My cottage has been described before as “warm messy”. It was filled with couches and nooks and a bazillion statues and musical instruments and books. There were paintings on every wall and doo-dads on every surface. And that kind of warm-clutter-messy felt like that was my me-ness. I revelled in it, even though it felt overwhelming and hard to keep clean.
This year though… I’ve been feeling the call to something that kinda scares me.
Something that I joked about as being beige in the past…
Minamalism.
Before Little Mermaid was born, we knew we had to make some actual SPACE in our lives for her to enter. We let go of bags upon bags of clothes and books. Mr Hottie even decided he didn’t want his child transfixed by our large TV, so we donated ours to a community organisation and replaced it with a teeny-tiny one instead. And we thought we were done.
Then three weeks after she was born, we decided to move back home – 2000 kilometres away. We decided to put our house on the market – and needed to make it WAY less warm messy and more warm and spacious to make it yummy and appealing to buyers. My sweet mama came to visit for three weeks to help us with Ostara, and instead of just hanging out with a newborn, we did that AND decluttered and cleaned like we have never done before.
And the more we got rid of?
The more I felt at home.
We sent most of our belongings back to the tropics already, and for the last three months have been living with the barest of essentials.
And you know what?
I just don’t miss our stuff.
Our home feels calm… soothing… relaxing… not overwhelming.
Just functional. Flowing. Good for the heart and soul and dreams.
Here’s what our home looks like right now…
And the boxes we’ve already sent home? All the extra STUFF? I feel like going through it all again and letting it go. Just keeping the minimal, and concentrating on living and loving.
We are moving from a fairly open, large three bedroom modern home to a 1.5 bedroom 100 year old cottage.
And as much as I love colour and warmth and being surrounded by good things,
I want to keep this essence -
of clarity. of space. of openness. of calm.
Once we’re up in our new home, I’ll share photos again as we create our new space… making it filled with the essence my soul is longing for.
I just started reading these two e-books as well:
The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life by Leo Babauta
The Art of Being Minimalist by Everett Bogue
Who woulda thunk it?
This Goddess is becoming a little minimalist.
What about you, gorgeous hottie?
Do you harbour minimalist fantasies?
love you all good,
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh.
My.
God.
Where is your house gone?? That can’t be your place??
WOW
Wow
Wow.
I’m flawed at the difference – that is awesome!
Go simplicity – it looks good on you
i read one woman’s goal last week that was ‘make EVERY room in my house my favorite room’
and oh… i adore that.
and i am taking that sentiment on.
regardless of where you live, your living situation (rented or owned) live in the house as if its yours forever.. make the most out of what you have. and most of all- love it..
i’ve been living in this rented house for the past TWO years and i haven’t made it feel like home yet… i always thought it was temporary. and then now, with the arrival of my little one… i want it to be HOME.
i read something else today on, i believe simplemom(dot)net- http://simplemom.net/use-the-good-stuff-2/
and it really just hit home.
about really making everything special… using those things we savour..
love this..
I’ve never had an attachment to stuff…but I live with a pack rat! My challenge has been to find that peace I need in less stuff and still allow Jason to be himself…
I dream of a building a tiny house on wheels and moving into it with the barest of essentials, like a modern day gypsy. It would free me from possession clutter, cleaning and maintenance on a house, the need for money to pay for all of this and I’d be able to travel where I pleased, when I pleased.
I’ve started paring down what I own in preparation for this.
Oh! Thats SO exciting!! we did that when we moved two months ago. People are shocked with how much stuff we got rid of. But honestly, we don’t miss it at all! I can’t even remember 1/8th of the things we donated. And, it feels so good! SOOOO much easier to clean, and much more calming! I’m so excited to see pictures of your new place and your newfound minimalism!!
In the last year especially, I’ve also discovered a love of “less”. Do less, have less. Quality over quantity. This is a big deal in my life, given that I grew up in a household and family in which frequently the message seems to be stuff=love. But I find great freedom in letting things go (physical, mental, or emotional). Bless them, free them, and send them on their way!
What a beautiful way to start your next chapter as you transition to your new old home
My favorite space-clearing decluttering inspiration is the book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. I re-read it every other year or so. It’s really practical and comforting. Ooh she even has a web site now! http://www.spaceclearing.com/
OMG, your home looks SO peaceful!!!! Ahhhh….
I still want to scale my stuff down even more. I really don’t have that much compared to what I used to, but I still feel so overwhelmed by it all. I feel like I can’t think straight b/c there’s more around me than I’d prefer – it feels like it impedes my creativity and clogs my right brain flow.
It’s hard when you are creative & have art supplies, etc. I keep them all packed away in closets, etc. b/c I can’t handle looking at “clutter” – but still – I can “feel” the stuff in closets, drawers, under the bed, etc. & it drives me bananas.
My latest thing the past few years has been literally feeling like there’s “stuck energy” in my carpets! I sit on the floor a LOT, so carpeting is a must, but my ‘spiritual’ side would prefer wood floors! I actually started sweeping my carpets with a broom from time to time to try to loosen the “stuck” energy.
Enjoy your serene sanctuary space!
Blessings…
I am a TOTAL minimalist! However, my husband is not.
This distresses me most days as I adore the space, quiet and uncluttered feeling of our home. He keeps every bit of rope, wire, nut, screw, etc, etc. BUT!!! I think I have finally (after 14 years) convinced him that its not necessary. All that stuff. If you don’t need it, you get rid of it. He’s getting better and our house is becoming more of what I envision as a sanctuary!! 
Oh how synchronous! We did a major decluttering this week (and are still in progress) …and how truly yummy it feels. I love one of the comments made here “to make every room my favorite room”.
How nice to be surrounded by the absolute best and to have room to breathe around it all!!
I went quite minimalist when I moved apartments last year, (and after the Goddess decluttering course!) but after a few months I was craving comfort when I got home after work, I think the trick is to find the right balance for *you* and not get caught up in the minimalism movement too much. I find there can be a lot of pretension and “I’m more minimalist than you” type people out there and I’m not sure those authors/bloggers you’re reading aren’t among them!
As an artist, how do you minimal-ize? I have found that most of my clutter is stored art supplies, half-finished projects or finished pieces.
Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been feeling this call to simplicity and minimalism as well! And as I looked at your pictures it dawned on me that I need to rid my home/life of all those things that I don’t *absolutely* love or that give me joy or that serve me in some great way. You have re-inspired me!!
I think your home feels Light, breezy, peaceful, soothing, and uplifting, and when I see the pictures, I think ‘clarity’! I love it.
We all will have so much to do in the coming year or three (or more!) that operating from a place of simplicity, ease and clarity will be essential in order to make easier transitions, and to make room for those things we feel called to in these amazing times.
I’m SO proud of you, Leonie! I wish the same for myself! Time for clearing out… AND… big buckets of fresh, colorful paint for my walls!!! (I’ve never painted a room before… is it difficult?)
Yay for you! Thank you for sharing this!
Much love xoxo
I first heard the siren call of the minimalist fairy when I was 15. I chucked out over 20 kilograms of stuff in a week & have not looked back since.
Even then, I find that I get a chuck&donate urge every 6 months or so. My partner & I recently made a huge relocation move from Hobart, TAS to Cairns, QLD (we’re not that far up from where you’re going to be very soon!) & even with our minimalist household, we were still amazed by how much physical possessions we had! And we’re not talking excess fluff on the side, just bare essentials!
Such is the necessity of modern living I suppose. We were chatting about how the old ones used to move from place to place with nothing more than their tepees & rucksack, everything to their name within.
Our house is considered spartan. And we love it that way. As a woman, I especially love it: easy to clean!
I love the new cottage! It still feels like a “cottage of love”! I’m actually suppossed to be decluttering to move into my new casa and I must agree with the artist messiness thing, but I think art supplies can appreciate being tidy, so I think the art supplies and I are making peace for a better way in the new house. Thank you all!This just got me motivated! Hugs and lovely cottage blessings!
Leonie,
My grandparents thought it was great!.
I LOVE how you’ve decorated. WOW. I feel calm just looking at the pictures. I tagged a picture of the artwork you made me.
Hope all is well.
I’m really good at keeping clothes and dresser drawers cleared out…
but I have a lot of ‘stuff’ on tables, bookshelves, etc. When we put our house on the market 2 months ago, I packed up a lot of that ‘stuff’ for showing it… and I’m finding I don’t miss it at all! So when I finally unpack, I’ll be doing more clearing.
I also like the idea of packing ‘stuff’ away, then rotating through it for display. That would satisfy my urge to ‘redecorate’ every so often ~ and it would be like having Christmas several times a year!!!
congrats on what you’ve done, and all best wishes for your new place!!!
Hugs ~
Oooh, lovely! I can see how well the energy is moving through all that clean, open space!
I also get a great joy from decluttering, even though I’m a born packrat. I move a lot and having a lot of stuff gets in my way. There are a few sentimental things I’ve held on to, including my books which I can never let go, but my wardrobe and other miscellaneous things are pretty minimal. I’d never call myself minimalist, though, because I do like the “warm messy” feel. A weird dichotomy.
Leonie, I Love this new look!
The art pieces you have still stand out so lovely to create enough atmospheric pleasure and the simplicity is very calming! 
thanks for sharing.
but I couldn’t find much but a few papers and reorganized a bit more.. it is so fun!
I love getting rid of things, and de-cluttering, and I always challenge myself to find a few more things.. I tried again yesterday afternoon after reading your note.. was inspired..
I love your photos.. thanks for showing us your place again
hugs,
Jenn
i DO harbor minimalist dreams, and live in a cluttered messy space just exactly as you described, full of books and music and beautiful little things we have collected on trips, and all of our art materials and things we have made, its like a nest and as much as i woul dlove a big open space it scares me to death to let go of my nest stuff…but that is stupid! i keep reading your zen thurdsays and aching for space and less stuff, and yet….its here….and there is no where to donate things in our small place, i hate to throw things away..but i may have a HUGE yard sale soon..its really pushing inside of me!
Your home looks beeyootiful! I really believe in simplicity – in paring down the STUFF, decluttering, etc. I try to do it on a regular basis. If stuff accumulates, it’s time to get rid of it! It’s so freeing and lovely, and allows my brain to think and energy to flow much better.
I had a conversation with the head of the cleaning service last month. She was very rude to me. She told me her crew didn’t like coming to my apartment, and accused me of something I didn’t do.
I told my sister, and she fired her.
She was replaced by a new cleaning service who comes in once a month. A friend told me that because I live alone I don’t need a cleaning service, and she was right.
Since we fired MMMM, I have been cleaning, reorganizing, throwing things out, going through my closets and discarding things I don’t need to have there, and so on and so on.
As a result, as you say, Leonie, the more I put cleaning my condo unit in my own hands, the more it felt like home as well. The pictures of your place are beautiful.
I feel the same way! I moved a year ago into my own apartment and got rid of a lot of stuff and now I’m preparing to move again and I still feel like I have way too much stuff!
Good luck going minimal in your new home! I can’t wait to see it
Oh, thank everything Holy for minimalism!
) I am, at this very minute, ridding myself of half my belongings. In fact, this is a 5 minute break from it. Seriously. Already 3 giant bins have gone and I’m filling another one. There are bags of clothes ready to go to charity. Already a ute-load of stuff has gone to Lifeline and another one is in the works. A garage sale has already happened. It’s amazing what we can live without. I feel so free! I’m moving far way too. Sofa king excited. ;^D Even the new home I’m looking at buying is small and basic. Okay, back to it now.
Big love to you, honey. Happy moving and minimising! xo
Oh bugger. I hate it when my smileys don’t work. I’m not shocked, I’m happy. Like this:
I read this a couple days ago- I cannot get the words functional, flowing out of my head. Hello minimalism!!!!! Thank you goddess, call me inspired!!
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