Welcome to Our Minimalist Life (The Not So Juicy Backstory)

Until 2008 we were a couple of regular consumers. We had two cars, a house full of stuff and a ton of debt. Life was stressful. We drank too much and argued a lot.

We were on the verge of moving house when, daunted at the prospect, Ang got it into to her head that we should sell everything and move into a furnished apartment.

It took some persuading (and more wine), but Sporty eventually agreed. And that’s when everything changed for the better. 

We adopted a minimalist lifestyle to save ourselves from the agonies that come with moving house, but it’s the unexpected benefits resulting from that decision that continue to astound us. Ditching our stuff enabled us to finally (and permanently) become debt-free. It also put us on a path to personal growth, prompted us to clean up our diet and get healthy, and best of all, it’s improved our relationship.

If we had to sum it up, you could say it’s made us more mindful.

There’s no room for awareness when you’re stuck on the hedonic treadmill, but get off it and your world opens up. We started noticing the impact our day-to-day choices had on ourselves, the people around us, and the environment. Before long we were were looking for ways to do things differently to reduce that impact.

It’s been 12+ years since we embarked on this simple living journey and we’re happier than ever. The amount of things we own has gone up and down depending on our circumstances, but we never have anything we don’t use or value in our home. This blog is a culmination of our learnings and experiences. We hope you find it helpful.

What Do We Talk About on Mostly Mindful?

Our three main categories are simple living, sustainability and wellbeing. Topics under these umbrellas run the gamut from decluttering and organising to eating well, being more mindful and shopping in a way that doesn’t harm the planet. We also talk personal growth, living cruelty-free, and what to do with household trash.

The clue is in the name: Mostly Mindful. We’re not a couple of greenies living off the grid in a teepee somewhere. We’re your common or garden urban hippies. Which its to say, we strive to be mindful about how we live most of the time. We don’t always get it right, but we do our best.

We want to encourage you to do the same.

Most people are living stressed out lives because they own too much stuff, which is completely ironic since they were convinced that stuff would make them happier. The truth is, our need to ‘consume’ has consequences far beyond the clutter, debt and stress. It also affects our planet and the beings we share it with.

If we all aim to be mostly mindful, we can make a real difference. It also means we can stay here instead of move to Mars.

Lifestyle Experiments

After the success of her “let’s sell everything” suggestion, Ang got it into her head to come up with even more harebrained schemes to keep us out of our comfort zone. (She prefers calling them lifestyle experiments.)

• We tried house sitting as means to untether ourselves and avoid paying rent. But after seven months—four of which were spent hound-sitting in a small town—we decided to settle down in the ‘burbs again.

• One lifestyle experiment involved seeing how little we could live with. (Washing dishes was a pleasure.)

• We adopted a furniture-free lifestyle for while.

• We looked after a permaculture farm.

Getting Started (Baby Steps)

Getting started on this ‘less is more’ journey can seem daunting. Especially when you’re stressed, in debt and surrounded by clutter. Be gentle with yourself. Take it slow and steady. This is definitely one of those instances where channeling your inner tortoise is going to win you the race!

If you’re keen to join us on this journey (yay!), you can go ahead choose your own simple living adventure by a) watching Ang’s TEDx talk, b) checking out the popular posts on our homepage, or c) browsing our content by category (you’ll find the categories conveniently placed in the navigation bar).

To mostly mindful infinity and beyond! 😉