My journey to simplicity

I did it. I got rid of my 31 items for the month of October, and another 9 items because I added face cloths, a cordless phone, a couch, a dining room table, four dining room chairs, and an area rug to the condo. I definitely want to keep going with the purging. Like pretty much anyone living the minimalism lifestyle will tell you, you really never stop purging. Things have a way of sneaking into your life/environment. It's always good to go through everything regularly to reassess their usefulness to you. I'm not necessarily going to reassess everything daily, but anytime I come across something I forgot I had I'll definitely immediately reconsider keeping it. Here are photos of the items I got rid of during the month. Each photo counts as one thing even though in some of them, there are multiple items (like the 4 measuring cups I counted as 1 item). Some of these items look a little weird. So for you curious folk, here is a list of the items in order of appearanc...

My daughter was watching The Truman Show on Saturday morning. As I was waiting to meet up with a friend for lunch, I watched a bit of the movie with her. For those of you unfamiliar with the film, it chronicles the life of a man (Truman) who is initially unaware that he is living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast around the clock to billions of people around the globe. He becomes suspicious of his perceived reality and embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his life. At one point in the movie when things aren't going as smoothly because Truman is trying to discover the truth, the creator of the show, Cristof, is asked in an interview: "Why do you think Truman has never come close to discovering the true nature of his world, until now?" Cristof replies "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented. It's as simple as that." Huh!... That's it! That's why I've always been somewhat reluctant to make ...

We live in a time where it seems we have so many things available for us to spend our money on. Things for the home. Things for our mind. Things for our physical wellbeing. Things to please others. Gadgets and trinkets and doodads you had no idea you "needed" until you saw it in the store or online for the first time.  However, I think that in many cases, there's no "need" to spend money.  I was contemplating this the other day when I got to the end of an e-book sample I downloaded to my e-reader. I had to decide if I wanted to buy the book to keep reading it.  Things for the home We all know that we live in a society of over consumption. At least that's true for us in North America. If your home isn't (or wasn't) filled to the brim with stuff, I'm sure you know many people that have overflowing homes. It's easy to get into the trap of buying another piece of furniture, especially if you feel you're running out of storage for all of...

Early Sunday morning October 18th, Dr. T and I went out hiking King Mountain Trail in Gatineau Park. It was a beautiful and fairly cold morning. Fall is my favourite season, so I wanted to make sure I got out there to really appreciate the spectacular natural show. The trail starts out with a somewhat steep ascent. At least, it was steep for me. I was very quickly out of breath. During that first climb, I was in a panic thinking " what did I get myself into?! " But, being a little proud, there was no way I was going to back out, even though the thought did cross my mind. Dr. T is used to this kind of stuff because he actually has to do it sometimes for work. AND he has to carry heavy equipment while doing so. I kind of felt bad for him that he had to slow his pace so that I could keep up. Of course, Dr. T, being the gentleman he is, didn't once let on that it bothered him at all. He was encouraging and patient. When the descent was steep, he'd help me out. When I...

I've been sticking to my routine of walking on average 3 km almost every day. And on some days, Dr. T invited me for a walk and we more than made up for any days I missed. We've usually ended up walking 6.5 to 7.5 km an outing. Time flies and great distances can be covered when you're in good company! As for the food, it took me a while to get a handle on it. I wasn't exactly compliant at the beginning. But for the past week, the old Whole 30 habits kicked in and, although I wasn't taking on a Whole 30 challenge, my meals have been mostly compliant. On Tuesday night, when I was feeling a little lost, I re-read My first Whole 30 blog posts. It was good to be reminded of the struggles and accomplishments I had during that challenge. I was also reminded of how tasty many of my meals were. Now I'm at a point when I need to add strength training. I haven't quite figured out what to do yet. It will be body-weight exercises for sure, but I don't know what...

I've been living downtown for 25 days now. This is day number 26. Being in this condo has been taking some getting use to. I keep wavering between being happy with my choice, to regretting it. Maybe I was too hasty in my choice of location. But then being so close to work is pretty awesome! And being close to Chinatown is kind of nice. But I think there might be neighbourhoods we'd enjoy more. Like I've mentioned before, I just have to stay here for a year. After that, I'm free to move. And I just might... The weekend of October 3rd and 4th was the first weekend in a long while where I didn't have anything planned. It felt a little odd. My daughter Cat and I went kitchen table shopping on Saturday. We walked along hipster-lined Wellington street in Hintonburg. One of the stores was filled with the kind of used furniture I absolutely love! But everything was very expensive. One of the kitchen tables I wanted was over $1300 and the chairs were $300 each. I really ca...

Remember how I said I wanted to get rid of more things ? Well I'm gonna! I've decided to do a controlled decluttering during the month of October. I will get rid of one thing a day. At the end of the month, my condo will be 31 things lighter. I've gotten rid of many, many, things over the past few months. So I think that it might be a little tougher for me to come up with 31 things. But I will! However, I want to buy a few new (old) things for the condo. Like a dining room table (bought), dining room chairs, a coffee table, a used end table (maybe), a used cabinet for the dining room (maybe), a rug for the living room and one for the dining room (maybe), a comfortable chair for extra seating in the living room. So to balance things out, I will get rid of something for everything I buy. Obviously, it most likely won't be equivalent. For instance, my new couch was just delivered on Saturday. I got rid of a plastic pitcher to compensate. It's obviously not of th...

I felt that I did well with my first Whole 30 . Unfortunately, I've gained the weight back (and a little more) and I've let go of many of the good habits I had developed. Stress definitely got to me. But before the year is over, I want to take back control. Now that I've moved, my stress level should go down a little. It's time to get back to taking better care of myself. So I want to take on a new fitness challenge. I've always wanted to take a hike! I mean... go on a hike. :) I was discussing this with Dr. T. He was also looking for a new fitness challenge. So I asked him if he'd be willing to go on a hiking trip with me next year at the end of summer/beginning of fall. I think he'd be a good hiking partner. He seems outdoorsy, he's handy, he knows nature and stuff (since he's a professional fishies rescuer), and he's good company. I realize that a year is a long time in advance to make plans with someone. A lot can happen in a year. Howeve...

How strange it is to have what I wanted. I've been living downtown now for two weeks. It's been just my daughter Cat and I since September 26th. As I write this, I'm sitting in the living room on a single-sized mattress that's functioning as our couch until our new couch gets delivered. The TV is off, and the only noise is the very loud heating and cooling unit. My life before downtown Suburban living. Having to drive everywhere to get anything or to get to anywhere. A lot of TV watching because it was pretty much always on. I had books to read. I had things to write. I had music to listen to. I had ukuleles to play. I had things to draw, paint, sew, knit or crochet. I hardly ever did any of those things. How could I? TV was on! My life now The TV is off most of the time. There's nothing that I'd really want to watch. Also, I don't have cable anymore. So unless it's online and accessible legally, I can't watch it. That's fine because there...