Thursday August 12, 2010 12:05
Is Less More?
I have read two articles in two days about living happier with less.
Here is an article from Whole Living, What Do You Value Most? Take the Ten-Item Test. Click here to read entire piece.
The first was an article on Yahoo, which sadly I am unable to find again. A woman and her husband decided to quit the work-spend cycle by eliminating everything they didn’t need. For example, they donated their wedding china, reduced their toiletries and clothing to 100 items, and ate off only 4 plates.
Flylady encourages decluttering by eliminating items that you just don’t need or use.
Could we be happier with less? This summer I have reduced my chores to basically: laundry, dishes and putting the toys away. Those three things seem to take up so much time because we have so many of all three. Are my children happier with 3,000 toys that they can’t even find once they all get mixed together? Am I having to do the dishes and laundry less frequently by having such an abundance of each? All three responses are a big fat NO.
I wonder if this system would make me happier. Or would it be more stressful not having the items I felt I needed when I needed them. It is like going to a hotel. (Not completely my idea, seed planted by Flylady). It is so relaxing, because you are in this clutter free environment. As long as you packed appropriately. Nothing is worse then being stressed because you forgot a light sweater and all the restaurants are too cold.
So…maybe it could work, if executed well. What do you think? Could you be happier with less stuff?
Amy
- Category: SHEva Amy
- (2) Comments
admin
September 16th, 2010 at 5:23 am
YES!! Less is more. Does it count that most of my old “more is more” is bagged up and blocking the path to my closet and my garage, on its way to either Goodwill or the dump? The bags have been there for 3 months, but it’s a start, right? -Jodi
C
August 28th, 2016 at 1:12 am
I found your blog while googling the WholeLiving article about 10 Things That Matter Most. I loved it, but cannot find it anywhere on the net now. I see you wrote this post a while back, and I’m sure your kids are older now, but my best advice as a mom and teacher would be to teach children to pick up after themselves. Toys, room, etc. I used to think I was being a great mom to take care of everything, but kids need to learn household tasks. Teach them to help you.