Living on less need never be about living less. Imagine a home filled only with things you love. Imagine a home in which you need never feel bothered about money. Those are my goals. I am finding that the more I streamline my living style and the more carefully I consider each purchase, the more beautifully my home comes together and the better it feels. In seeking this, it has been important to me to learn from others who have decided to step outside of our consumer ways.
Living on less is no new trend. One of the most affirming books I have read around this passion of mine is 'Orchids on Your Budget, or Live Smartly on What You Have' by Marjorie Hillis. It is the most profoundly joyful, affirming and irreverent book about women choosing to budget (as compared to those women who feel they
have to budget) and was written in 1937. 1937!!! If it still reads well after SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS, it is clearly important. And the writing style! I swoon. If you are somehow disinterested in Marjorie's ideas on budgeting, read it instead for her delicious comments on husbands.
Let's not budget because we must. Let's do it because we want to, because we are proud to do so. And let's do it with a grin as broad as Marjorie's.
