This is going to be an amazing blog post. Sit back and read.

I started this post in January 2014. In the paper I read a brilliant piece on minimalism. It had links to blogs of people who live the minimalist life to the fullest. It had a scheme for beginning minimalists saying things like:

“I never use this > True > throw/give away”

Scheme at hand I decided to give it a go. How difficult could it be. Starting with a decent Spring cleaning.

September 2014 and this same decent Spring cleaning is still ongoing. “If she’s still cleaning, how big is her house?!” Yes, I can read your minds. I understand that some of you may have assumed that by now, due to this Spring-cleaning-mania, my house is empty and all I have left is my laptop, tooth brush and memories… Well. Let’s say I kept the article safe as a guide line. And I can’t find it anymore. Not because it ended up in the paper waste containers, no.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ My dining table in its usual state. You can’t eat at it. It’s my creating table including creative chaos. ]

Old postcards from gran or notes from my mum. A toothbrush. Yes… A bucket filled with brooches and my first (and only) Polly Pocket. Just a few things I came across since I started my Spring Cleaning last January. Hoarder isn’t the right word, I keep telling myself. I like to think I’m a collector. And the thought of blaming my mum for that, I like even better. After all, she comes with new items for my antique glassware collection every now and…often. She’s a bit like a feeder! Feeding a hoarder in my case. Of course, I realise, I’m the one holding on to it. Key words of this post: holding. on. Or better: letting go.

I find it difficult to let go; of the past, of things, memories. It’s all connected. Throwing my first diary away is equal to erasing my past. Parting from the second diary equals parting from the past that followed. Apart from 5 pages diary number three is empty. But that is no excuse!
And yes, I know clinging onto the past isn’t always a good idea. Having memories is one thing, but it’s not always necessary to have a material link to that memory. Slowly – baby steps! – I’m accepting this. I still can’t help myself taking things of the “give-away” pile to place them back onto the “decide-later” pile. It’s a process, right? I’m learning. I don’t have to have a minimalist’s house by next week.
Even better, I’ll probably never become a true minimalist. I mean, look at the number of words I use before I even get to a conclusion. But after 9 months of Spring cleaning I can see now that clearing out does have perks. For one thing, whilst clearing out I clear my mind I literally get rid of ugly memories and other things I don’t need at this point in life. Lovely! For another, I sometimes make other people happy with the things I decided to get rid and that is always fun. So I’m not going to turn my back on the thought of Minimalism. I’m going to stick to and follow my own material roads to minimalism and I hereby name it Slow Minimalism. Minimalism for the material soul. At Tessie’s Projects I will share my experiences and tips with the fellow material minded. Told you this post was going to be amazing.

 

Enough written. My Winter cleaning is about to commence. I’ll leave you with a reading tip: the blog mnmlist.com. Minimal even in its lay out and choice of words. The truths in the blog posts are a joy to me and food for thought. Read the home page!