Category Archives: Minimalism

Gift, Minimalism

11142014 Canvas-Size Photos – Great Wall or Gift Idea

Wal-Mart Link (I hope it will continue to work…)

Wal-Mart, among other retailers, offers some very nice photo canvases for reasonable prices.

If you want to save a lot more money, you should scroll down or search for “faux canvases.” These are much cheaper than the canvas alternative. Like most Wal-Mart photo merchandise, you can crop and customize some aspects of the canvas.

For my own living room, I have several different sizes, creating a staggered pattern that not only fills the space better, but breaks your line of sight away from focusing on a specific picture canvas at the expense of the others.  

I’ve had many of these made for other people. You can choose from faux canvas to real canvas with wood frames. 

The above picture is probably my favorite, at least in terms of style. It’s a portrait of my wife and I, expect we posed backwards for the picture. When people see it on the living room wall, it baffles many of them.

Holiday, Minimalism

11062014 Invisilbe Christmas

“Invisible Christmas.” This is the name I offered to a possible “Spirit of Christmas” idea a few years ago to a national media campaign. They decided to go with something else. My concept was that for the things that are most treasured, the ones we hold close, aren’t ‘things’ at all; rather, they are the connections, albeit fleeting, invisible to the eye, made of warm feelings and moments. I’ve often wondered what could have been better than the label ‪#‎invisiblechristmas‬ ?

I would have like to have been chosen. My message is really disguised minimalism. 

Gift, Minimalism

07062013 Gift Hoarders and Re-Gifting

“If it is a gift, the best way to use it is to use it yourself or find a great home for it where it will be used or appreciated.” -x

I would never choose to be offended if anyone were to give a gift from me to another person. Once I give it, it is yours to appreciate or give. No questions asked. If I were to paint something for you and later you decided that you didn’t want it (or it looked like a 90 year-old cocaine user painted it) you don’t have to hide it and then throw it on the wall before I come to visit.If I give you an expensive collection of Japanese Toenail Clippings, give it to someone else who has an appreciation for that sort of thing.There’s no reason to dedicate a corner of your house to things given to you that you can’t dare give away or discard. Truthfully, as people age, the accumulated clutter of gifts over the years might reach the ceiling if people didn’t tactfully rid themselves of old gifts.

We might have less complicated lives if we could all look at each other and agree that some of our gift choices are just plain crazy. Since people’s tastes change and sometimes we just get tired of looking at the same stuff all the time, there is no shame or crime in recognizing that we no longer really want something that was given to us. If you are a weirder person than average, it is statistically likely that you are going to guess wrong more often than people you know.

All of the above is part of the reason I enjoy trying to give personalized gifts, whether they be picture cups, or blankets printed with family pictures, calendars or anything else weird or fun I might think of. Most of the time, though, I spend more time and effort decorating the box or packaging the gift is being put into for giving.

I don’t mind if you re-gift presents I’ve give you. Only you know if you were genuinely appreciative when I gave you something. It’s not my job to judge your state of mind or whether you cared that I gave you a gift. We can do our best to surprise those we love with interesting and beloved gifts. But let’s face it, most of them are going to the the equivalent of a 6-foot Elvis robot.

 

Gift, Minimalism

02122013 It’s Not the Thought That Counts

If someone took enough time and creativity to box and package your gift like this, would you feel anything other than happy? It’s not only colorful and crazy, but shows that a significant time investment was given. I would rather get an empty box like this than something obligatory. That’s just me, though.

I don’t want to get gifts that aren’t heart-felt or worthwhile. The minimalist in me doesn’t like it.  : ) I don’t need knick-knacks, clothes or books on fingernail painting. If you are my friend or family you don’t need to prove it to me. Let’s go eat and skip the normal gifts.

Notice I said “normal.” If it’s something humorous or crazy, go for it. But not a set of coffee cups or bath set, unless the bath set contains exploding bath salts or the cups are filled with caribou dung.

If it were the thought that counts, truly, instead of many of the gifts, I would get a note or a picture of something I COULD have had under different circumstances. Take a picture of a new car and tell me that if you win the lottery that the car would be mine.

Give money to your favorite charity. Better yet, give it to my favorite charity.

Better still – surprise me at a random time throughout the year. That suits me just fine. Collective holidays can sometimes surprise me and add meaning – but mostly, the obligatory nature seems to kill much of the “a-ha-ness” of the gifts.

Death, Minimalism

Death Vultures Want Your Stuff

When someone dies, why is it that some people focus immediately on what the person has when he/she dies? Instead of being concerned about the people left behind, the “death vultures” shift into a market mentality and begin to imagine what they might get out of the occasion. Or worse, begin to imagine what “should” be theirs.

My wife gets credit for getting the “death vulture” phrase stuck into my head.

There’s 2 ways to look at “death vultures.” The first obligates us to realize that the dead aren’t needing their stuff anymore and that discussion about their stuff isn’t harming the deceased in any way whatsoever. It’s just a practical concern. The second way we might look at, and judge, I might add, the death vultures is to note how impersonal and selfish the attitude is.

I’m assuming that a normal person (whoever that might be) would look at death vultures with disdain and contempt.

Once the funeral dust settles, the focus shifts to cars, houses, pictures, jewelry, money – anything that is left.

If a person has a legitimate claim on what should be his or hers after someone they know or love dies, then he or she must decide how crassly they must insist on getting it. Personally, I’d be more likely to just shake my head and walk away if arguing or refusals surfaced about my the stuff I was laying claim to. Even if it were something very personal or worth significant money. On the other hand, if a family member was simply being evil about it, I would at least consider being evil in response – and not waste my time with guilt about it, either.

The reality is that very few things are worth worrying about once the person you love has died. My main wish is to have access to pictures to scan – and give back so that everyone can enjoy. Everything else is just stuff. People need to stop fooling themselves into thinking we are here forever. Our stuff piles up, we die, it goes to people we love and once those people die it becomes junk or forgotten.

I did decide, however that the death vultures should wait until the close family members of the deceased bring the subject up and especially not to mention their wishes for stuff until after all the funeral-related activities are done.

Holiday, Minimalism

01012012 One Less Gift – a Xmas Alternative!

I ran across this again recently while catching up on missminimalist.com.
Missminimalist Post

Everything about it is awesome.

It speaks to the heart of what makes the holiday season so difficult for many people.

Can we keep it simple? Can it really be about the spirit and not the stuff? Probably not, but it is a noble inspiration and reminder.

For people who know me well, my minimalist side should be self-evident. To be contradictory, I love wrapping presents creatively. I don’t like the obligatory nature of gift exchanges, though. I’m not free to be weird and make it spontaneous and off-the-cuff.

And I enjoy the clutter aspect of it even less. I don’t need anything to remind me that you like or love me. Surprise me during the year or do something unexpected.  Get me a book that you know will tickle my fancy.  I have more or less everything I need.

But for many people, we need a way to let people know that we don’t expect or even want more stuff. It should be okay to be honest with people without your honest desire being turned into a character flaw, or worse- an accusation.

Who wouldn’t prefer time over trinkets? Shared laughter over obligation? I know that I am simplifying the issue too much so you over there with the scowl on your face can forget about pointing that out to me.
Maybe you could meet someone you cherish and go buy a gift together for someone who needs a gift or someone who needs a visit, a surprise or a word of encouragement? Wouldn’t this be a great memory to share with your friends and loved ones?
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I’m still not expressing well enough that it isn’t the idea of gifts that I’m not too fond of – what fool doesn’t like gifts? I dislike the reciprocity and etiquette of it all. It fatigues me.
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(Note: seeing someone truly in need, lonely and without one bit of anything to call his own or anyone to love him back in this life, this post almost equates to a stupid waste of time.)
Gift, Minimalism

12232012 Personalized Calendars

There are a few companies that will allow you to make very personalized calendars. You can add pictures not only to the display page for the month, but also to any day of the year. (So, your calendar can have hundreds of personal pictures.) Also, you can personalize holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and any other noteworthy days you want to commemorate.

Smaller sizes are less expensive but these calendars are so fun that I doubt you will care about a few dollars difference in cost for larger sizes. The larger sizes are worth it.

If you are interested, you can visit Walmart.com through their online photo department, Snapfish.com or other similar websites. Sometimes, especially around the holidays, you can also get a huge discount on multi-packs of the same same calendar, which makes giving gifts very easy if you’ve got more than one person in the family to buy for. I combined a special offer with a multi-pack discount this year and bought three for the price of one.

Below is a decent idea of the basic version of the calendar. You can use 1, 2, or more “cover” pictures for each month’s face page. You can add text to each month if you want. I’ve never given a calendar to someone who didn’t find it to be a great gift. Even hardened criminals in prison would get teary-eyed at such a personalized gift. When you are compiling and uploading pictures, you don’t have to spend a great deal of time organizing it if you don’t wish to. There is an auto-fill feature on every calendar site – but I’ve never used it.

The picture below is a good indicator of how much fun these calendars can be. They are not only personal, but lead people into reminiscing and thinking about good memories, people they’ve lost, and life’s moments.

Gift, Minimalism

12222014 Monkeying Around (Decoration)

This is a 16 X 20 wood frame photo canvas from Wal-Mart. With the holiday discount, it was a steal.

My wife loves monkey-related stuff and an attempt to find a great reproduction from a specific artist feel through. So – I went creative!

Obviously, since I had “The Teri Family” put on the face, it’s supposed to be humorous, too. When I went to pick it up, my canvas was on display so that people could enjoy it.

My wife loved it!

Gift, Holiday, Minimalism

An Alternate Xmas Decor 2

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Sometimes I am accused of going overboard when decorating for Xmas. It’s not the typical way most people decorate. I’m not one of those people who string up 12,333,435 lights, nor do I put up nine trees in my house.

I like to decorate manually, mostly making all the decorations and putting it together myself. It’s very non-traditional and startling the first few times you see it. It has a better effect in person.

Much of what I assemble requires an inordinate number of boxes, hollow cardboard tubes, clear tape, several HUNDRED personal pictures, xmas lights, ribbon, etc. The trick is to use anything and everything in the house.

I stopped counting after using 600 pictures in 2011.

This type of decorating is ideal for having children help. The more creative and involved they are, the more interesting the display turns out to be. At least, for me that’s true.

I usually make several columns of boxes reaching floor to ceiling. I then paper them with different wrapping paper, affix about a hundred pictures to each, wrap them with lights, ornaments and ribbons. A couple of years I made them all intertwined. There’s no reason you can choreograph them to synch too, if you wanted.

Some of it is funny, such as the picture of Zach Galifianakis as Jesus, the zombies, and pictures of the grinch and Colin Firth.

I then also wrap dozens of “fake” gifts and sit them around the room. These “fake” boxes also make great places to hide real gifts, undetected. I also wrap stuff that we store, such as scrabble boxes, puzzles, etc. These then feel like real gifts, further confusing anyone looking for presents mixed in with the madness.

 

I don’t have video of the year from which most of these pictures were from. It’s shame, because the house would light up like a runway when all the lights were turned on.

 

In the above picture, you can see that there are boxes attached to the ceiling, too. There is some safe and strong tape and adhesive to attach this sort of thing so that it won’t cause a lot of damage. I love putting boxes on the ceiling, walls, floor, anywhere you can add color.

Another trick is to take down your pictures in frames, wrap them, and put them back on the wall. It adds another level of color and decoration to your room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the hundreds of pictures I used in these decorations. The above picture also have the Jesus-Zach Galifianakis picture that tickles me. When people come over, they usually spend a lot of time looking at every display, seeking out the pictures and identifying people, places, and times featured in them.