I watch too many documentaries. That Sugar Film, Fed Up, Cowspiracy, Sick Fat and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, Just Eat It, the list goes on.......and on. I obviously am not the kind of person that can watch a documentary and walk away with no action. That Sugar Film made me so disgusted with the food industry that I quit sugar over a year ago and have minimized buying anything processed (I just eat real food). This action then moved to food waste. I am pedantic about food waste. Food waste breaks down in landfill to produce greenhouse gases. So consequently, I throw no food out. I eat the apple, the core, the ends of zucchinis and carrots, and I really sniff something past the expiry to see if it's still good or truly on the turn. My fridge and pantry stocktaking skills could put me on par with the grand poobah inventory manager of an Amazon.com warehouse. Recently my focus has turned again to other types of waste. My cupboards are full to the brim of shit (50% of which I don't even use). I go to shopping malls and see everyone buying buying buying - all with multiple plastic bags that will come home and go in the bin. My kids have an obscene amount of toys (some gifted, some bought by us, some hand-me-downs). I started thinking "what if all the kids in Australia had as many toys as this?". Most charities don't take second hand toys (believe me I have looked). Even refugee drives request NEW toys. Unbelievable. So sadly all of these plastic toys that all these kids have will go to landfill where it will never ever break down. Plastic never goes away. My guilt rises with every Christmas and birthday. So I thought to myself......there is only one solution. I need to stop buying, to stop consuming. I thought to myself 'what makes us happy?' I can tell you with utter certainty that what makes me happy, I can't hold. I have a husband who is the best thing since sliced sourdough, healthy active kids, a HUGE family and friends support crew, a workplace I love, and a bloody amazing gym I go to every day full of legends. When I really think about it, my kids are the most happy when we are at the park, the pool, the movies, at soccer, scooting, feeding ducks, at the beach. Experiencing life. By pure coincidence my husband listened to a podcast that had Ryan and Josh (The Minimalists) on it recently and told me about their blog. Everything I read there rang true. Life is about people, experiences, adventures. Memories of loved ones are in our mind, not in the possessions of theirs that we continue to hold in a cupboard. So as a family, we have decided that 2017 is the year of adventure. We are not going to buy any material possessions. There are some exceptions obviously - things for the kids for kindy/school that are required and anything that is unable to be fixed around the home that is essential (like the fridge or washing machine). We can buy consumables like food, razors, make-up, and skin products (minimalism doesn't have to smell bad). We will use the things we have, mend them if they break and spend the money we have on getting out and adventuring. We have asked our families for no gifts. To please invite us over for dinner to celebrate birthdays, to take our kids out on an adventure for theirs. We have been overwhelmed with messages of support for what we are doing. We have set ourselves a challenge or two to downsize and reduce what we already own over the year by selling and gifting things. More on this later. So apologies if that hole in my gym tights gets larger, apologies if I ask to borrow a dress for a special occasion, and apologies if you get a dinner at my house and a loaf of bread for your birthday. Lorna Jane......unsubscribe Asos........unsubscribe I really must stop watching documentaries. Have you tried minimalism? What did you struggle with the most?
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