“It is impossible to make a house thoroughly hygienic

and up-to-date if its cupboards and drawers are allowed

to store articles which have long ago served their purpose.”

- The Home of To-Day (1934)

Maybe Grandma was a minimalist, after all.

I’m not talking about the I only own 100 items type of minimalism.  That’s not practical for most of us (except urban bachelors).  I’m talking about taking control of your belongings, and choosing to keep only what you need and love.

You might have tried some of the tricks to reduce your stuff – throwing something out when you buy something new, for example.  Or perhaps you’re drowning in organizational products … sock organizers, magazine folders, stacking jewelry cases, and specialty flip flop holders.  But the major issue is that you have to change your mindset.  Rather than passively accumulating, you have to really take ownership of your stuff.

Just ask yourself: Do you need it?  Or do you really love it? (I mean, do you really, really love it?) If so, it comes into your life.  If not, let it go to someone else.

Making sure your home is filled with things that you need or love, means you’ll have less stuff.  Less stuff means fewer organizational products.  Less stuff is easier to store and move.  And best yet, less stuff is easier to clean around.  Less time organizing, sorting and cleaning gives you more time for things you love to do – like bake cookies!

The Home of To-Day emphasizes decluttering.  Apparently Grandma had as much of a problem hoarding stuff as we do.  In fact, it says “Nothing takes up so much time or is more fatiguing than sorting out ones’s possessions.”  I completely agree.  The decluttering process is not fun.  But the results… ohhhhh so satisfying.

Translation: “Thank you darling for giving me a vacuum cleaner … and a blender”

From Arts et Menager magazine, France, 1952         (click for bigger image)

And to make it even more interesting, check out the vacuum attachments … one is a ‘seche cheveux’ = hairdryer?  That seems to be stretching it a bit, non?

During my Big Beauty Cleanout, I found 115 products, most of whom have unpronounceable ingredients on the labels, destined for the bin in the basement.

But I also found these few products, which I’m hoping will be green enough to remain in my routine this year.

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the information and mis-information on the internet about cosmetic chemicals.  I’ve been looking up some products in the Skin Deep database, but even then, I’m perplexed by many of the answers.

I’m going to focus on creating handmade beauty products that work well and smell delicious, and will worry about the chemicals later.  But I do hope I can let some of my existing products see the light of day again this year!

Earlier this year I experimented by planting an onion.

If you’re interested, here is the progress so far… it’s huge!  It’s the tall plant on the right (you can also see my out-of-control mint plant on the left.  Mojitos anyone?)

It’s up to my waist in height and has two huge, white flower-like things on the end.   I’m just going to let it keep going and see what happens.

Did you have any garden experiments this year?? Let us know in the comments.

I’m back from a long stretch of travelling that included Budapest, Singapore and Australia.  Trying to conquer jet lag again, and seem to have forgotten the day of the week, so apologies that this post is one day late.  I’ll just give you a few updates on happenings around Vintage Savoir Faire, and will resume projects next week!

In Budapest the other week, I found this shop window filled with old corsets of all shapes and sizes.  Really gorgeous display.  I love the yellowed, aged fabric set against the white background. They look so ephemeral and delicate, which contrasts with the strong (and uncomfortable) boning.  Makes me happy I don’t have to wear one on a daily basis.

I’m thrilled to see that the 2010 Summer Grow A Long has 40 participants!  If you’re still interested in making some fun, crafty projects this summer, sign up on the right side of the blog.   I’m working on creating a forum where we can interact and discuss our projects this summer.  Stay tuned!  If you’re a member of the Grow A Long already, leave a comment and let us know how it’s going for you!

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From Nationaal Archief on Flickr

I hate housework. I can spend hours in the kitchen cooking, baking, experimenting and losing track of time.  But when it comes time to clean up, I notice every single second of it.

“Properly done, housework can become an important health factor.” says The Home of To-Day from 1934, one of my vintage household reference books.  ”The natural rythmic use of the body will – if practised – turn housework from jerky, wearing activity into health-giving exercise.”

Um, this may be true, but I can’t help but believe it’s just clever marketing to try to keep the housewife content!

I like trying vintage techniques for cleaning since they often use fewer chemicals, and reuse basic products for many things (so you have to buy less stuff.)  But I’m still a sucker for modern technology.   Handwashing dishes is fine, but would I use a dishwasher if I had one? Oh yes.

One vintage cleaning product I LOVE, is baking soda, and I’ve found another use for it – cleaning my glassware!

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