On Thoreau's economy and my basement

In the economy section of Thoreau's Walden, he observes that "at the present our houses are cluttered and defiled with [furniture], and a good housewife would sweep out the greater part into the dust hole and not leave her morning work undone." As he continues, he reveals that he once threw an admired pair of limestone paperweights out his window when he realized that they had to be dusted regularly. Certainly influenced by the English Romantics, Thoreau understood that "getting and spending, we lay waste our powers." 

     This weekend, in a simplifying crusade in anticipation of our upcoming move, Eric and I relieved ourselves of a trailer full of DI-worthy goods, plus a bulging trash receptacle full of unworthy ones. I keep going downstairs and marveling at the open space, the simplicity of our basement now. It's truly empowering.

     The human need for accumulation must be a learned one, because children seem content with the simplest pleasures. Despite his healthy collection of toys, Jacob found pleasure in these projects this week: designing and creating some pine cone flapper people, 

building a fort out of cardboard boxes, 

and drawing a U.S. map, complete with detailed labels and insets.

So this week Thoreau, a basement project, and a five-year-old have taught me about enjoying life's simplest wonders. And as I took the two younger boys on a long run in the beautiful foothills, these lessons seemed to solidify: satisfaction comes most readily from a glorious mountain view, a time to ponder, and the natural curiosity of the world's littlest people.