Monthly Simplify - Writing Letters
Each month I pick one easy thing we can do to simplify our homes, diets and lives. This month, it's letter writing.
When I was very young (so young I was still cantering around on my imaginary horse, Ginger) I made friends with a girl from Belfast on holiday. She was a year older and liked dogs too, and we danced at the holiday club disco while our parents applauded with obviously genuine admiration.We swapped addresses and were pen pals for years. She would send me photos of her and her dogs doing agility, which was, like, the coolest thing ever. I can't remember why we stopped writing, but we did. All I can remember is that her name was Jennifer - we can't even reconnect over Facebook as I can't remember her surname (and there's no reason for the Facebook algorithm to suggest us to each other). It's strange that someone who was such a big part of my childhood is now just a memory of a photograph.
The universe has been putting snail mail back in front of me recently. An article about pen pals in The Simple Things magazine, the Blogger Christmas Gift Swap and finally stumbling over a series of tweets about the #beechat pen pal scheme. I decided this was a sign, so for my Monthly Simplify this month, I'm embracing snail mail.There is something so nostalgic and innately Simple & Season about letter writing. Writing my first #beechat letters I felt like I was in Pride & Prejudice or something, writing about nothing in particular just because it's the only way to communicate. It was liberating not trying to edit my thoughts to fit into 140 characters, just letting them flow through the pen and onto the page. There's also something so thoughtful about it - choosing the prettiest papers and taking the time to sit down and select the thoughts you want to send.
Do you want to join in this Monthly Simplify and embrace letter writing? Here are some things you can do:
- join the #beechat snail mail scheme by messaging Charlene on Twitter
- join one of these three pen pal services I found in The Simple Things- International Pen Friends (there is a £20 processing fee if you're over 21)- League of Extraordinary Penpals (a 12 month subscription will cost £27, but there are lower options too)- Postcrossing (a free service to exchange postcards around the world)
- become my pen pal! I would love to write to you - drop a comment below or email me.