Antiques: Grandma had it.
Mom threw it out.
I bought it back.
I used a black and white photograph for the basis of this illustration, and it’s said to be from an old photo shoot for Harper’s Bazaar… by photographer John Engstead.
I wasn’t able to fact check this and verify it – so don’t quote me. You know how the internet is.
Anyway, I love the umbrella! It reminded me of the lines you might find in a stained glass window, plus I love the ‘old’ feel to it, so I decided it would be perfect for an update on my Less is More series (adventure).
The image is not exactly a representation of a minimalist lifestyle, but since it appears to be vintage, it fell in line with something that I was going to mention in my last post but totally forgot: Zero Waste… another component of my Less is More goal.
I think that Vintage goes hand in hand with the idea of zero waste, because vintage items are things that somehow escaped the landfill and were able to stick around long enough to be loved more than once.
That’s pretty cool! And it’s right up my alley because I’m a second hand / thrift store aficionado.
In my first round of thoughts, the terms minimalist and zero waste seemed to go hand in hand. Maybe because both of them tend to be “environmentally friendly.”
But as I thought more about zero waste, I immediately thought of all of the fun that was involved in upcycling and/or repurposing items, and my mind immediately went to the ‘extra’ things I’d need to buy in order to complete these types of projects. More shopping! More stuff!
On top of that, if I love the end results of my upcycling and/or repurposing and choose to reuse the object myself… I haven’t really eliminated anything at all, I’ve simply altered it.
That won’t help me at all with the elimination of things. “Oh what a tangled web we weave,” hahaha. As you can see, I’m going to need to be strategic.
Anyway, I’ve got a bit of a test ahead of me now. In pulling out bins of Christmas decorations, I stumbled upon one that contained some of my old belongings… from my apartment days.
I’ll be sorting through it soon, to see if the first of my “eliminations” can begin. I’ll shoot for at least HALF of the bin. It’s better than nothing and it’s a start!
I’ll let you know how it went once I’m through. Until then… thank you for reading / viewing. I hope you enjoyed!
“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.” -Joshua Becker
a sprinkle of faith 
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