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I was hooked to missminimalist blogs in the past four days, reading approximately 16 pages of individuals testimonies on how they started and enjoyed their minimalist journey. It opened my eyes on the endless minimalist lifestyles that any of us can implement. I admire the traveller, the spiritualist, the true materialist (as opposed to consumerist), the mindful, the artist, the mum, the dad, the designer who with intention choose to keep the things that add value to his/her life and get rid of the frivolous. Beyond just getting rid of things, there is not participating to our current wasteful society, it is recognising that we are all equal regardless of what we own and finally it is embracing freedom. It is why I love it. I encourage you to have a read/rid, I hope it will inspire you:  http://www.missminimalist.com/

For some reasons, I have an extensive number of empty notebooks. From those I bought for projects I have never completed, those I made out of old envelops and those that were offered to me, I have at the moment 25 of them which are eager to be written on. My Options: - Give/Offer - Sell - Write Loads - Recycle (not an option) and this should be in combination with - asking friends, colleagues and family - 'I do not want to have anymore notebooks' - refusing notebooks - Never ever go again inside Paperchase (beautifully evil boutique) Give/Offer To be honest, i am not sure if I really want to give or offer them to someone who in the first place does not need it. It will feel as if I am offloading my things I do not want to someone who has already a clutter life. My option are therefore to put a notice on StreetBank and Freecyle. Sell My competition is high. Paperchase, WhsSmith but there is some nice outlets for selling them such as Amazon and Ebay. I will c

As we were driving her silver-shining convertible through the Borough and rural villages, admiring castles, breath-taking views and wonderful houses, I asked: 'with such a prosperous community, why aren't we able to lift up those who are in difficulties?'. She said 'unfortunately, people do not trust others'. ( paranoid? )

It is now four months that I am cycling to anywhere I am bound to go to. Apart from the savings accrued from not owning a car, I also avoid the heartache of waiting for the bus. Finally, I have great pleasure in eating sweet pies and cakes knowing that they are the fuel powering the relationship between my legs and the sleek vehicle.  To get a bike, there are numerous schemes available (Wheel To Work). There are also bikes on offer on Gumtree, Freecycle and Freegle. Finally, there are most probably in your friends’, family’ and/or own’ shed, a bicycle awaiting to be used. I personally borrowed a bike from my local voluntary group, so it is worth asking around. If you are not confident in cycling on the road, all I can advise is to find out online if there are some free cycling trainings for adults in your area and learn more about all the gorgeous off-road cycle paths. Regarding style, ladies, on your gorgeous bike, you do not have to put some safety nets on your style just becau

It is now 6 weeks, I have been in the process of decluttering my home and achieve a minimalist lifestyle. The project 333 is going well. I still appreciate the emptiness of my wardrobe. Apart from all the stuff that has been given away or sold, I also purged my digital life. I feel freer from all the subscriptions coming in my inbox and do not watch TV no more. Calendar are also less filled with stuff and I can appreciate more time at home with those I love. Yesterday, I have done some positive procrastination reading missminimalist blog and it struck me... There is still... A problem....Shoes I am using currently 3 pairs of shoes for the  project 333  but I have still so many of them in bags in the shed. They have been there since we moved in the house as we did not have enough space to put them inside. I haven't counted them, there are many. It should be as easy to just chuck away the bag but I find difficulty to do that. I am thinking 'in case I need it for an outing

In the spirit of continuous self-cultivation and development, I came across this video by Grace Chatting. It is not of the best quality, I agree. However, it gives some tips on the best way to deal with the management of your household in partnership with your lover. Communication is key... A bon entendeur, Salut!

My mum has given me a piece of advices recently which I truly appreciated and I want to share it with you...   'There is no point of hurting people or yourself for free just because you cannot deal with your own negative thoughts'...'You have to learn to live in the present in order to be more compassionate with yourself and others'

I spent recently some time with computer scientists and information management experts. Our conversation dived in the future of the web : the semantic web Imagine you could layer by layer add different perspectives from an initial research. The computer would not photograph your word to find it anywhere else but would try to understand the meaning and context in which this particular word is used and find all associated data.You are the one who is determining the meaning and context. For example, you are interested in a particular drug used to heal people from a particular illness. Not only, can you enter the name of the drug, you can also search whether there have been indications of allergy in certain case using this drug from scientist team from a country across the world. The possibility are endless and possibility for collaboration too. However, what happen when the data is wrong, what happen when there is a mistake, what happen when there is a black swan in the pond. You are

 I dreamt that I was at work on my last day and they did not want me to go. It is now a week that I haven't got a job I dreamt that my father was calling me to get an internship in a magazine.  I cannot stop browsing for jobs and freelance opportunities.  What is wrong or what is right? There has not been a day I haven't been busy since I quit my job. But the sense of identity a job gives you is playing with my mind. I strangely know where this come from. Although, we were all born without a job, we were all trained to believe that we needed one. I love writing and organising events to bring people together, it is a job good enough for the time being until the new chapter begins. I will probably call my dad and thank him for everything he has done, I will tell him that 'I am freedom...' I know that with it come responsibility but I am handling that just fine'.

I am inviting you to listen to a Story of Stuff Podcast with Janelle Orsi, lawyer and author of The Sharing Solution - click here . Law, so far, has not been looking at how to 'share' with others and what to do when things go wrong.It is always about protecting one individuals and/or extracting resources from one person to the other. Law and agreement process surrounding collaborative consumption is a new field and it can be a bit scary to start with if you are unsure about what could happen if you break the vaccum cleaner which you borrowed from your neighbour. Do you have to repay it or can you find a solution where both of you pay for half of it knowing that the vaccum cleaner ended their lifecycle.   The Sharing Solution  is a timely practical and legal guide that explains how to create and maintain successful sharing arrangements while addressing common concerns about liability, communication, and more. The guide is US based but still can provide the appropriate st

“Say yes to everything—whether it’s an audition or a small writing job. In our industry, people spend a lot of time dreaming and wishing. The usual dream is to be discovered—but being discovered is passive. A dream is different from a goal because a dream involves magic, while a goal involves a series of practical steps taken in a certain direction. Take the practical steps that achieve a goal and a dream can happen.” Harold Ramis, director of "Groundhog Day" amongst other films

I attended recently a seminar on how to start your own business. Apart from the benefits of the course, we also met interesting individuals who are all on the path of starting, restarting a venture in the UK. We shared our experiences and vision of the future and went separate ways with not a ounce of hopes in seeing each others again. Recently, one of the members got in touch to brainstorm some ideas for a possible collaboration. The person did not have my contact details but went through the organisation to get them. No one know what is going to happen after this initial meeting. Hopefully, a collaboration with new height will spark. Then, I wondered, why did not I get in touch with one of the other attendee who had a very similar idea to mine? What stopped me? I missed the chance to get his contact details but I could have asked for it. It is not too late though. We have to follow up on inspiration and dreams. Go the extra mile to get together with those we feel fit our vision.

I gave it a go and answered some of the question on Design Sponge article ' Define Success ' with a bit of my own twist. What does success mean for all of you?   The definition of success is : 'the accomplishment of an aim or purpose'. Tim Minchin mentioned in his address that it is better to accomplish small goals heads on than focusing on one great goal. The time spent  trying to achieve this single purpose will be so significant than when reached, the protagonist will probably soon die. After reflection, 'adding value to people's lives' is a simple line of conduct which can yield many successes if followed through. Freedom and independence are in my perception the main tools to use. Let's live at the edge of mainstream and tribalism dogma for more agency. Success is often translated in the following pathway: - going to school - getting a good job - buying a house - saving (to buy stuff that I don't need to impress people I don't

More than a year ago, the Spreadsheet Geek ( here ) had asked to analyse finances and sort them out. Between income statement, cashflows and budgetting, numbers were flowing in every directions. The task was over and I felt rich, content and free. Since then, states of affair are reviewed from time to time and outgoings controlled. None is spend on futility. Time at hand seem infinite. Debts are disappearing More is spend to create and contemplate how beautiful the now is. Next steps, shift to cash payments only and no more temptation to dip in the digital money. What about you? Have you thought about looking more in details at your finances? What stop you to open the pandora box of your bank statements? What is your vision of the future in relation to your finances? What are your next steps? I am curious to hear more, do not hesitate to comment this post.

Tomorrow, I will be starting a new chapter. I am leaving my current workplace.  I had a lovely time in the past 18 months but alike anything else, it is time to move on. What would it be happening next? I cannot be too specific or quite narrow.  Why?  Well, I could miss new and exciting opportunities on the corner of my eyes. All I know, things are and will be changing some more as I do. My main intent is simplifying things to spend more time with friends and family but also create exciting new ventures.  I will be going abroad for a month and a half backpacking across France to see various. Yes, you can afford to do that when you spend none on futility. This channel 'mlgisfree' will go through a makeover, I am in a creative mood.There will be some exciting projects and events to be part of: some Streetbank gathering, some restart parties, a festival.  Let the next chapter begin.