A Simple Living Dream
I have a dream. A dream of living a slow and simple life. A life where I am no longer working a 9-5 job. A life where I can fulfil my creative aspirations.
How about you?
Hello Friend
About three years ago, I dared to imagine there was more to life than existing in a regular day to day job. Work, go home, eat, sleep and do the same again tomorrow. Living for the weekends and holidays. There is nothing wrong with a regular job or going after a career in a high tech world if that is what you want. But I suspect, as you are here reading this, you too are looking for something more, something different.
The simple living dream was a new concept to me back then. Things were about to change.
Living through the lockdown months of 2020 created a shift in me, a future of new possibilities. I know many felt strangled by the months of restricted movement but I felt that I was one of the lucky ones. I was always a home body and it was an opportunity to slow down and escape from the corporate stresses of work for a while. It was valuable time to work on crafts, time to spend in the quiet of the garden, and at our allotment. It was an idyllic time. Nature slowed down, everything slowed down and the weather was beautiful for several weeks as I recall.
Most importantly for me, the time at home opened doors to new ideas, opportunities and finally the possibility that I could change the course of my life in some way.
Fast forward three years. I am still working in the same job I was working in back then but a lot has changed. I would like to share with you some of the things that have happened and how they enabled me to start living a slower and simpler life and that which ultimately lead to the birth of A Simple Living Journal.
Learning
I started devouring self-help books and watching YouTube channels from people who were living the lifestyle I dreamed of, or were searching for that life.
I did some courses too. They became a fundamental part of our future goals. Kalle Flodin from YouTube, known for his fantastic eBook “Find Your True North”. In it there are several key exercises to help you determine what it is that you truly want from life. We also have our very own Sophie Ingleby from “Simple and Calm” on Substack. She ran a weekly course last year about creating a simple and calm life. I highly recommend both. They are very insightful.
Decluttering
Decluttering our house was one of the single most important things we did to create a simpler life. I’d like to talk about this in more detail in a future story but for now I’ll briefly outline our journey here.
We did a big de-clutter following Marie Kondo’s “Spark Joy” method. This was a great starting point, but, despite several attempts, we could never quite finish the job. Discovering Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist changed all that. I will say right now that we are not minimalists by any means, but his methodology for decluttering is by far the best and most effective we have come across. I recommend his book Minimalist Home if you want to find out more.
We completed our declutter project in the summer of last year and we are so grateful for the change it made to our house, our lifestyle and our mental health. There are so many benefits to getting rid of the clutter. I can say with absolute certainty that it has made the day to day living routine so much simpler. From the choices we make, like what to wear in the morning, to keeping the house clean. With the rubbish gone, and the surfaces clear, cleaning is a breeze. Don’t get me wrong, the house does still get messy, most weeks in fact, but just a few minutes to reset and clean up and it’s done.
One of the more significant benefits of minimising our possessions is our spending habits, or more to the point, our improved spending habits. As we started clearing space in our home, we felt less and less inclined to buy new stuff to fill it again. We began to love the empty spaces that were forming, it felt calming. Our bank balances grew healthier as a result. Our spending is now more intentional, we tend to only buy what is necessary now and where possible just consumable items like food. We still have blips of course, but that’s part of being human right?
January we set a little goal. As we had a freezer full of food, and cupboards too, we decided our meals could only come from food that we had in the house, with the exception of fresh food like milk, bread, veggies etc. So far this month we have spent just £58 on necessary shopping. Confession time, don’t tell anyone. We did slip up, twice in fact. We had takeaway pizza! Felt guilty both times, but it’s done and even with those, the total spend on food is just shy of £100.
Work
I am sure that many can relate here. I’ve increasingly found making time to focus on the creative aspect of my life more and more challenging. So to pursue my goals of a creative career and after much deliberation, I’ve made the decision to reduce my hours at work and move into the part time realm.
One of my main reasons for moving to part time is so that I can concentrate on my writing and give it the attention it needs to thrive. I find that I am much more productive in the mornings. The hours I work in my current job don’t allow me the luxury of committing to the early morning writing ritual that I’d like as I work an early shift. Going part time will change that.
So, starting from April, I am going to be working four days a week with Fridays off. A new chapter awaits and I for one cannot wait. It has been a long time coming.
During the week before Christmas just gone, when I took some time off from work I found myself creating an early morning writing routine. Waking at 5am, sometimes a little later, I would creep downstairs to make myself a cup of tea (Yorkshire of course) and feed Thomas our cat, much to his delight. Taking my tea back upstairs to my craft room (also now known as my writing sanctuary) I lit a candle and switched on some fairy lights. My desk would be prepared ready to start writing with pen and notebook, sometimes the laptop. First I would do a meditation then once complete and mind focussed I would write for a couple of hours. I did this every morning that week and I loved it. Complete silence, no one else up. Still dark, except for the glowing light of the candle and fairy lights as I wrote. Not even the street lights were lit yet. It evoked so much creativity flow.
Creativity
Creativity I believe is a great contributor to a slower and simpler life. I have, since a very early age, been a passionate crafter.
My creative life began with knitting and sewing, taught by my mum, and supplemented with machine sewing lessons at school. Cross-stitching became my obsession through my early twenties and thirties. Then moving on to embroidery more recently, and crochet too. Journaling and writing also play a big part in my creative world now.
I’d always believed that writing was a relatively new craft for me. But an article I read recently made me realise that I have been a writer for most of my adult life. I had several pen pals through my teens and twenties, using actual pen and paper, imagine that! Gives my age away doesn’t it. I used to love writing about life and conversing with friends on paper. I do miss those days. Perhaps a writing life was always meant to be.
In my experience being creative encourages you to slow down. It gives you the perfect opportunity to switch off and find a peaceful place, physically and mentally.
What do you think? What is your go to craft to find your peaceful place? Your sanctuary?
I will be writing a separate Cosy Craft Corner series soon to talk all things craft. I hope you will join me for that.
And so my friend, this is just a snippet of our simple living journey so far and how we have arrived at this point. We are by no means where we want to be yet, but life’s a journey right. I’m excited to be right here, right now. Grateful for everything we have, family, friends, and time. And, excited for what the future holds.
I hope this little story inspires you to begin your journey into simple living.
This blog as it develops I will share with you more insight into simple living. Everyone’s concept of simple living will be different I am sure, but my only hope is that you can find just one thing from what I share to help you on your own journey.
Until next time
Debbie xx