justsimplify's Profile

Glasseye's comment really got to my heart. I still want to say what I planned to: our society has been putting way to much emphasis on "aquiring" since after the last world war when materials became available again and jobs were needed and on the rise. Out of necessity my children grew up shopping for needs at thrift stores or clearance sales but 'I admit that when we had some extra income I'd splurge on items that I "just had to have" at dollar stores, sometime heading home with $50 worth of stuff and only $20 of it really necessary! So at those times I was blowing $60 a month just there on crap that I ended up throwing or donating after 18 years of living in that place. Another move, after getting rid of a ton (probably NOT an exaggeration) of stuff before, 3 years later moved to less space, donated 11 bags and 6 big boxes of stuff and 3 years later, I am still editing! Depending on our heredity this "have to have it" mentality can be really dangerous. In my case there is some OCD and I realize that it was "therapy" for me (stress reliever) but at what cost? For years I have felt bad about it and I'm getting over it; I'm in control now! But what are we teaching the next generations? I am not against having anything "nice" but I think we have created an environment where folks think there is an endless bounty and that it will always be there, and history has proven that there is an economic downturn every 30 years or so and a really bad one very 70-100 years.

I'm not an expert on architecture but there is a reason why the period was called " the Arts and Crafts Movement". Many people of that period wanted to get away from the opulence of the Victorian Era and the early Art Nouveau Era. The design concepts of the Mission or Arts and Crafts Era crossed over into the Art Deco Era which also had a more streamlined look and in theory used fewer materials (debatable). However, the Mission/Arts and Crafts Movement had a philosophy driving it: Only have what you use, functionality, then form; simplistic form, made from natural, quality materials, honoring nature, and displaying its beauty. As early as the 1860s people all over the world saw what is too apparent now: A belief that the more one has, the better person he is, or appears to be; an excess of "stuff" that is mostly useless, while some folks have little or nothing. And as a result, we fill dumps with discarded items with very little regard for the future. When I was growing up in the 50/60s and my father was in the USAF my mother only kept what could be packed or unpacked in day! I think that's a good idea; I'm working on that. There cannot be a "new" Mission style although it may be tweaked to have modern elements. Some folks just love the simplicity and grounded-ness of Mission and face it, some of these modern materials are junk If someone loves craftsman they'll just have to re-hab or find an architect who will work with them...Sorry if I ranted, I just see "The Movement" as more of an ideal.