Random Acts of Kindness #4 - The Slow Home Experiment
“You will never regret being kind.”
Turns out, not only is this an internet-friendly quote thrown around online a great deal, but it’s also actually true! This month’s random acts of kindness experiment has been both eye and heart-opening, and I’m so grateful we decided to try it.
We’ve still got almost a whole week to go, but as today is the last Monday of the month Ben and I wanted to sum up our experience and announce next month’s Slow Home Experiment, in the hope that some of you will want to join in again.
At the beginning of the month I was pretty shaken to realise I was nervous about our Random Acts of Kindness experiment. What did that say about me? What kind of person feels nervous to be kind? Well, as it turns out, most of us. At least before we’ve had a chance to practise, anyway.
Rationally, we know that being kind is a good thing. We hear about acts of kindness - sometimes on the news or social media, or as a nice thing someone did for someone else, or even being a recipient of that kindness ourselves - and we recognise how much impact it can have. But still I found myself worried about the reaction I’d get if I extended a hand in kindness this month.
Today Ben and I talk about the vulnerability of kindness, and the ease with which it has started to come the more we’ve practised. Both he and I have felt a big shift over the past week as we’ve really warmed into the idea of kindness as a lifestyle, rather than kindness as a once-off, and it’s in this every day connection, looking into the eyes of the person we’re speaking with, thanking someone and genuinely meaning it, that I uncovered the true heart of this experiment.
We also talk about some of our favourite acts of kindness and what we’re planning on doing this week, and as we move into October. Though I might need to find a new favourite random act of kindness, as my coffee shop expenses are slowly mounting!
As this is the last Monday show for September, it’s also time for us to reveal next month’s Slow Home Experiment...
In October we’re going back to my decluttering roots and... playing the Minimalists Game.
For those of you who may not have heard of The Minimalists Game it's the creation of Joshua and Ryan of The Minimalists. Essentially, on Day 1 of the month, we declutter one item. Day 2, two items. Day 3, three items. And so on, until the end of the month. It starts out easily enough, but as the month progresses and we find ourselves decluttering 10, 15 or 20 items a day it's sure to become more challenging!
I was a little hesitant to do a decluttering experiment, but I know this is something a lot of you would like to join in on, and truth be told, I’m at the point where I’d welcome another opportunity to let go of some of the stuff that’s made its way in to our house over the past 6 months.
To join in, it’s super easy. On October 1, just let go of one item of clutter from your home. Day 2, two items, and so on. If you wanted to share your progress, feel free to join us over on Facebook or use #minsgame and #slowhomeexperiment wherever good hashtags are used. (That would be Twitter and Instagram!)
Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of my favourite tips for decluttering and simplifying your home on the poggie, and if you have decluttering questions please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll try my best to answer them over the course of the month.
In the meantime, enjoy the show, and choose kindness!
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