Less is often more - discuss

I have noticed recently that several bloggers have been having a sort out and clearing the decks in these after Christmas weeks.  I too have made use of these diary-empty weeks of unpredictable weather to do some clearing out here at Chez Marigold.  I swear "stuff" breeds as however often I do this there is always more rubbish next time I look!  Many trips have been made to the charity shops and one or two to the tip, I have got rid of all the clothes I never wear - now that my lifestyle is no longer that of a working woman nor even an ex-pat who entertains often I don't feel the need for so many and it is true that I wear 20% of my clothes 80% of the time.  When I think back to my childhood and the items my mother and I possessed I wonder how I have come to this situation.  When we moved we fitted all we owned into a trunk which was sent on ahead by rail and we took our personal possessions in a couple of suitcases.  True we didn't have furniture nor did we need linens, kitchen utensils,ornaments and so on but even so I doubt I'd fit even my crafting bits into one trunk these days!

 I began to think about less being more and I think that in many cases it is true.  Take books for example.  Time was when you were allowed 3 books from the library at a time now I am permitted to have up to 20 items and although I don't usually take them all at once I often have my full quota at home - does this mean that I read as carefully and appreciate them as much I wonder?  I think not as I tend to flit between them dipping into one here and another there and sometimes not actually reading them properly at all before taking them back.  The above was the current selection and that didn't include 2 books I had in my basket ready to return to the library!  If you enlarge the photo you'll see from the bookmarks poking out that I am reading several at once!  Might it be better if there was less choice both at the library and indeed on my shelf at home and might I appreciate them more and read them better if I had just 3 at a time?  Think back to when people read by candlelight whatever book they could get hold of and truly valued what they had.

In contrast here are 2 of my own books which I love and re-read constantly - The Garden Cottage Diaries is one I purchased after having had it from the library several times (if you check out the link do watch the little video on it too) and The Magic Apple Tree is one which I had mislaid or lost along the way and a blogger friend very kindly provided me with another copy.  So maybe less is more when it comes to books.

The internet is a wondrous thing and the answer to all one's questions are there at the click of the mouse and yet...  it does mean that I spend far too much time at the computer reading mail, checking out blogs that I follow which then often lead me via links to something else I find of interest and so it goes.  I remember a children's programme on TV many years ago called Sesame Street and the criticism leveled at it that it encouraged children's attention spans to be brief as they never had to sit and watch anything without a change of topic for more than a few minutes.  I don't know if that was a valid criticism or not but I do think that the internet is like flicking through a magazine and we don't actually take in much of what we see - we gain a lot of superficial information but not much by way of depth.  True or not?

Constant connection one with another is yet another thing I wonder about - time was when a letter was the preferred means of contact between friends with perhaps an occasional telephone call; both were truly appreciated but now with e-mails winging back and forth not to mention text messages (how I hate those since I am no good at saying what I want to say in so few characters nor can I get the real meaning when there is no way I can read between the lines!) and mobile phones.  Once upon a time if you were on a journey you were not contactable now it seems people are constantly available - where's the quiet and moment of calm in that?!  Of course I can see the advantages of having such instant communication in an emergency but not all the time surely?  Less use of technology is a good thing isn't it?  I have in mind making myself a challenge to have at least a couple of days a week technology free although I might still want to use the oven, the electric kettle and so on!
 
I can see that this line of thought could go on and on but maybe I will stop here and do a follow-up post another time.