Minimalism , Konmari, Sustainability, Comfort, Luxury, Hypocrisy, preference - Self Check

 I write a lot of useless crap in my personal space and try to keep this blog useful - informative at least to some people. This post is not useful in that it's not going to give any ideas or concrete steps but I would not call it useless either. If nothing it makes me feel heard, a better outcome could be that I find someone like minded to talk to and learn from, at best you might spend some time evaluating what things you may consider changing a little. 

This is a post about Some of the buzz words going around that can mean very different things.

I have been in conflict with myself many times and evolve over time, sometimes for the better, some times for the worse. For example, when I first came to the US I came with 2 suitcases and I had a feeling I wanted to be that person who could fit their life in 2 suitcases. I wanted to go back to India after a few years. I saw people who owned huge houses and wondered aloud 'Why??!!' and now I've changed into someone completely different. 

I wanted to take some time and define these words for myself and do a self assessment and possibly improve.

Luxury / Status - This is something I want to keep away from but I know the lure of the world sometimes draws you into things that you previously did not consider having in life. These are probably things like costly touristy vacations burning fuel on an airplane, branded clothes and accessories, when you buy something for comfort and never use it, when the trade off between doing something and buying something to do the same is small. Many things we do to fit the societal norm in the strata we are in. When I think about housing , or buying an air fryer or something that could wait an inflation - I think I can put a lot more thought into it.

Comfort - These are things I feel guilty about, but save me valuable time in my life. I can easily broom an apartment yet I went for a vacuum cleaner, and now I went one step higher and got a robot vacuum. With a baby coming and a job to focus on , things like a food processor, a vacuum, ordering food out make life a little easier so I can focus on priorities.

Preference - 

Housing : I used to be that person who can live in dark dingy places , with 5 other people and I used to be perfectly fine with it - As long as I had good company, and was saving money, I felt good. I still wish I can be that person who can adapt to any situation and keep my peace and happiness. Now however, with a partner in, preferences have changed. I've started appreciating sunlight and a sense of space. I also feel like I need space to grow food. I am probably the only married person I know who still lives with aa room mate but it's actually been a win-win as far as I can see, especially when it's a room mate you can get along with. We optimize space , our costs and still have our privacy and a sense of sunlight and air. 

Used car: AJ insisted we upgrade to a car with higher safety standards, even though we were right in the middle of an inflated used car market. This is a preference of his that I might have never thought of by myself. I would have preferred an electric car but lol we can't afford it right now and also with us not having a home-base, we never know if we'll be at a place where we will have chargers to commute.

Rat can't buy somethings second hand. He gets grossed out for things I feel can be fixed and un-grossed. 

Hypocrisy - 

Baby : One of my friends told me having a baby is the most carbon negative event you can partake in and it's true. Adoption would have been a better choice - My body clock was ticking and the adoption process between India and US is very restrictive, if not too long. And now I'm looking forward to bringing up a woman who'll be a 100 times better than me and hopefully will do great things for the world. Eeks, no pressure. I'm also buying things for her that are needed for the process of her growing, as expected. 

My wedding : I made a lot of people travel and sometimes we need these events to meet and be happy. We have to meet once in a while to catch up with people, nevertheless this is a once in a time fanfare. I'm thankful for the people who made time for me and I do hope I find more times with them, but I also want to have more meaningful, face to face conversations.

Throwing out all the plastic and replacing with glass - that's the funniest 'sustainability' thing a lot of us do. Where does all the plastic go?

Buying water in plastic bottles, giving away tees sourced in Asia , shipped across countries for sustainability conferences.

People across the world flying on airplanes to meet in Copenhagen :D to discuss climate change.

Color scheming things.

Buying for cheap and replacing after a short lifetime Vs buying costly things that last longer.

Could be putting more thought into buying second hand.

Sustainability

Trying to be a little more caring and thoughtful about the manufacturing process that goes behind every tiny thing we buy so we can protect not only our fellow beings but eventually ourselves. 

- We try to buy free range eggs, sustainably sourced fish, organic food and generally try to reduce meat.

- We moved from almond milk to cashew milk. 

- We're both not into shopping, a lot. We buy clothes maybe a few times a year and I particularly like to fix and make things last.

- Buying costlier long term things Vs short term cheap things.

- We have cloth bags and AJ keeps a bunch of old covers in our car.

- I'm trying to make food orders where I insist they don't send cutlery and check options on grubhub/yelp and put in a comment.

- Library instead of buying books, most of the time.

- I'm trying to move to less chemical cleaning products - only changed maybe 5%. There's scope to change more. This could mean buying products sold in biodegradable bottles. Using soaps over body wash.

Konmari

Every few months I take things out of shelves and organize them back in - clothes, toiletries / cosmetics, food, books, electronics, mail clutter. 

Especially when I move places, I take stock of things - and sort them. I take several trips to goodwill when I do this and also one to best buy to give away all the extra electric cords and old electronics that are disposed off safely by best buy.

This lets me use things that are forgotten, donate things that I can no longer use, trash old stuff, and just make note of improving what I bring into my life with a little more thought.

Konmari is not about throwing things away, it's about keeping things organized so you don't waste time searching for things and feel happy about how every corner of your home has a flow to it, a purpose. So things call out to you so you use them VS hide somewhere forgotten. It's also not about buying less, it's actually about buying things that make you happy and putting intentionality into what you hold.

Minimalism

Not the same as konmari, and not about having less either. It's about having a sense of space, a functional home.

I love this video on 30 days to minimalism from 'Pick up limes' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24IDJfPCHZM

I highly recommend taking a print out of the minimalism checklist below the video and using it to guide you. It was super helpful to have that guide.

Self check

- I'm trying to put thought into things that I really need to buy and things I can wait for and decide later on, for the baby.

- I've thought about tiny house, cottage, geodesic, floating - just because it's interesting - and looks like I probably may not be happy in these houses, atleast not with AJ and a baby. The resale value of a regular house Vs an apartment Vs sustainable options seems to make me want to favor a regular house. This is something I am willing to wait on and put a lot more thought on, and also understand the changing climatic scenarios, with an ocean shift that is expected in a decade and just the disrespect for climate. I also want to understand the job markets, the inflation. A shared living community might be a great idea.

- Using perishable things in time. Giving their lifetime a purpose. 

- Giving to those who really need something and are deserving. Putting thought into charity - especially when NGOs can be inefficient and come with agendas.

- Adjusting rather than luxury. 

- Can fix my flush and shower to use lesser water. Can use the AC less and the fan instead.

What's compostable? What's non biodegradable? What's waste? 

We need to know this well and mindfully separate them.