Hello, you lovely thing. I'm back. (Sort of).

Hello, you lovely thing. It’s been a minute since I sent my last post into the big wide internet world. Six months to be exact. I signed off in January this year, a bit of a snap decision to take a sabbatical from writing for awhile. It’s time to hesitantly dip my toe back in the water and see how it feels to be ‘here’ again.

Firstly, I wanted to provide an update. In case you missed it, I had a wee mental health crisis at the end of 2022 – the beginning of 2023. Nothing too serious but I managed to develop panic disorder and was in a bit of a state for a month or so. I’m very grateful for the access I have to mental health support that has helped me to climb out of that space reasonably quickly. For those of you who have experienced panic attacks – it’s nothing to write home about that’s for sure.

Before this happened though I was feeling the need for a break from this increasingly demanding hobby/monster I’ve created. I feel a little bit sad in saying this out loud, but nonetheless, it’s the truth. There are so many things about my wee corner of the web that I love. I love that it’s a space to write. I love that it gives me purpose and meaning. And I love the wonderful people from all over the world that I’ve met over the past 6 years of doing this.

I don’t love the pressure I’ve created for myself though. And I don’t love that I get very little monetary ROI (return on investment).

My journey in the online space went from wanting a place to practice publishing creative writing, in the hopes of fulfilling my dream of authoring a book, to being the sole taskmaster of….. a blog. At best I would call myself a ‘content creator’. But truly, I’m a blogger who started well after #blogging had reached its peak 😅

Over the past 6 years I’ve created an online course, self-published an e-book, been a guest on several podcasts, and published over 100 posts on slow living, minimalism and self-care.

I’m done.

(there I typed it).

I’m done with this exact format and although I don’t know exactly why (it’s more of a deep knowing) here are a few reasons;

I can’t afford it anymore. The costs of running a website are more than most people realise. It’s not just the cost of the domain and yearly upkeep of the website url. There’s the mail provider (I have used MailChimp and most recently, Kartra), the platform used to sell on (Kartra for me, others use shopify etc), and various other tools/apps that cost to keep a platform going. Last year I joined an advertising company (Monumetric) to try and diversify my income streams, which has been good – but not great. Long story short – I still don’t know if I can afford to keep my hobby business 😔
I don’t feel like talking about minimalism. Ever. Again. Like seriously 🤣 And I love that I can be honest about this. I have even joined a Facebook group that gives me great pleasure, called Moody Maximalism. I appreciate everything that minimalism has done for me (and will continue to do), but I simply don’t want to be a loudspeaker for it anymore.
If I’m going to continue to write in an online space I want it to be able to track the value-add. And I want it to be more significant than it currently is. Middle age is making me more aware of how precious my time and energy is and also I’m comfortable that what has served me in the past may no longer serve me well.

I’ve spent the last 6 months mostly resting and trying to be ‘in’ my word of the year – EASE. I’ve read lots of books, both fiction and non-fiction, played a little with my new hobby (taxidermy), and spent time getting used to my new routine. I work two days a week in a completely unrelated, offline job, which I love, and spend the other few days running after kids and managing our properties.

It’s enough. It’s more than enough for someone who is working through complex PTSD and knows full well that a slow and simple life works best for me.

All this to say – I am back online. I’m still unsure what that will unfold into. But I’m here. I have decided to commit to 6 months and see how it all flows and feels.

I am still very much in a liminal space. Still very much figuring it all out. But then I think we all are to some degree. I know how much reading others’ journeys have helped me, and many of you have been kind enough to tell me my work here has helped you.

So I am taking a big, long, deep breath in and one or two tentative steps forward.

For the next 6 months, I’m just going to focus on writing here and publishing on Facebook, and Pinterest. I think I’m letting Instagram go. And I’m toying with the idea of joining substack.

If you are staying for the ride here’s what I might be covering over the next wee while;