I've been doing a bit of a clean-up of my life both online and out in the real world. I'm moving house soon and it's springtime here, so garbage bags filled with old shit are everywhere. It feels right. I was reading an article on the (freshly launched) Huffpost Australia that talked about how minimalist aesthetic is pretty big right now because it's an antidote to the wealth of our society. It talked about how in the interwar period, people would own four or five outfits. Now, the average woman will never wear 50% of her wardrobe. It's possible to furnish an entire house for a couple of hundred dollars (in Australia, at least) and so stuff just accumulates. Because I've lived in rentals for the past (*cough*) years, I've had to pick up and move a whole bunch of times. I've gotten good at doing a big clear-out of my stuff every time. And yet, there's just so much STUFF here. I'm ruthless, and yet, here it all is, surrounding me like a curse.
Similarly, online, there's a trail of Countessa stuff that I don't maintain and that I can't log in and remove. It's frustrating. And a lot of the time, I'm not even the one making the mess! I found a tumblr the other day that's either pretending to be me, or is a tribute page to me that I have honestly never seen before. There are VK pages that I can't get removed (and I never created) plus my own old accounts here and there that I've forgotten about and can't go back and delete. But I am simplifying. It's just slow going. I want to keep the accounts that bring me joy. Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. That's it. Anything else that you've found me on? The account is either abandoned or fake. Please let me know and I'll add it to my ever expanding list of things to do.
I feel like I need to hire someone to do the work for me, both in the real world and online. There's an expression "he lives in the kind of poverty that only the rich can afford" and I think it's really getting at something powerful. If you've grown up in a disadvantaged environment, you learn to hang onto things because they might 'come in useful' someday. And then when you do have money, you keep up the habit and before you know it you're snowed under. It's only the wealthy who can afford to throw away their old TV (because if the new one breaks, they can just drop a grand or two on getting a new one) but that mentality is only reserved for the people who grew up rich. It's the same as finishing off you're dinner even if you're not hungry any more. The logical endpoint of that kind of thinking is this: You finish your meal, because you might not get another one later on. But really, when was the last time any of us went hungry?
I suppose this springtime is me learning not to be frightened with less. Learning that I don't need that extra mouthful (honestly, a little less food would do me good!), that I don't need that backup television, that having an account I don't use online is not worth hanging onto. It feels good to look out across my 'possessions' and see only things that bring me joy. Because if there's no joy, what am I doing here?
Some new photosets of @exkyu's (and mine) have come out since I last wrote a proper blog. You need to have a look at these, they're amaaazing.
@dollyd - Sandstone:
@pebblezink - Pure:
@stardusst - Let's Get Tropical:
They are all so great, and we need more Australian sets on the front page, so go give them some love!
Speaking of Australia, I head off to Melbourne for the SG Australia Ball soon. It's exciting. So many people I haven't seen in ages will be there. I suck at talking to people online, something about the way I'm wired, maybe. I always get distracted and leave the conversation halfway through, so seeing people in person is really important to me. I'm excited to get out of the house, too. I feel like all I've done for the past month or two is prep for moving and work. I'm an introvert, but even for me, this is a lot of downtime.
I should get back to packing! Here are some pics from Insta/Twitter from the last few days. Have a good one. xx
This coat is dry-clean only. Which means, it's dirty.
Me and Exkyu having coffee. :)
