Minimalism (post one of a possible - not very minimalist- thousand)

Minimalism. It’s not something I know a lot about really. I’ve always assumed minimalists were either neat freaks (please don’t allow your child to spill anything on my white rug) or those amazing glamazons who dress entirely in monochrome and accentuate their ski- downable cheekbones with a severe low ponytail.

 

Somehow in my head I’d got minimalism confused with Elle décor . I’d made it all about consuming and showing off rather than essentially travelling light.

But since deciding to do this challenge I’ve been doing a lot of reading – mainly of blogs from other women who have committed to wearing less. And none of these blogs talk about only having high end designer gear – none of them try to dictate a set style, and many of them have an environmental or emotional attachment to thrifting and clothes recycling. 

These are women who have decided that by allowing themselves to consume everything they were losing a bit of their identity and so wanted to give themselves space to consider what they actually liked. And limiting the number of purchases they made helped them clarify this. Some bloggers talked about how their massive wardrobes distracted them and took up headspace they couldn’t spare, and minimalising the number of clothes they owned just gave them that extra space they needed for thought.

I’m not going to try to cover what all these amazing women are saying in this one blog. I’ll probably point you in the direction of a couple of the ones I love over the course of the year. But for today I’m just going to focus on one into -mind. I’ve become a little obsessed with this blog over the last couple of weeks.

I started just reading the stuff about style – I really like the way Anuschka poo poo’s dressing for your size, or picking a fashion label to describe your style but instead asks you to think about what shapes you like (she calls them proportions – here), and what colours you enjoy. Reading her blog made me feel much more like I was starting on an adventure than robbing myself of creativity (which I was a little worried this challenge would). It also made me much braver in sorting the ‘save for next year’ vs ‘sell for charity’ piles. I realised I own lots of clothes that are about who I was at another time, or who I was pretending to be. This year with less to choose from I’ve become more picky about comfort, and about things that are important to just me ( pockets – I’m taking about pockets here – I am approximately 200% happier wearing something with pockets than without). 

I’m also at an age (aren’t we all) where I’m trying to get the balance of my life right, work out where I want to be and what my priorities are. And this is why I really love what Anuschka does. Because the blog isn’t just about fashion. It’s about living slower, changing daily habits, and identifying what you care about. Last week I did the 50 questions to evaluate your last year exercise, and found it really helpful. So helpful I sent the link to a load of my friends and bored Jo’s lovely mum Rosie about it over dinner on Saturday night. 

 

 (thankfully she’s brilliant & still seemed cheerful after listening to me banging on. Here we all are after dinner - Rosie is third from the left and heroically still awake)

 

So I’m excited about minimalism now & seeing this year as a journey. I’m bored of feeling guilty about all the stuff I own that I don’t need and I’m really lucky this challenge allows me to get rid of things while supporting a cause I really care about. Far be it for me to advocate you all buying more stuff at the end of a post on minimalism, but if you want to shed some money you can donate here, and if you want a new frock I’m listing 4/5 a week for charity here.

Hope Monday was good to you all. Travel light.