A Return to Slow

When I first launched this blog (back in 2011!) it was about creating a slow home - a holistic approach to building a life of contentment, balance and focus on the important things.As part of the process of creating our slow home I began writing about my decluttering efforts and found a large group of readers who needed help with letting go of their stuff. My posts about decluttering resonated and I started focusing more and more on Stuff - how to let go of it, what to do with it, why we don't need it.Now it's 2015 and I run an amazing group on Facebook that helps people declutter their homes and lives. I've written handbooks that take people through the process of simplifying every area of their house over the course of a year. I write a lot of blog posts on the topic of decluttering.However, my passion is Slow. And for someone who is building a life that doesn't place undue importance on the things we own, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking and writing about Stuff.And Stuff is not what I'm passionate about. My passion lies in helping people create slower, simpler lives with space and time to focus on the things that matter. Decluttering is a big part of the process and an absolutely vital one. It's impossible to create a simpler, slower life without getting rid of the crap and cruft and clutter first. Stuff is heavy.But the idea is to move beyond Stuff. I'm not concerned with the specifics of this, as it might mean you own 100 things and can successfully live from a backpack for the rest of your life, or that your 6-bedroom home in the suburbs is now uncluttered and inviting. What a simplified home looks like is up to you.For me it's about a space that has space. White space and empty walls. Space for relaxation and spontaneity and heaps of laughter. Space to enjoy the view and the airiness. Space to reflect. Space to continue to build a life for our family that feels authentic and positive and intentional. Because doing that allows the stuff we do own, the stuff we intentionally keep and choose to surround ourselves with, the things we do, the choices we make, the experiences we pursue, the work we do - that space makes it all more important. Giving those things room makes them important, because they are important.But getting beyond that part is where life really starts to get interesting, and that is where my passion lies. In helping people get to the living part.So this blog will continue, of course. (What else would I do with myself at 4am?) But I want to go back to exploring ideas on the periphery of Stuff. How we can create a home and a life that work for us, with rhythms and systems and ideas that help guide us in the direction we want to take. What we can add to our lives in order to make them feel whole. Reconnecting with dreams and desires and goals that have long been buried under mountains of things we no longer want or need.In short, I want to provide the how-to and the why-to create a slower, simpler life.I also want to introduce the idea of slow, simple living to as many people as possible which is one of the reasons I'm launching a new podcast in a few weeks time.The weekly show is called The Slow Home Podcast and in it I will dive deep into the ideas, practicalities and realities of living a slower, simpler life. Some weeks I will have special guests with me (I'm so excited to share these with you) and other shows it will just be me riffing on what slow living is all about.I'd also love to answer your questions on the show. So if you have any questions related to slow, simple living, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below or drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you!Similarly, if you have any suggestions, topics, ideas or guests you'd like to see featured on the podcast, let me know.