My Minimal Journey...So Far!

Phew! what a Journey Minimalism is, I've got to admit that I've always classed myself as quite Minimal in my home, as I've never liked ornaments or clutter, but now i've started on my personal journey, Im actually shocked at how much 'Stuff' I actually own, which if I'm honest brings absolutely no value or meaning to my life.  I've started following The Minimalists on Insagram, for those who don't know them, they are two guys Joshua and Ryan, who have been friends for many years, both had High paid corporate jobs, but have given them up to lead a minimal, more meaningful life, they have inspired 1000's of people around the world to begin their own journey, I feel there mantra is 'LESS IS MORE'...

This is a bold statement and one which I certainly can relate to, don't get me wrong its one thing looking on instagram, facebook, pintrest and seeing all these Minimalists completing there journey and living within it, then actually making the commitment to start, but believe me once you do you will never look back, A huge thing Ive learnt, and this is a toughey for an OcD, Impatient personality trait such as me, as far as Im concerned everything has to be done 'yesterday'. Its a gradual process, as it will take time to embrace each step and simply 'see how it feels'.  To give you a clue as to how I     used to be,and why I started my Journey, well As many of you can probably relate, during my early teens to young adult I was caught up consumerism, I was taught this during my childhood, I               remember many fond memories of shopping with my Mum and Nana, literally every Saturday we       would wander around the shops, mainly Marks and Spencer, and also the Market, where every one      knew us, so it was a social thing too, yes it was lovely spending time together but obviously we           came home every week with bags and bags of goodies, did we need them? probably not!    

This graduated me to being caught up in consumerism in a huge way, so by the time I was an adult, left home fending for myself, I , like my friends and many others felt  that we should be living a certain way, seeing clothes in magazines, on tv, even on pop stars, we should be driving a certain car, our homes should look a certain way, then came computers, phones, tablets....PhEw! how exhausting just writing about it, the list goes on and on and on.........................................try keeping up! mmmm hard isn't it!                                                                                                                             

So upon reflection its a no wonder I ended up becoming part of the materialism gang, I cant believe i've lived my 48 years not realising the feelings Minimalism can bring, The calmness, no pressure to keep up with the 'Jones' (I apologise if your surname is Jones and you are a minimalist!) 😁      

No more excess, no more Shopping for things we don't really need.                                         

So where am I up to in my journey, Now I've explained why I'm here as Ive mentioned in my previous posts, I've de-cluttered, Bagged up, sent to charity shops, sold unwanted items on selling sites, and started my Minimal wardrobe,Which is still a work in progress, I've decided on my key pieces, colour, style etc and its beginning to look and feel great, but before I embark on a wardrobe post, I feel there are still some tweeking that needs to be done!

 How do I feel? ..."FREE", I've still got a 'man drawer' of things we don't need, And a bedside of things, If i'm honest  I don't even know whats in there, but its on my list, which as you all now know, I do love a list! So they are next for the de-clutter, And as we are moving in the new year I have started thinking about the furniture I want to keep and what will fit, our new house is 'our downsizing' so a few sq footage smaller, which is our compromise for living in our dream surroundings (post on that one coming soon).  I have already started feeling the benefits of minimalism, learning what is truly important in our lives, for me its spending valuable time doing what we love, walking along the beach, pottering in my garden, simply reading a book listening to music, discovering new adventures, new places we want to travel to, so many options.

LESS TIME CONSUMING

             MORE TIME LIVING  

              MORE TIME BEING 

               

Come and join me in a chat ....how are you going to start your journey, and can I be of any assistance?