It’s been quite a year, for me as a teacher and trainee therapist. I’ve been busy, my clinical placement and diploma started this autumn and time has whizzed past ever since. But before all that kicked in, over the summer, me and the children watched Marie Kondo on Netflix and decided we would do our own declutter.

This tied in well with wanting to live more simply, with being intentional in when and how I shop. I started this year with one main resolution – to buy less, consume less and I have stuck to this – I didn’t buy any clothes for myself for the best part of a year.

And so thanks to the declutter my drawers and wardrobe are emptier than the start of this year. You don’t need to read one of Marie Kondo’s best selling books to get the essence of her declutter method – you basically pile all your clothes in one (shamingly big) pile.

For a woman of my age and income, I don’t think my pile of clothes was too bad to start with but there was still stuff I could cull. Then once you’ve decided what you throw and what you keep, you move onto step two which is repack the clothes you will keep into your drawers in a more aesthetically pleasing way that means you can always find the jumper or top you are looking for.

Amazingly the kids were on board too and did their own versions of this. Three months later my drawers still look this way and I haven’t brought anything new to add further clutter. My first Extinction Rebellion meeting helped add conviction that this is the right way to live right now – less stuff means more time actually, more time to be with and connect to people, more time to do things I am passionate about.

I hope to continue living a simple life: college, work and family keep me busy enough so to give up needless consumption, whether shopping locally or mindless online purchases, feels a no-brainer right now and I’m more on board than ever to buy less, fly less and drive less in 2020.

Thanks for following my sporadic blogs in 2019,

Wishing you a peaceful Winterval and a mindful 2020!