Less is More

An old familiar saying is 'less is more'. We don't usually arrive at this gem until we're older and wiser. We age every day, when wisdom occurs is up to you. I didn't appreciate this until several years ago. Ever since, we've been trying to pare back and learn a new habit.

Old friends of ours have a One-in, One-out rule that works for them. When they buy something new, an old version must go--no exceptions. This can be a 'no brainer', when you buy a new stove to replace an old one (that was going to cost as much to repair as to buy new). You need one, the old model goes out the door when the new one is delivered (unless a charity picks it up later, but it still leaves your house). Try as we might, in general, this rule does not work for us.

What works is having an occasional 'purge' (or moving every two years). Here's an example. We buy good, used books at LaPointe's Used Books in Floyd or online through half.com or AbeBooks.com. We seldom purchase new. We read and accumulate, resulting in overflowing stacks of books on shelves and beside the bed. The stacks tip over so we take a large box--or two or three--to LaPointe's where we earn credit in exchange for the books. We are paring down to our favorite, most essential books that we can not live without, the books we truly want to pack and move yet again when we are ready to sell the farm. The 'purge' (rhymes with surge) works with clothes, bathroom drawers and so forth. Until then, we're learning less really is more.