Internet minimalism comes with a lot of talk about the purging of stuff. True minimalism will have a decreased emphasis on letting things go over time, because it will emphasize diminishing the acquisition of things. Even still, periodic inventory taking is necessary, and maybe this is the time of year to use it to peak advantage.

Things are resources. They require resources to make + take up space as waste. These days, brand new things don't necessarily have more life in them than previously used things. New things are the more culturally acceptable category of gifts, but we can imagine a different way.

Here are a few ways I can imagine our ready-to-pass-on things becoming good gifts:

• A group of people is invited to a shared document with two columns: one for items they are looking for, one for items they are looking to rehome. Matches become gifts in either direction!  :)
• A group of friends or family with children trades toys rather than purchasing new ones for each other. The same might work with clothing for teenagers or adults.
• People exchange books from their own shelves with notes included about why a book was chosen for that person. Maybe a specific genre is chosen for a group with a common interest...like craft books or cookbooks with projects/recipes highlighted + notes included.
• Exchange pre-enjoyed puzzles or games + a favorite homemade snack. This one could provide the evening's entertainment as well!
• Exchange a propagation of a plant! Maybe an extra pot could even be found. Planting them together could be fun too (only one bag of soil to be purchased).
• Agree that what is done with a gift after it is given is the recipient's choice. Responsibly passing something on (again) allows it to be a gift to someone else, and that is beautiful.
• Don't pass on things that just become someone else's responsibility to dispose of. If in doubt, ask first with special sensitivity.
• Notes are gifts. Take time to write a few words or have your little one draw a picture of why their cousin is going to love playing with this toy. Mmmm...squishy feels!
• Treat it like a gift. Depill the sweater. Shine up the baby shoes. Wrap it beautifully. Presentation infers value.

Many of us find frustration in having too much. Maybe we found value in that book at one or many time(s), but we have many other books too. Maybe our child loved that toy for a year, but now has a new interest. Maybe we always reach for a different sweater. At the same time, many of us are going to shop for books, toys + sweaters. 
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Again, gifting has so much to do with expectations. This sort of gifting may only work with a handful of like-minded friends + family. Then again, maybe one conversation is all that it takes. Best wishes for a comfortable gifting season full of generosity + connection!

Love,
Jane

One way our family has fun with gifts is to gift personal favorites. We often set very specific terms like gifting everyone the same gift that costs $5 or less. We have fun hearing why the giver loves this item + why they think we have to try it. These are things we might not usually talk about...a favorite pen, new snack discovery, a cherished ritual...and it always prompts a variety of connecting feels.

I have a feeling this is becoming an annual sort of post. It's just that time of year again, and I love this sort of thing! It ticks all the boxes for a simple, gratitude-inducing, inexpensive, thoughtful, low waste sort of celebration in my book.

It really is a fun way to gift, and prompts us to rediscover reasons we love what we already have too! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things...simple things that I use over + over again with pleasure. I hope they are a little different this year, but I can't guarantee it!  :)

• Le Pen :: they last forever + come in sweet colors. I come across them every once in a while + sometimes pick up a new color. This year, I've been choosing a color or two from my little collection to highlight my journal + calendar each month.
• a ritual to try :: it would be so interesting to hear how one finds value with this one
• a pomegranate or two makes a lovely decoration + tastes like a special treat too :: lots of options here...sumo orange, a nub of ginger + a lemon...yum!
• a new spice discovery + a list of ways to use it :: this one tastes great on so many things from eggs to roasted veg
• a printed photo of a special memory + a bit of nature to go with it :: these little bits are my favorites to spark feelings of connection over + over again
• an air plant :: it doesn't require much effort, but offers a welcome sign of life through the grey months to come. a found shell or spare terracotta saucer is an inexpensive companion.
• homemade fire cider
• a $5 gift card for a fave drink of the moment

I really feel like I could go on + on with ideas, because they come as easy as looking around me. Gifting is so much about expectation + agreeing to something like this makes those expectations very clear + simple to meet! 

Happy simple gifting, friends!
Jane

• Dressier shoes, coat, hat... :: A pair of dark jeans or a jumpsuit that I usually pair with trainers is instantly elevated when paired with dressier shoes + a longer coat. I think a red beret could add a playful, festive touch.

• Playful thinking :: This one is purely theoretical, but I'm wondering if (hoping that) displaying a bit of playfulness on the outside might allow me to sort of live into this attitude. Mingling activates my shyness, so I'm consciously asking my clothing to imbue me with a little lightness of spirit. I believe it's possible. :)

I love this sort of creative exercise. Minimalism offers us so many opportunities to stretch our imaginations toward different ways of being + that makes me so happy! Wishing you all the most fun + festive of holiday seasons!

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane

The chaos of life has a way of clouding out the simple way sometimes. How did I end up standing in the grocery store moving from lavender to eucalyptus trying to cross "greens for the table" off my list thinking, "No, I'm allergic to that one too"? I felt like the light came back on in my dusty mind, when I suddenly remembered the still lively green sage in our back yard...free, beautiful + already mine! It will look lovely + lush on our Thanksgiving table!

When I let the majority of my time, focus +/or energy go to my job, I can end up surrendering to a skewed view of convenience. I find it comical to realize that our society is designed to make us think convenience is driving to the store hoping it will have what we think we need rather than looking out the window first. 

Thanksgiving really is a wonderful time to tune in to simplicity + to let it set the tone for the holiday season to come. The best Thanksgiving decor is grown in the natural world + is compostable...pumpkins, dried foliage, edible persimmons, fresh herbs + beeswax candles placed in jars already in the kitchen. The best food is grown in soil + doesn't need fancy, new recipes to make it worthy of sharing.

The memory of bringing the piano bench, desk chairs + stools from around the house to the table in my childhood home doesn't make me think we needed more matching dining chairs. The pile of coats on my parents bed didn't make me wish we had a fancier coat rack. A house filled with family, friends, laughter, warmth + food was the whole thing! And the memories still make me smile.

Wishing you simple joy and the will to take it in + savor it this holiday season!

Much love,
Jane

In Japan, there is a fairly steep fee to dispose of trash,
which is a good system
because it really makes you think about throwing things away-
​or buying them in the first place!
~Yumiko Sekine

All that to say...I love that WRN FRSH is taking "waste" + making it functional + beautiful. Each piece is made by Gene + Michael in their San Francisco studio from disassembled vintage clothing or brand offcuts. I'm especially loving this colorful collaboration with Gravel & Gold.

As a sewist, I enjoy brands like this as much for inspiration as for shopping. There is so, so much opportunity + need for zero-waste creativity! 

All inspiring photos via links.

Sinking into the goodness that is already here.

I think a lot about enough + less, because I am continually reminded that that is what allows my mind to be most at peace. My mind now has practiced pathways that make an effort to prevent me from making impulse purchases. And yet, when I'm thinking through making a few little improvements around the house, I often find myself looking outward...to add something. 

A few weeks ago, a hanging plant that we've had for over a decade started to bloom again. It's blooms are tiny, but hundreds of them come all at once + they have a scent that my allergies don't like. Since we made some changes in our kitchen, the place we most like to sit is right under that plant. I finally decided that I do not need to endure the itchy eyes + stuffy nose that plant brings. Jo brought it to her place, and I was left with an empty plant hook that I was in no real hurry to fill. A couple weeks later, I was at the plant store for a different reason + decided to take a look at the hanging plants. One of the hanging plants they had was a rhipsalis. 

I have a scraggly rhipsalis, but had never thought of hanging it. I had a lighter pot for hanging + some soil too. A few days later, I repotted the plant + realized that I didn't have a hanger. My other hangers were made out of rope that I bought from the hardware store. I didn't want to leave the house, so I thought about what else I could possibly use...twine? A few minutes later, I hung the pot + I love it so much!

It's been a year since we changed things in our kitchen. The contractor + electrician agreed to put our overhead lighting on a dimmer...and yet, they did not. I decided that was one battle too many in the midst of all the others. None of us likes the garish light when it's dark outside, so I've been looking for a lamp...for a year. As darkness comes earlier + stays later (again), I'm feeling very motivated to find a solution. Today, I was watching this Noguchi video + thinking of my (not Noguchi) paper lamps. 

We have two paper hanging lamps downstairs that don't get used often. I've thought of them before, but I don't want to hang a light from the ceiling in the kitchen. Then it occurred to me that maybe I could use one like a lamp on the top of the fridge! Ten minutes, a piece of tape + a clothespin later...and we have the most lovely, warm, glow in our kitchen! It's not taking up space on the shelf. The cord is hidden by the fridge. It didn't cost anything. And...it ties in with the paper lampshade across the room too.

Adding more to our space always makes me nervous. I don't want more. I want less...less to clean...less to take care of...less to purchase...less visual clutter. When I can use what I already have in new ways, it makes me so, so happy!

Love,
​Jane

A little collection of treats (not a shopping list)...what I'm loving visually right now:

• red. My skin has a strange relationship with this color, but there is a certain orangey hue that it likes. I'm feeling drawn to it currently.
• wool clogs. A friend generously shared where her super cute ones came from. These! They are made from wool + cork in Austria. ($10 off with this link, if they are what you've been looking for.)
• spotting the first red leaf on our maple tree...and garden blooms that hold on.
• catching the sunset as I drive home every night right now. There is a short window of time for it, and I'm just trying to savor the nowness of it.
• the just-about-to-drop Jenny Pennywood collection of jackets + sweatshirts. (ooph! that red!)
• overalls. I finally found a pair to love + I literally wear them every chance I get.
• seeing everyone's autumn sweaters + colors these days. It's a visual reminder that we are experiencing something collectively.
• rio. This babaa hue is pure joy.
• that red on my favorite sweatshirt shape!  :)

All lovely images via links. Unlinked photos are mine.

Love,
Jane

My partner + I first lived together in Denver. We'd heard about bands like U2 playing at Red Rocks amphitheater, but we didn't have extra money for things like that. This summer, we finally picked a concert + went. The most memorable moment for me was when Phoenix played Love like a Sunset just as the sun set over the red rocks (utterly magical)...well that + when Thomas Mars touched my shoulder (!) to move me out of his way as he descended through the crowd. (ha) This explanation of how the song was made gave me goosebumps. "It's the end for you. The sun is going down, but for others it is rising. Something goes on."

The point is not happiness. It's happier-ness.
Interestingly, this idea makes me feel I've gained something, not lost.
​A space for two couples. ​

This weekend, seasonal eating involves apple crisp + pasta with spiralized zucchini, green onion + parmesan. There will be hot tea + mango smoothies, because these days are the perfect mix of sunny afternoons + cool evenings (+ also because that's what's in my fridge).  :)

Hope your weekend involves rest + play...a feast for the senses + time to notice it.

Loads of love,
​Jane