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Decluttering When Everything Feels Special
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash If there’s one thing us humans are good at, it’s attaching meaning to objects. As a species we seek meaning in everything we do, but also everything we own. We place meaning on everything from old toys to pieces of furniture, to old cinema tickets and birthday cards. People with hoarding disorder can also become attached to things other people would consider rubbish such as food wrappers. The problem with putting all this meaning on objects is that in the end, so much is deemed special, that nothing really is. Nothing can stand out. When you first start decluttering, it can be extremely off-putting…
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Why I’m Practising Minimalist Travel
Photo from Pexels on Pixabay Even though I consider myself to be an advanced home minimalist, my achilles heel has always been travel. Once I start packing, my old Hoarding Gremlin perches on my shoulder whispering an endless list of what I’ll ‘need’ for just in case scenarios. The Hoarding Gremlin follows me wherever I go, constantly tapping my shoulder and whispering ‘Are you sure you’ve got everything?” Where’s that charger gone? “What a mess!” “Why were you not more prepared?” “What if you feel cold?” “You might get hungry”. No matter where I’m going or how long for; a day, a weekend, or a week, the Hoarding Gremlin ensures…
- Healing from the past, Hoarding, mindset, minimalism, Self awareness, Self growth, self help, Simplicity, Writing
My Hoarder Past- How Minimalism Changed My Life
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash I’ve been a minimalist now for 5 years – perhaps even longer. Looking around my house now and reflecting on life’s current trajectory, it’s hard to believe I was once a hoarder who sat in my gaming chair with no desire or direction. Tell a lie, I did have desire – to buy even more amazing and cool stuff to fill the shelves in the gaming room. My bank account was almost always in minuses, but no matter what I bought there was always more on my wishlist. I was never satisfied, yet I was always certain that one more figurine, one more bag, or one more…
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Passing on Your Light
Photo by Aamir Suhail on Unsplash I used to hold onto everything. Toys from my childhood, things that brought back painful memories, things I thought gave me an identity, and even people who took away my dignity and self-respect. Then there were the people who had passed. So devastated I was that I held tightly onto the things I received from them and boxed them up as if the memories might escape. Last year, when my elderly friend passed who I’d known since I was small, I thought about how another light had passed from this word. Even in her ripe old age, she was popular and always had people visiting. She always…
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From Sofa Dweller to Travel Lover – How Minimalism Gave Me the Travel Bug
Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash Before I became a minimalist, I wanted nothing more than to be grounded in one place, surrounded by all the things that made me feel safe; my game consoles, my figurines, and my shelves of books and games (not to mention the clutter from other eras of my life I had stuffed into every available cranny). I was certainly not a traveller. Just the thought of moving house or going to another town, city or country for longer than a fortnight made me feel scared and defensive. No way could I leave behind all my stuff for that long! I’d get bored and twitchy.…
Minimalist Thinking, Maximum Living
