The Joy of Less

For some time now I've been inclined to be free of stuff; to have less and live more. I've said that I could be a minimalist... if I had less stuff. I like simple. I like peaceful. So I got this book recently, The Joy of Less by Francine Jay, and it has been so encouraging in that direction. Find a neat review of the book here. It was responsible for the eight apple boxes full of things that left our home the other day, and it's beckoning the stack of empty boxes in my living room to be filled and leave forever. It's such a good feeling to me to have only what we use, and be content with that. There are truly innumerable things that I could better spend my time, money, and brainpower on than a bunch of things cluttering my life. Since we moved last summer from our home in MN to our apartment in WA, we got rid of what felt like tons of things. And yet we still have what feels like tons of things. In a few weeks, we're moving from one small apartment to another slightly better but still small apartment, and here's my goal: to move with half our stuff. And I'm serious about it. Let's do this thing.

I bought myself this book for my birthday last week because I loved it the moment I saw it. I simply couldn't put it back on the shelf. It is too awesome. I have a thing for hand written and drawn books, and this one is full of smart ideas and ways to become a more keen observer of the art and joyful details that exist in life. It encourages creativity, resourcefulness, documentation, collection, constant observation, comparison, and a general astuteness of mind. It also has a bunch of guides and suggestions for exploration projects, and all of the ideas for activities in this book are free, which is fantastic. I love this book. I love it so much, in fact, that I'll be using it as a a loose textbook for a kids' art class I'll be doing this summer.  This is a book that has something to teach to people of all ages.

Wild Things Paper Toys

With what kind of paper dolls does my 3 year old boy play? Wild ones. Wild Things, that is. He's adopted Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak as his new favorite book (thank you Auntie Lindsey), which makes me happy since it was also one of my favorite books as a kid. We have yet to see the movie made from the book, but I can't help but wonder HOW in the world is there a full length film based on this 10 sentence story? I'll find out soon enough, I'm sure. If your kid (or you!) are into this story, you should make these little paper guys. They do take a couple of minutes to cut out and fold together, (and tape, if you're me) but they're way cute. I made Max and the guy in the stripes for Corbin and we've already acted out the story with them. Great fun. And the site you find them at is... toy-a-day.blogspot.com

For more Wild Things fun, check out this place where I found the paper Things project.

DIY forever

I love this book by Raleigh Briggs. It's about making and doing things yourself around your home. From cleaning to composting (which I'm completely inspired to start doing... just a little unsure about with the whole freezing much of the year thing) to first aid and personal care products and an intro to gardening, it's so inspiring. I've had it for a month or so and it brings me such joy because of its beauty in content as well as form. It's completely hand written and illustrated. Very cool. I haven't tried any of the medicinal tinctures etc. yet, but I'm sure I will when I get my hands on some essential oils in the future. That is a little intimidating for me. But the book is full of practical things that you can do to make your home a simpler place by buying less and making more, and by working with fruits of the earth rather than abusing them.

In fact, Microcosm has a bunch of awesome things. Some crazy thing, but some awesome things. Check them out. I got some fantastic patches to put on some baby tees I'm going to make. I'm sure I'll show you when I finish. :)