Downsizing: Less is More. Really? - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Monday, September 19, 2022

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli, Contributor

“Minor plus est,” my Latin scholar friend said. Less is more. I have heard it often as I bemoan the fact that downsizing has been so difficult. “You’ll see. The home may be  smaller, but less is more.” For a moment, I had trouble with the concept since the move was like trying to get toothpaste back into the tube. Less was becoming a force.

I had a fleeting sense of what they meant, but I needed to give it more thought. In the frenzy of translocation, I had little time to think of it. Now that I do (as I empty pods), what of it? Why is less more?

The phrase very likely arose in a poem by Robert Browning, “Andrea del Sarto,” in the year 1855. Another early phraseologist was a 19th-century architect who employed it when referring to the desirability of less visual clutter in buildings. He made sense. His point was not to overdo, but rather to work with the reduced space. We’re getting there. Having fewer items will lead to simplicity, hopefully.

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I read that simplicity means happiness. Well, OK. I am not sure about that. We were quite happy with lots of stuff in a complex space that we managed to keep simple, or so we thought until now, until this smaller space.

What about minimalism? The minimalist strives to use things that serve a purpose. Well, I don’t want to do that. I like superfluous things hanging around here and there; like old schoolbooks, extra hammers, more coffee mugs than I need, old CDs and DVDs, fountain pens, notepaper, two comfortable chairs, lots of socks, golf shirts, the security of extra golf clubs,  Christmas ornaments, etc. And Diane appreciates china and linens, more than we need. Redundant is OK.

I may have it figured out. Less is more means having just what you need, and nothing more (with exceptions, vide supra). We had more than we needed and only when we had to downsize did we realize how much.  It is about having less work to do in a smaller home. It is about having more time for relaxing, pursuing different interests, extended travel, and less refurbishing, overhauling, and renovating. Less allows you to focus on more of what matters. But the nostalgia never leaves.

The nostalgia of moving from a place you love never goes away, and that’s fine, sometimes even welcome. It is a reminder of a past that was good, of the time when more was more. The good thing about nostalgia is it’s portable, and there is always plenty of room for it wherever you are. Nostalgia is a luxury that enjoys all the space it wishes.

So, we’ll tuck the beds, put up our paintings, load the bookshelves, thumb through the photo albums, plot out the new garden beds, relax in the new solarium, and unwind.

I agree. Less will be less complicated than more. It is a stop on a journey.  I am genuinely pleased.

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