Whimsy & Tea | Handwoven Tea Towels

weaving beauty into your everyday

  • HOME
  • ABOUT MARILYN
    • Meet Marilyn
    • In the media
    • Environmental stewardship
  • HANDWOVEN GOODS
    • Kitchen towels
    • Table napkins
    • About colorgrown cotton
    • Laundering
    • A word about color
    • My guarantee
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
    • Making cloth
    • Thoughts on beauty
    • Life’s lessons at the loom
    • More than a dog walk
    • Customer stories
    • Recent posts
  • CONTACT
  • ONLINE STORE

Less is more

May 1, 2011 By Marilyn Webster Leave a Comment

Last month I wrote about an experiment that was inspired by removing clothes from my closet and what I learned about self-care from that experiment. This month I want to share something else I learned about beauty from thinning out my closet.

After clearing out the clothes and shoes I no longer wear, I opened the closet door and looked at my shoes. I felt a sense of calm. Of gratitude. Of contentment.

At first I was puzzled by this because it felt so counterintuitive. I’ve been taught that more is better; that abundance means more. Looking at my shoes though, I was aware that I have enough. Sure, there may be “gaps” in my choices – e.g. no black shoes – but I don’t feel the need to buy more. And it isn’t some kind of deprivation.

I noticed that delight again when I sorted through the utensil container by the stove and took out the wooden spoons and spatulas that I don’t use. What was going on? Why am I feeling a greater sense of abundance with less?

There was nothing wrong with the spoons I removed; they just weren’t the spoons I reach for when cooking. In their absence, the well-used spoons shine.

If you saw the wooden spoons I’ve kept, you probably wouldn’t exclaim, “Oh, Marilyn, what gorgeous spoons! Wherever did you get them?” However, they are beautiful to me because I have stirred so many meals with them and the wood has developed a patina from use.

This is what I’ve decided: The abundance I feel when I look at the shoes in my closet or the utensils by the stove it not about the quantity of things, but about the quality of their energy. The objects that I find beautiful and enjoy using, no matter how ordinary their purpose, have a positive, uplifting energy.

When I’m not distracted by the things that I don’t use, I get to enjoy the beneficial energy of what I do have. I can appreciate their beauty and be nourished by that beauty.

This is the more that I’m experiencing with less.

How do you make room for the positive energy of the things you love? I’d love to hear about it.

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Read more stories about Uncategorized

Join the conversation Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get my ebook — The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

The power of beauty in everyday life: Five stories

Please accept this gift that celebrates and explores the power of beauty in everyday life.

Get your free copy

Save

More writing: Shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary

circle of beech leaves and flowers on a mossy rock

Although the store is closed, the philosophical heartbeat of Whimsy & Tea – shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary – is now expressed more fully and a little bit differently in stories and notes at WalksWithAsha.com.

Read and listen

Save

Popular blog posts

  • In praise of slow weaving
  • But it’s too beautiful to use!
  • The sound before the sound
  • Enough
  • Weaving the Gulf Shores towels
  • Replenishing a tired spirit
  • Honoring the ordinary

Copyright © 2025 Marilyn Webster | Whimsy & Tea | Contact | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

  • HOME
  • ABOUT MARILYN
    ▼
    • Meet Marilyn
    • In the media
    • Environmental stewardship
  • HANDWOVEN GOODS
    ▼
    • Kitchen towels
    • Table napkins
    • About colorgrown cotton
    • Laundering
    • A word about color
    • My guarantee
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
    ▼
    • Making cloth
    • Thoughts on beauty
    • Life’s lessons at the loom
    • More than a dog walk
    • Customer stories
    • Recent posts
  • CONTACT
  • ONLINE STORE