New Instagram hashtag – #thesimpleeveryday

I’ve been wanting to start a new hashtag on Instagram for ages, but could never think of the right one. But, then you know when you have those brilliant ideas in the shower? Well, I’ve come up with one which I think everyone can relate to.

Let me introduce you to #thesimpleeveryday. It’s what I’ve been striving for and moving further towards both on my blog and on Instagram (find me here) – finding a way to uplift and celebrate the everyday.

#thesimpleeveryday is all about seeking a moment of calm in the mundane of the everyday – to take a moment out of our busy schedules to simply slow down and appreciate the little things, whether it’s a quiet coffee in the morning (one of my favourite times of the day), or the light streaming through the window in the evening, reading the papers on a Sunday morning or appreciating a fresh vase of blooms that make you smile. It might be a beautiful, minimal design object sitting on a nice clean shelf, fresh crisp white sheets on a newly made bed or a tidy workspace that is making you feel inspired.

So that even if we’re having a hectic day, stuck in an office or dashing around to meetings, we can find a moment to make that day a little bit lovely.

It is something I became a lot more appreciative of on my recent trip to John Pawson’s Life House in the Welsh countryside (I shared some snaps on Instagram but there’s a full post to come!). Part of Living Architecture’s portfolio of unique holiday homes, it’s a house of simplicity and beauty, designed for moments of calm and reflection. Each room is designed around specific activities, from a bathing room with views out to the surrounding landscape to a library room with works of literature.

Pawson told me: ‘We are used to being occupied. I don’t find it relaxing doing nothing. I find more meditative possibilities in immersing myself in activities like cycling and walking. When we are thinking about what we are doing in this very focused way, I think we also become more alive to the nature of the spaces we are inhabiting.’

So the #thesimpleeveryday is in a way inspired by ‘slow living’ and ‘mindfulness’, but my life is anything but slow. This hashtag is less a permanent state of mind or movement to religiously follow, and more about simply appreciating whatever you’re doing every day, no matter how boring or mundane.

So #thesimpleeveryday has a double meaning – to simply celebrate the everyday but also to try and find simplicity every day. Here are a few images from my instagram to try and illustrate what I mean, because pictures can sometimes speak louder than words…

So I hope you’ll all join in with my new hashtag #thesimpleeveryday and find simplicity and a sense of calm in the every day. I’ll be sharing some of my favourites on Instagram and on the blog, and can’t wait to see you snapping away!

You can follow me, @catesthill, here.

All images: cate st hill