A prototype holiday.

Over at the London Money blog I have a something I call the Cash Back Holiday. It should last three days, be pleasurable and result in some or all of the money I spend coming back to me.

These last few days have been a kind of prototype- and also the first step to a minimalist lifestyle.

I decided that I would spend the first holiday at home.

My task was to drastically reduce the clutter in my flat and to see if the atmosphere becomes more free as a result- a neat combination of housework and parapsychology!

The first day was spent throwing things out. This is a far more difficult task than one would think and it tends to produce an emotional exhaustion that can only be cured by a pot of tea and some cake. This mental expenditure is repaid many times over as space is cleared and the atmosphere becomes lighter.

The Chinese tend to think of this as stagnant energy and so I opened all my windows and allowed air to pass through the flat. I am told feng shui translates as 'like wind, like water' and the window trick seemed to work at least to some degree.

The second day was spent on other crank projects such as changing my diet to a largely fruit based one and sleeping with the windows open to enjoy an imaginary connection with nature.

On the third day I awoke wonderfully relaxed in a way that is quite different to the emotional exhaustion of a cluttered environment. This was probably a combination of fresh air, healthy food and green tea but it proves I am on the right track. I think I have earned myself a day in the library uncluttering this blog.