BZEN

The other day I was browsing the interwebs as you do and I stumbled upon a song called 'Weightless' by Marconi Union. It is an eight minute song that is meant to slow down your heart rate as it plays. I listened to the first minute of it and sent the Husband a text asking him if he wouldn't mind downloading the song for me onto my phone. When I got home he surprised me and told me he had bought me the entire album. He loaded it up onto my phone for me and the next day on the bus home as I was feeling a little frayed from a long day at work I decided to pop in my ear buds and hit 'play'. I fell in love, and then I fell asleep. True story. The songs on the album which is titled "The Ambient Zone by Just Music Café Vol. 4" are so darn relaxing it actually made me drift off to sleep while I was on the bus - luckily I woke up in time to still catch my stop and didn't end up at the bus depot. I was surprised by what a calming effect the music had o

When I recently adopted a 3 and a half year old cat from the local Humane Society I thought it would be easy, especially since my family has had cats for the past 8 years so I figured I knew a thing or two. Little did I know that some of the simple mistakes I made could lead to quite frustrating (and somewhat costly) situations, for both myself and the cat. I thought I'd share 5 tips I've learnt in the past month that will make the integration of a new cat to your home a lot easier. Cats are minimalists too. Cats like to keep things simple. They do not need fancy cat litter. I repeat, they DO NOT (notice the use of bold, italicize and underline here) need fancy cat litter. I learnt this the hard way when I decided to buy the 'lightweight' scented cat litter for my new friend. He used the litter box for the first week we had him, and then the second week decided he no longer wanted to use it and turned our spare room into his litter box. I shit yo

"Not all of us need to shine". I read that somewhere in one of the many articles I've read on the internet, and like most articles I didn't think to save it. It took a few days for the meaning of this simple sentence to sink in, and when I went back to look for the article to read it again I couldn't find it anywhere. Throughout my journey towards finding happiness, I used to think 'when I have *insert shiny object* , then I will be happy', but the problem with wanting more is that it will never be enough.  And so, minimalism - the idea of pursuing less 'more', and finding contentment and joy in all the little moments of magic that surround us. For me, minimalism has cleared the fog I was unaware I was walking around in, and I feel like I can breath easy again. Things that didn't matter before, suddenly do, and things I thought were really important in my life no longer are. Not all of us need to shine. Some of us just wan

Let's talk about thrifting and borrowing. Whatever happened to them? Why did we stop knocking on our neighbours doors to borrow a bowl of sugar? And why is it 'gross' to buy clothes second hand? One of the many things I've learnt on my minimalism journey is the beauty of sharing, and the beauty of items pre-loved. Borrowing let's me... - Own less - Connect with my neighbours - Lend to them in return - Build relationships through trust and helping - Spend less money (if any!) - Pool resources creating a sense of community Thrifting let's me... - Spend far less than I would at a big box store - Recycle items that are still in great condition which is great for the environment - Not contribute to sweat shop and low wage conditions - Not contribute to industries that use items made from animal skin/fur - Find items or styles I would never find in today's stores - Find 'one off'' items Seriously.

As with everything, balance is key. Not too much, not too little, just enough. Right? But balance can be extremely hard to find, and that has been my struggle with minimalism. There are days when I want to give in and just keep everything. There are other days where I feel really motivated and want to get rid of a ton. But these extremes don't usually work out well, or feel all that good. A balance of having enough but not too much is what I am looking for but finding that balance can be hard. For example something I love is decorating my house for different seasons. Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons to decorate for because I want to make my home feel like a nest where it's all warm and cozy and to do so I like to buy bits and pieces that fit the season - a pillow here, a candle there, maybe a wreath or an ornament or two. But as soon as I purchase anything no matter how big or small, and no matter how many things I may have gotten rid of the week prior, I still f