We have had visitors this week, who arrived Monday. My very dear friend, her husband and their three lovely children. Before they came I attempted to clear space so we all fit, which was challenging, but it was also a good excuse for a much-needed declutter. They too are renovating their home and have been for several years now on and off, so I was reassured they wouldn't look at the various projects we have on the go.
This is my lounge as I get ready to upload this post. Reusable shopping bags waiting to get put in the car, clean washing waiting to be folded, book shelves in use and clearly not ordered into a pretty rainbow theme.
Instagram would have us think that our homes and cooking skills need to be perfect to be worthy enough to invite people into our homes and lives, but that isn't the case. Well, it shouldn't be the case for anyone worth knowing anyway.
A family home is a busy place. Where children should be free to play, create and make. Adults should be able to pursue their interests and have a space too, be it a little nook, shelf or perhaps a whole room if you're really lucky. Humans are innately creative beings, and I think finding ways in which to express creativity is key to finding satisfaction in a simpler life. Whether it be gardening, building, up-cycling, sewing, mending, cooking, photography, drawing, painting or tinkering. There is no hard and fast way in which one can express creativity. The opportunities are endless.
However, social media and the abundance of platforms in which people share their seemingly perfect homes can trigger a sense of insecurity. Just like in the fashion industry, the home decorating industry moves just dramatically and as equally fast. Rest assured, it is all a consumeristic marketing ploy designed to make you spend your hard-earned dollar bucks on things that really don't matter and you probably don't actually need. But what we see online isn't real. It's just a corner of a home or a snippet of a person's life. Anyone can clear a corner, fluff up a cushion, position a lush indoor plant and artistically drape a throw rug for a pretty photo. However good that corner looks, the rest of their house probably looks just like yours and mine. And really, do they ever really cook a roast with all the trimmings and pan gravy in those beautifully immaculate fancy, expensive ovens? Well, some might for sure, but I suspect many don't. What's more, if you look at the caption on some of those beautiful home accounts, many are being either paid or gave been given items to review in lieu of payment to promote. It works in their favour to present the item in a favourable light so they receive more items from other companies. It can be a lucrative business. Modern-day marketing is a brutal and insidious thing.
However, in a simple home like ours, there is always cooking and washing on the go. Such is the cycle of family existence. The work is never really finished, we just move on to the next task. In a more conventional home, one might be able to close a door to stash away a mess. When living in a 30ft yurt, this is not the case. Our little home is on full display. The good and the not-so-good.
My tiny kitchen which we fed 11 out of for the past week 3x/day while our friends visited. This afternoon there are stacked in the sink for handwashing, dodgy old bananas waiting to be cooked up over the weekend into cakes and pancakes as well as the usual stuff of life.
I hope by inviting people into our imperfect yurt and our somewhat unconventional life, we can create deeper, more authentic relationships. There is something lovely about meeting in each other's homes. I usually find the conversations are freer and richer, due to not being under the pump to finish your meal and move on to free up space for the next customers. There is no splitting of bills at the end of a meal, and ugg boots are perfectly acceptable attire.
Of course, there is a time and a place to enjoy a meal or a coffee out. It can offer a more central location, or be a special treat. But it's also more expensive, which given the current economy is prohibitive for many people. If there was ever a time to return to normalizing meeting in each other's homes, perhaps now is it.
If needing to meet somewhere central there is an abundance of lovely parks, national parks, and picnic grounds readily available in most places. A while back when my parents were visiting from interstate, we went to a local historical village and there was a family who brought the most amazing picnic with them. They brought the table cloth, cloth napkins, a thermos, crockery and all. Their lunch was better than ours and no doubt significantly cheaper. I aspire to that level of organisation!
C'mon over for a cuppa, excuse the mess!
So my encouragement this week is this dear readers if you hesitate to have people over because you worry your home is messy or outdated, please breathe. People want to see you, not your home. Toss the toys in a basket, tuck a throw rug over the couch if it is daggy, clear a spot on the kitchen table and pop the kettle on. Your home no matter how humble, is enough. Just as it is. Dust bunnies and all.
Much love,
Emma
xx
Emma
xx
