When I first left my family home I was 19 years old. On the train to Milan, I had a feeling that I would never come back to my tiny village in Tuscany, my life was waiting for me somewhere else. I knew that things were about to change. 

As soon as I started to earn money in the big city I had the urge to buy things, I felt excited to get new shoes, clothes and products. My space was immediately filled with things I thought I needed.  It felt nice. However, in a year, I signed a contract for a model agency in India, and within a few months, I had to pack my stuff and leave. This was when I realised that all those things I bought were not so important and that I had to get rid of them. 

I guess this was the first time I was unconsciously introduced to minimalism. Could I pack my luggage with over 20 pairs of shoes, what about all these hair products? Jackets, clothes, books etc? I had to make a selection and choose the things I needed.

From that onwards, I travelled for years and being minimalist was inevitable, but only when I became a mother I realised my journey as a minimalist was only at the beginning. From being on my own to one place to the other has been different from living in one home permanently, with a family to care for. My first daughter is now 6 years old and I still find it challenging to keep things as minimalist as possible. 

9 ideas on being minimalist :

1. If I haven’t been using something for a while I will give it away. 

When I see something hanging in my wardrobe that hasn’t been used for at least a year, I would give it to charity shops, family, friends or the rubbish bin. We often think that somehow we are eventually going to use everything in our homes but most of the time we won’t. Also, I just keep things that I feel confident in and most importantly comfortable when I wear them. 

2. I only buy it if I need it

This has been the most liberating thing I have come to encounter in my minimalist journey. I only buy it if I need it. It might look cute, useful, the best deal ever kind of thing if I don’t need it I don’t buy it. I simply ask myself “ Do I need it ?” If the answer is NO, I just leave it where it is. 

3. My motto is “ less is more”

I recently understood that decluttering is not a one-off operation. It is something you do often. Especially since I had my children things tend to clutter more easily as lots of toys and clothes are coming from friends and family who don’t use them anymore, so I have to be extra careful about what is being used or not. I tend to select straight away the items we receive. The less stuff we have the more time we have to enjoy each other. 

4.  Beauty products 

I have one-of-a-kind beauty products. Forget about bottle after bottle, I have a bar of shampoo, a bar of body soap and a bar of face soap. I tend to buy new things only when I have finished the previous one. If I don’t like something I give it away. I also try to reduce the amount of plastic we have in our bathroom. Same with cleaning products. 

5. Keep learning

There is always something new to learn and often when I’m involved in home chores I like to listen to a podcast about minimalism or about people who decided to embark on the same path as mine this helps me to have better strategies and understanding. Here’s my favourite channel about minimalism: https://www.youtube.com/@JoshuaBecker

6. I borrow things instead of buying them

Every day I read books to my children. I like to explore new worlds with them and instead of buying books, I borrow them from the library. When I cook something special I usually ask my Mother if I can borrow tools I don’t have as I know I wouldn’t use them so often.

7. Shoes

I have been wearing the same winter boots for over 6 years and am not planning to change them until they are ruined. I have one type of shoe for every occasion, and honestly, it still feels too much. Do we need more shoes to leave a more meaningful life? I don’t think so.

8. More environmentally friendly

Our planet is crying out for help. In 100 years I will probably be forgotten and so would you. If we are blessed enough we’ll roughly spend 80 years on this planet. Why on earth shall we add more junk to our planet in such a short time? We ( as Human beings) are destroying our planet with overproduction. We must stop leading our lives based on consumerism and find a more meaningful path. Minimalism directed me to live a life by owning less. Less stuff less waste.

9.  Caring for the things I already have 

Since I became minimalist, I realised I care more for the things I have because there are no spare ones. Minimalism helped me to be more mindful of the things I have and the things I buy. It sounds odd but life feels more special when you care, appreciate and love the things you already have without the need to wish to have more of everything. 

Minimalism has tremendously impacted my daily life and impacted my mental health and how I relate to the material world. 

I hope this article will help someone to lead a more minimalist life.

With Love 

Giada

Becoming a mother has been something that has changed my life most profoundly. No one can prepare you for what to expect and no rule can work for every child and family. I am constantly learning new things about motherhood and most importantly about myself. 

Here’s a list of things I couldn’t even imagine before becoming a mother. 

LONELINESS 

Felling lonely ? I have been there. Pre motherhood I spent my first 19 years in my large and loud family and then the next 8 years in livelihood shared flats. Then came my first pregnancy, during which I suffered from prenatal depression. 

Being in such a delicate state in a foreign country, away from my Family, I believe, made an impact on my well-being. I had to stop working straight away as I was feeling exhausted and frequently had vertigo. It didn’t feel safe to be on my own in the big city ( London ) with a child in my tummy. 

During this time and the first few months after our darling was born, I experience something that I thought only old people could go through. LONELINESS. 

My husband would rush home after work to stay with me but before his arrival, these hours, days, weeks and months on my own felt never-ending. But they did, and when my daughter was born in the various baby care activities I did something that I have never done before, take the initiative to make new friends.  I wish I knew then what I know now, that if you feel lonely making new friends and even talking to strangers is the best medicine.

MATERIALISM

Families and mothers are bombarded with ideas that newborns NEED an endless list of things. This is the biggest lie we have been told. The things our children really need and want are free: our time, love and care. And the best way you can give this is by being flexible and always seeking to learn and improve ( books, books, books).

Second-hand stuff will do the job, you don’t need to buy new branded things. Sooner than you think they will grow out of it and you will be pleased to acknowledge how much money you saved. 

MESSINESS

A tidy clean home helps us to be balanced and connected with ourselves. I’m at the peak of happiness when everything is well organised and I have the space to express my creativity. However, with 2 children under 6, it is not as straightforward as I wish. It is OK if our home is not sparkling clean or looks like a magazine, I’d rather spend time reading, playing, exploring, painting etc with my children than madly try to keep everything perfectly sorted in our home. I know one day, when they will be a bit older we will have more time to keep our home spotless. 

NOT ON MY OWN

We, modern people, tend to try to do things on our own as if accepting the help of others will decrease our value as a human. I was one of these people who thought I could do everything by myself but with kids quickly learnt that’s not true. I began to allow friends and family to increase their deeds by helping with a cooked meal, chopping wood or a book read to the children. Whenever a helping hand is offered I don’t refuse it anymore because I know it is good and natural.

PATIENT

Before becoming a Mother I couldn’t possibly know that patience would be something that I would value, mention and meditate about so much. I believe we should invent a new word to express the struggles we have to endure with children regarding being patient, it feels and looks like it is never enough. 

Every day I have to push my patience to a new level and it feels like I need to make more steps forward to accomplish the right state of mind. My way to deal with it is to try to nourish our children with activities that I found fulfilled their souls and make them explore new parts of their beings.

Nature is the best place to be, I witness an enormous change in their being when we spent time in the forest or at the seaside. Sports like running or riding a bike help them to be more focused. Art activities make their soul speak and last but not least reading. Reading time is our peaceful realm, when a book is open and I read to them they are hooked and the discussion afterwards really brings contentment to us as a family. 

What unexpected things did you learn as a new mother?

I would LOVE to hear from you 

I hope this article will help someone enrich their life

With love

Giada

Our under 7 years old kids are fluent in 2 languages. 

I often receive compliments from strangers on how amazing it is to see very young children being able to switch from one language to the other. 

I had a clear goal in my life; to teach my mother tongue to my kids. Not only because I am aware of the benefits of knowing more than one language but also because I  felt upset my Mother didn’t teach us her mother tongue, I didn’t want to make the same mistake. 

According to BIG THINK ( and science ): “A great and growing body of research has focused on the psychological, economic, and health benefits of being bilingual. Speaking many languages improves a host of cognitive functions, across all stages of life, and it affects our emotional and social attitudes, as well. The scientific world is starting to take seriously the life-changing advantages of speaking multiple languages.” Check out the full article here: https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/10-benefits-bilingualism/

This is what FUTURLEARN says about being bilingual: “Bilingual people enjoy advantages: they have enriched cognitive control, it’s likely that they have improved metalinguistic awareness, as well as better memory, visual-spatial skills and even creativity.” check out the full article here: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/multilingual-practices/0/steps/22658

It is not as hard as it seems. I often hear parents that they don’t know how to do it, or that they are the only parent who speaks that language, they can’t be bothered, etc. When my first child was born I was the only parent who spoke a foreign language and I didn’t know how to teach her. I tried a method that I wasn’t certain will give me success but by listening to my children today I can confidently say I succeeded in that regard. 

I am not a language expert or a teacher, I am just a Mother who wants to give simple advice on how things worked well for us about teaching a foreign language. Here’s how I did it.

1. SPEAK TO YOUR CHILD IN YOUR MOTHER TONGUE

When we had our first child we were living in the UK. I was the only parent who spoke Italian and we had zero Italian speakers around us. This didn’t stop me. Since she was born, I only and always spoke to her in Italian. I think this helped to create a strong foundation in her bilingual journey and also as a way to make our bonding stronger. Yes, is true babies don’t talk for at least the first 2 years, but they record everything you say to them, so whatever I was doing most of the time I would explain to her what was happening like “ Mum is brushing her teeth with a toothbrush” or maybe something like this “ I am going to cook our lunch now, what I need now is collecting all the ingredients, here’s the pasta, onion, olive oil, tomatoes” etc etc. I was talking to her a lot and well sooner than I expected we were having a proper conversation in Italian.

2. READ 

I am a big fan of books. I always have a book next to my bed, and try to read before I sleep. Without books, I would feel empty. I think reading is essential for my well-being and I would like to pass on to them this passion. I have been reading to my children forever, I established a very solid routine, there is no day ( unless I am very unwell ) where I don’t read to them and of course, I read in Italian. I think reading aloud to them improved their vocabulary and made our bond stronger. 

3. LISTEN

To improve their listening and understanding abilities I often play audio stories in Italian, there are plenty of them on YouTube and Spotify for free.

4. SHOWER THEM WITH COMPLIMENTS

We frequently praise them on how well-spoken they are. whenever they use complicated words we make a big deal out of it like when our 4 years old said to us “extraordinary’’ we acted like it was the best thing ever. I make them feel cool about how great is for young people like them to know 2 languages.

This is how I taught my children Italian. 

I hope someone will find this article useful.

I see myself as a reflective person, I love to be on my own and dive inside my mind to reach a higher state of being. 

Silence is my favourite music and although I acknowledge the need to be with other human beings, I far long prefer to be by myself, preferably with a book, or a paintbrush or perhaps with my home chores. 

I always try to push my limits and learn to see the world from a different point of view. I think this is a great way to enjoy our existence as being part of humankind.

I try to see every day as a new beginning and learn a lesson from every difficulty I encounter.  

This year has been an intense one; without going into details I would like to share in this blog the nine main lessons I learned in 2022.

1 Our family members will never be what we want them to be

We all have in our mind the picture of our perfect family, we all know very well how things would be better IF only that person would do that IF only that person would be like him or her etc. But the reality is, things are not going to change only because we think they should. We can help someone to be better to do better but most of the time people won’t change and we have to accept that. I am learning to accept, love and care for someone even if they are not the way I want them to be and I am learning more than ever, to love every tiny step they are making to be in a better state of being.

2 Just do it 

Just do the things that make you feel good, happy and connected. I wanted to share with the world my photography, drawings and writing journeys and I did it; it made a very positive impact on my life. Now I want to create more things that make me feel better.

3 There is always a reason to be grateful for

I have learned to see light in the darkest places and making a tiny effort to see every good thing I have in my life, made me happier and lighter in my heart.

4 Set your boundaries 

If you don’t set boundaries people will step over you. It is very good to be kind and gentle but this doesn’t necessarily mean not telling people how things are, even if it hurts, you better keep it truthful and clear on what is ok for you and what isn’t. Your voice matter.

5 Poor sleep led me to the darkest places 

Our mental health is one of the most precious things we have and we have to look after it. I have noticed sleep plays a big role in my well-being, if I don’t rest enough, in the long run, I tend to fall into depression.

If feeling good means sometimes sleeping a bit more I just sleep more. 

It is as easy as that. 

6 Don’t create barriers 

Since my second pregnancy (2018) I started my art journey and never left it. I’m filling up sketchbook after sketchbook, which is essential for my well-being. 

My creative journey has taught me you don’t have to be great at what you doing, you improve while doing it; you don’t need a day off to improve your skill, 10 or even 5 minutes a day are enough to feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment and to improve; you don’t need expensive tools to start. Find the thing you love and let your heart guide you. 

7 I am not as good as I wish to be but I try my best to improve

I have come to terms that I am not as good as I wish to be. 

I lose my temper, I shout at the kids, I miss my prayers and sometimes I say mean things; all this makes me feel awful but I make the effort to accept my mistakes and I try hard to be a kinder, more loving and gentle person. 

8 Today wasn’t great but by the will of God tomorrow will be better

We all have bad days and I know it isn’t nice to go through daily challenges but we all know some days are much better than others. If I had a off day I just keep reminding myself that it is ok and I perhaps remind myself that yesterday was a good day and that tomorrow will be even better by saying this my day gets better straight away.

9 This could be my last breath 

I am becoming more aware of the fact that this very moment could be my last breath and this makes me enjoy life more and make me want to spend my time with people whom I love and care about the most. Life is too short and we should make the most of it by collecting beautiful memories with our loved ones. The rest can wait ( dishes included ).

I hope this blog article will inspire some of you 

With Love

Giada

Ada is a kind and delightful 96 years old Lady who spent most of her life at the service of orphanages. Is she a  Christian Nun? A worker in an orphanage? Neither of these options. At the early age of 19, back in 1946, she knew she wanted to be a Mother by vocation who over time cared and loved over 60 orphans like a real Mother.

Me and my Family met her for the first time over a weekend in September and my heart still feels full of love, excitement and inspiration for the stories she shared with us.

When we enter her little, spotless and welcoming bedroom I immediately felt a sense of peace.

Ada spoke very highly about Don Zeno, the priest and a lawyer at first who in 1931 founded a place called Nomadelfia ( where fraternity is the law ). He fought ferociously against injustice and with a gigantic ( as Ada described ) Faith built a community that follows the words and teachings of Jesus at the service of children in need, in a system where money is not needed and where everything is shared among the others, nobody owns anything apart from very few personal items. 

There was a time when they had about 1000 people living in Nomadelfia, now they are about 300.

Ada said they worked very hard to get what we now see, a beautiful, tidy, peaceful and well-organised community in the hills of Tuscany. 

To my eyes, it looks like heaven on earth but she said at the beginning the land has been renamed the land of the devil as they had to dig out for 30 years (!!) stones after stone.

Nomadelfia is a place where families live in big groups. Some kids are adopted, in foster care or biological children of the parents who look after them, and there is no difference between them, everyone is the same. 

There are chickens, cows, an ostrich and a cheese, olive oil and wine factory, carpentry, schools, a cemetery, a church and a bar where everyone meets up on Sunday.

Everyone ( excluding the children for obvious reasons) works but no one gets paid and no one is overworked or stressed about not being good enough.

This project sound so right to me, at the time it feels like this is how everyone should live. A simple life in a lovely supportive community, where greediness doesn’t exist and fraternity is the law.

Why am I sharing this?

1. during our stay ( a day ) I couldn’t stop thinking that I wanted everyone to know about this humanitarian project!
2. Perhaps someone will come up with this article and create another community like this and save thousands and thousands of orphans that are desperately looking for shelter, love and care!
3. Don Zeno was a peace fighter and despite the fact he had the majority of people ( including authority and at times the church itself ) he didn’t give up and he created something that everyone initially called a utopia. 
4. Our world needs to hear this story  in order to create more beautiful projects like this one

I hope with this blog post you will get inspired to do something good for people in need. 

It is astonishing to think about how one single human being has been able to change the lives of many. May His soul rest in Peace. May many of us be inspired by his work. 

Ameen 

Lots of love

Giada

Ps: check out Nomadelfia’s project https://www-nomadelfia-it.translate.goog/chi-siamo/?_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc