The Minimalist Lifestyle

“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.” — Shaker Philosophy

The Shakers, a religious order, is probably best known for its furniture. Beautiful in its minimalistic design.

Google “shaker history,” and you quickly see what a fascinating world it is. The practice of procreation was prohibited. The cummunity grew through adoption and from taking in orphans and homeless children. At its peak, there were 6,000 Shaker members. As of last Christmas, only three members are still alive.

Women and men were equals. It makes one wonder about other religious cultures. How can other religions weave misogyny so adroitly throughout their teachings, and this almost-lost culture, that can be traced to the 17th century in France, set themselves up as equals? There must be more to it than I’ve seen today, but this is not the place to get into it.

Shaker chairs are not my favorite Shaker items as they have only one function. In this video, askthedecorator.com’s Meghan Carter speaks with the Education Manager at Shaker Village in Kentucky. In the video’s final moments, Meghan tries out a shaker chair and admits that it might not be that comfortable but that it does make you aware of your posture. So, only one function and no comfort makes them last on my list of favorite Shaker pieces. But, I do adore the style.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOnN5ykWELM[/youtube]

My favorite Shaker pieces are the storage units. Notice the one-drawer table in the corner. I can see that in the foyer — keys all tucked away in the drawer.

See the three walls of drawers? That piece would work so well in a walk-in closet. Well, I wouldn’t do that, but I sure can see the design working in a closet space. And how about a kitchen? Clean lines, storage, beautiful.

This just scratches the surface of Shaker furniture. I’ll probably get back on this topic at a later date.

If you’re interested, The Shakers is a 30-minute documentary that you can watch online at Folkstreams.net.

As wives, mothers, and grandmothers, we are guilty of not taking enough time for ourselves. We are always on call for everyone else and making sure they’re comfortable, well-fed, and happy. Rarely do we sit back, relax, and say, “This is my time.”

It’s no wonder we run out of steam sometimes! And I believe it is because we rarely recharge our batteries.

In an earlier post, I mentioned making the home a sanctuary. That is the ultimate goal, but let’s talk about making one room, or area in a room, a sanctuary this time. Your sanctuary. A place to regroup and just be you for a few minutes each busy day.

It takes determination, including teaching your family to know that “this is mom’s time.”

How to start and use your personal sanctuary:

• Be determined. Know that this is good for you and your family; it will replenish you — restore you.
• Take the spare bedroom or even a corner of the living room or a corner of your own bedroom, and if it’s big enough, even your own bathroom.
• Add your favorite chair, some flowers, some candles, plants, books, music — anything you want.
• Decide your time. When will you “retreat?” Routine is good. Plan for around twenty minutes to start.
• Use your time there to just be. Be you reading. Be you meditating. Be you doing what trips your switch, so to speak. Make it a rule that you won’t sit and fret about the children, the bills, or whatever might be nagging at you. Remember, this is your time to just be. Take it while you can!

When I was writing this, it occurred to me that a personal sanctuary could be called a “rejuvenation room” or a “restoration area.” But, whatever you call it, call it yours and yours alone. For you. To replenish the giving cup.

Your home came with a certain amount of storage space, and that is sometimes just not enough. The simplest way to get more storage is to add it in with furniture pieces or with built-ins.

Add storage with flea-market finds. Look for old dressers, chests, cabinets, and bookshelves. Look for anything that can store stuff.

An old chest, paint it to match the wall color in your closet, and put it in the closet. Store whatever you want to in it. An old trunk, clean it up, and store blankets in it and let it do double-duty as an end table. There are so many ideas that will come to you once you’re in that mindset.

When you go to the flea market, have something in mind. Measure the area in your home that you want to add storage to and have these measurements in mind while you shop. Have an image in your head of what the storage should be like. Maybe you want a chest-size piece. Be on the lookout. You’ll eventually find what you’re looking for. No, maybe not that day, but you will eventually run up on it.

That’s why it’s good to have all of your storage needs in mind when you go shopping. You’ll be more likely to find something that day to use somewhere.

You can take your flea-market items and use them as they are, once you’ve given them a cleaning, or you can paint them, add new hardware, and just generally get creative with them.

Built-in cabinets or wall units. Build them along walls in any room you want to. Even in the closet, the laundry room, the screened-in porch, the kitchen. Wherever there’s a need. How about that space over the commode?

You can also buy built-ins that you put together unit by unit and attach securely to your wall.

Aside from added storage and more organization, built-ins and flea-market finds give your home much more character. Keep these two methods in mind as you go about your minimalist lifestyle.

And happy Friday!

From the beginning, my hope has been that my small houses would inspire others to live more simply and, perhaps, design their own small dwellings. —Jay Shafer

The average size of an American home is over 2300 square feet. That’s a lot of house to keep up with. And it’s enough to make you fantasize about downsizing when you are tired and still have another bathroom and the kitchen to clean.

Well, let’s do fantasize. Let’s take a look at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

I like these homes so much that I have affiliated with them. One day, I hope to buy one myself. Not as a permanent home, though that would be super fantastic if hubby would agree (coming in sizes from 70 to 770 square feet, I am sure to find one just right for us), but as a way to travel more.

They can be built on flat-bed trailers ready for the road and complete with built-in utilities. I fantasize that I will have my home away from home as I go visit family and friends. I also fantasize that I’ll use it at home as an outdoor office or just a place to get away and think.

What I like most about these homes, though, is that they are a way for more folks to afford to actually have a home. No, it’s not a solution for the homeless problem, but it’s a solution that lets in people who can afford something, just not the cost of a regular-sized home. And the designs, according to Jay, are with “adherence to the laws of sacred geometry,” as well as, with other design and organizing principles.

This is a cool little company. Jay is the founder; Steve is the business and tech guy. I can really appreciate what they are doing. And there’s so much more to it than I’ve mentioned here. You’ll find their website easy to navigate and to learn from. And there’s lots to learn.

Who knows, maybe one day, you’ll write to tell me that you have a Tumbleweed home. I’ll certainly write to tell you when I do!

Click here to visit Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

Besides the beauty in it, the minimalist lifestyle, for me, is about ease of care and minimal maintenance.

House plants add great ambiance to a home, and many of them can be grown with a minimum of care and maintenance. Yes, for the green thumbless, there are many house plants that you can’t kill — unless you just completely and absolutely neglect them. Watering and pruning is usually all it takes.

We do want our environments to be beautiful, and plants are one way to add to the beauty. Also, with plants, we get the added benefit of their helping to purify the air in the home.

A favorite “house plant you can’t kill” is the snake plant, and its cousin, the mother-in-law’s tongue. I love the way they grow upright and neat — for the most part. I have seen some messy looking ones, too. But, when they are growing straight up in a pretty pot, they do have an appeal.

In my All About House Plants book, I have an article I cut out from Good Housekeeping magazine ten years ago. It’s Houseplants Anyone Can Grow. Listed are Cast-Iron, Chinese Evergreen, Earth Star, Grape Ivy, India Rubber, Peace Lily, and Snake Plant. These plants can be tended with watering every one to two weeks and by taking away any dead leaves.

The pothos, or Golden Pothos, is another plant that is easy to care for. It trails from the pot, continually producing heart-shaped leaves. I have one in the kitchen that I do have to keep trimming to keep it from overtaking the room! (I actually had one that I let grow like this one time.)

So, for me, minimizing is not all about straight lines. It encompasses nature and what’s real. Nothing can be more real than house plants. Decorate with plants and make your home truly more inviting.

At one point in time, my front door was a dark red color. It contrasted nicely with our gray siding and dark gray shutters. And boy, I should have listened to my father-in-law when he told us to go with brick instead of cedar siding; I had never even heard of carpenter bees until they found our house.

Anyway, contrast is what you want in a front door. It needs to stand out and be a beacon to your guests.

Right now, and for the past several years, my favorite door color is hunter green. It gives a nice contrast, and the statement I make with it is that we like to be stylish, but we aren’t too showy, and we love natural colors. The red door was screaming a little too loudly for my taste, and since I figured this out, I have been very happy with hunter green. There was a time when I noticed lots of red doors, and it just goes to show that what you admire in other houses just may not be right for your own house.

To paint a front door, some folks take the door down and remove all of the hardware before painting the door, but you can use masking tape if you’re good with your hands. Wrap everything you don’t want to paint. I place tape over the hinges, then cut around the tape with a utility knife in order to have only the hinges covered. The door knob is a little tricky, but the key is patience. Once you have done your prep work, use a mini roller brush to paint it so you won’t have brush strokes.

Use a paint like this, which is latex for easy clean up, but doesn’t stick windows and doors. Load the roller; apply a thin, even coat. Allow to dry. If the door looks like the painted door you dreamed of, you are done. If you don’t have a thick enamel look like you want, apply coats as needed, but allow the paint to dry between coats (this helps the latex’s ability to not be a sticking problem). Once dry, the door will be smooth and glossy.

With a shiny new door, it will not only look beautiful, but its smooth surface will be so easy to clean! And don’t forget your kick plate.