Category Archives: Minimalism

Making Way

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As many of you would be aware, I have been streamlining my wardrobe for nearly 12 months.  My goal is to have a modest selection of good quality clothes that I love and are flattering to wear.

The Duke generally keeps his selection of shirts under control but after our  shopping spree in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago it became obvious that he had too many pairs of trousers that he rarely wore.  So, this evening we went through them and culled 3 pairs of trousers as well as the suit he had replaced.  I have also put 3 skirts into the op shop bag.  I am planning on refashioning 2 other skirts but the these do not fit with the clothes I need and love.  All of the items we are letting go of are good quality and in excellent condition so I hope someone can use them.

2013-02-18 01In the back of my mind I keep thinking of the money that we have spent on these (and clothes) over the years but I know that I cannot use that as a reason to hang onto them for ever.  That is no way to recoup the money spent. However, it is a timely reminder to be very thoughtful about what you spend you money on, whether it be clothes or something else entirely.

It is far better to someone else the opportunity to gain some use from the items that are no longer wanted or required.

Finally, a warm welcome to all of the new readers and followers.  I hope you find something of interest in my blog and thank you for joining in.

Dinner Module

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I have previously mentioned the concept of having modules to contain items fore a particular purpose.  It helps to set limits so that you cannot begin to store more of a group of items than what will fit in the container.

Modules are also a useful concept to keep all of the things that will be used for a project in one place.  It is this theory that I applied this morning in my kitchen.

Before I left for work I began the preparation for dinner.  We will be having stuffed capsicums (red peppers) so the peppers are de-seeded and washed.  I also thawed some rice which I will use when I make one for The Duke and there is grated sweet potato for the stuffing of mine.  I have not finalised exactly what else I will use but there will definitely be mushrooms in the mix.

So, I grabbed a large plastic container (and lid), put all of the partly prepared ingredients in the tub and popped it in the fridge.  Now it is all ready to go when I get home so I can quickly finish the preparation.

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The Power of One

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This morning I opened  a drawer in the sideboard – it was empty.

Empty drawer
Surprised?  I was about to put away the things that I store in it – the vinyl cloth for the outdoor table and the net food cover.  The drawer was empty because I had been using these items and I only have one of each of them.

Tablecloth & food cover
This started me thinking about other things of which I only have one.  Do I need more than one of them?  Are there things that  could be reduced to a single item?

Here are some things that I own a single item whereas I know many people have multiples.

Dress
Washing basket
Pillow per spare bed
Television
Sheet set for for single bed and trundle bed
Camera
Mascara

I have also managed to just have 1 bottle each of conditioner and shampoo.  We both use the same and have no need for an array of fancy specialist products.

I am working towards having 1 bottle of body lotion and 1 lipstick (have 2 at the moment) but that will take time as I prefer to use things up rather than just toss them for the sake of it.

We are not so good with other things, such as:

2 laptops as well as a desktop computer
2 sets of good tablemats
2 mops
3 hammers (all the same size)
I could go on but this just gives you an idea of some of how easily we can acquire (and keep) multiples of various items.

What is limited/streamlined at your place and what seems to multiply?

Experience Gift – Part 2

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On Friday I took Izz to see Hairy McLary & Friends at QPAC as part of her Christmas present.

We caught the train to South Brisbane.

2013-01-20 01There was plenty of time for lunch before the show.

2013-01-20 02This is what we have come to see.

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A great show, and finally, an ice-block before the trip home.

2013-01-20 04I then brought Izz home with me and she had a sleepover and lots of fun before being picked up on Saturday afternoon.

Why Simplify?

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Everywhere I have turned in the past week there seem to be messages about simplifying your life.  Some of it has been on other blogs as well as robust discussions both online and in real life.  I am not sure whether it is the start of the new year, the planets aligning or just coincidence.

Flowers

As part of the process of acknowledging that simplicity is at least part of my core values I have changed the byline of this blog to “A simple, sustainable life”.

simplicity

This post from Sho-Me Simplicity is well worth reading.  It is quite long but take your time and try to really understand the points she makes.  It is not just possessions that clutter our lives.  It can be too many commitments as discussed here at Living Simplyfree or people whose very presence drains your energy and vitality.

Gone Fishing

Perhaps the final word should come from my mother, who would say “stop the world, I want to get off” when everything got too much.  I do not know the origin of this comment but I think it sums up how many people are feeling at the moment.

Doubled-Up No More

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We have been given a large number of titles for our Kindles so on the weekend I decided to check if some were double-ups of hard copies that we already owned.  Sure enough, there were over 80 books that we already had on our bookshelves.

2013-01-15 01Here are some of the books which we will be letting go.  It will mean less to store, dust etc.  We will even have some empty shelf space.

2013-01-15 02I have listed some of the books to give away on a couple of sites including Freecycle but have not had any luck.

If any of my Australian readers have suggestions as to where I can give them away where they will be appreciated that would be great.  In fact, if you are interested in any and live in south-east Queensland or are prepared to pay postage please let me know and I can send you a list of the available titles.

An ‘Experience’ Gift

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I have started introducing my granddaughters to gifts of experiences rather than more and more stuff.

I bought tickets to shows for them both for Christmas and today was Miss O’s turn.  We went to Sydney for the day to see the stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

First, there was a plane to catch.

2013-01-08 01We also managed a ferry ride on the harbour.

2013-01-08 02All that sightseeing works up an appetite.

2013-01-08 03Finally, it was time for the show.

2013-01-08 04It was a big day!!

2013-01-08 05A unique and unforgettable experience.  Apart from the actual show we really enjoyed the quality one-on-one time.

Experience gifts can be as simple or extravagant as you choose.

A Rare Review

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I don’t often do book reviews nor do I recommend buying things but I wanted to share this book with you.

‘The Minimalist Woman’s Guide to Having It All’ is a relatively small and easy to read ebook that I found for 99c at Amazon.  Do not let the title which seems like an oxymoron put you off.  What Meg Wolfe has to say is straightforward and makes so much sense to me.  It is a timely reminder to remember who we are and why we are here.

I subsequently also found her blog which is well worth checking out, too.

Until tomorrow.  xxx

Project 333 – A New Dress For Christmas

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Do you remember the excitement of getting a new dress for Christmas or your birthday?  It was really exciting because it was a rare occurrence.  Now it is relatively cheap and easy to buy a new outfit whenever you please and I feel that this detracts from the excitement.  Is it the fact that we are trying to recreate that excitement that sends people back to the shops to buy more and more clothes and shoes?

Black dress with white spotsActually, I did not get a new dress for Christmas, in fact I did not receive any gifts of clothing nor did I buy any clothes during the Christmas season.  This is the only dress I currently own.  It is about 3 years old and I wear it at least once a week for about 8 months of the year.

2012-12-03 01I did not feel any need to rush out and buy something new for a special occasion.  I have enough clothes at the moment to cover my needs which are the same as they were a few months ago.  I did make this skirt before Christmas and wore it to a Christmas lunch with my work colleagues as well as on Christmas Day with my family.

One of my sewing projects is to make a new lining for a skirt so that I can wear the skirt to a wedding in March.  The wedding is in Canberra so it could be quite cool so I want to make a jacket, probably black velvet and my sister has offered to lend me her black pashmina as well.

Although I am not strictly participating in Project 333 at the moment, I am constantly reviewing the clothes I own and deciding what may be the next thing to go and whether or not it needs to be replaced.  Even though we still have the hottest part of the summer ahead of us, I am already considering what I will need for winter.  I have lost weight in the last 6 months and I am managing to continue to wear most of my existing clothes but one of the first casualties was the one pair of grey trousers which I wore to work.  I had been wearing them for several seasons and they were looking a little past their prime.  I sent them to the op shop when I discovered that I could pull them down over my hips without undoing the fly.  I must admit that they were always a little on the large side.

Shopping is definitely not a pastime for me but I will have to make a concerted effort to find some nice fitting trousers.  I would like 2 pairs, perhaps a charcoal grey and a lighter grey.

I like good quality clothes that are a flattering cut and colour for me but I do not feel the need to have a bulging wardrobe.  I am getting closer to my goal of only having items that I wear regularly and being able to mix and match most, if not all of the pieces.

If you haven’t heard of Project 333 then here might be the place to start.  You can also check out some of my earlier posts on the subject by typing 333 into the search function on the right-hand side of the page.

Do you have any hints or suggestions for minimising the contents of your wardrobe?

How Green Was My Christmas?

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Well, Christmas is over for another year and I hope it was a good one for you and your families.

One of my goals was to reduce our overall environmental impact from the festivities so it is probably time to review what I did and whether it made a difference.

Cards – I only sent 11 Christmas cards by post this year.  This is a significant reduction over the years.  There was a time when I posted between 50 and 60 cards each year.  I sent ecards and emails with our family newsletter.  These are generally well-received, save time and money for me, reduce clutter for the recipient.  I will continue to do this.

Gift-wrapping – this year I made fabric gift bags to use which seems to have been successful in making a significant reduction in the amount of wrapping paper which ended up in the recycling bin.  There was still some from gifts we received but that may change in time, who knows?  Perhaps I will make some for Belle to use next year as well.

Gifts – I made a few hand-made gifts and also a couple of experience gifts and some Oxfam Unwrapped gifts which seemed to please the recipients.  I need to plan my handmade items a bit further in advance next year.  I received a couple of practical and requested gifts so I was very happy.  A bathmat, colander, air mattress, gluten-free sauce and dressing and a Kathmandu voucher as well as a promise of dinner when we are next in Melbourne.  We do not want to be overwhelmed by ‘stuff’ and my family understand that. Yay!!

Food – we made a conscious effort not to over-cater and were mostly successful.  I have fruit cake leftover as well as a little smoked salmon and some cold, grilled chicken.  All of this will be stored appropriately and used to avoid any waste.  We had a special meal with close family but did not over-indulge.  Next year I would like to try to be more organised with my garden and be able to use more home-grown produce.

I am pretty happy with our achievements and will continue to  work on improving each year.

I would love to hear about your celebrations – what worked and what didn’t?