Monday 16 November 2009

Beautiful, useful and lightweight


'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.' - William Morris

I agree with Mr.Morris and will raise him with 'lightweight'.

As Dan and I prepare for the big trans-Oceanic move (again), we've begun mercilessly whittling our wares. By nature I'm a sentimental hoarder, but after packing and unpacking all my possessions so many times in the last 5 years that I've lost count, I've learned the art of minimalism. Not only is minimalism a nice aesthetic and simple way of life, but when you have to pay by weight to ship something across the world, it makes you really rethink the value of the object. I still have visions of a post office in Japan shipping four huge boxes of (probably hardback) books back home and getting the bill of $400. I almost fainted and learned  a valuable lesson.

This weekend the stormy weather brought us indoors on Saturday for a cozy day of going through and sorting all the crap I've accumulated since the last sort. It was a therapeutic binge of a clean. I tore through my 'creative corner' and rid myself of ribbons and paper that I've had for years and will probably never use. I'm nowhere near done but I have started throwing out a lot and have a growing pile of things to sell and give away. My next step will be to learn to sell stuff on ebay - I'm a bit behind on those skills but figured now's the time to learn.

Sunday we ticked more things off the London list and photos will follow. We got the Transport Museum shop (that's all I need) and the British Museum done and I also bought a nice sage and cinnamon candle to get us through the next month with holiday cheer. And figured now is the time for the Alisha-in-a-phone-booth shot I've always been embarrassed to take, so enjoy...

What was everyone else up to this weekend?

9 comments:

ululani said...

I am going through the same thing of packing and getting rid of things I don't need--it is hard to let go however of certain things...like shoes for example...oh Jesus help me...the Royal Post is quite expensive, and not very consistent...

Jenny said...

your hair looks great, Alisha!

Unknown said...

brilliant Alisha! lightweight is the key to heaven's gate, i say. (okay, so I just wrote it and have never really said it out loud....it's late.)

this weekend I celebrated Wesley's birthday with him and his family. my favorite part was making the grilled cheese sandwiches with jenny because we got to chat, laugh together, and do something we used to do back in high school...such fond memories.

hope the whittling goes well!

alisha said...

Ulu - I know not to pawn my stuff off on you then!

Jenny and Jane - I wish I was there with you celebrating Wesley's birthday. Maybe next year! Thanks also the catchy words of wisdom.

Vanessa said...

I wish my pic of me in a red telephone booth looked as glamorous as yours!

I went to the Lord Mayor's Parade on Saturday! It was amazing and made me fall in love with London (again). The weather was horrible as you can imagine but it was worth it.

Let me know if you need any help!

alisha said...

Thanks Vanessa! You'll have to go through and see if you want to take any of my stuff off me in the next few weeks. :)

Nadine said...

I love the phone booth photo!

I'm all about minimalism. We came here with just two suitcases and even though we've acquired some stuff since then, we really don't have a lot. It's amazing what you don't miss.

Vanessa said...

You are the best! I can help you with your Ebay listings if you still need it. The girl at my work always sells her stuff on Ebay so I can get some tips.

I wish I could be a minimalist. I am a girl who needs options and poor Tim has to deal with it. I fear the day Tim and I decide to move to California.

ofcomputer said...

I love the fact that you've been planning the phone booth shot for ages but you still look surprised when it eventually gets taken ;)

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