I am clearly not the person to give advise. I cannot tell you what to do but I'll tell you what I did. Here's a back story. I had birth my children when I was still young. I was skinny and it made me conscious because I don't look like a mother instead I look like an older sister to my children- and it's not flattering. Teachers, Social workers and Doctors doesn't seemed to trust my own children with me because I look like a kid myself. So I piled on weight. At the same time my divorce was finalized and I was free. I was also started on medication. After a few months I had gained 20 kg and I became overweight. I intended for a little weight gain but not being obese. I look at the mirror and I was devastated. Over the years, in my twenties I battled weight gained and depleting confidence. Then the pandemic came. It was during the fasting month of Ramadhan that I started working out after breaking my fast. I lost only two kilos. Then when the lock down was slowly redu...
Have you seen the men and women donning black t-shirts or white plain tees, pairing them with denim jeans or another boring pants?
Have you seen women wearing plain black or navy A-line or midi dresses?
They look good and simple, pleasing to the eyes.
When I first chance upon minimalism, the simplicity caught my eyes. It was easy for me to dress like that or so I thought. What could go wrong with black, navy or white?
I thought well, if I wear black, stains will be invisible. It doesn't fade easily and so it must be value for money. If I wear my clothes loose, it will fit no matter how my weight fluctuates.
I started to rid of stained or faded clothes and slowly replacing them with black or navy clothing.
One day as I hang my laundry. It was all black. No wonder I've been referred to as the witch in the neighborhood. I never meant it like that. It looks sad actually and dreadful.
As the months passed, I rid of more faded clothing but this time replacing them with big colorful jerseys. I still have many black clothing. At least now, I feel like me again- cheerful and happy.
I still know how much clothing I own and I only have enough.
I have enough bags.
I look around my tiny rental flat and all the furniture were black or white except for two plastic drawers. My walls are painted white. It makes the room looks bigger and bright. So I hang a few frames with colorful inserts to have a little color.
As I live in a rental flat, it doesn't makes sense to have expensive furniture.
I looked at a video of a Japanese man who lived with very little. It made sense as Japan is known to have earth quakes and tsunamis. It's not economical to own many things or expensive things if you need to replace them every few years. If I live in flood prone areas in Malaysia or Indonesia, I'll probably live like him too.
Some minimalist are also into eco friendly products. But you'll have to remember why plastic was made and discovered in the first place. When I was young, soda bottles were made of glass. Youngsters often break these glass bottles and start fights for every little thing. And fighting was so rampant, sometimes going to the shops seemed dangerous.
Of course, with every new inventions, it will take time for us to learn to manage and recycle plastics. I'm not against the eco friendly movement but these advocates must know and learn why plastic has replaced all the natural glasses.
With plastic being a long lasting material, hardly breaks or rust and easily molded, it was one of the necessary materials we needed. If I were to use a wooden coconut husk brush for my toilet, it will mold easily and needs replacing very frequently as opposed to me using a plastic silicone brush for toilet cleaning. I am still using the same one I bought from three years ago. Heck my spectacles frames are made from plastic, I only change the glasses with every new prescription and keep the frame. It has lasted me for five years. It's cheaper this way too. I don't have to buy a new frame every time.
No matter how you practice minimalism or slow living as a way of life, every thing has it's value and serves it's purpose. I think we can all agree that we just need to stop being wasteful, reduce and recycle whenever we can. We need more products made that are long lasting and at good value.
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