Hello!

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

This is going to be my space to share my journey as I create, learn and explore ideas about leading a more simple life.

So what do I mean by more simple?

I'm going to admit upfront that I'm not a huge fan of the minimalist movement currently making its way around blogs/instagram/pinterest etc.  While there is certainly a lot to be said for clearing the clutter from our lives, I sort of feel like Minimalism (with a capital M) is now just another branch of the consumerist tree.  You can buy books and magazines, you can spend a small fortune on the trendiest minimal designs, and subscribe to podcasts with instructions for a simple life.

Sure, it's all very photo-friendly, but to me, this all seems to defeat the point.

I'm much more of a 'make-do and mend' mindset.  I think it's in my bones.  I come from a long line of women who worked fiercely to earn small wages, and were proud to run their households on a pittance.

But I do not glamorise that life.  They worked hard for little reward and even less recognition.  And it is their hard work that has put me in a position where I am able to sit here and pontificate on such matters.

I digress (as always!).  Really what I'm trying to say is that my idea of simple isn't necessarily about clean lines and white walls (as my dad would say, "you'd get better decorating in't asylum!").  It's more about knowing how to fix things when they break, how to use skills productively and most of all, how to put my creative brain to work so that I'm not so dependent on this consumerist world in which we live.

I've already veered wildly off track.  It'll get better, I promise!

Kim