Bristol Minimalist

Hello!

I’m not really sure how you’re supposed to start one of these things. I think i’m supposed to introduce myself, list all of my likes and dislikes and then never post another entry again!

The purpose of this blog is to get me into the habit of regular writing, to share my views on topics such as minimalism, bullet journaling and intentional living along with reviews on books and films. I’m sure i’ll also ramble on about general nonsense and bemoan my skills (or unfortunate lack thereof) in the garden.

My relationship with ‘stuff’ has always been very conflicted. Growing up my room was full of stuff, even as an only child I managed to end up with a phenomenal amount of hand-me-downs, often that weren’t my style or didn’t fit me. My Father is one of a long line of collectors and my Mother has always been extremely materialistic, so there was always a lot of papers, cards and assorted trinkets and novelties cluttering every surface of our house. I was bought up to think items were a way of showing affection, in a house where actual affection wasn’t readily available. I also attached a lot of guilt to getting rid of anything that was gifted to me. When I moved out I took a good deal of things with me, and being in full control of my finances for the first time, I spent a lot of money shopping. A few years ago, I started thinking about moving out of the rented accommodation I had been in for the best part of a decade. I realised that the task would be huge, as I had managed to fill up most spaces in the shared house. I wasn’t even sure what everything was, so it was obvious that they were surplus to requirement. I became obsessed with the idea of being ready to pack up and leave at a moments notice (even though I had no reason to) and began to get rid of everything I could lay my hands on.  Whilst at this stage the process wasn’t intentional or recognised, the feeling of relief as each bag went to charity or in the bin was huge and spurred me on to get rid of even more! Before I knew it, everything I owned fit into my bedroom and I haven’t looked back.

I have since moved into a 3 bedroom house of my own. My possessions would still neatly fit into one of our rooms on their own – I suppose it’s a good thing my partner is decidedly not a minimalist and has enough possessions to fill the rest of the spaces.

Some of the things I want to post about include, how did I decide what to keep and what to get rid of, how did I deal with getting rid of things that had been gifted to me, how do I deal with my Partner’s stuff, what I do own and why plus many more topics.