LESS IS MORE

Over the years, I’ve learned that less is more.

When I was a senior in high school, our family experienced a devastating fire. We had a little grocery store with attached living quarters…all of which went up in flames. We were left with some living room furniture and most of what was in my bedroom…including some of my clothes. Other than that, everything was pretty much gone.

Afterwards, two special things were retrieved - Mom’s box of pictures and a coffee can filled with melted together silver dollars. The surviving pictures were all smoke damaged and most had either a little or a lot of them burned away. But she kept even the tiniest portion of those precious pictures.

My Mom and Dad

And she kept this…..

It’s a blackened piece of a silver plate tea service she’d been so proud of! Looking at the charred photos she kept so carefully and this little pitcher makes my heart ache for her. I have it perched in my Palo Verde tree. Sometimes, I write little notes about my heart’s desires and tuck them inside.  I somehow feel that my mom reads each one.


Those few things were not a lot to start a new life with, but our neighbors swooped in immediately with all the emotional, financial and material support they could muster. Bless them.



Years later, my then husband and I,  purchased a farm in West Texas. The farm had no house on it, so we bought a 14’ x 76’ mobile home and set up our own little house on the prairie.

Yep!  That's pretty desolate looking!  But we managed to make some real good times there.  We just didn't manage to make much of a living!  But no wonder!  Just look at all those rocks!

We had been living in a pretty big house which was chock full of ‘stuff.’ I had to do some serious down-sizing. I had a huge yard sale and got rid of anything that didn’t fit my very narrow criteria as a ‘keeper.’


1. It must be absolutely useful.

2. It must have real sentimental value.

3. It must be truly beautiful.



The preference was that anything I kept met at least two of the above. If it met all three…that was even better!
The blender went away as did multiple sets of dishes and other kitchen acoutrements. Lots and lots of knick-knacks went away. Many of our two young boys’ toys went away, too. Christmas and other holiday decorations were cut to the bare minimum.


But guess what? I found that instead of feeling deprived….I felt FREE! There was so much less ‘stuff’ to keep organized or dusted or stored. Housekeeping took far less time and was far less complicated!


Since then, I’ve pretty much stuck to those same three rules. And it’s a good thing. Because, eventually, I moved into another little house…this one not on the prairie but on the desert. And this house has the smallest kitchen I’ve ever seen in my life! I have very limited cabinet or counter space which would drive most people nuts. But since I had learned to live without so many kitchen implements and gadgets, this small kitchen is not much of challenge for me.


 I have managed quite successfully to whip up meals for a multitude…once, it was for about 30 people. I admit, it’s helpful that I’m basically an anti-social hermit and that the occasions for feeding lots of folk are few and far between. 

This rolling pin meets all 3 requirements! It’s useful.   It was a gift from some special friends when I was a very young housewife. And, being made from one piece of oak, I find it absolutely beautiful. It’s rolled out a whole lot of pie dough over the years!

That pot was my mom’s. It’s a heavy old Wagner…perfect for making all kinds of yummy things. So, it’s both usable and sentimental. 2 out of 3!

Mom’s recipe box. Well….I’m fixin’ to bust into tears…..

I like it because it’s oak and I have a thing for wood. It’s usable, of course. But here’s the kicker. Grab a tissue and read on…..

After Mom died, Dad had me choose some of Mom’s things. Of course, her recipe box was one of the first things I went for. After all, it had all her good recipes in it…she was a really good cook….and I knew I had to have that! Later, as I sat looking through the recipes................

 I found this.

I know full well my mom left that there for me to find. 

 My mom was quite a woman. 

As for the rest of my house, I guess you could say my decorating taste is pretty much minimalist. I try to make it so that every place I look, I see something beautiful …whether the beauty is intrinsic or in the memories it brings. I love old things, but I have very few old, family treasures. A fire will pretty much eliminate old family treasures.


But, perhaps, I am gathering a few family treasures for my kids and grandkids. Here’s some.

My dad made this clock from a slab of redwood....Useful, Beautiful and Sentimental!





The painting in this next picture…which is obviously beautiful…was given to me by the friend who first introduced me to my Navajo “family.”

The sculpture was a gift from one of my sons.

We refer to this piece of furniture as “Grandma’s Chest.”  People often do a double take when we use those words. I’m sure they are conjuring up an image of a full-bossomed old lady instead of this beautiful, sentimental and usable item. Once, in a conversation with my oldest son, I said I had no real antique family heirlooms. He pointed out to me that I was the third generation to own this. Perhaps that does, indeed, qualify Grandma’s Chest as an antique family heirloom! My two sons…or their wives’…will have to fight over this when I’m gone. Whoever wins, will be the fourth generation to have it. That’s just cool!
Please forgive the poor picture quality.  Trying to get a good photo of a glass covered painting is pretty close to impossible!




This began as an essay on making choices about the things we hang on to.

I might have gotten a tad side-tracked.

But it was, for me, a lovely little trip down memory lane.


Today, I am GRATEFUL for all that I DO have and equally GRATEFUL for some things that I DON’T have.


That’s a pretty good way to feel.