I took a simple living pledge! Join me!

Dear readers, while I am still recovering from a monster flu, there is one really positive outcome of these weeks. I started to really appreciate simple living. Life is especially busy, fast and stressful here in New York, and the environment - stores, media, displays - is only increasing the stress. During these last weeks, I occasionally watched TV, which is airing mostly mental clutter and adding to the pressure of Christmas consumerism.

So, what we did is got rid of cable, Netflix subscription and right after that we banned our TV-set... Wait, I can still watch some good movies on my Mac, but now we won't just automatically reach for a remote to fill the silence. On the contrary, we enjoy the silence. I spent quite some time going through books in my library and realized how much I missed them, because for the last year I have been mostly reading on my iPhone Kindle app or reader.

I also signed up for a new wardrobe challenge (more about it later) and realized I can sew all eleven items for this challenge with my stash fabrics. I am actually happy I do not have to go to the Garment District to buy more and more... I need to quit fabric buying just for the sake of it.

Of course, couture sewing is not synonymous with simple living, but I can find ways for it to make sense.  I won't be sewing lots of garments this year - only what I really need for my lifestyle! And I will focus on quality rather than quantity. I will also limit shopping for garments to a very minimum, buying only what I cannot make myself.

By the way, I got another box full of vintage patterns, which I am going to give away during PatternReview Weekend in New York this May.

I did more... but I won't spend more time describing everything I did because someone is waiting for me to play backgammon with our beautiful Moroccan backgammon set, which we haven't touched for ages.

To say it in one line:

I took a simple living pledge

I pledge to live a simple life through:

• decluttering;
• using less; 
• learning to be sustainable in all aspects of life; 
• slowing down and finding joy in little things; 
• reconnecting with my inner self; 
• spending more time with my loved ones; 
• elevating experiences above possessions. 

Readers, do you think this is extreme? Or do you share the feeling? If you do, go to Kanelstrand blog to learn more about the challenge and maybe to take the pledge as well.