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Around the world you see a change in food consumption. In the Netherlands the people often don't have time anymore or don't want to go for groceries shopping after a day work. So there are many boxes with ingredients and recipe that can be cooked with the ingredients in that box.

As I have siblings who cook better than I, I don't have to worry about that but those who need this to eat healthy and fresh meals it's better and cheaper than ordering take-out.

So I am going to share the link HelloFresh that I received while buying Christmas presents, this link is only valid for the Netherlands. As it is December, sharing is caring!

Buying and usage of accumulated points

I am not exactly a cheapskate but I don't like to spend money on stuff that I don't use or things that I don't really like but I still buy my everyday necessities and with that it means I also have expenses. Luckily a lot of shops have customers loyalty cards and I make perfect use of this. 

So during the Christmas season I always find very nice stuff or limited edition. I found this Pyrex containers. The name Pyrex is associated with quality and the price was very right, two for €5,99. 

I decided to buy even though I don't have an immediately use for it. With my saved points I could get €10,- credit and with some other daily necessities I bought it by paying only an additional 5 cents. 

Even though I bought this without the immediately need, I still decided to buy it because:

1. I like the brand and the quality.

2. It can be used in the oven and the fridge

3. I can always give it away as a gift 

For a lot of people December is an expensive month and with these saving tips it helps our wallet. So don't ever forget to take your customer loyalty card to earn points or extra benefits. A lot of stores have in the last month of the year extra bonuses or promotion. But be a smart consumer and always compare prices!

Missing an item

Stuff breaks and sometimes it's not possible to repair it anymore. One of my favorite item is an felted clothes hanger which I have mentioned in my blog before. It has been a few months or even a half year that this item broke. Honestly, I miss it so bad because the normal one has only one bar to put clothing on and clothes falls down because it's slippery.

Today I wanted to buy a new one because in the winter I wear so much more layers which means I need more bars to hang my clothes. In the snow, I went to the Big Bazar where I thought they have the one I wanted  but it turned out to be a wasted trip.

The picture shows a plastic one with 5 bars in plastic only for €0,99 but how cheap it may be it won't be suit my taste in the long run and I would need to trow it away later on. Disappointed I left the store and did my other shoppings.

Back home and sitting behind the computer I am looking for retails shops which sells this but even online I couldn't find a place
where to buy it, I really want to cry.

VHS tapes

There was a place for VHS tapes in the everyday use cabinet which I really detest. I always open it with a lot of negative feeling and the sight of and the smell is so toxic. So in October I decided to watch the tapes one by one. In the end it didn't took me a week to discharge like 80 percent of the tapes.

By watching every bit of the VHS, I saw that the quality of the tapes were very bad even though I have put it in a very nice condition for it. In the past we taped and taped over it which makes it look like it's very old and the newer television have a much higher screen definition which makes watching terrible.

Like after my second tape I was already forwarding and rewinding to see what was really on the tape cause the stickers on it says nothing useful. The cabinets end results is this. Mind you that the VHS tape covered even the right part of the pictures and that it was really stuffed.

The only downside is that the empty space is currently used for my mothers administrative papers which is a lot but better than always having to see it outside the cabinet. Due to privacy concerns I couldn't put a picture of it online.

Tackle those things that makes you feel terrible cause this made sure that I freed some space to put papers for my mom which wouldn't always be in my sight. It's like hitting two birds with one stone!

Gift

I like coffee, I am not addicted but I really like a good cup of coffee. I am not into the sweet stuff like you see in many commercialized coffee shops. I drink coffee in different kinda ways, one of my favorite is the espressomaker. It takes some time but I will get a very nice cup everytime, only downside is the washing, grinding and cleaning.

So the last past year I have been using the Nespresso machine at work and I like to have one at home too. So I asked for it as my birthday gift. I really want it because it's hassle free. I did receive red pocket money but it's different to receive an item I desire.

Yesterday it came as a package and I haven't use it yet. I still need to find a nice place to put it somewhere. If I put it in the kitchen it's prone to get oily very fast and I don't like that idea.

Sponges

There is something calming when doing the dishes. I can tell you I have a master degree in washing dishes by hand at least at home. Somethings that I can't let go are very cute cups. I really have seasonal cups. The one with Forever Friends bears is my winter cup. Why, because it's small and in the winter you don't want beverage getting cold. My normal mug  0,35L mug is still in use but less cute. And unfortunately I still have some random cups that could be thrown out but that would be a waste especially if it's not even cracked etc.

Going back to the topic sponges, last week I noticed I run out of sponges. Normally I bought them at JYSK for €0,75 for a pack of 10 pieces. Last time someone else bought it at the supermarket  Albert Hein AH basic but these sponges are ***t, they are also cheap but they don't even last for a week.

Last week I went to my local JYSK and find out that they reduced their quality to the same, one week sponges I dislike. By rummaging trough all the available packaging I find one package from a batch made in 2016. Compared to the new batch you can see the difference very well. The package is smaller and even the sponges are, also the green part where you get the stuck food of your plates are made from a total different material.

I was so disappointed because I thought I found one good place to buy this and now it changed its quality. Luckily I managed to fish one old batch sponges which can last me at least another 6 months before finding a new place to buy.

Mminimalism a product?

Few days ago I read an article about minimalism from the Guardian. I was a bit shocked and found the tone of the article a bit cynical. True there are always some bad apples between the tons of good ones. The article portrayed minimalism as a product, which poor people couldn't buy.

But I think and hope that a lot of minimalist don't see minimalism as a way to step on other peoples feeling or economical situation. In my opinion minimalism is a lifestyle where I deliberately choose to rid myself of once cherished consumer goods because I don't want physical goods to effect my health.

I wasn't happy when reading the article but the facts are correct. As minimalism doesn't have one definition it's difficult for others to understand. Also some people are only joining the trend which is also nice because minimalism is something you experience in my eyes.

For some minimalist it means having a aesthetic interior is very important and "only" achievable with designer furniture. Honestly, I don't really care about how much a product cost as long you value it and find it worth to buy.

An other plus for being a minimalist is able to let go of the bad feeling after reading the article because minimalism has thought me to let go of the things I don't like. Even though the article portrays a negative picture of minimalism, I am still happy to have read a different opinion on the lifestyle I have chosen.

Mobile phone with no subscribtion

As you may know my current phone is a Windows Lumia 640 which is great but with a small app Store. I use my phone one a daily basis to check mail, make calls, play games and snapping pictures. The Netherlands doesn't have an McDonald's app for it. So I decided to change platform this year to ios phone, which one it will be is still uncertain.

What I do know is that I am going to miss the dual-sim and micro-sd card in it. The extra storage is not going to be a problem since I know so many cloud account and other affordable solution. I am currently using a data sim of 12GB which is valid for 12 months and T-mobile sim which I have for over a decade in one phone. I checked the pricing that most monthly subscription for 1GB per month with free calls and text is minimum €15,-. Yearly amount would be then €180,- which I don't spent on a yearly prepaid basis. Yearly I input around €60,- on my prepaid card. The 12GB sim card cost €45,- which makes it €3,75 per 1GB.

If you have to chose between €180,- yearly or €105,- the decision is easily made. Mind you that my prepaid top up happens less because of the free calls I can make to my family members. I expect that my phone top up amount in 2018 will be cut in half.

If you have some tips that I haven't mentioned please teach me!

Cable subscription

I don't watch conventional television anymore cause I don't like to pay for cable to watch commercials. That's why since 2014 I have a flatscreen television with HDMI connection I am so happy.

1. no commercials
2. I decide what to watch
3. I decide when to watch
4. no charge for cable

2015 on my birthday I bought the Chromecast 2 for the television. Before that I had the Tvpad 3 which was not supported anymore. I wanted to opt for a Tvpad4 but with the unreliable service I decided to buy a Chromecast and an app (tvcast app) to display it on the television. I must say I am very happy with it but I didn't have Korean or Japanese live stream anymore so I also bought the Unblock in 2016 and installed Kodi on it just recently. By having Kodi I can watch even movies from the cinema or old classics.

The monthly bill for direct phone line through IP-phone, internet and the called minutes is less than €33 each month. The folks I called most to is family and we are in a T-mobile group where we won't be charged any money for calls.

If you have any other good ideas to cut the cable, please let me know.

Pictures

I love taking pictures and I don't mean with my cellphone. I have a great mobile with an amazing lens but it's not one that I just take out to take photo's. I like using my old designated camera. I am indeed born in the last century. As I am very picky with my personal belongings I really like my current mobile a Windows Lumia 640 which is over 2 years old a birthday gift from my family.

As I heard recently that Windows is stopping the development of the phone software. The plan of going to  a different platform is very alluring but I will wait until Black Friday to purchase a new phone.

During my holiday my camera Casio Exilim is going with me. As I don't rewatch the pictures during the holiday, the battery goes a long way. In Prague Zoo I took pictures of animals that made me smile. This time I even still had a coupon for 5 free photo kiosk and print them out to remind me of the nice place.

My most treasured pictures are in my photo albums in my nightstand but difficult to reach because the door is blocked by my bed. But the pictures will last because there is no light coming in. When I really want to reminiscing I have to move the nightstand to reach the pictures.

Job hunting

Currently I am unemployed which means a lot of time but also a lot of stress. It means finding a job that makes me happy. In my last job I was happy for a long time until a lot of the colleagues which I worked with left one by one. My contract ended and didn't got extended which was to myself not even bad news, the way I received it through company email got me a little bit upset.

But it also means that I could use all my holiday and I booked the same week a flight to Prague and got to see the beautiful city. I first thought I would have bad weather but it turned out to be very pleasant, not to hot or warm.

The last past few weeks I have been thinking what I want to do. I want to have an office job where I don't need to decided anything. Which made data-entry my number choice because I only need to use my eyes to observe and my hand to type the data. Cause in my last position there was to many problems that needed to be solved every single day a new sets of problem which needs to be settled.

By job hunting there is one very positive side, I am forced to confront myself and have learned that I don't need to be so hard to myself. In my own wicked way I expect and feel the expectation of greatness. I believe that this intervention is also meant to put myself on a scale again and see what I want.

As a minimalist I am very happy that my expenses are not high, I think I could even manage with my next job of a 32 hours work week. The most important thing to me is my health and  being happy that's all that matters. A job is nothing more than a means of providing myself with the primary needs.

Small chores around the house

For the longest time I haven't done anything about chores around the house but since I got the time in the weekends I started by going in the garage and decluttered worth of two trips with the car to the local waste site. But not until yesterday did I do something to make it more nicer in my own living situation.                                                                                                                                                         I finally used the ultra power product to clear the sink of soap residue and make the flow of the water go as it was when we moved in. The box was already collecting dust since it has been over 6 months standing at the stairs waiting to be used. So yesterday was the right day to do so. 

Also with some cleaning I like the room to smell very nice, so I burned some incense in this la fermiere yoghurt pot upcycled by using a wax candle old tin and just making the incense stand right up. All the smoked incense fall very neatly in it. 

Hot, hot, sweating my pants wet

From the beginning of this week, it's hot at least 19 degrees Celsius in the morning. I haven't been bringing my coat with me for a while. Normally, I don't care how hot it becomes I still take my coat with me. These past days I took my foldable coat in my bag.

At work it's not hot until the sun shines through the window. I am quite fortunate, the sun shines in the afternoon. In the morning I have the window open and let it freshen up. Only in the afternoon the airco is on and the window and door is closed. Few hours before closing, the airco goes out and the door is open again.

The only thing I really dislike about this weather is my wet pants after driving. My car is old and the airconditioning is not so good. When the sun shines in the car it's like a sauna and I am sweating while driving. So bad that when I return home I am in a wet pant.

There is basically nothing I can do about this but just thinking about the stickiness and having to change out immediately when returning home is bad. I see this experience like: fortunately it's not always this hot in this country.

This makes it bearable for me!

Receiving gifts

Often I receive snacks and chocolat for souvenirs. I remember few years ago, my family was into collecting shot glasses but these are filling our cabinet. So no more shot glasses anymore. Before that it were magnets. All the magnets are on the refrigerator without any real purpose. Sometimes I do make use of it when there are coupons for that week. But rarely I use all of them.                                                                                                                                    As mentioned before I like to have something tangible like a T-shirt or food. I used to love buying small stuff as souvenirs but this has been changed into buying local food. I received this year for example this bag of chips from Spain. How awesome is that. I love food and this is amazing. Food that can't be bought in my supermarket. Receiving goods also meaning I also have to return the favor after I go to places. And most of the time it also means bringing food back for them. 

My family is know more into healthy snacking like almonds and nuts. I myself have a little allergic reaction from peanuts but won't need insuline. I will get a rash and a sour throat but that doesn't stop me sometimes from eating it. Next month I also planned a trip and also expect to bring back some good food. Because receiving gifts also means giving back!

Lipbalm

For the last past two years I try to only have one item that fulfills my needs. Unfortunately this is one item that I have multiples and scattered around. I have one lipbalm for winter, summer and all round. The Burt's bees wax is the one I use for almost everything, from lipbalm to rescue hand cream. The Lip Ice is the one SPF included, this one I use in the summer. Another one not in the picture is my winter balm for those cold days.                                                                                                                                                   The Lip Ice is the one I bought on my holiday, this is the last one because I didn't have it in my back up box. This brand has been one of my favorite and with the added SPF it's also great for in the summer. I do miss the SPF factor in a lot of European brands. This makes me always reach back and with the different flavors it's great. I don't recommend the sweet ones. I love the black current, apple and lemon. 

The Burts's bees balm is also great the only disadvantage is the box. I never use my finger to lubricate my lips but just use the container and twist it around. This resulted in the empty part in the middle. But it's not a real problem after scrapping the balm around the sides and make it easy to apply my lips.

Crying while watching

I am a total sucker for emotional scenes. I can cry with almost every movie even cartoons. The emotional outlet for watching a serie or any movie makes me feel relieved. Last weekend I even saw the movie Belle & the Beast.

I still remembered the cartoon and even watched it multiple times as a kid. The movie is really nostalgic an all the songs where so easy to sing. But watching movies is not as fun as drama. In one week time, I finished an almost complete K-drama.

I watched the MANxMAN which is funny but at the same time has a little bit action. I really like to watch the drama's when it's almost finished. This way I don't have to wait every week for a new episode. This year I followed the Light diary of Saimdam every week but it was so bad waiting every week.

The crying I did for all drama's, tv-series and movies can easily fill up a whole container!

Switching out my wallet

As you may know I have one small wallet and an additional cardholder for my most used card. Now I go from one to two but I still only take two pieces with me.

My to go wallet is still the one with the zipper. I still like to use cash instead of cards. I love it and am afraid when it will break but luckily I can still can replace it or let it be repaired when it's really necessarily.

My blue box uphold 12 cards which is great but it's a lot more bulky than the gold one. Sure the leather one also with a secrid knock-off is huge. I was thinking of buying a Secrid one but the price of this one was just to nice to pass on. The gold one cost 10 euro and the right one 15 euro. The leather finish from the Secrid is really nice.

I have now my regular wallet and the gold cardholder in my bag, which is great looking, light weight and taking less space. I freed one of my insides pocket.

Enjoying the good thing

I like to drink once in a while but never got drunk, yet. It's because I value myself and drinking alcohol is not a way of indulging myself in happiness. Drinking wine is tasting the sweetness and enjoying the good benefits of wine. To me it's the same as eating a new dish. Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's just yuck.

There are also certain rules I uphold when drinking. I don't drive after I drink and I drink a lot of water. It's a way to stay hydrated especially during the summer while drinking. When drinking I sit at a place where it is cool.

This weekend I had a long weekend and in between studying and submitting my homework I take an occasional sip. Working and enjoyment can go hand in hand. The only bad thing this time is the wine taste was not to my liking.

But hey that's fun about drinking a new bottle, you never know its inside!

Happy Mothers Day

Every year it's a mystery what to get for my mother. Mothers day and their birthday are the periods when I spent the most money. I have the most expenses around those time. This year we opted for an early celebration on Saturday instead on Sunday. She wanted to do groceries at the Chinese toko.

My family plans ahead because they are always very weary for the unexpected. I have always feel the odd one out. I would like the unexpected to happen. So we picked her up at the station to have breakfast, went to the market and she would want to buy a lot of stuff but because I already warned her I am not planning to bring the whole market back home. Also we still have another excursion planned.

After the market we went for a kinda early high tea with matcha and cake rolls. After that we went to the Chinese toko which really dented my wallet. And with so much stuff we went back home to rest, to charge up. We sat together on the couch watching television. Which is very special because those time are very rare when we are grown ups.

We had diner which my mother wanted too, all eating together. After that we went shopping again and of course we didn't went out empty handed.

All in all, I spend a lot. I paid all the bills from the market, tea, Chinese toko and diner. I think I am blessed with my mom not asking for something expensive. All she bought was food and necessities which means no extra clutter. I also got something out of it, I bought a T-shirt at the market for 3 euro.

And today there was a surprise visit from my sister and her kids. My mother loves the grandkids more than her own daughter, I. My sister still had something to do in her old house so with the kids in the way, why not drop them off at grannies. We had cake and took them out for a walk to the kids playground.

The official Mothers day ended mundane for my mother but I think at her age she wouldn't mind that.

PS. we also called to my grandmother to wish her a happy Mothers day.

Pictures

Last week I have been going through my old pictures. I saw the huge difference that I have made in my bedroom and living room. It's so nice to see that my hard work has paid off and with the picture as proof I see the small miracles I produce once in a while.

From a table to huge box to shoebox to put the blankets inside. Those small things make me the happiest.

The fair

Today I went to the fair  in Amsterdam. It's the second time I went to visit it and it's okay. The only bad thing is the driving, after I got my driving license I am the designated driver which means my feet are hurting while driving on the way back.

This time around I didn't make any preparations before visiting. I just thought, think of it as an adventure and just enjoy. Don't bring and buy stupid things back from the fair. Truth to be said, I spent a lot of money. It's not that I break my bank but normally I wouldn't spent that much.

I bought two RDFI protected cases 36 rubber laces which cost in total €40,-. I didn't even include the tickets I bought for charity. I am really a sucker for kids doing good. A boy around 12 asked me to support a charity and I thought, yeah why not, it's time to give back. He told me very nervously 2 tickets for €5,- and 5 for €10,- he was talking so fast that I had to repeat the prices. I immediately wanted to purchase 2 tickets because I didn't really need the lottery and don't expect to win something but my siblings chipped in and together we bought 5 tickets which made the boy very happy.

At one part of the fair you could hoola hoop and I am not bad at it, I am better then the sales standing in the stand. My siblings was like really are you just going to exercise in front of all those people. I am totally like who cares as long I am having fun, it's none of their business.

The day was long, it started at 7:00 for me and ends at around 8:00. I am tired and want to sleep........

No pictures

Sunday the best day of the week, okay not really, I like Saturday the best because I can do whatever I want without caring about the next day. So this morning I woke up around 7 like normal and I didn't do a thing except watching videos on my tablet. I rolled out of bed when my mother decided to wake up. In the winter time I just can't push myself to do something, I don't want to think. 

After eating my breakfast, I went to tidy up the car. This week I am going to a fair to have some fun, which means I have to make it at least presentable. I also decide to donate a very nice grocery bag away. I really like the shape but it's not sturdy enough and thus taking more space then needed. 

So I switched it out for an other bag, the one with flowers, pink and green. Something very girly, at least in my own opinion. The past few weeks I made a lot of pictures all intended for a post on the blog but I just don't seem to feel the mood to write. I already made up the story but it's just not written on paper or typed on the pc. 

Though I see that my post has been less and less due to work pressure, I am proud of myself that I keep making pictures around me that spike an interest for the blog. It just says how much this blog means to me. I am afraid that if I don't even take pictures of situation or product that my blog existence will decade. 

Luckily, I am still very active in shooting moments for my ramblings that I don't even think about it. 

Small steps again

I am doing things in smaller steps. Lately, I have much on my plate. I have to do so many things but I still forget them. So how to make sure I won't crash and get a burnout. I am starting again with task notes. Four things to do every time.

For example how to make sure that things will be done on time? I need to make my head clear.