By Kevin Meyer
Over the last decade or so, perhaps as lean took root and oozed from my professional to my personal life, I've changed from wanting a larger house to wanting smaller and smaller houses. A necessary corollary is the requirement for less stuff – which I wrote about a couple years ago while wondering if less storage space in a home was actually better.
This morning there was a great article in the lifestyle section of The Wall Street Journal on an architect after my own heart.
By Manhattan standards, the Upper East Side apartment inhabited by
architect/designer Deborah Berke and her family suffers no shortage of
space: The three-bedroom duplex measures about 2,700 square feet.There
is, however, a shortage of stuff: The tabletops sit mostly empty, walls
and shelves are mostly unencumbered by magazines and knickknacks. "I
think it is a misperception that the neat or minimal is an impediment to
comfort and warmth," said Ms. Berke, age 56, who has designed homes for
artist William Wegman and gallery owner Marianne Boesky as well as
commercial projects like the James Hotel in Chicago. "The lack of visual
clutter allows you to relax."
Exactly what I've found – even from one of my very first blog posts over five years ago (egads!) on the dangers of horizontal surfaces.
Ms. Berke's philosophy rubs off on people.
Several years ago, Suzanne Shaker enlisted Ms. Berke to design a
1,300-square-foot contemporary on Shelter Island, north of New York's
Hamptons, with a wall of sliding glass doors. Ms. Shaker says she took
Ms. Berke's advice and created a full basement to help keep the place
uncluttered. "When we moved in I really edited and said I just want what
we love and need and I don't want to just fill the space," she says.
Hold onto just what you love (and what you truly love, not what you "might unexpectedly love at some unknown time in the future") and need, and nothing more. Think about that as you go about your chores this weekend.
Minimize to achieve the elegance and peacefulness of simplicity.
Jim Fernandez says
Easier said than done. I come from a long line of hoarders. It’s in my genes. My grandparents on both sides came to this country from poor meager societies. When they got here, “oh boy!!! Look at all the stuff I can acquire!” My parents were teenagers during the “great depression” and they learned to hang on to everything, every scrap of paper. A rolled up newspaper might provide 30 minutes of warmth from the fire place. So far in my life I have slimmed down and gotten rid of unused junk three times. And I’m ready to do it again.
Last week my friend gave me a really cool hot rod magazine. I read it. It was so good I might want to read it again. So I’d better save it on my book shelf. Yesterday I found a really neat bronze bust of Dr. Deming at the thrift store. I’m putting that on my book shelf! Now I need another book shelf. I need four screws to hang up the new book shelf and they only come in packages of six. Oh boy.! Now I have two extra screws I can save just in case I need them later.
Shall I continue……
Roy Waterhouse says
Thanks for the post. I love the look and the way it frees the mind to focus on what’s important. People often think my desk/office looks unoccupied but it is how I stay clear headed and focused.
Dan Markovitz says
“The lack of visual clutter allows you to relax.” And that’s so very important for knowledge workers, because without relaxation, there’s no focus and no efficiency.
Dale Savage says
As an interesting sideline…maybe something can be learned from the Amish, Mennonites, and Brethren in this area. If you enter the houses of most of these “plain people”, you will find very little unnecessary items on the walls, tables, and shelves. We try to not clutter up our lives with stuff, but focus on items that are of a utilitarian nature. For instance, instead of simply having pictures hung up, we use beautiful picture calendars. This approach allows us to focus on what we love…God, family, friends, etc.
Lost in the Northeast says
But everyone is different. Some people can relax and focus better in a cluttered environment, some in an empty environment. Some of these tendencies can be cultural–think of the differences between the traditional Japanese zen garden and the back gardens or parlors of Victorian-era Britain. Really, it is a case of different strokes for different folks and if the environment is personal, let them do it their way.
Dale Savage says
The idea of different strokes for different folks in a personal environment may be correct, but this idea gets transfered to the work environment way too often and is an excuse why lean principles such Standardized Work and 5S cannot be implemented. Often the line between what is personal and what is not is blurred. How I do my job is often seen as personal to most people – it is how “I” do the job, it does not effect how the other guy does HIS job. There are cultural differences which need to be taken into account but that is where there needs to be a COMPANY culture developed and maintained as the standard way of doing the job.
Dave Kippen says
I have heard, more than once, that “you must not have anything to do…” because my desk and surroundings are free of clutter and unneeded paperwork/supplies etc. I find it very stress free to only have what I need and can actually work on in front of me!