"Minimalism is not a lack of something. It’s simply the perfect amount of something." - Nicholas Burroughs

 

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What is it about life?  It’s a ride.  A big, long, scary, unpredictable ride.  It challenges me every day.  Every hour.  I’m not any closer to figuring life out.  Just as I get cosy and think I’ve caught a break, a new test is just around the corner. 

Over the past 12 months I’ve been working on this thing, this thing I really believe in.  It’s called minimalism.  The notion that having more doesn’t mean you have more.  Or even have enough.  That having more in fact burdens us further.  Burdens the soul, burdens the financial position we’re in, burdens the hangers in our wardrobes holding up all the stuff, burdens the shelves in our homes, burdens the dividers in the tax folder and burdens our planet.  So why is it that we all have the same number of hours in our day and the same number of days in our year, yet some of us accomplish a lot more than others?

I think it’s all to do with simplifying and with planning.  Allocating time to the things we truly believe in and the things that make us happy and then fitting in the rest.  If I have pilates on a Wednesday night, hell how about I don’t commit to something else.   I’m doing my best to say no to the things that are not important to me.

I’m also decluttering my home.  I do this constantly.  Sometimes with no great success.  It’s been a LONG and really hard process.  I harbour old magazines, clothes that I don’t wear but that hold some sort of sentimental value.  Kitchen gadgets that are broken were also festering in the back of the pantry.  I made a conscious decision not to buy a big home as I wanted to live simply, so why am I holding onto all this stuff?  I’ve documented the eBay sales well on here.  I’ve also let go of a heap of magazines (with 10 more heaps to go).  I figure if I write it all down and tell the world, I will hold myself accountable?   

Next up is the make up draw.  Teaming with samples and near new products that I add to, but never seem to subtract from.  The mid year sales are creeping up on us (how is it June already?????) and the sale emails are coming in thick and fast.  Do I need anything?  Of course not.  Why not put what I would spend on a new top that I don’t really need towards a helicopter ride on my trip next month.  I’m sure I’ll remember the experiences on a holiday long after I forget a top I didn’t buy.  There are some wonderful exhibits coming to town, lots of theatre and ballets and operas I want to see.  Experiences that will enrich my mind but not fill up my home.   That’s what it all should be about.