Month: December 2018

The Perks of Minimalism: A Work in Progress

I’m going through a minimalism/zero-waste/low-budget phase. I’ve been taking a lot of different concepts that I’ve been exposed to  and combined them into one. For me, being minimal is very budget friendly and can also translate well into a sustainable lifestyle.

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If you all haven’t watched “Minimalism” on Netflix, I highly recommend it. In many ways, it really puts things into perspective. The documentary is “about the important things” and tracks the life of two men who have decided to travel the country, sharing their message on living on less.

I’m at a point in my life that I’ve been focusing on saving as much money as possible, that means I have to reign in my shopaholic nature. Let me tell you, this is DIFFICULT but it has improved my life in many ways. Listed below, I’ve come up with a list of ways that beginning my minimalist lifestyle has changed my life.

FOR THE RECORD, I do not live a perfectly minimal or zero-waste life. It is all a work in progress, but no criticism please.

  1. I eat better. I’ve tried practicing minimalism in every sector of my life, including my diet. I hate wasting food! There is nothing worse to me than finding a pack of moldy produce in the back of the fridge. To me that is unacceptable, so I’ve gotten into a habit of carefully planning my meals every week. I plan for breakfast, lunches, snacks, and a couple dinners (I still live with my parents, so we mostly eat dinner together). Not only am I saving money, but I can work fruits and vegetables into my plan so I am also eating healthier. Honestly guys, there is no excuse for wasting food.
  2. I don’t take as long getting dressed in the morning. I have been following The 333 Project for the past two months and have really enjoyed it. I chose 33 pieces including clothes, shoes, and accessories that I felt complimented each other. The 3rd 3 signifies 3 months. After the 3 months you can re-evaluate your wardrobe and trade in different pieces. Limiting the amount of clothes you wear to what you truly love makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning.
  3. I spend less on stuff! I used to spend a huge amount of money on make-up, cookware, and other junk. And to be honest? most of it didn’t get used. It just sat at the back of my closet gathering dust. I try to only buy things after giving it a lot of thought. For example, I recently bought the Ozark Trail tumbler. I got my mom a Yeti tumbler for her birthday and desperately wanted one for myself, but did I want to buy a $30 cup? Not really. Wanting to ditch the plastic water bottles for good, I knew I wanted to get a reusable water bottle. So I opted for a lower-cost yeti alternative for $8 (Ozark Trail) but I gave it a lot of though beforehand. PLUS, it is something I use everyday.
  4. I have to clean up less. When you have a lot of stuff, it tends to be difficult to keep things tidy. If you limit the amount of stuff you have, you ultimately don’t have as much to clean up and take care of.
  5. The things you do invest in, can be higher quality. Since you are saving money on spending money on random stuff, you can actually invest your money into high quality items. For example, my fiancé recently bought a Stanley thermos. He chose to invest in this item because his grandpa’s had lasted decades. Personally, I would rather have a handful of high quality items that are going to last than a bunch of crappy stuff that breaks easily.
  6. You can focus on things you really enjoy. Since you are now freed from all your stuff, you can really focus on things you enjoy! I love maintaining my fish aquarium, and practicing minimalism has given me more time to focus on the hobby I really enjoy.

Overall, I’ve really embraced the minimalist lifestyle. Although I am a long way from where I would like to be, I’ve definitely stopped brining things into the house. Noah and I are planning on moving out soon, so I feel like I’ve gone into nesting mode. I need to remind myself that I do not need a bunch of things to be happy AND I’ve concluded that we need to put a lot of thought into what things we want to welcome into our new place.

Reusable Ziploc Bags: Zero Waste/Budget Friendly Alternatives

Recently, I have been really into the concept of zero waste. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this term, being zero-waste is a movement towards sustainability. Being zero waste means that you make significant efforts to reuse everything you have and you make an effort to use products that will eventually decompose and/or can be made into something else.

I like this idea for two reasons: 1) it is a way to decrease your ecological footprint and 2) overall, it is a budget friendly way of living. Of course, there is some upfront investment, but in the long run it is actually beneficial to your pocket book because you aren’t buying items that eventually find their way to the landfill (ex. paper towels, paper plates, etc.). This might sound completely bizarre, but just fifty years ago this was a pretty normal way of living. Your grandparents didn’t use disposal plates to eat their dinner on or grab a paper towel to wipe up a mess. They used reusable products that they probably kept around for a long time! Heck, my grandma still uses the same plates she had when my dad was a young boy.

Anyhow, I’ve recently been trying to incorporate more reusable items into my life. For example I now use a lunchbox instead of the brown paper bags I’ve used my entire life. I also constantly keep a reusable water bottle, straw, and bags on hand so I’m not tempted to buy bottled water or use a plastic straw at a restaurant AND God forbid I forget my reusable bags when I go to the grocery. Recently, the sewing machine I’ve had my eye on for the past two years went on sale for nearly half its value and I jumped on it. I’m now a proud owner of a brother sewing machine. As would anyone else in my shoes, I immediately wanted to start a new project with my new toy. Enter….. reusable ziplock baggies

A couple months ago I had the privilege to stumble across a small company called “Empty Bin Zero Waste.” This company makes and sells products that help people lose the plastic, help the planet, and still do what we do… only with a bit more style. I saw these adorable reusable ziplock bags and I could not resist! I couldn’t wait to get home and try these bad boys out. Despite my excitement, I was a bit skeptical but rest assured that these are incredible.

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I soon found that my two re-usable baggies weren’t enough for me to pack my breakfast, snacks, and lunch and unfortunately, at $7 a pop I couldn’t really afford to buy anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES but unfortunately I’m not at a point in my life where I can spend a small fortune on ziplock bags. What I could do? I could go to Joanne fabrics and buy $11 worth of PUL, $5 of cotton fabric, $2 worth of zippers, and go to town on my sewing machine. Let me tell you that ANYONE can make these baggies. They are so simple to make, even for a beginner. Below, I have instructions on how to make your own re-usable ziplock baggies. For the record, PUL can be pretty expensive so it is best to buy it when you have a coupon. Just download the JoAnne fabrics app and register. I can almost guarantee you that there will be either a 40%, 50%, 60% off coupon on one item waiting for you. I also suggest buying your zippers on amazon in bulk. They are much more affordable this way. I would guess that I spend about $1.50/bag.

Here is my collection of reusable bag! What is really fun is how you can pick your own fabric! I especially liked the cork screw print.

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Also, I would like to express that in order for sustainable companies to grow, we need to invest in them! So, if you have the ability to support small businesses like “Empty Bin Zero Waste” PLEASE PLEASE DO SO. And if you can’t invest $7 on a ziplock bag, then spend $2.50 on a stainless steel straw. A little support from everyone will go a long way

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Directions:

  1. Cut your fabric (PUL and Cotton) into 16×8 inch rectangles. Lay the right sides facing towards each other. Put your zipper (zipper-side down) along the top edge of the fabric and sandwich it between the PUL and Cotton. It is best to pin the zipper down at this point (just to make sure you have this right, you should now only see the sides of your zipper since the middle is sandwiched between the two layers). At this point you need to use your machine and sew the zipper into place.
  2. This is where it gets a bit tricky. You need to sew the other side of the zipper so what you need to do is pick the fabric up by the unsewed side of the zipper. Then take your cotton fabric and bring it up the to zipper. Do this same procedure on the other side and pin. Your zipper should once again be sandwiched between your two layers of fabric. Sew the other side of the zipper into place.
  3. Next, you need to top stitch the zipper into place. For this step. You want to turn the bag right side out and sew the zipper firmly into place. See that stitch right below and above my zipper? That is what yours should look like. To do this, open your zipper so the pouch is easier to work with.
  4. Now you need to decide where you want your zipper to be. You can do this 1 of 2 way. First, you can keep the  bag right side out and determine where you want the zipper to be. You can pin it and then turn it back inside out. OR I think it is just easier to determine where you want the zipper when its inside out and then sewing along the border. This stitch will close the left and right side of your bag. NOTE: Make sure your zipper is open BUT inside of your bag. You do not want to stitch with your zipper on the outside of your bag. Just to be safe, I would place your zipper in the middle. Stitch up the left side and up the right side. Cut off the excess zipper.
  5. At this point. Your ziplock should actually look like a bag. All the sides should be closed. All that is left is to reach into the bag through the hole that is left by the zipper and pull it right side out.
  6. AND YOU ARE DONE! You know how a homemade, reusable product! Enjoy 🙂 and if you have any questions leave me a comment below.