Slow Home Essentials: What Exactly IS a Slow Home?
You've no doubt heard the old adage, “home is where the heart is". I don't know if I've ever explicitly explained it, but that thought is central to this blog and my wider philosophy on life.To me, Home is not just a house. Home is an ever-changing combination of:
- family
- relationships
- the apartment, house, barn or tent you currently live in
- memories being made
- outdoor spaces
- creativity
- your kitchen and the food prepared in it
- religion or spirituality
Home is at once all-encompassing and constantly changing. It is everything that is important. It is everything that makes up the essence of you.The official Slow Home Movement was founded by Calgary-based architects, John Brown, Carina van Olm and Matthew North. And while that movement provided me with my first look at the idea of creating a slow house, I have since redefined it to something that covers my own expanded version of Home. The one that you can take with you, regardless of where you're currently living.Home is not just four walls and a roof. But what typifies a Slow Home?To me, it's a fluid combination of being:
- organised (enough)
- decluttered and simplified
- decorated mindfully
- filled with good memories
- light and airy
- part of a community
- green, healthy and environmentally conscious
- a place that provides time and space to enjoy life
If you look at each of these elements separately (and I plan to, over the coming months) they are all really positive traits to have in your home. Combine them – even some of them – and your life and home will benefit more than you can imagine.
OK. But what does a slow home look like?
Does a slow home have a vegetable garden and a chicken coop? Sure!Is it a tiny home on wheels, able to shift around when the mood for change strikes? Why not!What about an old cottage soulfully renovated and filled with happiness and memories? Of course!The point is, a slow home looks and feels different for everyone. It's less about features of the home and more about your approach to life. It is true that a slow home is less centred on stuff, and it is harder to create a slow home if your house is a 5-storey sprawling mansion (because cleaning), but anyone, anywhere can create a home that works - I mean truly works - for them.It's just a matter of priorities.Tell me, what does a slow home look and feel like to you?
This is the first post in a new ongoing series called Slow Home Essentials, where I will look at different elements of creating and maintaining a slow home. If there's anything you'd like to know specifically, feel free to leave a comment!