How to Reduce: Living Naturally and Losing Stuff

Hi guys! Happy New Year!

One of my biggest niggles from last year is the amount of stuff I’ve accumulated. I’ve moved house a lot in the past few years so I consider myself an expert on the matter of “stuff“. But packing up everything is getting more and more stressful each time I do it.

I want to simplify. Reduce. Revitalise. Recycle.
My ultimate goal is when I move house again to only have to do, like, three trips to and from the van. So this year, as well as the other work goals I’ve set for myself, I plan have less stuff. BUT make the stuff I do own have more meaning.

Basically, I’m doing another minimalist thing. But I’m upping the ante.

This time I ain’t following no Pinterest list! I’m doing it my way…

Here’s a list of the areas I want to recalibrate:

Clothes.
Just all the clothes. I’m stuffing clothes on top of clothes so I can’t see what I have. Only a third of my wardrobe gets touched. So I should get rid of the other two thirds, right?
My goal: To streamline my wardrobe. To not buy anything for a couple of months. And remember how to love what I wear.

Health/Diet.
This one is the most difficult area (for me at least). It involved listening to your body and your mind. What it needs, when. And how much. A thing which I am really bad at. Like really, really bad at.
My goal: To use the ‘vege’ part of vegetarian… instead of the pancake, pizza, fried stuff part. And to get up off the sofa!

Beauty.
Beauty stuff is easy for me. I’ve always been anti-animal testing. And anti-putting stuff all over my face. It’s a natural leap to consider vegan options for beauty. I’ll be working towards a completely zero waste, minimal, cruelty-free beauty routine.
My goal: To improve my self-confidence in my search for clear, soft, happy skin and hair. (And also to test lotions and potions to feel like a witch.)

Kitchen.
This one is more of a personal vendetta but I’ll try to make it as followable as possible. Our kitchen is the worst. It’s overflowing with stuff that we’ve not recycled. There’s waste food coming in and out constantly. There’s stuff in boxes that we’ve yet to unpack. (We moved house in August.) And we seem to create so much waste and washing up with every meal. It’s dumb.
My goal: To explore the world of bulk buying, zero waste kitchens and meal prep. As well as just doing my damn recycling.

Work Place.
I work from home so this might not be as relatable as some of the other areas. But it’s a bit of a state in there. I’ve got stuff everywhere. More notepads that I’ll ever use. Piles of different types of paper. Art supplies from the GCSE ages. Old scripts; edited and discarded. Clutter. Wires. It’s not productive. It’s not inspirational.
My goal: To create turn my office into a place that’s nice to be in. Not a place that’s a catch-all for crap.

(This is also the part where I say I’m going to re-evaluate my book collection but you and I both know that that’s probably not going to happen…)

“Stuff”
The last category is miscellaneous stuff. This is where Marie Kondo will make it all better. “Does this thing bring you joy?” “Does it have a function?” If you answered no to these questions then find a new home for it.
My goal: To declutter and destress my home. To not buy things. Or if I do buy something to get rid of two unloved items.

I will (try) to document everything. And be as helpful as possible to those of you who are also searching for a simpler, more decluttered world.

But for now,

Thanks for reading and happy, um…, January.