Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Adding Subtraction
When I was a little girl, and prone to over-decorating myself, my mother would say, “After a French woman gets dressed in the morning, she always takes off one thing.”
It took me a while, but eventually I embraced the understated aesthetic she was trying to impart. I’ve thought of that rule recently, as I read The Laws of Subtraction by Matthew May. “When you remove just the right things in just the right way, something good happens,” May tells us as he guides us to lessness. He uses examples from design to actual rocket science to show how often success comes when things are stripped down to their most elemental form
Obviously, this is a theory that The Perfect Daughter can get behind. Neuroscience that proves less is more? Indeed! It is easy to see how this plays out in design, whether it be mid-century modern or the iPhone, we all grasp the elegance of simplicity, but sometimes simplicity is harder to apply to people and activities, especially when they have become habits (remember newsletters 21.5 & 34)?
So, let’s practice our subtraction, shall we? What can we pare down? What if we dropped one committee or took five tchotchkes off our shelf? What if we omitted one ingredient (goodbye, fresh dill) that we didn’t have from a recipe? Would anyone die? Would anyone notice? What could we leave out that would reduce stress?
Space is a great opportunity. An empty desk is like a brand new piece of drawing paper: full of possibility and promise. As much as I encourage people to use all their space, sometimes it is equally important to make room for nothing.
Bursting calendars seem to be de rigueur these days. Why? Let some things go. Perhaps another parent should run the silent auction at your son’s preschool (especially now that he is in college). Let relationships that feel like a drag slip away. Forge new friendships! If you’ve taken up yoga, pass along the milk crate of ropes and carabineer hooks. Once you eliminate the old, you have room for the new. So be bold. Be open, be empty! See where it leads you.
When our minds, and our homes and our schedules are packed we have less time to do the things we enjoy. And, to enjoy the things that we do.
So, this month, ask yourself: What can I subtract? Then sit back and see what you gain from that simple action.