Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter

Abundance

I’m often caught between my clients’ impulse toward abundance and their desire for a more minimalist home. Recently, I’ve been reading a wonderful book that sheds some light on our evolutionary drive for abundance, and what we are really thirsting for when we want more.

In Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, author Ingrid Fetell Lee, who is also a designer, takes a scientific approach to understanding what makes us joyful, and how we can incorporate those things into our homes. Spheres, bright colors and surprise are all things that make us happy. Now I know why my curvy orange chair fills me with delight.

Abundance is another thing that makes us happy. Scientifically, of course, we are primed to seek abundance in terms of food, because that was how our ancient ancestors survived. However, now that that food is abundant, but our drive is still there, people find themselves with 50 coffee mugs, or dozens of teddy bears, or more T-shirts than they can wear in a month. Evolution is funny that way. In the book, Lee talks about “Kondo-ing” her apartment, and how great it made her feel, because rather than feeling deprived, she could actually see all her great stuff. Then she wrote this sentence: “That’s because abundance isn’t just about accumulating things. It’s about surrounding yourself with a rich palette or textures that enliven your senses.”

I love that! I’m always telling people, Less but Better. But what is “better”? More expensive? Maybe. More durable? Perhaps. But what if “better” meant getting rid of the bland and boring, and keeping the stuff that makes you smile? Sure, I’m always going to come down on the side of function over form, but if you have two whisks and one is black and one is Robin’s egg blue and makes you smile every time you pick it up, I’d say keep the blue one. Most of the people reading this aren’t deprived. You have, I hope, enough food, clothes and shelter. But maybe your senses are deprived. Are you so busy listening to the news that you’ve forgotten to listen to music? Do you keep buying more black jeans when what you need is some purple paisley in your life? Maybe you need more cumin and coriander, instead of another kitchen gadget.

I love abundance, and I always feel a little guilty about that, but Joyful has helped me pinpoint why I covet flamingo-print wallpaper, and realize that feeding my senses is as important as feeding my body, and I don’t have to be cluttered to do it.