6 years ago, I decided to stop buying things for a year. I supposed it was easy to stop consuming stuff. After all, I didn’t want to be part of that machine any more – I wanted to break free, to get rid of the knee-jerk twitch that made it so easy to mindlessly keep… Read More What does buying give me?
A few years ago, I bought nothing for a year. It seemed so simple on paper. Inspired by the OG Minimalism blogs – Zen Habits, The Minimalists, Becoming Minimalist, Slow Your Home – I loved the idea of a streamlined life, free from clutter and distraction. And so, in the January of 2012, I just… Read More The other side of buying nothing
The last year or so has been a journey, to put it mildly. Now I’m feeling quite a lot better, and I’m ready to step into this next phase of life. I’m quite looking forward to it. I think I’ve learnt a lot. A road I never expected but really, I feel like a better… Read More Claws, clutter, and change
Wrapping my hands around my mug of hot tea, I looked through the steam to the window beyond. Time stands still in the shed; a place to contemplate, observe. A chair, and a blanket, and a tiny spider spinning webs in the corner. It’s cold today. I make dragon-breath with my exhalations, pulling my hood… Read More Simple things
It’s just about cold enough for porridge today. Even though I’ve pulled on a t-shirt this morning, autumn is pricking at my bare arms and the wind brings that unmistakable scent, the one where summer starts to sigh and draw languidly to a close. The pan lid tickers away, bubbles escaping from inside and the… Read More Spending to feel better
A large, ‘new-from-freecycle’ desk stretches in front of me. Incessant cheeping from a baby goldfinch just outside the window makes me smile. That little dude sure is hungry. I peek out, watching the parent bird resolutely ignoring the shrill demands, trying instead to eat their fill of niger seed before bestowing any more attention on… Read More Chapters
I have to remember that it’s OK to rest. Crazy weeks, emotional battlegrounds – giving, giving, and feeling myself drain. I know it was too much, yet still I continued. And this space, a space that I’d filled with plans, took its chance and made me stop. Essays sit unfinished, deadlines drawing closer. Books pile… Read More It’s OK to rest
The wind rips through Birch branches outside, bringing twigs clattering onto the conservatory roof. Inside a fluffy fleece, I snuggle deeper into the chair, still in that hot-chocolate-glow that lingers after a long, piping hot bath. The old Bush stereo crackles Schubert in the background, as an unseen draught sends yellow flames flickering from beeswax.… Read More October
What do I have here? This girl, armed with a pen and a notebook, defiance and vulnerability, an idea and a song. What do I have, when all else is stripped away – shaving down piles of consumerism, trinkets and toys. A layer, as I sit, surrounds me in an orbit of products, collections, the… Read More What do I have?
It’s spring! Finally! And along with the better weather and hints of warmth appearing in the longer days, I seem to have woken from the sluggishness of winter along with the season. Feeling more ‘spring-like’ means I’ve been looking at life with new eyes…and along with that, comes the inevitable feeling to declutter again. Since… Read More Clearing out – Spring Decluttering