Sep 8, 2017

My next project - “Minimalistic waste-free lifestyle”

Over the past few years, I have shared with you my journey towards building healthy eating habits. My pantry is now free of processed, ready-to-eat foods. We eat fresh and simple home-cooked meals almost all the time. Now that this effort has reached to a level where only marginal improvements are required, I want to get started with the next big project of mine - “Minimalistic waste-free lifestyle”.

There’s a long way for me to go in this journey. I had written a few ideas/initiatives related to reducing dry and wet waste, buying clothes with intent, using groceries and fresh produce without wastage etc. I have been following them diligently but my lifestyle is nowhere close to “minimalistic” and “waste-free”.

Is my home clutter-free? 
Do I purge unwanted things on a frequent basis? 
Do I buy things that have a clear purpose? 
Have I sorted out the “absolute essential” things? 
Do I have an assigned place for everything at home?

The answer to all these questions are a big NO. 

Clutter bothers me at an emotional level. As much as I would have loved to ignore the unsorted toys, clothes, loads and loads of books etc and move on with my day, that nagging thought at the back of my mind indicates that I want a clean home for a happy and peaceful day. 

Physical health is dependent on eating the right food, regular exercise, being physically active and good quality sleep, whereas Mental health is dependent on happy thoughts and happy feelings. A clean, neat home with a place for everything makes everyone happy.

Enough of gyaan (and watching numerous youtube videos on home organization!) :-) Time for some action!

This morning, I spent some time in decluttering and have gathered up 4 bags of unwanted things:
- Clothes that no longer fit me and those that I don’t wear them anymore
- Clothes of my little daughter that don’t fit her
- Loads of plastic containers from my kitchen (some are as old as 14 years!!)
- Accessories and jewel boxes that I don’t use

I plan to hand over these bags to my house-help and ask her to take things that she needs and throw away the rest.

I also spent some time going through one of my bathrooms and threw away the old herbal powders that didn’t suit me (hair wash, body wash). "Throwing away" things is a BIG challenge for me. My husband has so much fun mocking this quality of mine ;-)

I don’t intend to draw up a big plan for the decluttering project and then execute on it. Rather, I would spend some time every single day looking at each room/corner/shelf and get rid of things I don’t need. Will share my journey as I go forward. 

“Clutter-free home is a step forward in building a happy home”.

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