Before my life in 2014 I was an accumulator of all things, I ran an unorganised home and became a professional procrastinator. I hated having so much to do, rushing through my day from one child to the next, constantly cleaning, doing laundry and cooking on repeat. I was always in a constant state of anxiety and stress and I was overwhelmed. Whilst staying at home and looking after my children, I sought out the help of a psychologist and I worked out the blatantly obvious trigger for my anxiety was chaotic environments. I started to realise that I needed to change my environment to be a better version of myself, a more loving wife and an attentive and present mother.
One thing I despised doing every day was cleaning (only because I felt the mess, it NEVER ends) and I needed to find something that minimises time spent on cleaning and maximised time spent relaxing (I could be so lazy). Sometimes I would deal with the overwhelming task of cleaning by letting it go, hiding it, storing it away for another day and eventually, I would clangry clean (cleaning in a rage), de-clutter and get rid of a mountain of things! I feel amazing for about half a day. It was but a moment of bliss, then the children get home and a week goes by and I’ve relapsed into accumulating things, the house is still constantly messy and I am overwhelmed. You see Minimalism, is not just a constant state of de-cluttering. It is a mindset of living simply. To paraphrase ‘The Minimalists’ (Josh & Ryan) it is seeking happiness in people and using things for a purpose – not the other way around. The fact of the matter was, I was constantly cleaning because one, I have lots of children and two, I had lots of things. Well, I can’t get rid of the children… so the ‘things’ had to go and I have never been happier!
In 2014 I had my third child under 5 and at a very sad point of my life I found myself crying and buried under several piles of laundry… that my friends, was rock bottom. For as long as I could steal clothes from my older sister and buy clothes for myself, I had an obsession with fast fashion and that’s the crux of why I was buried under piles of laundry. I had accumulated too many clothes and the time I needed to wash, hang, sort, iron, hang, organise, sift through them of the morning and for them to finally end up stuffed behind a door was taking its toll on me. It was stealing what precious moments I had to myself in my day. Fast forward 3 years after adding minimalism to my lifestyle… I no longer have mountains of laundry and hundreds of pieces of clothing. I do a solid, brief job at the washing machine and I have a capsule wardrobe that makes life easy for me. I no longer have one whole bedroom full of furniture, clothes, boxes, rubbish and bags of things that I would 1. organise, 2. use or 3. reflect on one day. I clangry cleaned for the last time and the storage bedroom is now a spare bedroom for when my father comes to visit from overseas. I will continue to pare down a lifetime of accumulated things that have hoarded my life, my time and my mind – in pursuit of what and who is most important in my life.
So this is how it should work on my blog; Reflection, Task, Reflection.
I have posted links to my favourite and most influential Minimalist blogs on the side panel. I love what they’re about and their blogs are a breath of fresh air from all the consumerist and self indulgent information we see every day on all media platforms. I encourage you to subscribe to them. How will I be different? Well. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, employee, church goer, christian, catholic, psychology student and a recovering hoarder of clothes and all material things. If you can relate to one or all of those identities, hopefully you will find some merit in my journey and discoveries.
A Catholic Minimalist 