Ok, here it goes: one of my most embarrassing photos from my student days. This is what my studio looked like at pretty much any typical day. I took this photos when I met Jelger to have a before/after when I cleaned, hahaha.

The first time I invited Jelger over, I obviously cleaned like a maniac. And I also distracted him with a giant meat lasagna. 8 years later he’s still around. 😉 (ask me for the recipe, really!)

Why am I sharing this? I’m convinced that clutter in my living space, equals clutter in my head. And my head was extremely cluttered in my university days. I wasn’t in a good space…

Clutter in my living space equals clutter in my head.

Luckily living together with Jelger helped me to get better at tidying and decluttering. Better, but definitely not perfect. I was still rather messy (in my space AND in my mind)

Moving countries

Moving countries made us get rid of everything we owned (with the exception of 4 suitcases and two cats). Still, as time progressed, without noticing, slowly but steadily I started collecting more and more items I didn’t need (or even like!). How was it possible that I went from owning next to nothing to having a pile of things that was totally unnecessary and even annoying?! Think weird little bowls, pepper shakers, books, gifts and even our couch.

Ever since our cat destroyed our couch, we couldn’t stand the look of it. So why not just get a new one or go to an upholsterer? We figured we needed a space that evoked more peace and calmness. And since we live in a small apartment, that meant getting rid of it altogether. 😉 We exchanged it for a pile of pillows to hang out. Why not?!

Decluttering time

Our big decluttering was evoked by me reading The life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo. Marie says: “if it doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it.” Think about it! Of course you have some practical items that aren’t making you jump with joy, but why keep all of these I-should-keep-it-because-it-is-still-good-and-I-might-need-it-one-day items? So many of the things in our house were not helping us nor making us happy!

After stepping up our game we got rid of 3 cars filled with stuff. How on earth did that even fit in our apartment?! And why did I keep so many clothes I actually never wore, just because… Crazy!

I also realized that I didn’t own many items just for the sole purpose of them making me happy. Everything always had to be “functional”. I’m glad we brought home some fun candle holders, little decor elements and some crystals. They make me happy when I look at them! 🙂

So now I’m living couchless, without an excess of clothes, but with a lot more space in my home and my head. 😉

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