March. Change can sometimes feel like it's taking forever to happen. Change can also come around really quickly. I've always been hesitant about change. I like to be comfortable, I like a routine. I feel secure with the things I know. I also know that without change you don't grow. Without change you stop living and just exist. Life gets a bit stagnant, almost like it's on repeat.
March, for me, was a month of change and it was very welcome. After living in a share house for five years, the only house I'd lived in since moving to Sydney, my boyfriend and I took the leap and moved into our very own place. Given we'd both been living together, in the share house, it still felt like a big, grown up, step to take. Being at the end of the month with the power of a little hindsight, I can see that it was a big step, but like most things between us, it happened naturally and to our own timing and not anyone else's.
I feel a little guilty and a bit arrogant for saying how magical and perfect it's all turned out. Our new place is perfect mix of us both. It's new but it has old charm. There is wood floors and white walls, all I've dreamed about since I left my family home shortly after my parents separated 10 years ago. There are lots of windows that we can open to let all of the fresh air in. There is plenty of natural sunlight, and just like my old family home, we have a view of treetops, buildings and the sky. In some ways I feel like I have very subconsciously manifested this apartment and the small things that already have me feeling like I'm 'home'.
This is also the first time I've ever lived with less than five people. It's a little strange to come home and not always have someone to chat to about your day, to share the kitchen with or negotiate who's having a shower and when, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was enjoying the space. With the space, both the new physical space, and space between other humans, I feel like I have an opportunity now to be productive and not distracted. I have already been cooking more at home, taking my lunches to work more regularly, getting better at reducing my food waste and keeping everything neat, clean and tidy. It's much simpler when there is only you and one other to look after!
Moving out into our own place also meant saying goodbye to share housing. For some, saying goodbye to share housing is the sweetest thing imaginable. For me, it was very bittersweet but to counter the bitter and not let myself get too upset about the change I reached for gratitude. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to live in a share house for as long as I did and for all of the people that I lived with and met during that time. My life would have been all the poorer had I not got to have this experience of sharing a rundown terrace house on a leafy street in Redfern as it's given me some of the greatest friendships and shared memories that will last a lifetime. I'm truly grateful that I didn't grow up too fast and miss out on all the fun, frustrations, trials and tribulations of share housing because it was worth every second, even when we were faced with the housemate from hell.
Everyone always speaks about 'moving' with a lot animosity but I really enjoyed the process (please don't think I'm a smug bitch... it's been a long time between moves!). It was so good to do a full audit on everything I own and take stock of all of my belongings. I feel like I don't have an awful lot in comparison to other women, but I definitely did. It was especially apparent after walking all of my things up six flights of stairs. After this, I imagined straight away what having to move out in 12 months would be like, and then started to edit down my belongings from there aiming to only keep the ones that I love, or that "spark joy". I have since put together enough items to take out a market stall in a couple of weekend's time, and the rest I donated, sold on Gumtree, recycled (you can recycle old clothes at H&M now!) or for the unsalvageable, send it off to landfill.
To be completely honest with you moving wasn't the most environmentally friendly exercise. I really wanted to make our move a fresh start and it clouded my thought process at times where I should have been using what I already had instead of giving it away and buying new things. Some of it was unavoidable, like purchasing a new mattress and then dealing with all of the packaging that comes with it. At the end of the day, I think we met in the middle. We bought a lot of the big ticket items secondhand (lounge, fridge, desk, barstools, and a storage trolley for the bathroom) and used the book cases and desk chair we already had. We did buy a new rug for the lounge room as it was very echo-y, and a few things for the kitchen: solid base fry pan, stovetop kettle, baking dish, mixing bowl, cutlery, bowls and glasses. Everything else we kept from the old place. Of all of the new things we bought, we decided on those items together, as a couple, so I believe we will have them for a long time to come.
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Due to the move, my regular yoga practice took a hit. I didn't practice for over two weeks because of the constant disruption that is ending one lease and starting another. I've redeemed myself and have been twice this week and am going to try and go every day in April. Wish me luck!
Same again with meditation... I do it one day, and then the next day I'm lazy to get up and do it and then the next thing you know it's a week later and I do it again! It's becoming apparent to me that I lack a bit of self discipline...
~ New In - The Secondhand Edition ~
Ikea Lounge chair (Facebook Marketplace)
Haier Fridge (Gumtree)
Matt Blatt Bar stools (Gumtree)
Ikea Desk (Gumtree)
Ikea storage trolley (Gumtree)
*Haven't bought any new clothes since January!
~ Read, watched & listened ~
Loving Trash is for Tossers website. So many great tips and tricks there for reducing waste!
How to handle your Saturn Rising by Anna Harrison for RUSSH (slightly freaking out about this)
Sarah Wilson's kitchen waste hacks on Good Food
That's all for this month. It was a big, busy blur and I'm exhausted.
x.
