Friday, July 22, 2011

Living like a minimalist, in spades.

I am gradually adjusting to this simple and sparse mode of living.

The pictures are still on the walls.

The books are still on the shelves.

But the drawers and the cupboards are bare as Mother Hubbard's, - I open a door to find something, but look!  Simplicity plus, - nothing but pure air.  Whatever I needed is packed in a box......amazingly we manage to make do, or go without.

We have a pen, two pencils, a large pad to make notes on and remind ourselves of what still needs to be done, and we are excruciatingly careful not to misplace any of them.

We make lists of what happens when, who will be on first, and where will the cat live while all chaos slowly becomes order.  I envision in my mind what will fit where in the new rooms, and try to remember just where the second bathroom fits into the scheme of things.  And what will I do without a pantry?

When it gets too much I go out into the garden and admire the lilies and the bee balm growing next to them, snip some sweet peas and rub the lavender between my fingertips, enveloping myself in its beautiful fragrance.







or gaze off into the hills and the heavens




The movers come on the 28th!

10 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

Sounds like a challenge living minimally! It's amazing how little we really need/ I wonder if that will change you way of living when you move into your new place.

Hildred said...

Yes, I wonder too, - I have passed on great mounds of 'things' but probably still have enough left to indulge ourselves with much more than we need.

Hildred said...

Thank you for pointing this out to me, Teena, - sure enough, I wrote my first hesitant posting on July 23rd, 2006. And 776 posts later ( or thereabouts) I am still enthused! Is there somewhere you found this information????

The Weaver of Grass said...

Two questions for you Hildres.

I do hope you are not moving away from those wonderful hills are you?

And has the cat picked up your vibes that you are moving?

Michelle said...

What a beautiful garden you have! I hope your new place has room for a new garden!

Hildred said...

Well Pat, we won't have the view we have now, alas, but we are only moving into the village - down the hill and a few blocks along the avenue, and the hills will still surround us. We will still be able to see the hills and the stars from our bedroom window.

Poor Callie (the cat) - she keeps going from one place to another that seems familiar, - sleeps on my sweater or on Charles' lap at nap time, and has taken to creeping under the blankets at the bottom of the bed and spending hours where it feels and smells like home. Far too many boxes and changes for her to be comfortable, but I hope that she will settle in well.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'm keeping you two in my thoughts as you go through this time of mixed emotions, not to mention total exhaustion!

After we finished sorting and giving things to the kids and storing a bit in our daughter's barn, we had a professional estate seller person come in and sell the rest; she staged it by putting the stuff we didn't want any more back on the walls and in the appropriate rooms and then opened it up for sale. It looked so good without all the clutter that had built up in the drawers and closets that I almost moved back in ;>)

Freya Pickard said...

Thank you for commenting on my blogsite. I love the photographs on yours!

Ms. Becky said...

I wouldn't mind minimalist living such as this! we all have too much stuff. way more than we need. your photos are lovely.

Barb said...

Extravagance and excess we don't need - unless we're talking about flowers! I'll be thinking of you and Charles on the 28th, Hildred.