Nov 08 2009
Less is more, or “Simplicity is the key to successful living”
Malcolm and I have devised a shorthand phrase to keep us on track with what we’re trying to do with Touchwood and our lives: “Less is more.”
Less stuff is more fun, more happiness, more time and more money. It’s getting rid of the crap that’s cluttering up our brains and house and racking up debt and environmental damage so we have the time and money to do what we like doing.
Today I came across a wonderful poster that can inspire us visually too:
Sums up the "Less is more" philosophy beautifully
As the artist Nick Dewar explains : “I hope that America is entering a post-’greed is good’ period. I can’t think of a single step that would change the nature of our society more than everyone abandoning their automobiles and cycling instead.”
This poster is part of a series which are inspired by Depression Era propaganda posters in America whose “colorful vibrancy and comic wit contributed to the sense of optimism they were meant to inspire.” All five posters, courtesy of ReadyMade.com, can be downloaded as pdfs and printed out.
I’ll be hanging this one on our wall today.
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[caption id="attachment_1996" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="From a poster for the new ...
It is funny, I love this poster.
It is really positive, even though it reminds me of cycling when I was a child and I had one of those dynamos running on my tyre like in the picture – I was kinda weak I guess cos the extra energy needed to power the resistance meant I often rode my bike in the dark, light off! Years later I would be sat on static bikes in a gym struggling against a resistance machine, wasting all that energy to burn off fat (food excess).
Anyway, happy poster, inspirational :
Rachel, I love how you use art and visuals to inspire yourself, and I love how much you and Malcolm are doing, how far you are willing to go to walk the walk. I was thinking of you a bunch this morning because I got Sew U Home Stretch out of the library again and am on the verge of trying to sew some boxers or some yoga pants or long underwear or something.
Great poster. Andy and I are on the verge of signing up for the No Impact Week and trying to go car-free for a week, and that’s feeling so daunting even here in our reasonably walkable little suburb. Thank you for all the inspiration you’re giving me to stretch a little further.
Gosh, wow Darcy. You know, you think you’re out here in the wilds, doing your thing that no one will notice, or if they do, they’ll just tell you you’re crazy, and then you get a wonderful comment like that. Thank you — it means more than you know.
Personally, I think it’s almost easier to get rid of the car permanently than to go without for a week.
It’s like the diet I did where we didn’t have any sugar, wheat or dairy in the house and there was a total ban. That wasn’t too bad, but now when someone brings over some nice bread or cheese or god forbid, cookies, I’m hopeless! If it’s here, I’ll eat it.
If we had the car sitting right outside, you can be damn sure I’d find an excuse to use it, so it’s going to take selling it and literally having no other option before I’ll be able to go car-free successfully.
The funny thing is, the biggest changes I’ve made seemed terrifying at first but were amazingly easy, then downright enjoyable, once I gave it a little time. Maybe you’ll find the same is true.
And we should totally do one of those sewing projects since I have that book and have yet to try it!