins of mouse-chewed on clothes and some outdoor gear.  

One of the vans we lived in -- this one's a '79

It was all I could do but take the entire contents of the trucks we were driving and not drive straight to the dump.  I mean honestly.  We have everything that we need already (the stuff that we moved in December, remember?), so what is all of this crap?  Well, you know the kind of stuff I am talking about.  The seasonal ‘gear’, the old University books/notes, the outgrown kids toys/clothes, that box of stuff that you inherited from your great aunt but you aren’t quite sure what to do with it.  

Most of us have this problem - the problem of too much stuff.  If you don’t have this problem than I applaud you.  I take my hat off to you, not only because you would’ve spent the day enjoying some cold ones, but because you will have undoubtedly mastered the fundamental truth that ‘less is truly more’.  We don’t need all of that stuff.  Truth is, we don’t even need most of that stuff that we think we need.  We could all do with a little, no, a lot less stuff.

It's not just me that thinks that either.  Check out this awesome video about stuff on TED Talks:

So look around.  What do you truly need?  I would say that if it isn’t truly beautiful, meaningful or useful than get rid of it.  What are you willing to live without?  What kind of space are you ready to open up in your life?  Remember, when something leaves your life, it opens up the space for something new to come in.  And I’m not talking about that cute new what-ever-it-is that you spotted at the mall either.

Here's to the fundamental truth that LESS TRULY IS MORE!  And the next time we have a 5 degree day in February, you know where I'll be!

Marebare xoxo

PS -- Believe it or not, I actually spent yesterday moving more (yes, MORE) stuff.  You can bet that most of that stuff is moving on out!  

365 Days of Stuff (that I don't need)

Remember a few weeks ago (or was it longer) when I posted about 'the great purge' that was occurring in my house?  Well, I got through one room - my bedroom, and I quit there.  The rest of the rooms just seemed SO overwhelming!  This prompted me to go about things in a different way, I started to take at least one thing EVERY DAY that we don't need, and put it into a box in my closet.  When the box is full - it goes to the thrift store.  So far, I am amazed at what I have been able to come up with: 2 boxes of perfectly intact 'burner trays' for back when we had a stove with coil burners (!)  I guess we don't need those anymore!  What else?  There are a few more of my clothes in there, some candles, some dishes, etc.  I am sharing this with you simply because I know that there are some of you there who would love to 'purge' but just get overwhelmed by the thought and never start.  If you are one of those people, then this is a strategy for you!  Also, don't be afraid to limit yourself to just one item per day... some days I go through a drawer for instance and pull out two or three things for 'the box'.  The way I see it, one drawer is a lot less intimidating (and way less time consuming) than tackling an entire room!

One more idea: as you are going through your closets, cupboards and drawers, don't be afraid to set aside some 're-gifts' as well.  I have already freely admitted that I am a re-gifter (I am trying to bring it into the mainstream).  Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that re-gifting actually can be a way to show your affections for another, especially if it is done with a great deal of thought.  Sometimes someone gives me something that I really like, but that I don't need, and I think, 'I know someone who will appreciate this even more than me'.  What I am saying is, don't just set aside random 'stuff', but have a person in mind who you think might really enjoy that item (that way, it also ensures that it will eventually leave your house!)  if you are interested in re-gifting but worried about the etiquette, click here for a list of suggested 'rules' for regifting.  I will admit that I don't always follow these rules... I have been known to re-gift stuff like appliances (espresso machine, bread maker, etc.).  The key to my re-gift was to make it a lot more personal: I added specialty flours with the bread maker, bread machine yeast, and some hand-written recipe cards and with the espresson machine: some specialty coffee, etc.  I was also upfront about the fact that it was a re-gift and that it had been used... (don't worry, I cleaned them both up just like shiny new!)  Think what you want about re-gifting, but I am sold on its virtues!  Agree or disagree on this issue, I would love to hear from you, so I am once again going to poll the audience (this time I refuse to abide by the results however, I am a die-hard re-gifter!)

So, this week's poll choices are:

• You should NEVER re-gift.  It is thoughtless, cheap, and rude.
• Re-gifting is acceptable on certain occasions, as long as it is done with thought and some degree of re-gifting etiquette is employed.
• Re-gifting is the best.  Anything is fair game!

(For the record, I would vote for number 2...)

There's no such thing as bad regifts, just bad regifters. - Quote from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Happy re-gifting (or not if that's the way you roll)

Marebare :)