Thoughts on... Living minimally.

I've adopted a minimalist way of life, and I feel its really good for my soul.

It began before we moved to Hong Kong. We had just moved house, and hadn't bothered unpacking. Not to make a statement but because we were doing up the house to rent out. I didn't really miss any of my stuff?!

Then we relocated, moved a few more times, relocated back, moved a couple more times, and what's the result of all that moving? We have less crap. That's a bit of a lie. Open our garage door and you will be in a whole heap of trouble but the point is we live with less crap.

That's it in a nut shell.

Living minimally works well for us as we live in a quirky maisonette by the church. Space is a premium so we make it work well for us by not having much stuff. And I keep it all in order so the mess doesn't stress me out. I'm really happy living like this and what excites me most about the easter holidays is that Mr O and I are clearing out our garage..... we have a garage packed to the rafters and so a massive car boot sale beckons so we can get rid and hopefully make a few quid!

We are in complete control of our lives and this makes us both happy, and works well for our family. We try to apply the minimal theory to all aspects of living, even our finances. We don't live in debt (I know! This coming from an ex bankrupt!) we own our car outright, we don't have home loans, no credit card debt - how unique is that? It's taken hard work (on my husbands part) to get there, but we've done it. 

Being thrifty helps. I've not quite mastered making my own clothes, but believe me if I could, I would. 

I love the feeling of having a good old clear out, it's good for the spirit it makes you feel less of an attachment to belongings, its simple and its satisfying, and I feel such a sense of control over my life now. Plus, makes doing the housework a whooooole lot easier. Nothing to dust!