Breaking Free

You know there is something quite cathartic and freeing about getting rid of all your possessions. Reading blogs like Miss Minimalist, you can see that living minimally can be really positive.

The hardest things I’ve had to let go (in no particular order): my wedding dress, some flamenco dance shoes made for me in Spain, a couple of paintings which had sentimental value. I will admit to having shed a tear or two for my books – not a huge collection but a well read lovely jumble of novels (fiction and non fiction). Funnily enough, I only intend to replace a few of these books and will continue my practice of borrowing books from the library.

Initially the thought of throwing out or recycling our entire house was really depressing. Probably because it was a shock not a choice and also because it feels overwhelming. But you can look at as a form of reinvention. So often we work with what we have accumulated over the years. Now we have a choice about how we wish to represent ourselves.

I personally have found the positives outweigh the negatives. My wardrobe is miniscule and I don’t have a huge urge to increase it. Other than the odd “need” like a winter jacket, I am happy with my small repertoire. Not having belongings means that we are thinking hard about what we do or don’t want at our next house.

We have managed to get some groovy secondhand furniture from family – currently we stand at a brilliant old wooden dining table, an antique meat safe (I think this would look great in a sewing room LOL), and a side table which is made from an old singer sewing table.

We have a handful of precious items that will be sucked down in plastic, double taped into a plastic box and stored at my MIL’s. These include Mr B and my first teddies, Little B’s first t-shirt and socks, and some important personal docs that we cant get rid of (like our degrees).

But overall, this process now feels liberating, refreshing and like a renewal of life after such a slightly challenging period in our lives.