In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we rarely (if ever) take time to consider what truly makes us tick. Most of us just aren’t connected to what inspires us or what makes us feel peaceful and happy.
On the boat, you are almost forced to to do this because you have to simplify, get rid of what doesn’t work or what doesn’t serve you. As a minimalist at heart, I love this ongoing process!
The first thing I thought of when we decided to live on the sea, was what about all the personal “stuff” we had accumulated over the years. As a former teacher, our children’s childhood art projects and wall art were at the forefront of my planning…think clay horses and misinformed cups made by their tiny hands. How could I possible throw them out?? The first thing I did was to set it all out on a table and asked them to come over and pick what they wanted to keep for themselves. Then I photographed every single piece and made them put into a coffee table book.
I already loved doing this because for both my girls as they were growing up, I put all of their childhood memories from preschool through to graduation into jumbo construction books which they still love to look at today. Yes, it was hard to throw the actual item out, but in actual fact, they were in tissue paper in a box in the attic for 20 years out of sight, now we can just pick u the book and look at them. It’s so much better!
About 15 years ago, I decided that store bought cards were out too. Even those that are truly special and meaningful end up in a box that you never look at again. So I found a cute hardcover book that we could all write in for special occasions over the years. The result is really a really lovely memory book for our family to keep for years
Now on Happy Wife, I find such pleasure in finding ways to bring our passion for our boating life into our every day objects too. From special travel treasures that we use every day, down to photo playing cards us with on them and coasters with Happy Wife details as business cards.
Because wall space is limited, I have tried to personalize the art I use too. Here I used a canvas in the v berth of our very first timeout alone on our Happy Wife
Art made by our grand kids (Nuunu’s as I call them :-) is on the wall on their room and in our bedroom I have some boudoir shots on canvas that I gave to Shaun on one of our anniversaries.
Things that we buy on our trips now serve a purpose on board. If I make tea, we use our special cups from Paris. Pouring wine?…It’s in a decanter from Mykonos. It’s such a wonderful way to buy things with purpose and intent, not just collections of “crip-crap” as I call it. Our dining table serves as a special place to keep tiny mementos from friends and travels too.
I used photos to decorate and personalize our space...Family canvas in the kitchen, a painting I did in the hallway and I have some boudoir shots on canvas that I gave to Shaun on one of our anniversaries.
For art from our trips, I made a little travel wall in the hallway to our bedroom and keep our purchases to tiny handmade pieces that mean something to us both.
So I guess it’s safe to say that less truly is more. Most importantly, when we focus on doing less and doing it well, instead of doing more and assuming it’s better, we’re less scattered, more deliberate and more present.
And really, isn’t that what we want? It may be the biggest advantage to having less…we get to create more space to enjoy the important things now
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