I absolutely love it.

I love spending time in it.

It's just wonderful.

If you didn't know, I'm a lodger living in Bristol with the most loveliest family.

But the bedroom in question does need a really good declutter, so that is what we're doing.

So this is the second diary entry in my Detox Diaries series.

In my last entry, I was decluttering my bookcase.

That was after being ill in bed, staring at it, wanting to be rid of things to purify my space from stuff that weighs me down mentally.

Noise and frustration that I experience in my inner world that I decided are being magnified by having irrelevant objects blocking up my field of sight.

Under-consumption core.

It's gotten really big recently, the desire to under-consume, to reuse things, up-cycle old items and give them a new purpose, trade with friends and ultimately slow down the consumption of stuff.

This is honestly wonderful for my low-waste loving ears.

I think people are starting to feel less fulfilled and know that their spending habits are not healing the empty void they feel.

We have access online to so many people and with that, their stuff.

Everything is so fast-paced.

Buy that, it will cure this.

Get that, it will minimize this.

Use that, you will feel this.

And everybody thinks they are one purchase away from feeling complete, but the people advertising these things to you are also caught in the same vicious cycle.

They are not closer to a fully enriched life because of one purchase.

Perhaps by bringing that item into your life, you are one step away.

After being in the cycle over and over, I think people are clocking on to the fact that they are still stuck.

The problem is not that you don't have enough, it's that you have too much.

And we all know that when you're overwhelmed by choices, you can get delayed and lack confidence with the outcome.

And whilst decluttering can be step one of under-consuming, creating a blank canvas for purposeful living, I think it's important to acknowledge that decluttering can very much be a part of the over-consumption cycle.

Remove things, add things, repeat.

So when thinking carefully about what value it brings you as it may be exiting your life, we need to hold things to the same standard before they come into our lives.

That process is all of the time, not a random rampage one Sunday morning.

Being intentional of our spending habits is crucial, as it will only be another item you throw out and leave sat in landfill way after you leave the surf.

I appreciate that under-consumption core will vary person to person.

This is largely due to hobbies and physical space that might With these come material, resources, tools and equipment to explore that part of our identity.

Whilst I get fulfilment over filming, editing, drawing, painting, sewing and whatever else, you may not.

And the hobbies that bring you excitement may not me.

And therefore, under-consumption is not cutting back on the ability to be able to carry out your interests or even your day to day, but rather having the access to enjoy your hobby, but not to an excessive amount.

I include though your day to day.

It's not about shifting how you're living.

In fact, it's the opposite.

Live how you intend to and remove the obstacles.

A good example of this is Stanley Cups, one of the many, many trends circulating the internet, and somebody included in a de-influencing video of them showing their travel cups that they got years ago.

Some people have even gone the extra mile and shown an array of second hand reusable bottles sat in charity shops.

It's not about excessively collecting or holding types of a travel cup, but rather having one that you use as part of your day to day.

I haven't got any top tips on how I declutter.

There's no method to my madness.

I simply choose an area and start picking things up.

If I forgot it existed, that tends to be a leading factor to a more loving home, unless I need a more convenient spot for it.

I also tend to think about what I feel when I look at it, and if it lacks joy, then simply it's just unnecessarily holding space.

I touched up on my last video that I was putting things into piles to be binned, to get rid of, but not binned, and to be put somewhere else in my room.

I then later put items back in a more intentional spot, took the bins out, but I'm still waiting on where to put the that are to leave.

Dear my detox diary, I'm feeling good for decluttering, but need to be honest.

I feel so much guilt after Christmas.

I always have.

It's such a time for consumption, and I remember crying to my mum at the age of like 16 during the Christmas countdown for feeling responsible for participating in such a mass overconsumption event.

The thing is, I am privileged.

I know this, and I'm so fortunate to be able to give and receive gifts, but I can't ignore the statistics.

Only 1% of gifts remain in use six months after festivities.

Brits spend over 700 million pounds on unwanted gifts each year. 226,800 miles of wrapping paper is discarded, and 30,000 tons of Christmas cards are thrown out each year, and that's not to mention the food.

I don't feel joy in overconsumption.

In fact, it tends to be the only time of year I get new first-hand items.

Usually, if I want something, it's from a charity shop, car boots, eBay, Facebook marketplace, etc.

And this year, my boyfriend and I did a second-hand gifting challenge, which I know we both really enjoyed doing.

I get the same feeling from second-hand goods as I explained in my damn phones video, as I do with home-cooked goods and nature walks.

It just feels good, slow-paced.

I don't feel out of alignment with myself afterwards.

I notice that I'm sort of slipping out of the diary entry style talking, but if you had seen my recent video, you know I'm now leaning into fixing up old clothing.

In fact, I've been enjoying wearing my patch-up black cargoes for work this week.

I've even been showing them off to people where I look so scruffy and scrunched up by some dodgy sewing, because that's my work of art.

I feel so much joy showing people where I, with my own hands, have fixed second-hand cargo trousers that I bought from a car boot a few years ago for something like 40p.

I've since brought my sewing machine to Bristol and I very much intend on leaning into this under-consuming way of enjoying clothing and giving the pieces a new lease of life.

I'm really looking forward to what my first real creation might be.

Not a cushion, not some patch-up work, but a nice top or something out of some second-hand material from the back of my closet.

So what am I detoxing?

Stuff.

Consuming stuff.

Buying stuff.

Wasting stuff.

I'm detoxing from fast fashion, bad spending habits, and excessive hoarding.

From being influenced into buying things that do not bring me joy.

Micro trends that fly past in a heartbeat.

I'm worshipping at the altar of stuff.

Yes, that is a quote from my video.

I'm opting out of mainstream culture that insists you need, need, need.

I'm subscribing to my dreams of falling in love with life itself and all the natural beautiful things that brings.

Connecting with people, leaning into my hobbies, and being rich in experience, leaving all of the materialistic garbage behind.

My next detox diary entry will be getting on top of my unhealthy eating habits and all the negative physical feelings that bring us with it.

I ran a 5k on Christmas day after eating ultra processed food a week and it hit me like a truck.

I am hungry for some nutritionally balanced meals.

Thank you so much for watching this video and for all of the support on the first episode of this series.

Good luck with your wonderful adventure of doing things that bring you joy.