Journey of learning to become a minimalist
What is minimalist? It is one of the topics that are getting more and more people are into it. But how much do you understand about minimalism? Some people said they like “minimalist”. However, the “minimalist” they mentioned could be the preferred minimalist design house or space instead of living. To have a minimalist designed home is not that hard. You will merely need to find a designer then everyone could have a minimalist design dream house. However, to live minimalist is not as easy as we think when comes to involve in our life.
Before living a minimalist life, I once shop a lot on clothes, shoes, heels, accessories and handbags. I couldn’t resist whenever there’s a SALE at the shopping mall. I seriously don’t need it, yet I want to get it because I think it is worth buying. Every time I clean my room, I will end up with a few bags of clothes that I just wore a few times and give them to the charity. Sound a bit wasteful, isn’t it? Imagine there are ten similar humans like me. How many bags of clothes did the charity have to receive? And I believed there is still a lot of excesses that have not been recycled or re-use properly.
The reason that made me into a minimalist person is when the 2020 epidemic happened. Look at the highway, the air index and the river during the lockdown period. If every one of us could contribute a little to help, I believed our earth would be a wonderful place from pollutions. That is where I started my minimalist journey, and I hope slowly more and more people know why living minimalist is not just a lifestyle but also trying to help out our earth.
To transform me into a minimalist person from a person who shopped crazily is a difficult journey. Before entering minimalist living, we need to understand why and what is the purpose of doing this. Everyone could have their reason for choosing which lifestyle they want. To me, minimalist living is not just a lifestyle, but also I would like to use this way to contribute to the earth, nature and society. Of course, we also could contribute back to our society and nature by donating, volunteering on the go green project, etc. I always believe little things count when comes to contribution.
Let me share a few tips I have been doing since 2020 until today.
#1. Differentiate items into a category
Necessity, Important, Segregate. I like to list things down like this before I make my purchase. Firstly, identify the item whether it is a necessity in your life, for example, toothpaste. It is a thing that we will involve in our everyday life. Then comes to whether this item is important to have. For example, if I don’t have any toothpaste, will it affect my life? We know that it will affect our oral health, so toothpaste is important in our life to maintain our oral health. Next, when we go for a minimalist living, we want to make sure all the items segregated properly to make life easy and simple. From the items segregation, we will either give away some pre-loved item or recycled them.
#2. Choose better quality items
Don’t get me wrong and purchase branded and luxurious items. Quality doesn’t mean luxury or a famous brand. It is more to an item that has better durability or a long life span. I will get something that can last me at least a year and above. Therefore, I could produce as little trash as possible. People tend to buy cheaper stuff and ended up producing more waste because of the short life span of the product. Before buying an item, ask yourself whether that is a thing that you will use for the long term or just once in a time. If just once in a while, then is better for us to rent/ borrow from someone else instead of buying.
#3. Think before you buy
Especially ladies, we tend to buy many clothes because we always think that this top should pair with these shoes or this dress should pair with that heels, etc. Day by day, you will realize your wardrobe is full of new clothes or new shoes that you haven’t even wear once. Try to think about most of the occasion you have in your daily life. Like me, most of the time I will be working from home, meeting with clients, and doing my workout. So most of my outfit will be a T-shirt and shorts. 2–3 pairs of proper outfit for meeting clients, 2 normal dresses for lunch sometimes. Total there are only 10–12 pairs of outfit I’ve owned including sports attire. That’s all. (most of my old clothes have been discarded last year for donation) It has been 7 months since I transform my life to minimal living but I believe I have got a lot to learn and improve as well.
#4. Simple skincare routine & products
A proper full skincare routine involved cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, sunscreen and facial mask. I once am a beauty consultant for 2 years plus, and I do understand every step in skincare is very important. When I ready to change my lifestyle, I change my skincare routine as well. I make everything simple.
Current skincare routine: Cleanser, toner, moisturizer, sunscreen.
It has been 8 months since I didn’t purchase any toner, moisturizer, facial mask and sunscreen. How I make it? I’m using apple cider vinegar as my toner and grape seed oil as my moisturizer and facial mask. I’m rejecting all paper mask in my life because it’s not eco-friendly to the environment. This type of skincare routine is not merely simple, but also last for 8 months. I think it will last longer because I still have a half bottle of apple cider vinegar and grapeseed oil. This method saves me from buying so many products in the market. Take note: not everyone is suitable for this type of skincare method. It is good to do more research before you go for apple cider vinegar and grapeseed oil on your face. You could always go for a simple routine like cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen will do.
#5. Food
Why is food on my list? Minimalist = Less is more. Encourage people to live a minimal lifestyle and not to be wasteful. I hate people who waste food. I cook my lunch most of the time at home. When comes to groceries shopping, I buy things/ ingredients that I need. Never overbuy unless it is dried food that I could store for later use. It is advisable to buy the right amount/ portion to prevent it from rotten, especially fruits, vegetables, and meat. I always make this mistake last time, and now I know how much should I buy. Always learn from your mistakes. It will never go wrong.
Imagine I’ve been living in my lifestyle for 25 years and decided to change it to a minimal living. It will never be as easy as we think. It takes time and effort to make it happen yet I’m happy with my progress so far, and I hope I can implement more and make it better. Minimalism is different from environmentalist however, I would say it is relatable. The next destination of my journey would be learning how to become a more eco-friendly person. Road to zero waste is even harder than minimalist from my perspective. Let’s try to become a minimalist with me if you’re keen to do so. Perhaps, you will fall in love with this lifestyle.
You could always share your journey and your minimal living tips with me.
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