5 words...

There's been a few changes around here lately. Strangely since returning to Melbourne married and 30 last month, I've also come back with an entirely fresh set of ideas. Well fresh for me. No longer am I collecting more and more bags/shoes/clothes/jewellery that I think I need, but I've started clearing out... using the mantra I picked up on my first very inspiring visit to zenhabits

Does     this     simplify     my     life?

Nope? Out with it then! Room by room I've been more ruthless than ever before - uncluttering to my heart's content and down to the essentials. I've kept some items aside for friends who I think might enjoy them, sold some on eBay with a few great ideas of how to spend the cash, and there is a bootload of goodies to drop of to our local op-shop with still 3 rooms to go!

It's incredible how we hardly ever (or never) use some of the stuff in our home - I made a decision that if its in our house, it better have a very good reason - and this is the statement that I fall back on if I hesitate.

With my attention being diverted for the last week, I'm still halfway through Day 3 and look forward to ticking it off tomorrow evening. There's 3 boxes of stuff and 1 pile of clothes from Day 2's efforts, and I was simply amazed when I was able to completely empty 4 drawers of the chest in the guest room - I could relocate some other things there and make more room in the hallway cupboard to store our suitcases and spare dining chairs! This is really working!

I've found myself asking those same 5 words in other areas of life too - and I'm becoming more interested in just what sort of nasties are in our everyday products. Starting with toiletries, I'll slowly be replacing each chemically laden product with a clean, green alternative and I look forward to sharing my results with you. A couple of brands I've got my eye on are trilogy, grown and sukin. These are high on my list as they are all Australian/ New Zealand products, all avoid some of the most infamous chemicals such as parabens and sodium lauryl sulphates, and they have recognised their responsibility to incorporate environmentally friendly, recyclable packaging across their ranges.

From skincare to cleaning, and the kitchen and laundry products are next on my hitlist - we've been pretty good at choosing biodegradeable dishwashing and laundry detergents, however we've been buying Seventh Generation - an American brand. Upon closer inspection of the cleaning aisle at Passionfoods, I discovered 2 eco-friendly brands which are made right here in Victoria - we'll be working our way through these ranges first!

So my journey of informed decisions will continue, and I look forward to sharing it.