New mantra 'after the wedding'

Moving into minimalism for me seems to be in ups and downs. At the moment we are in a down. We are less than three weeks out to the wedding and I alternate between being stressed and passive. On one hand I suddenly think of something I’ve forgotten and then on the other I figure it all doesn’t really matter, no matter what happens it will still be our wedding and we will be surrounded by loved ones. The final preparations have also seen more stuff coming into the flat than leaving. There are boxes of wine stacked in the lounge and bits of coloured decor paper everywhere. Glass jars, Consular paperwork and ceremony programs. I am finding it all a bit grim and at this point just want to have it be the day already; this waiting is driving me nuts and just gives me time to think of more stuff to do.

The itch to still shed more stuff is still there, there are a few cupboards I still want to get too but I seem to have neither the energy nor motivation to get to them at the moment. Right now my mantra is ‘after the wedding’, my life will continue after the wedding, until then everything else seems on hold even the things that I deem important like friends and going out. Right now our evenings are mostly fully booked, final details cake last night, DJ tomorrow, hair and make-up trial on Friday (which they say will take upwards of 2 hours!), dress-fittings, coffee vendors and payments.

Things I’ve moved to ‘after the wedding’:

·         Starting a small herb garden and getting an indoor potted plant

·         Having dinner with a new couple we’ve met who seem pretty cool

·         Moving onto chemical free shampoo and conditioner (luckily I still have lots of the home-made body wash or else I might have slid back to commercial stuff here too)

·         Organizing a braai for our friends

·         Going back to the gym (I used to go twice a week but have been too exhausted last few months so kept putting it off)

So even though the wedding was the catalyst that had me yearning for a more simple lifestyle it is unfortunately getting in the way of a lot of the things I want to do to simplify. At first I wanted to power through and just heap the decluttering and new lifestyle on top of my other commitments. I have learned though that I need to be kinder to myself and take things more as a step by step process that I don’t need to complete in record time. So it too is for ‘after the wedding’.