A minimal, intentional way of living

Hubby is away this weekend so it's time to clean and declutter to my heart's content. The decluttering is especially important as I don't want to bring anything that we don't NEED into our new space. My vow to myself is to try and take steps towards a more intentional way of living minimally.

Up until a few years ago, I lived very minimally- I had 1 pair of jeans and 5 other bottoms: skirts, pants included. I had about 10 tops and 2 jumpers and 1 jacket. I had 3 pairs of shoes. And now I am embarrass to say that I have more than enough clothes and shoes to outfit a village. It is time to go back to living minimally.

Now that doesn't mean that my family and I will do without material things. It just means that we will do away with things we DO NOT NEED.

And so this weekend, I am going to start with my closet. I do this all the time, but it seems like I still have so much stuff. I guess I am going to have to be absolutely ruthless and only keep the essentials. Deciding what is essential used to be easy, now it is not so straighforward...does anyone else have this problem?

Perhaps it's time to find inspiration from fellow bloggers- http://www.becomingminimalist.com/ and to reflect on these photos. 



My mom, who loves her clutter, feels that my house is already "empty!" She is going to freak out further when she finds out that I am getting rid of more STUFF. Perhaps what I need to tell her as well as remind myself is that having so much stuff does not make me happy. In fact, the clutter bogs me down and makes me anxious. The physical clutter I see around me becomes emotional clutter inside of me. It is time to start releasing that clutter. And a move in the next few months gives me that perfect nudge to get started.

Our global inspired home

A few people have asked me what decorating styles inspire me, which looks make my heart skip a beat and hold my breath. To be honest, I have changed a lot in terms of what I like in home styles. The furniture in our current home is a collection of so many different styles as I wandered about, finding what makes my heart sing. Yet I still have to say that while it looks to be an eclectic mix, all the pieces somehow work to convey a sense of coziness and warmth. My house is never a museum and although it is filled with things I loved, it is ultimately a home where people can literally put their feet up and find comfort and even solace.

But building a new home means being able to start fresh, and while I have loved so many of the pieces we have in our current home, some will have to go to new owners. Our new home will not just reflect my style, but also my husband and kids. They have been very involved in the process of choosing colours, styles and even their own furniture for this new home. And so yes folks I am reigning in my usual control nature to bring more balance to our new home. I know some of you are shocked by this admission. Trust me, it wasn't easy!

For instance, anyone who knows me knows how much I love wood. But hubby made a request from the very beginning of this build for a leather uphostlered king size bed as he keeps knocking his knee into the wooden foot of the bed and of course hurting and bruising it in the process. He wanted something softer. Of course my control nature said no way! Upon realising that I need to give a bit, I went about looking for that perfect leather bed for hubby. And many months later, we found it at Forty Winks. It is still quite minimal which is important for me and  hubby can bump into the bed all he wants and it won't be an issue. Win, win for all involved.

So what is this style I am alluding to which is able to marry all of our styles? I call it the minimalist, global style. My family and I have had the fortune to travel quite a bit and in our travels we have witnessed the beauty of people's lives from all over the world. We want that reflected in our new home. We have picked up gorgeous handmade rugs from Turkey, and wooden accessories, a beautiful antique painting, and a camel hair runner from Syria on our last trip. We also have things we bought and things friends have given us during our 4 year stay in Malaysia I have items my parents and I bought from Vietnam, reflecting our heritage. But I also have Morrocan laterns, tangines, candle holders, cushions I have collected throughout the years. I also have a love for ornate Chinese dishes and vases in my possession. And we have solid mahogany furniture from Indonesia. This is what we are bringing into our new house and for me this definitely represents who we are.

But at the same time, I love the restrained, minimalist look. So while I want our love of the world to be reflected in our new home, I don't like our house full of clutter. So there it is- the look I love and the inspiration in our new home is the minimalist, global style.

While I can't show you photos of how I would I style the rooms just ye t(perhaps in 2-3 months time after we have moved in), I can include other global style to inspire you. Enjoy folks!