Springwinter cleaning
Vårvinter (springwinter) is a word used to describe the transition between winter and spring. It's a beautiful time of the year when there is still snow and ice around, but days are getting longer, the sun is high up in the sky, it begins to feel warm, the snow begins to melt around the trees, the birds sing. This time is magical and healing.
In my extreme minimalist apartment there is not much spring cleaning to do, but I still contemplate what the unfolding change in seasons means for my space. Since it's getting warmer, I lower the indoor temperature and open the windows more often to invite some fresh air. I also identified some items which will benefit one of my fellow humans more than me, so I put them in an old and much re-used plastic bag and I'm going to give them to her.
My wardrobe doesn't change much throughout the seasons, and I wear the same things all year round. This is something I was doing when I lived in England. When I moved to Northern Sweden I thought this practice would change, but it didn't. I am glad that I decided not to acquire anything based on my perception of the North and instead rely on how I personally was feeling in that climate. Of course I had to wear more layers, mittens, a hat and a scarf when it was -25, and I could no longer wear sandals in winter. But overall I don't feel the need to have different clothes for different seasons with very few exceptions such as shorts and sandals which I still wear indoors in winter. Here in Helsinki it is not as cold as it was in Northern Sweden, and I can start wearing fewer layers even in March. I start wearing shorts on sunny days in the daytime when the temperature is somewhere between +5 and +10.
In the photo below one can see all the clothes I live with, apart from what I was wearing when I took the picture and a woollen shawl. As it's getting warmer, I intend to use the shawl less so it can last longer. Most of my clothes are made from cotton. It has always been my favourite fabric due to my skin condition. I started wearing mostly cotton clothing before I became aware of microplastic fibers released from, for example, polyester and other synthetic textiles. I do not own any special occasion clothes and don't think I ever will. For me, wearing simple, casual, imperfect but comfortable clothes made from natural materials and showing some signs of wear is an act of everyday activism: via doing so I hope to contribute to normalisation of such clothes in different spaces.
