“Once all of our basic needs have been met, consumption must become about something more than needs. Unfortunately, it too often becomes an opportunity to display our wealth, our importance and our financial success with the world.”
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Sunday afternoon post
Hello Hello.
It’s Sunday afternoon here. I have my coffee. I have my cookies. I have my cartoons on the TV. Tumblr on the computer.
Since it’s cloudy, I am pretty happy to stay inside without feeling bad about not being outside. On a sunny day I feel more pressure to do things outside. Minimizing usually entails doing stuff inside.
Friday I really just slept and did nothing. I was exhausted from my week.
Yesterday, Saturday, it was a sunny day. I spent it outside reading. I did some stuff around the house, but believe me. It’s not something to be proud over, because I have to clean it up today. My head was just not with it. However, I didn’t feel like I wasted my day.
I spent some time researching some things for my digital decluttering. So far, I can’t make heads nor tails of it. My article isn’t really quality stuff. Not that any of my articles are quality stuff. It will be posted sooner than later though.
Friday when I walked home I noticed someone wearing the same backpack as mine. They come in a large variety of colors, but this guy had the same color as mine. White. The backpack he was wearing was just really filthy! So as I walked passed a store window, I took a look at my backpack in the reflection. Ugh. I had never noticed how filthy it was. I mean, it’s white, of course it’s not going to stay pristine. It was just more filthy than I had in my mind.
Now, you see, I have a thing for bags. This is a very good excuse to buy a new back. Only it isn’t because I have a kazilion bags in my “thrift store” (the basement). I threw out so many already.
And yes, I did go to have a look online to see pretty bags, but I couldn’t make up my mind. So I decided on sticking on my other backpack. It’s just stuff, anyway.
Other stuff that happened Saturday. I had a bite to eat with friends. Later in the evening I decided to drive up to see other friends I hadn’t seen in a while. My friend had a birthday and she was in an accident recently. I decided to show up with a birthday and get well gift.
With no Facebook I have to stay in touch in other ways. It was nice to see them again face to face.
I’m trying to sort through my clothes again. I don’t know what’s happening there though. It is hard for me. Maybe I should let it go for a bit and return to it some other time. So far what I’ve done is, take out all of the clothes and put back the clothes I know I wear the most. But somehow it doesn’t give me the content feeling it does when I declutter or minimize on something.
I still have other things to do. So maybe it’s better to just leave it be. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine for us minimalists, kids.
Just thought I’d keep you posted on the run of the mill stuff on this side of the computer.
Talk to you later!
Magalie Linda
“This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts.”
— Lester Burnham - American Beauty
I fell off the minimalism-wagon.
Photo by Banter Snaps on Unsplash
A few years ago, I started to write on this Tumblr about minimalism. The purpose of this was to hold myself accountable.
And it did do that. I gained some followers, some steadier than others. I made one internet friend, that I still message to this day. A side-effect that I value highly.
As most blogs, I started to lose momentum and stopped blogging about it minimalism. I remember I got a bit bored with it.
Everybody seemed to be doing it. None of it being new or original anymore. I stopped.
In 2018 a lot happened in my life. I got married to Meg. We had to work on making a home together and our routine. We attained a studio. We went on vacation to Greece. I got employed. We adopted a dog. My friend was divorcing after 25 years in a relationship.
That’s our dog. Her name is Storm
Meanwhile we also had to work, adjust to all of these changes, learn our new rhythm (which was constantly disrupted). It was a lot. It took a lot of our headspace to stay on top of the game. It was enough to lose track of simplifying my life.
I lost things. Where was my iPhone charger? Where were my gloves? Where did I put my bag? It drove me crazy. Having so much also means I need to maintain these things and keep track of these things.
“A place for everything and every thing in its place” -
with all of those changes, I also needed to adapt that and I needed to get used to the new places for the “every thing-s”
Looking back on all of this, I was mortified of what had happened. Time to hold myself accountable and to fix this. So, here I am. Here we are again. Currently, I am in New Jersey with my wife’s family. Looking around at my luggage, gear and stuff I am wondering how to get this all back to The Netherlands.
While being here in the US, I have used that distance to figure out what needs to change and what my course of action is. I am at the beginning of a tangible and practical plan of attack. Also, I need to review my mental state. There are so many objects I have given undeserved meaning to. I need to stop that. I want to go back to that state I achieved after that first time on blogging.
And so, here I am again. I guess there must be some of you that relate to this.