I’m a huge advocate of downsizing, getting rid of heaps of your “stuff” and living with what you only really NEED. It’s utterly liberating and addictive. The less you have, the less you need and the less you want. I hardly ever buy anything new. Seriously. I pain and fret over new purchases and it’s another item that I don't really want.
However, when I need something- I buy things I love and know I will keep. I longed for a reusable coffee cup that I loved, for a long time. I used jam jars, old bottles, whilst I researched a textile I could stand by, was practical and not too expensive.
And so for my birthday my partner bought me a hand designed bamboo reusable coffee mug. There is a huge amount of pleasure getting something new that you’ve wanted for months and months, and it’s the thing you really really want. It was made even more special that being a marine biologist, he commented that it wasn't very biologically accurate, having a platypus swimming with coral(!) He bought it whilst still sick from Dengue, direct from the small business and the designer- Suki McMaster.
Now. It might seem a bit over the top writing a whole article about the fact that I lost this keep cup. But I really hope it strikes a cord with others, who like me are minimalists and only buy things that they seriously cherish. Having very few things, you come to rely on these hard wearing items.
Loosing an important part of a small toolkit is annoying and frustrating, and buying a new one is a bit of an ordeal. But I also got very sentimental about that coffee mug with the platypus in the coral that Lee bought when he was sick. Not only was it an integral part of my busy going waste free life but it meant a whole lot too.
I won’t be buying another for a long time- I’ll be back to my jam jars, and although this awful feeling of loss thats a bit dramatic for a material item- is a pretty horrible downside to a freedom initiative of minimialising- it actually makes me more inclined to cut my stuff even more.
But life is bigger than a reusable coffee mug. I hope someone finds it and uses it, and it’s not stranded on the side of a hike in the Great Otway!!
If you're a minimalist, and you've got a tiny highly used toolkit, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to know how you "detach" yourself from your belongings!
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