Keep that holiday feeling

Peace_and_flowers

I have just come back from a week long holiday in West Wales. I felt relaxed, free from worries and clutter and now I'm back home I want to keep that feeling:). We stayed in a lovely cottage in Wales and it occurred to me that I liked it so much because for a week we lived a simple life. The thing with holiday cottages is that they only have the essentials needed to get by - just enough crockery and kitchen utensils, a few books, a few games and not many ornaments and general junk that we all tend to accumulate. We ate simple dinners and only shopped for food once. We made the most of the good weather and spent a lot of time outdoors (walking, visiting castles etc) doing things that were largely free (made the most of my NT membership).

Well this is how I intend to carry on. I want to feel that sense of simplicity everyday and free myself from the emotional and physical clutter that has built up over the years.

Not entirely sure whether I will achieve this. But I have made a start and the first thing I'm doing is having a good clear out. Then I'm going to sort out some simple recipes that we can have on a regular basis.....

ditsykitchen

My OH's parents live in a cottage in the pennines (it used to be a holiday home but they moved there permanantly a couple of weeks ago). Every time we go there we feel super relaxed. This inspired me to live a more cottage-style life at home. At night, I like to put relaxed music on and lght candles or have a nice ridiculouly long bath, rather than automatically sticking the tv on. TVs are such a mood killer imo. During the day I spend a long time cooking, preparing meals really from scratch, baking bread, etc. I also recently started foraging occassionally and have created a cottagey garden feel in our yard with a lot of pots. I've been trying to simplify life and revel in the small things.

A clear out is a great way to start! A house can be both cosy and clutter free, I have finally realised...

Sorry for rambling!

Tillytrotter1

You're right Ditsy, the tv is such a mood killer. Before we had children the tv would be on from the time we got home to when we went to bed, soap after soap and left you too tired for anything. Now we only have the tv on for an hour and I feel so much better for it. More gets done, like cooking and planning things, more time for reading, social activities, losing yourself in forums for hours...

Op I hope you manage to maintain that feeling, you've certainly made a good start

maman

I think having a clear out is a great idea (don't some people call it Feng Shui;)).

Another tip is to make a point of planning to go out somewhere at least once a week. Make a plan and stick to it. It's all too easy to waste time pottering at home or round the shops. Sometimes, we've gone to a neighbouring town (or even our own city) and visited Tourist Information, got a map and had a look around like a tourist or joined a guided walk.

pigpen

There are some good decluttering threads on here if you peek about.. they will give you ideas on flinging and what you can really live without.

Storage seems to be more of an issue for many people, they have stuff they need or want to keep but nowhere to put it.
Downsizing the wardrobe is usually a good idea too.. and getting rid of all those rarely used appliance/kitchen clutter.