Falling into bad habits

These few week I have been sitting around so much more wasting time. In the morning I always wake up very early but never really like to get out of bed because of the current cold. So I revert to laying in bed under the covers with my tablet. 

I watch useless youtube videos wasting my own time. Sometimes I watch those videos until the last minute before I really have to get out of bed to get ready. I hope it's just a phase because of the cold weather. 

So what is the solution...

December shopping

The end of November and December is very expensive for a lot of people. I am fortunately that during the gift giving season I don't spend that much. I don't buy a lot of things for myself, most of the time I give things away. 

For example this week my colleague had a new kid. I was supposed to add some money to pot and buy new clothing for the kid. I buy diapers because all new parents need those. I do go shopping as a minimalist and I go to sales but I rarely buy things for myself anymore. 

For example I have went to the city centre with my mom but only come back with food and some stuff for her. I only spend money on her or on food. I found that I like to have the things in my hands and then let it go. The moment it's in my hands to touch an object is already satisfying, I don't need to own it and put it back down.  

Black Friday (Singles Day)

Today it's Black Friday which means a whole lot of stuff on sale, just like on singles day. Singles day is a huge fenomeen in Asia where year after year the sales records are broken. The month November has become a very dangerous month because around the globe these days are celebrated by retailers. For a minimalist as I am, it's so difficult to resist the temptation.

This year I have switch from the Olaz cleaner to the Foreo sonic cleaner. Because of the warranty, I register myself and receive the newsletter. It already started last week with special set promotion, so called early birds. I was very strong and clicked away.

But today after failing at ordering a wireless charger and a usb wifi dongle, I cracked and bought the Foreo tooth brush. It cost around 140 euro after discount. I liked it a lot and if it helps my tooth I would be thankful for it.  On Singles day 11th of November I was strong because it was not so much promoted on the radio, street and weekly inserts.

I am very happy that I don't have cable anymore and don't know the commercials. Though I can be strong, I also have my weak moments. Am I afraid I bought something during these days, yes I certainly am but the brush was already on my wishing list. And there is nothing wrong with that because things on my list has been already thought out how to use and what the stuff it's going to replace.

CD's

I love to listen to music while driving and last few day I have pushed the CD button in the car. During my school days I bought a set of jazz cd's and I had it in the car. What I always have with cd's is that there are some songs that I will get addicted to. On this cd I already found 4 tracks that are absolutely catchy.

Do you still remember that we had to manually push a button to skip a track or listen to a song you didn't like with tapes. I still have a lot of music tapes and sometimes get it out just remembering my younger days. I even have a tape from my last day after the primary school.

But back to the cd's I still have a lot of them and I am not willing to get rid of them at all. Honestly, most of them are from my siblings or mom, I never really had a collection but the ones that I have, I treasure it.

Disappointments

This year I finally backed a product that was on Kickstarter. For myself it was having something that added value in my life and it's not available in the store. I found the nope 2.0, before receiving the actual product I already got the message that the product would be thicker then mentioned before.

I'm absolute for internet safety, so covering up my webcams on my pc and tablet is something what I already do by using paper or sticky note. I was absolutely thrilled and ordered 6 of them. Eventually I got it in the mail and wanted to stick on my notebook. The only thing is, that it doesn't close like in the picture.

I was already afraid when I got the update message that the goods will be thicker. They did try to sell it by telling it would protect your stuff better etc. But my feelings about that message was already negative. That's not the only thing that bothered me, it also didn't arrive at the promised time.

All in all, I am very disappointed at how my first backer action on Kickstarted ended. But it doesn't hold me back in backing any other project. I am already trying to find something that can actually add some value like how the Nope 2.0 was intended.

The trick with disappointment is to trick yourself that it could be worse!

Starbucks frappachino...

A few months agot the Starbucks coffee was in sale at the supermarket for just €1,- and I bought it. It was really a disapointment. I still remember I had coffee in Beijing at Starbucks or just in Europe and it was really nice but the supermarkt one was just too sweet for my taste. After drinking it I had just a bad headache and after reading the label, I assume it's the sugar intake. How much sugar goes into the small bottle. I promised myself to never buy it again.

What I did do is rinse the bottle made some coffee and pour it in the small glass container and let it chill in the fridge for the afternoon. I have kept the container to just keep cold coffee in the fridge. Most of the time I really don't care about brands but it was just so cheap, so I bought it to try it.
For the coming next few years I would not buy it anymore, until I forget it and buy it again.

My Phone

I really like my mobile phone from last year. I asked it as a birthday present. The only thing is that my quite new phone can work faster. I still had a microSD card 32GB class 4 in it. So it's time to update my phone. I was checking out some cards and decided to just buy the one in sale at a big electronic store in my city.

What I thought it would be a short visit at the store turned out to be a half hour visit. First I got the wrong item, the one that isn't on sale. So after finding just one sales man from the department who was already helping a other person I had to wait like a half hour, okay it wasn't half an hour but it did feel like it.

So instead of a Scandisk, I got one Samsung memory card. Honestly, the brand I couldn't care less. I know that when the product specification are the same only the real difference is the packaging and the brand when it comes to these cards. Happy to get this deal, I almost went straight back home.

At home I pulled out my old microSD and transfer everything in a folder on my pc. It took a half hour. Transfer all the stuff from my pc to the new memory card was just a 15 minute wait. The difference in speed is incredible. I am basically slamming my own head at the wall, why didn't I buy it earlier.

Now with the new card, my photo's are loading faster than before. It's a great buy!

Cold shower

Five years ago, I remember taking cold showers every day because I just couldn't get the heater on. Funny fact is that after knowing how to turn the heater, I went back to showering hot. Until recently I was reading an article that cold showers are better for the body and that it also saves energy.

Blaming myself of how stupid I could be, why didn't I realize beforehand that when showering I use gas to warm the water. This cost not only money but isn't even beneficial to my health. So the last two months I took more cold showers than warm. At the beginning I used mixed water, more cold water and a little bit of hot water just to get used to it. My limbs are not a problem but my body is so totally different, when it touches cold water I really don't feel comfortable at all.

After getting used to the cold sensation I only turn on the cold water now. It really took some time time to turn on a switch in my mind. It's just water it will clean you only, only my body will be shocked because of the temperature difference. After a while even my body is prepared for the cold.

Like in the summer it's very refreshing but even in the fall I get the feeling that all my muscles could relax more and get me easier to sleep. Or I was just so tired, I fell asleep. At least I know one thing, cold shower are great!

Huge change

After my weekend post about I, traveling. I had a clean up and my bedroom is looking fine already within 15 minutes. I felt that the last few days has been way relaxed, I could concentrated better and sleep deeper (at least that's what I think). Granted there are more paper napkins bin then before but I will find a nice home for it very soon. I think the most important thing is that there is no bag on the floor in sight that keeps nagging on my conscious.

I have moved a lot of the unrelaxed thing up to the attic/office/clothing area where I put the important administration in it. I have fixed that place up right before the holiday so that if I came back with a lot of stuff I would have a place to stall it. My coming weekend plan has already been decided. Saturday morning going to the Swedish furniture shop to have breakfast and shop around. Sunday is the day that I have to do the laundry and start in the attic.

Yesterday there was some unfortunately situation that made me stay at home until 13:00. I had to wait until a letter was arriving. So in the morning I had decided to get rid of two old suitcases that are not usable anymore. I can't take it to traveling anymore, my mom use the empty suitcases as storage units.

In my opinion a very good idea, only downside I bought two suitcases during the holiday, which both work (one is dented, gone for reparation). So to many suitcases as storage is not a very good situation. I decided to donate the two old ones and keep the new.

So after work during dinner my mother told she even wanted to donate the vintage suitcase. I was quite surprised but hey it's here decision. During her spurge on getting rid of things she also donated one whole bag of clothing away. I am very proud of how systematically my household is changing.
From always keeping things to make place for something new, please!

Another favorite in the bathroom

I have semi long hair, better phrase it differently I always cut my hair short sometimes a layered bob and sometimes just straight. And then I let it grow out a couple of months and it reaches my shoulders again and I go to the hairdresser again.

By keeping my hair short I don't use as much shampoo and water to wash my hair. But the biggest problem is not getting it wet but keeping it dry. A year ago I started to use a hair net/cap when showering. I was getting sick of always have to dry my hair after a shower. Or taking ages just to get it in a high ponytail and searching for big enough hair clips.

Nowadays I use a shower cap. I have it on a rod with one hair clip that keeps it in place. When showering I just bundle my hair in the clip and put my cap on to have a nice shower. The combination of the two is a favorite that is just genius.

Back from holiday

I had decided a few months ago not to write about my holiday in advance. I don't like to jinx anything. It has just been a week ago that I came back. For over three weeks I was in Asia, traveling around and visiting my family.

With all that tourist places and all I bought a lot of stuff, I went with one suitcase just weighing 7kg including the suitcase and came back with 38kg back. To be fair a lot of it is dried food and a good portion of sheet mask bought in Korea. Buying clothing in Asia means going from a medium european size to a large size in Japan. I felt fat and big compared to the common Asian people.

So on my Saturday, I have been ironing all my shirt from the holidays and put it back neatly in my closet. But I still have two bags in my room that need attention for me to clean up asap. I find that the last week back with so much in my room has disturbing my sleep. Time to fix that in the weekend.

Also my skin got an outbreak just when I came back. It teared up because of the dry air, didn't use enough moisturizer. It's back in shape, nice and smooth. So this week was an adapting week for me.
Four weeks holiday has passed and it's time to prepare for the winter to come.

I can't wait for my next holiday!

Second Hand

Oh boy, oh boy, last week I was busy with cleaning and setting up my new old chair that it really slip my mind to write for my blog. Last week, I went surfing on marktplaats, like a dutch craiglist and looked for a second hand Poang from Ikea. So when I saw someone put 17,50 for the chair and the foot thingy, I just wore my naughty shoes and ask if 10,00 is okay too. Within a few hours she replied but I fell asleep and replied in the morning, to pick it up in the evening.

I wasn't there yet, I still needed to clean every bit and bought a new cushion set from Ikea. The cushion that I got is from a really nice leather but the colour and the shine lost all it's natural glow. I searched the whole Saturday evening for a solution to get the nice colour back in to it. In the end I bought for less then a €1,- a bucket soap that restore the tenderness in the leather.

In the process I also found out I lost not a screw but a bout, so after contacting Ikea they promised me to send the missing piece. I really like Ikea services, my home doesn't have a lot of stuff from Ikea and I am not a fan. But I find it very comfortable that such company won't ask me to buy a new product just because of a missing piece. Just throwing a good chair away just because of a missing piece that is just wrong. Of course there a companies that will do it like that just to raise revenue but in my opinion that is just wrong.

I also got the drift and I am also selling my old stuff away, I hope to get some buckets in for a nice diner.

Sale again

Beginning this year I bought some stuff to add in my wardrobe but this time the sale was so good that I bought some extra stuff. I have bought a shirt with short sleeve for just €1,75 a sweater for €2,50 and a exercise pants for the same price. In total I paid just €6,75 I was even smiling when I was waiting to pay the stuff.

I have to say that this time I choose all the stuff that I don't have a duplicate in my existing wardrobe. Because of that I am very proud of myself. It's not always that easy to change or buy things I haven't tried before.

I don't expect to buy anything more but maybe this weekend when I go out for shopping I will find something suitable that I just can't let it hang. Okay, I didn't just went into the shop without research. I already knew what the prices are and what the highest discount would be and when I would definitely buy it. Weeks before all the stuff that I bought were already in sale but I found the discount not high enough and predicted that in two weeks the rest will be discounted even more.

So Sunday before doing the weekly groceries I went to check the store and found what I wanted to buy for the right price. I am so happy when I bought the shirt. Afterwards my family was already giving me orders to help search for the discounted clothing.

Sale makes me very happy especially when I can renew my wardrobe a bit and donate some stuff away cause the on-in-two-out rule that still exist under my roof is something I have to apply.

Listening

I am very fortunate to hear different stories from my elders. In the weekend after shopping we dropped by a grandmother in the neighbourhood. I have always called her grandma for as long as I know. The day before while cycling I already saw her but I went to fast to stop.

So the day after I asked my mom if she wanted to visit after our shopping spree. Grandma's daughter was also there, all the way from Malasya. I got to hear how my generation doesn't know the feeling of hunger and poverty.

How people of the ages of 40, 60 and 80 are reminising about their childhood and food. How they used to wait to get food on the plates. How happy they are thinking about the time they have so much less. It makes me proud that I can hear these stories about them.

Complaining that we now don't value the primary things in our lives makes it kind of funny how different generations think of stuff and food. By listening good to their conversations I am very happy to live in the present instead of the past.

Containers... Tetris

I really like my pantry organized but with bags like musli it just won't stand up normally. I don't own a huge pot to put a whole kilogram in so the next best thing is smaller containers. As shown in the picture I have this left over musli in the cabinet. It really bothers me every time I open it up. 

Today I got the motivation to do something about it. Just put it in smaller batches so I don't even need to measure it every single time I want to eat it. The small containers are pasta sauce that I bought. I really like the small size. Sometimes I even bring some fruit with me in these containers and if it really gets messy I can throw it away because it didn't cost much but for now I have been reusing every single one of it. 

The musli in the container doesn't only looks nice but it also saves space because it's stackable. And in the cabinet it's easy to find because the plastic is transparent. The pantry is really a space that looks like a game of tetris, how to fit everything in it so it doesn't take too much space. 

Emphasize

When reading my own blog, I see how much I have evolved. It all started with the word minimalism, then the actions and naming it every time I do something. Now the procedures has been part of my life as if it's the most normal thing. I don't even think about the fact that it's minimalism. The first few post I wrote emphises a lot and made everything crystal clear.

Now I am thinking it's the most normal thing. That this kind of lifestyle suits me is something I didn't only choose but also put effort in changing my life. I started of by naming it, then learning it and then living it. A year ago I thought that I couldn't discard more things but now I am still giving things away and selling it.

When people think you can become a minimalist overnight, I would be very surprised and also admire that person. Because just parting with the stuff I have within a day would be so hard and I am also not emotional stable enough to do that. Of course I also would be very doubtful of the person could change so fast and later on buy things again, creating a jojo effect.

For all those that want to start: first read a lot about it. Decide for yourself if you want to live a life like minimalist. Start naming what minimalism is and what you're doing for yourself to change your environment and give your self a compliment at times and review back how it effect your daily life.

Don't let what others say, effect your decision too much but sometimes people around you may mention the changes you made. The most important thing is make it enjoyable for yourself. You don't need to show it off to much, your living room doesn't have to feel like a decor in a furniture shop but a little bit of trash is okay as long it still pleasant.

When words are more than words

One of my hobbies is reading, which lately has been put aside until I opened my Kindle again. I was on 15% of the book I was reading. I remembered that last year I have read at least 15 books. In 2016 I haven't got one of it done. The very sad person that I am went speed reading in the few minutes I got when I am waiting for my carpool and in the metro. It was very difficult because I only could read when I went with my coworkers. On the days that I drive, I couldn't read.

In the past to weeks, I finally got to over 60% of the book. Bless the person who made the percentage bar under the kindle reader. Now I am confident that I can finish the book by Sunday evening. In stead of watching a series I can read the book to it's end.

ps: I really have the same kindle as in the picture:-) 

The nice thing of reading, it's like a movie unfolding in front of your own eyes. I watch, you watch and everybody see something different in the words that are laying bare to us. I want to finish it and see if what I expect to happen will come true, or will the writer make such a beautiful surprising spin. It's all in the last few chapters.

Time to close down the pc and time to.....

Another Cup

I could not let this deal slip, another Le Creuset mug. This time it's a totally black one for €7,99. Of course I would want to have a different color but black was all they had on the shelves. Firstly, I walked away from the shelves and went looking for other things. It the end I went back and decided just to buy it.

Why?

1. I have been waiting for over two years for this brand of mug to reach this price tag
2. These mug are easy to clean
3. The mug size if perfect
4. Have 5 Year warranty
5. It's an incredible gift to give away
6. I never had a black mug

Those reasons are a bit crazy but I already know which cup it will replace. At work I have a small tea mug from the Hema but the Le Creuset is bigger and I can enjoy more tea and drink more with one mug. I think I only need to drink 6 mug for the whole day to reach my daily target.

Lovely mug....

Finally sold

The thing I want to do most is making money out of my trash or stuff I don't need. That's why after almost half a year I finally called the person to pick up my old clothing to sell per kilogram. The bags I have were over 45KG, I got around €18,- out of my old clothing. In preparing this, I mentioned to all my siblings that  I am going to sell my clothing. If you have any old clothing laying around which you don't want, give it all to me baby.

So one of my siblings was moving and was also cleaning up the clutter in her home. She ended with giving me more than 20KG. I already ask her is she want to sell it herself but she refused because she didn't want to do go through all the hassle

I am already saving up clothes again, five bags are already in. It's all that I got from people around me. Some friends of my mom also asked the number to sell the clothes to. Very funny because when I asked before some said they didn't want to go through all that trouble. But when they see that you can make money out of it they called after a few days just because some "friends" wanted it. Of course I am a little bit sceptic about their "friend" but why not give it as I already asked if they wanted.

I am very happy that because of my trying and daring to do things others can also profit out of it. But yes, being able to help solve problem for others by selling it also makes me very happy. And most important, it's sold!

Planning succeed!

Yesterday was tiresome. I finished the thing I wanted the most, the closet. With a little bit of help from my mom I already completed finishing the wooden wardrobe. First of all, I put all the stuff in the right closet on the spare bed. And just moved it out of the way. After an hour of putting together and moving it in place, the results is splendid. In the end I even discard the green wardrobe because everything just fit in one. 

After the wardrobe I was tired and hungry, we ate pasta and got on our bikes to do some shopping in the city centre. I ended up buying only one shirt that was on sale, the rest was just a melon. I felt shopping in the city quite boring. It doesn't bring any enjoyment it did when I visit a supermarket. Perhaps the state  that my home is in also decreasing the buying lust. 

The funny thing is that the whole week I wanted to buy something but I just can't put my finger on the thing I desire. I went from webshop to shops and back still no result. Perhaps it's a good thing, the feeling of emptiness can also be a sign or I am just affected by my colleagues who are buying things. I really don't know but I'll wait another week for myself to sort things out. 

This Saturday has been a succes, I finished what I really wanted and needed!

Weekend planning

Lately, I don't have free time to do what needs to be done. For almost two weeks I haven't iron my clothing but more important is the closet that I want to put together. Almost a month ago, my mom bought a new closet for her clothes. She promised me while purchasing the closet that two of the closet she owned will not be in her room anymore.

One is a student wardrobe thingy very cheap but useful and the other a wooden closet from over a decade. I took the old wooden closet and put all the parts in the attic. I also have two of the very cheap student wardrobe. I also plan to downsize from two closet to one.

But with activities already planned and the normal house routine, I am beaten and tired. So time to do the positive tricks again. Plan ahead!

This Saturday, I will make a picture of the current state of the attic and pull out at least one of the wardrobe to put up the wooden one up. Reason is very simple, the student wardrobe is very nice but it's not sturdy as the wooden one and opening and closing is very difficult. I also have to mind the weight that I can put in.

I hope I am able to put it all together by myself cause my siblings won't be there to help but I got the feeling that I will be able to manage. I can't wait what I will get rid off after my mini Saturday project.

Bye Bye Stuff

Cute souvenirs are things I promised myself not to buy anymore. But as a teenager I bought countless useless stuff and see here the result. An Alton Tower key ring where the water is all evaporated. So goodbye cute but never used thing.

Clearing this emotional product is good. I used to think that I could save up all the key ring in the world. A whole collection that I hang up in my room. It was so cute but looking back at it, it was useless. My teenage mind wasn't logic enough to say 'no' to something so nice and small.

Even today I bought a phone holder for my phone that has offline maps. The old navigation that I use now is not up to date anymore and makes me crazy while driving.

First I decided to buy a new navigation but after a day I thought my windows phone has a incredible accurate navigation. So I tried it out and only bought a phone holder for €1,80. Perfectly, fine for a person who doesn't use the nav often.

With my freaking phone I am able to save on money that could be spent better for example the cost for the bachelorette party that I attended.

Minimalisme doesn't only makes me conscious about my past but it also sets abilities open which I never thought of.

Too many cups... or too many desserts

I am never buying small cups anymore, at least that's what I always think after buying the cup(s). It's not an excuse but some people even the most logical person would things that are very unlogic. I like nice stuff and things that make me happy. So sometimes for my short time pleasure I like to have something nice and just buy it. I am fortunate that I now always scan my receipt so I can return.

Now I don't buy cups but yogurt or dessert in nice glass. For €1,- a dessert I am able to get a tasty dessert and a nice cup afterwards. I love it but now I have so many cups that it doesn't fit in my cupboard. My sister already asked for her sons on for each so within a few days my stockpile will shrink to just 2 cups but I can always buy another dessert. Also the picture on the side is not mine, I got it of the internet. The writer also loves the La Fermiere container.

At the Lidl they also have the nice dessert cups which I use sometimes just to pour water for guest or drink some alcohol drinks like a mojito. Very nice and transparant and easy to clean, that is very important to me.

And just to let you know, I really didn't bought cups for 2 years after my expensive Le Crueset mug. But around last month I saw a very nice Snoopy mug that is easy to clean and very nice to look at. In the end I didn't bought it yet because it was to pricy. Though I am afraid that I will buy it after awhile.

New Bag Pack

I got an awesome very early birthday gift form my mother. I went looking for an awesome backpack to commute everyday. I have so many functions and nicknacks on my list that it was almost impossible to find a reasonable priced backpack.

In the end I settled with an nice blue backpack.

My wishes for the backpack was the following:
1. should have a dedicated and thick lining pocket for my laptop
2. shoulder strap should be adjustable
3. It should have enough space for one set of clothing
4. having the hip and chest band
5. weight lighted
6. water resistent
7. not black
8. enough pockets to put nick nacks in it.


I have been using this bag for almost three months and I am loving it. Even my healthy back bag fits in it easily with my laptop, set clothing and two soup mugs. I really like my bag and am planning to use it more often.

It's a very early but useful gift which I sent time to find and love it even after using it!

Tricks

This my friend is a simple trick to save space in your cabinet. One of the things I like to buy sometimes are individual package. I don't chunk whole packages of cakes or cookies anymore, so sometimes I buy these multipack. Yes, it's a bit expensive but it saves me some time and I trow it in my bag before shopping or alike. But now it takes me ages to finish one whole package and I find it takes away a lot of shelving space.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     So I try to get rid of the carton package and put it in one of the clear bins that I get with strawberry or any other fruit like black berry. It saves up half of the space and I can see everything that is on the shelves because the box is see through. Easy and without any real effort, I try to change my cabinets.

The importance of cleaning

At work my desk looks like a mess. Things that has to be done are still not done. There is always something coming in between when I want to finish something. I haven't done any of my extra dishes or anything else not concerning my work.

But my own personal luggage is very light and comfortable. The things that I bring with me is minimal but enough to survive the day. I even plan to have less things in my drawer, I am getting on the right track.

I have less and less stuff in my personal life. Things that are broken or not good enough will not be taken back. I want to make my own space as serene and clean as possible. So clear surfaces is very important.

At home my places are clear of clutter and it helps with my mind too. I am very happy to be at home. Even the car that I am driving in is cleaner than before. Though I still want to get the vacuum cleaner through the seats and all.

So what did I do. Simple small stuff like birds poo on the car make the inside bad. So I put my container of W5 napkins in the car and wipe of any poo when I see it. I also clean the top surface and the mirror.

So keeping it just a little bit clean makes it cleaner. Get the outside pretty, it motivates to keep it clean and neat in the inside.

Waking Up!

Yesterday, I got the gift for my old co-worker. We started chatting but both of us aren't paying a lot of attention to our mobiles all the time. So this morning after breakfast I was watching some telly with my mom and opened my wifi setting on my phone. She gave a replay yesterday late in the afternoon.

I saw her message and old foto's we made and asked how she is doing. At the time it was only still 10 minutes before 10 o'clock. The first thing she heard was my message on the app. I am already known for sleeping early and waking up early, I feel like an old lady even though my habits are healthy. She joked around about my timing.

I made fun of her too, it's Sunday to beautiful just to lay in your bed and doing nothing. To me waking up is nothing difficult but getting out bed is another story. I just woke someone up unintentionally. Oops!

The magic of different decisions

Today after work I went with my co-worker to our city. We live nearby our company but not in the same city. Everyday we go from one city to the other, it's not far but if there is a traffic jam it's impossible be to on time.

Today one other co-worker went with us which means with some little luck got to get off closer to my home than normally. I was really happy and that resulted in a longer walk than usual. I got out of the metro and walk just 10 minutes before taking the tram to reach my home.

On the way back I saw three guys, I think of the same family pushing a huge thing in place. It's something to add onto your car for extra baggage. Inside I was cheering them on and was happy to see that cooperation between people is still able to move heavy weights.

If I didn't take the tram instead of the metro I wouldn't have seen something amazing and feel great about it. It's a small thing, what I saw but it made me happy, it gave me a little hope that trust, kindness and hope still shimmers through our everyday life.  

Ripped Jeans

As the title let you guys know I just have my first ripped jeans. I just started to wear jeans two years ago. I bought it at my favorite clothing store C&A, the best place to search for nice and reasonable priced clothes.

For the past few years I have worn and wash it so intensely that I knew it would rip eventually. I was working while my jeans ripped but didn't had a replacement pants with me. I took my sweater of and wrapped it around my waist.

I thought it would be awkward but it was not that bad. I am happy that it ripped because it makes me realize that it was time to say goodbye to my jeans. Realizing that when we use stuff to the fullest it will break. I am very happy that I get all the usefulness out of stuff I bought. I have nothing to complain when my jeans ripped.

So this weekend I also bought a new pants but no jeans. It's a lounge pants for at home. The other pants in my closet are sufficient for everyday work, I don't need to buy another one for it but for at home I need to have nice fitting pants.

It's ripped and I will recycle the jeans to give the material a second chance.

Spares got to go

Yeah, we just bought a new can opener. Last week my mother said our old one is broken or better yet she doesn’t have enough strength in her wrist anymore. So she bought a new one with sharper blade and the others are going to be recycled. 

The white one was supposed to be a back up. I already glued it once but the black one has already been use. When the black one broke, she tried but it took a lot of effort. 

The last few year I nagged about why we having so much stuff around the house that isn’t needed and threw away a bunch of things. My throwing habits is rubbing off on my mother. It’s like crazy how she is also trowing some stuff the house out when buying something new. 

Like when we went to the Ikea and went looking for a container for in the sink. We found a metal pen holder two for not even €2,- and still decided not to buy because the pen holder has no holes at the bottom. So we decided not to purchase the holders. And when we went to the Blokker we found what we were looking for €2,70 which is expensive but better than something that isn’t as useful and will irritate me later on in life. 

We basically buy stuff that is needed and which doesn’t add up to the clutter. I also see in the kitchen where there are stuff multiplying easily got a lot better in the past year. I don’t need to declutter as much as before and the routine I set up, works. 

Spares in our kitchen that aren’t  going to be used in multiply ways like knifes or are easily misplaced or lost, it got to go. 

I adore...

Lately I have been trying a lot of new stuff. Thanks to several sites that let's me try new product for free or for a small payment. That's how I got free tooth paste, juice, coke, energy drink, chocolate, you name it.

That's how I got my hands on this sweet delight. Normally, I wouldn't buy this because it's new and expensive in my eyes but with a cash back I would want to try this.

And with the easy method of just a picture off my receipt and general information I got my cash back in the bank. That's awesome, for those who don't know that Scoupy does this, check it out. I could use their app for Iphones and Android but the fact that I don't use either phones I use the web version, which works fine.

There are a lot of sites that offer free stuff but you have to be careful of the small written text. There are some that are really trustworthy. I use Scoupy and kortingisleuk which has both cool free stuff to offer.

So in ending I adore... cash backs

Feeling Bad

The last six month I didn't have time to write. Nope, not true. There was so many things I want to write down and share. I never got the chance or I didn't want to make some time free to write. I thought about writing on my smartphone but it just didn't gave me the same feeling like a keyboard. Funny right, just because it didn't gave me the right feeling.

So the last six month I have worked and traveled daily from work to home, it cuts about 2 hours a day and the work drained my energy. I got used to the hours but never got used to the fact that I couldn't write. The small voice in mind head wanted to kick my ass and take some time to write. Writing has become an outlet to voice my stress and feelings. It genuinely makes me happy.

Having the right equipment again makes me happy and it gives me back the motivation to work on my own growth again. My laptop battery has been broken for over a year and I can't work without being connected to the grid.

The half past year I gave up a little of my positivity away due to work but luckily I saw myself slipping back into my bad habits. Complain but no change. I got a little bit sick about myself, I put an mirror in front of myself and pulled myself back from the hole.

I have bought more stuff these past months but made sure that my rules still sticks. One in two out. My last year blog post helped me to get through and even my family who got the same cleaning bug.
My goal for the next coming post is to get even more stuff away from myself and select what is most important too me.

The last few years I got to know myself better due to blogging. Now I want to use blogging to write my own path. Feeling bad should never be on my mind again, if I have control over something. Time to work and start feeling good. :-)

Just do it!

After my first post of the year I got so excited again in doing things. Okay, I have the holidays off so, it's about damn time to do something useful. Yesterday, I unconsciously went upstairs to check the software that I use for scanning documents and keeping it clean. Without further planning I started to scan one stack of receipts and important letters. Did you remember that I choose this to do in February but I think it's a good start to just do small amounts, that I know it can be trow away after scanning.

While spending less than 2 hours in doing that, I also went do some shopping. I wanted to buy new shoes and coat. My current coat has been good to me for 4 years and I need some shoes because I have just one pair of fall/winter shoes and three pair of spring/summer shoes.

Basically whenever I go shopping with a list, I end op buying things that's not on the list. I went to the Hemarkt, which is an outlet store from the Hema. I bought undies and clothing for €30,- and went home with a full bag.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that in the Netherlands it's now illegal for shops to give free plastic bags away. Those who has been reading from last year knows that I dislike paying for cheap plastic bags. I always try to reuse my plastic bags as garbage bags.

So yesterday I got the new clothes and just pull out all of the labels and soak the colored clothing in hot water and vinegar. Just to see if it would color the water ruin my other stuff. In the end, all turned well and I could just wash everything in one go.

Yesterday, I had the 'Just do it!' attitude which felt great.

Happy 2016!

It's not my new year resolution but I thought it was time to spent some time on living life. For the last 5 months I have shut my mouth about minimalism. I thought it would effect my lifestyle that I have created for the past few years but the essence of minimalism has been integrated in my life that it doesn't really has an effect on how my environment looks right now.

January the first of 2016 is not a special date in my mind. It just means that 365 days has passed again. Last year resolution was about minimalism but this year I haven't planned one. I think I stick with being happy. As I mentioned before happiness is a decision that all of us can choose. It means that the coming year I will make the decisions based on happiness. Will the result of my decision make me feel miserable or happy.

But I really missed the daily message I wrote on the blog. It makes me feel really satisfied and it also inspires myself to think out of the box and experience different things. At the end of 2015 I haven't spurge on anything. I didn't bought useless stuff that I don't need. Wait... I did use coupon to get free stuff, does that count as buying? Neh.. at least this year I didn't spent money and time in something useless.

I think this year will be difficult to tackle again the stuff that has been laying around. But high on my list is my administrative clutter that I want to get in check for once and for all. I have everything already packed in one place but never got the time to do it.

I pick Februari the 6th, a Saterday to fix some of the huge administrative problems. This is one of the tricks that minimalism has presented to myself. Just pick a date and prepare for the worst and get the job done at that day. If I keep saying, I will do it next time, next time doesn't has a time limit or a goal set. So that's how I got my work done nowadays.

2016 will be as awesome as I will make it to be.