I never enjoyed school. I did the bare minimum to keep going without losing a year. It felt like a dreadful chore, I found no meaning behind learning and it felt like I was walking blindfolded. 

I grew up in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, Tuscany but felt hopeless. Among my closest peers, no one was inspired to a better education. We only knew that we had to get our high school diploma and so we did.  

Only after I started to travel (about 19 years old ) and found the things I was interested in, I discovered the joy and the sense of freedom that only knowledge can give you. If I had more time now, most of it would be dedicated to educating myself because other than drawing, nature, and spiritual practice there is nothing more enjoyable than acquiring knowledge.

I sometimes wonder if, when I was a little girl full of dreams, hopes and questions, I had any sort of aspirational guidance or word of encouragement. I would probably and most definitely would be somewhere else. I can’t remember anyone telling us at school WHY and HOW education would make our existence more meaningful. I am very grateful for where I am today and I wouldn’t be here without the life choices I made but I truly believe that education is the only thing that sets us free in this world. 

I constantly remind my children why it is good to have an open mind and how learning can help you understand and enjoy this life every day a bit more and never the less how many great opportunities you can lay ahead of you.

Yes, if there was a thing I have to teach to the next generations and anyone in general is to be greedy with your knowledge the more the better. 

Yours sincerely 

Giada

Recently, I’ve been finding myself criticising myself for the endless number of things I should have not done. 

Things that I am not proud of, things that show how insecure and unaware I might have been, and things that make me think and re-think how much time I wasted. 

When I am in that flow of mindset I feel empty, sad and at failure. 

I bet you know it is not nice if you have been there. It is a horrible place where guilt predominates over everything and feels impossible to cope with all those acts that felt so right once but not anymore. 

We know we can’t change the past but we can change our way of thinking and live our present life with more intention.

The other day, while I was washing the dishes I couldn’t stop thinking about several mistakes I made in my life. I was blaming myself for how I was not capable to understand and see things in the way they really were.. and suddenly, something came up to my mind, yes is true, those things happened, I wish I didn’t do them but I can’t change it now. But there is something I can do and this is to think about the things which I am proud of, those actions that made me change my path, the path which is definitely much healthier and richer.Leaving toxic relationships for instance has been a life-saving act. I can’t think of myself still being there.

Quitting smoking and drinking habit has been one of the best decision I made. That’s a good step, and I congratulate myself! 

What are the decisions that makes you feel proud of yourself ? I would like to hear about your life-changing decisions

I choose to think about the good things I did and by doing so I feel better and inspired to do more good.  

I hope this article helped you

Warm Regards

Giada

life quotes – life changing – simple living – minimalism – simple life – meaningful life – intentional life – nature lover – art lover – blogging mum – motherhood – less is more – blogging –

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