What I'm Doing to Minimize Waste

If there’s anything that has been a huge benefit to me when I started minimalism, it would be the amount of waste I’ve cut down on- especially with my wardrobe. Getting into the capsule wardrobe system is something that I’ve found very helpful because it allows you to get maximum wear out of what you already have. At the same time however, one has to be mindful of their shopping habits when bringing new things in. This is one thing that took some time for me to gain control of when I first started out, but I feel like I’m in a better place with this now. One thing that I’d highly advise anyone to do is to sit down and make a list of the essential pieces you need in your wardrobe. There are a lot of great videos on YouTube that can help you get started on this, but I understand that it can be intimidating at first.

The second way I’ve minimized waste is in my work life. Be it, this is a little challenging because not everyone thinks to bring their own reusable bags, but you can do this in thrift stores as well- in fact, I’d say I encourage it. So much plastic and paper is used where I work and in recent weeks, I’ve found myself growing tired of using up so much of that. One of the best ways I’ve found works is if you need to buy clothing or linens as well as some more fragile items like glassware, you can easily wrap up those little (or big) items into that. Another thing I try to do with wrapping paper in particular is to use as little as possible by ripping off bigger sheets instead of smaller sheets.

Food waste is another thing I’ve been trying to cut down on, and one of the best ways to do this is not buy as much processed food. Not only will this be beneficial to your health, but it’ll also help cut down on the amount of materials you need to recycle. One pointer I’d like to mention with this is while I understand that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses on this one topic, I do believe it’d be best to choose more wisely depending on your lifestyle, buy whatever is needed for the week and use up what you already have.

I’d say that using up what you already have is key to minimizing food waste. This can be applied with anything from canned food, condiments, spices and other types of food that are packaged in a box, tin or jar. If you can think of a way to use what’s left in a jar of peanut butter for lunch or dinner, then that’ll be one way to save money on your next grocery bill as well as saving space in your pantry. However, if there’s a certain food that’s biodegradable, then I don’t see any harm in tossing it outside to decompose in the grass. However, this does not equate to just throwing out a bag of McDonald’s leftovers out onto the street. Banana or orange peels, stale bread or expired greens (like spinach or lettuce) are some of the things that can decompose naturally. You’d be surprised how much of this can accumulate if we all just allowed these things to rot in a garbage dump or landfill.

I hope this information is helpful to you in some way. I’ve honestly found this zero waste journey I’ve been on to be quite liberating, but of course, I’m not perfect. Some days I might use plastic cutlery instead of taking my set of bamboo ones, or I might reach for a plastic bag instead of carrying my own lunch box, but I don’t beat myself up over this. In the end, I just do what I can to keep the planet healthy because that’s something I care deeply about.

The No Sugar Diet

When it comes my health now, I feel like I've gotten a pretty good handle on it. Now I'm not a vegan or vegetarian by any means, but sometimes, I do get inspired by those who follow that lifestyle. I even follow a couple vegan Instagram accounts just to help keep me motivated with my own habits. 

Links:
1. https://www.instagram.com/veganbowls/
2. https://www.instagram.com/erinelizabethh/

I feel like the one thing that's helped me maintain my weight is cutting out all sugar, and even though I still enjoy meat, I've found it helpful to branch out every once in a while and find more sustainable ways to get protein in my diet.

        


Sugar is found in a lot of processed or prepackaged food, so because of this, I've made it a priority to eat less of that and more foods that are natural, fresh and organic. I used to eat a lot of frozen dinners or snacks (especially ones that had pizza flavoring), and because of this, I would find myself either not feeling full afterwards or even feeling bloated. I've always had a bit of a stomach in my late teens and early 20's, so when it came to my eating habits, I wasn't really making things better by eating frozen dinners or just frozen food in general.

When it comes to work, I typically like to make wraps or salads for lunch or even take leftovers from the night before. When I make these wraps, I typically load them up with veggies like cucumber, tomato, spinach or romaine lettuce and some kind of deli meat (or chicken on occasion). This usually keeps me full until I get home.

The kinds of salads I like to make either contain some kind of meat (like ham or turkey) or a mix of almonds and cashews. Sometimes when I make these salads, I occasionally like to experiment with my dressing of choice. I once tried combining olive oil with balsamic vinegar and I highly enjoyed it.



I'd say the one thing I've struggled with for the longest time is my relationship with pizza and carbs in general. I do feel like I'm slowly getting better at this, but just like anything else in life, it takes practice and effort. Now I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but if you're open or willing enough into changing a habit like eating healthy, then you just HAVE to go for it with no excuses. I personally have found that if I make excuses or procrastinate on something, I'm less likely to get the task done. Sometimes in order to do this, I'll write down visible reminders on my white board. Other times, I'll use Pinterest, Instagram or YouTube as a source of inspiration. 

So all in all, I'd say I feel a lot more happy with where I'm at in life because of the choices I've made health-wise. Be it, I do sometimes indulge in something sugary, sweet or salty, but I'd rather go for a more balanced approach to my diet instead of focusing on the nutrition label all the time or always checking my weight. I feel like that hasn't been much of an issue for me personally, but I understand how it can be a thing for others. I do hope that me sharing my experiences is helpful to you in some way. We all deserve to live a life that makes us feel healthy and happy! :)

Capsule Wardrobe Guide: How to Add More Basic Pieces

When I first got into using this system, I had a lot of colorful, trendy pieces that I liked at the time, but they just didn’t feel like me. It took me a while to decide what I enjoy wearing most often and what colors I gravitated to the most, but I do feel like I have a better grasp on that now. So if you’re anything like me and you need help finding good, basic pieces to help give your closet more structure, I hope my tips will help you in some way.

Before doing anything, I suggest that you declutter. Once you’ve gone through that process, you can start to look at what you have and see what’s missing. One thing that I’d advise against once you’ve decluttered is to go on a huge shopping spree or just wander online aimlessly. You really just want to sit down and write down everything you have currently- or if you’re a visual learner, take a look inside your closet and carefully look at each item you have. Here are a couple questions that I would keep in mind if I were starting out (think of this process as using the KonMari method in reverse):
What is it about this one print, pattern or color you like?
What colors or prints do you not like on you?
Are there any colors in your wardrobe that don’t feel like you, or don’t represent your personality or lifestyle?

So when it comes to color in general, it’s good to know which basic pieces complement the other colors you have in your wardrobe. I’m not the best at explaining color theory with the capsule wardrobe system, but to break things down here, let’s start with the basics:

Black, white and grey are the basics as they’re universally flattering on anybody. Your primary colors are blue, red, green and yellow. Mixing these together with white or black automatically give you the perfect outfit. However, I feel like you can’t go wrong with more neutral color tones as well, like ivory, brown, tan and/or beige. If you have clothing items that are like a dark, army green, those can naturally go well with brown, black, white, ivory or tan. This can also be applied to the other primary colors, but you do have to be careful when mixing and matching brighter colors together as opposed to colors with darker shades.

As of recently, I’ve been really into different shades of brown and beige. What I like about this color is that it goes well with any of the primary colors, but in shades that aren’t as bright. Colors like burgundy, maroon, mustard yellow or army green can really look good with a shirt that has more neutral, earthy tones. Another great color combination I love is black and navy (or denim) blue; it just gives off this timeless vibe as these colors would look good on anybody.

Now I know that everybody’s style is different and our lifestyles are different as well, so at the end of the day, just do what works for you. Part of what I love about fashion is that you can be as playful as you want, or you can just keep things simple and casual. However, if you’re someone who's into fashion and style like I am, then I do hope this little guide was helpful to you in some way.

How to Care For Your Clothing & Accessories

When it comes to the quality of a piece of clothing, I feel like we could learn a thing or to on what the word “cheap” actually means. I do believe that there’s a difference between something that’s cheaply made versus something that was made at a cheap price. In saying this however, another issue that I think we could learn from is how to not only recognize good quality, but also on how to care for the existing clothes we have.

A lot of what you see in places like Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, H&M and so on may range in quality, but the price overall can either be cheap or fair. The materials that are in these clothing mainly include polyester, and because of this, the quality of the piece may not last as long depending on how you care for that piece of clothing or how often you wash it. For example, I once had a tan cardigan sweater from Forever 21. I wore it a lot, but I never washed it, so I decided to try doing that. In doing this, I noticed that the material was starting to pill a lot, so now I know to not throw certain sweaters in the wash unless it’s absolutely in need of it.

Certain clothing items you have will need to be washed a certain way or even taken to a dry cleaner so that you can avoid mistakes like this. The thing about high quality items is that they will last longer, but if you’re allowing your clothing items or accessories to take a beating to where they start to pill, lose their shape (like handbags) or get certain markings/stains, then you might want to consider getting some kind of special treatment or for those items so that they’ll stay in better condition.

For those who love handbags and enjoy collecting them (especially ones of high quality), there are a lot of ways to go about caring for them as well as getting good use out of them. If I ever invest in a high quality handbag, I personally would want to wear it, but also keep it in good shape and condition. One way to do this would to keep the dust bag it comes in so that if I want to take a break from wearing it, I can simply tuck in there and store it away for later. However, if you’re someone who likes to keep your handbags on display, then I’d suggest putting some kind of stuffing in the bag so that it can maintain its shape. Now of course, if some of your handbags already have good structure and can stand on their own, then one thing to consider is how often you’re cleaning out whatever shelving units or closet space you’re using regularly.

I personally haven’t tried this method myself yet, but I’ve heard that using a leather balm on your leather goods can really help with maintaining their condition. I’ll also mention that with your clothes, it’s best to avoid hanging anything that has too much bulk in the fabric, like sweaters or cardigans depending on how their made.

I know that this is a lot of information to take in, but I do hope that you took away something from this. Our wardrobes, no matter how big or small, shouldn’t have to cause stress in our lives. When I first got into the capsule wardrobe system and paired down what wasn’t working for me, I instantly felt a lot less overwhelmed when it came to getting dressed in the morning. Not only that, but it also helped cut down on the time I would’ve spent worrying about what to wear. Be it, my closet beforehand wasn’t as messy as others nor did I have massive piles of junk, but I did accumulate a lot of the wrong things in order to maintain organization. Nonetheless, I hope that this post was helpful to you in some way!

Accessorizing 101: It's All in the Details!

When I go to my closet, I typically think about the base of my outfit first- and for me, that’s usually a pair of comfortable pants and a t-shirt (or camisole). Of course, you can pick any style top you want, whether if it’s more basic or colorful, sleeveless or not; it’s really up to you and what you feel most comfortable in.

So once I have the base of my outfit picked out, I’ll add some kind of top layer. The weather here where I live has been a little humid lately, but some nights (or mornings), it does get cool out when I leave or arrive to work (or other occasions). Because of this, I personally like having some kind of jacket on hand just in case.

What I love about accessories in general is that they can really enhance or spice up your look, but I do feel like it’s best to keep things minimal and simple. If I’m wearing a top that has a bold print or color on it, then I’ll find accessories that can easily complement the look and not distract from it. For example, say that I’m wearing a red top with a floral pattern on it with black skinny jeans. My jacket of choice with that would probably be my black blazer from Goodwill, and my accessories of choice would be a pair of simple stud earrings, a black watch and my black cross-body bag. Now if this look were for a dinner or lunch out, I’d probably opt for my black pumps or ankle boots, but for work, I’d go for my black Nike sneakers instead.

Now when it comes to outfits that are more simple and basic, one of my favorite ways to accessorize is with a statement bag. I have one red cross-body bag as well as one yellow bag that I enjoy using whenever I’m wearing something like a white t-shirt and jeans or a light grey shirt and denim shorts. This way, if I ever need to run errands but still want to look a little more put together, all I have to do is throw on whatever bag I’m wearing as well as a pair of neutral colored shoes and I have an instant outfit.

So if you’re someone who likes to add a little more color into your outfits, then you can obviously go with a statement necklace or even a statement shoe to add something extra to your look. One thing that I personally would recommend though is to make sure the different elements your working with don’t clash in a way that seems all over the place. For example, if the statement of your outfit is your necklace, then try finding other pieces that balance that out (ie. multi-color necklace, white or silver stud earrings and silver ring combo). Another thing that I would think about is if the colors you use in your accessories match or complement whatever outfit you’re wearing. Now of course, all of this is just a little guide- you can do whatever you want at the end of the day.

My example of being cohesive with color would look like this: the base of my outfit would be my navy blue top with subtle white pattern, dark wash jeans and a blazer. Now for the sake of this blog post, my accessories would be my silver and white statement necklace, black watch, boots and black cross-body bag. This outfit may not be as adventurous as what others would wear, but it’s a look that I love and feel comfortable in.