Minimalisme i 1950'erne? - Minimalism in the 1950's?

Var der minimalisme i 1950'erne? Nej, det var der ikke, for det var ikke opfundet som begreb. Det var sparsommelighed til gengæld. Og genbrug. Og at være nøjsom. Selvom ingen tænkte over det. Sådan var livet bare.

Man havde måske et lille hus med have. Der var ofte køkkenhave med nogle frugttræer og buske og nogle gange med høns. Man brugte køkkenaffald som gødning og/eller føde for dyrene. Man reparerede alting selv, og hvis man ikke havde talent for det, spurgte man nogen, der kunne, som man så gjorde andre tjenester for. Man syltede bær og lavede saft, så man havde til hele vinteren.

Man strikkede og syede. Man strikkede også af garn, der havde været strikket af. Jeg husker min mormor, der trævlede en sweater op, fordi garnet var godt, og der kunne jo strikkes noget nyt af det. Så brugte man bare ikke det garn, der var på albuerne, fordi det var tyndslidt.

Tøj og legetøj gik i arv. Det var der ikke noget underligt i. Det blev repareret og shinet op, og så var det ok. For sådan havde hovedparten af alle børn det. Til jul fik mange børn en 'blød' pakke i form af et stykke tøj og en pakke med et stykke legetøj.

Så er minimalisme noget nyt? Næh, det er det ikke. Og betyder det så, at vi skal tilbage og leve som i 1950'erne? Nej, selvfølgelig ikke, men vi kan lære meget af det, og det drejer sig ikke på nogen måde om ikke at have nok eller at nøjes, men om at være tilfreds med 'nok'.

Dette er endda ikke fra 1950'erne! Det er fra begyndelsen af 1970'erne!

This photo is even from the 1950's. It is from the beginning of the 1970's!

Was minimalism know in the 1950's? No, it wasn't, because it wasn't a concept. Though frugality was. And recycling. Also being hardy. Even though nobody made an issue about it. It was normal life.

Maybe you had a small house with a garden. Often with a vegetable garden, a couple of fruit trees and busches, and sometimes with hens. You used the kitchen scraps for fertilizer or food for the animals. You repaired everything yourself, and if you didn't have the talent, you would ask someone, who could help, and then you would help others with whatever you could do. You would make jam and juice of the fruit from the garden for the coming winter.

You would knit and sew. You would also knit of yarn, which already had been used. I remember my grandmother unravel a sweater, because it was good yarn, and you could make something new of it. Then you just wouldn't use the yarn from the sweater elbows, because that was worn thin.

Clothes and toys was inherited from older siblings. Nothing strange about that. It was repaired and shined up, and then it was fine. Because this was life for most children. For Christmas many kids had a 'soft' gift, which meant that it was clothes, shoes or other necessities and then a gift with a toy.

So is minimalism something new? No, not really. But does it mean, that we should go back to living like in the 1950's. No, of course not, but we can learn from the frugality, which by no means is about having too little, but to be happy with 'enough'.