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july 2017yogajournal.com.auPHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) TRICIA HOGBIN; ADAM GRUBB; ADAM HOLLINGWORTHI SHALL NEVER THROW OUT my pastel
green and silver sequinned top; I wore
it dancing on my wedding night. Mum’s
old typewriter is not for the dump; it’s a
piece of the past now proudly positioned
in our hallway. I’m keeping nana’s
crockery sets which lovingly line my
kitchen shelves, and I simply cannot
part with my yellow and brown terry
towelling hot pants as they make me
laugh out loud every time they surface in
my over-stuffed wardrobe.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no stranger
to living lightly, aka without the much-
loved bits and bobs that fill both house
and life. I’ve spent six months in a pop-
top van (1 cooking pot, 2 changes of
clothes, 1 map of Australia, 2 bikes,
1 boyfriend and his guitar). I’ve spent
two years travelling the world (1 back-
pack, 1 set of stripy thermals, no map,
and 2 colourful companions). And I’ve
known frugality (1 top-floor tenement
apartment in Glasgow, 1 temperamental
second-hand television, 8 flatmates, and
milk for your porridge if you got to thefridge fast). Living unencumbered can
come naturally. While, at other times,
the lure of a bigger salary, a better car,
a dream house and the accumulation
of stuff can become a craving and an
intoxicating lifestyle preference. But
does this lifestyle choice make us happy
and the best versions of ourselves? Or do
we want more? Are we spending our
time and money how we would like to?
Host and creator of The Slow Home
Podcast and author of Destination
Simple: Everyday Rituals for a Slower Life,
Brooke McAlary, says minimalism is
about lifestyle rather than aesthetics
(“there can be a misconception that it’s
all stark white rooms”). “For me it’s
about stripping away the excess in order
to spend more time doing the things
that are important. A huge part of that
has been figuring out what those
important things are. I’ve thought about
what I want life to stand for, because if I
had kept going in the direction I was six
years ago, my legacy would have been an
overstuffed house, credit card debt andconstantly trying to keep up with the
Joneses.”
Brooke, who ran a hugely successful
handmade jewellery label while her
husband worked long hours in the city,
was diagnosed with post-natal
depression after her second child was
born. She suffered anxiety and had
suicidal thoughts. “Life was hectic and
awful.” Brooke’s psychiatrist
recommended she try “simplifying” her
life. Now, she says, her family chooses
lifestyle over income and prioritises
time together. “No dollar amount would
improve that.” She’s lost interest in the
consumer cycle “because it stops being
enticing and we start valuing different
things like time, energy and space”.
She’s learning how to say “no” in a bid
to create more time for what she wants
to say “yes” to. She’s changed how she
views success: “I had to let go of what I
thought it meant to be successful, and
that opened us up to so many more
possibilities of being content.
Contentment is really underrated!
“I used to think contentment was
mediocrity because you weren’t striving
for the next thing to make you happy.
I’ve realised there is happiness – a quiet,
even, happiness – to be found in
contentment ... in saying that what I
have right here, right now, is enough.
When you embrace that, you simply
stop wanting more and you start living
in gratitude for the things in front of
you. For me, that’s been phenomenal.”
The change in mindset was also
liberating for Jodi Wilson, yoga teacher
and founder of Practising Simplicity.
“Rifling through your belongings can be
confronting. When you’re clearing,
you’re making physical space as well
as mental clarity. Consumerism is an
addiction; I think it’s about choosing a
healthier alternative.”
Jodi, a mother of three, says living
simply is about spending less, using op
shops, and deciding to mend a hole in
your jumper rather than buy a new one.
Buying good quality clothing and
products means no over-purchasing and
no need to keep replacing poor-quality
buys. Jodi says being organised helps,
and even the habit of a monthly meal
plan can be a powerful tool as you
reduce the number of times you return
to the shops, you reduce decision-
making time, and you spend less.
Founder of Melbourne Minimalists
Meetup – a group with 500 members –Tricia Hogbin’s renovated shipping container house and large vegetable gardenBrooke McAlary Annie Raser-Rowland