Zero Waste Closet Part III

February 27, 2018August 15, 2020 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

02.27.2018

0600

I wanted to revisit my 30 Piece Capsule Wardrobe for this post. And it turns out, I needed to number to be bumped up to 32 pieces of clothing (including shoes and accessories), I realized that I needed some extra pieces of clothing for other uses as well. I added my scarf, hat and gloves (which originally were in my snow bag).

These pieces bumped the overall capsule wardrobe items up, so I thought I should mention it. I also wanted to point out that I do have sport clothes that pertain to specific sports, which I also don’t count.

For my own needs, I also realized that I needed a set of extra clothes because I like to work on my house. I need extra shoes and clothes that are able to get dirty and torn. I don’t count my extra pieces of clothing in my overall Capsule Wardrobe clothing count.

My sport clothes are specific to each sport. For instance, my running shorts are only to be worn when I run. I don’t count my sport clothes and my extra clothes because I can’t wear these clothes for day to day attire.

Capsule Wardrobe: 32 Pieces

Tops
1. Tank Top- Casual- Grey
2. Long Sleeve- Grey
3. Short Sleeve- Grey
4. Short Sleeve- White
5. Sweater- Light Grey
6. Jacket- Casual- Tan
7. Jacket- Dressy- Black
8. Blouse- Navy Blue
9. Blouse- Blue
10. Blouse- Wht
Bottoms
1. Shorts- Casual- Denim
2. Skirt- Mini- Black & Leopard Print
3. Pants- Black
4. Pants- Casual- Denim- 2
Footwear
1. Sandals- Black
2. Heels- Ankle Boots- Black
3. Flats- Closed- Blk
4. Boots- Tall- Blk
5. Boots- Casual- Brown
Other
1. Dress- Convertible- Black
2. Pijama Top
3. Pijama Bottom
4. Robe
Accessories
1. Sunglasses- Black
2. Purse- Navy Blue
3. Three Jewelry Sets (1 set = 1 necklace, 2 rings, 1 bracelet, 1 set of earrings)
4. Hat- Black

IN ADDITION…

Sport Clothes:

SURFING/BEACH GEAR
- BEACH- Bottoms- 1
- BEACH- Tops- 1
- BEACH- Bathing Suit- 2
RUNNING GEAR
- RUN- Shorts- 2
- RUN- Pants- 2
- RUN- Tops- 3
- RUN- Sneakers- 1
- RUN- Gloves- 1
- RUN- Hat- 1
SNOW GEAR
- SNOW- Pants- 2
- SNOW- Jacket- 2
- SNOW- Tops- 2
TRAVEL GEAR
- 2 items
EXTRA CLOTHES
- Boots- 1 pair
- Sneakers- 1 pair
- Sandals- 1 pair
- Pants- 1
- Tank Top- 2
- Sweater- 1
- Long Sleeve- 1
- T-Shirt- 1
- Collar Shirt- 1
- Hat- 1
- Sports Bra- 1

My capsule wardrobe also doesn’t include intimates, mostly because I think counting each underwear and bra you own might be a little much, especially since a lot of people have different preferences for these items. I genuinely love my capsule wardrobe because all of my clothing pieces can match each other no matter how I pair them up. It makes picking out clothes in the morning much easier for me.

So there you have it, this is my updated list of my year round capsule wardrobe along with my sport clothes and my extra clothes. For anyone who wants to create a capsule wardrobe, I highly recommend it. Some people prefer seasonal capsule wardrobes or perhaps color scheme themed capsule wardrobes too. The amount of items really a individual preference. I have a pinterest board which also was a great resource when I first started this project years ago, Pinterest Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe . My color scheme is very specific to my own taste, but there are a lot of example of different types of capsule wardrobes on Pinterest.

Also, check out these printable checklists from MintLife Blog to help with the decuttering process, “How to Get Rid of Sentimental Clutter and Spend More Intentionally“.

DIY Dry Shampoo

February 20, 2018August 12, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

02.20.2018

0600

Materials:

1/2 Cup Cacao Powder
1/2 Cup Cornstarch

Tools:

Bowl for mixing
Spoon to scoop
Empty Plastic or glass container for the final mix.

Hair contains natural oil, called sebum in its follicles which is essential for keeping itself conditioned and healthy. Frequent washing, combined with some of the harsh chemicals in shampoo, strips away those oils leaving your hair in bad shape. You can rid your hair of excess oil buildup by adopting the “No Poo Method”.

The theory of “No Poo” is this: by washing hair with a gentle alternative to shampoo, such as corn starch, baking soda and apple cider vinegar, you’ll achieve clean hair without the damage or dependency on daily shampooing. So, instead of allowing chemicals in shampoo to strip your hair, strip away the chemicals instead and stop using shampoo altogether.

My hairstylist, Carrie Everheardt, highly recommended me to start using dry shampoo. She recommends washing your hair about two times a week and treating your hair with dry shampoo during the rest of the week. If you’re just starting out using dry shampoo, you can practice increasing the increments of days between washes, and work up to a time frame you’re comfortable with; e.g. use dry shampoo twice a week, three times a week, four times a week, etc.

Also, if you’re in the Bay Area, in California, you can find Carrie at The Salon of Woodside. Her instagram is @everheartloveshair . She amazing at recognizing what your hair damages are and knows what it takes to heal your hair and scalp. Go check her out!

WHY USE DRY SHAMPOO…

Washing your hair daily is bad for you. It strips away the natural oils that keep your hair healthy and well moisturized.

A “dry shampoo” is really just an oil-absorbing powder that, when applied to hair, can soak up excess grease and dirt without necessitating getting the hair wet. Dry shampoo absorbs the oil produced by your scalp, and it cannot do its job if there is any water in your hair.

If you’re not planning to shampoo in the morning, apply your dry shampoo the night before. Apply it on before bed and let the product fight excess oil while you sleep. A quick brush of dry shampoo can refresh hair after a workout, saving time in the locker room.

Benefits of using dry shampoo…

1. It replaces a wash.
The dry stuff soaks up grease and leaves a fresh scent, so hair looks and smells just-washed.

2. It volumizes limp strands (even bangs!).
Dry shampoo “fluffs” flat hair, creating instant fullness.

4. It slows color fade.
Since water and shampoo leach dye from hair, washing less means you can go longer between touch-ups. Cash saved!

5. It minimizes damage.
If you’re shampooing less often, you’re also using hot tools less often. The result: healthier hair.

6. You can use it whenever.
Dry shampoo can be applied any time your hair needs a boost, but I like using it before bed: Hair will absorb it as I sleep and I’ll look refreshed in the morning.

MIXING…

Since my hair is a dark brown-black combo (depending on where the sunlight hits), I mix equal amounts of cornstarch and cacao powder in a bowl. For those who have blond hair, mixing cacao powder will not be necessary. Brunettes and redheads can use cacao powder, cinnamon or a combination of both as desired.

Because everyone’s hair tint is different, I suggest testing out the color combo by adding a little bit more to the mix, until desired. If you think you’ve added too much, don’t worry because once you fluff up your hair, the likelihood is that it won’t be detectable.

I store my dry shampoo mix in an old plastic peanut butter container. I wanted my container to be more narrow than wide due to the fact that my application brush was tall.

APPLICATION…

I part my hair in three sections, a left part, center part and a part on the right side of my head.

Using my large brush, I lightly tap the head of my brush into my mix, and then tap the brush on the edge of the jar to remove the excess powder. I noticed that my brush carried a lot of the mix between the strands and if I didn’t tap off the extra powder, my brush would end up dumping a lot of the power in the first spot selected.

For each part that I created, I simply brushed my hairline with the mix. You really don’t need a lot for the applications, because you’re also spreading it around with the brush.

After applying my dry shampoo on each parted line, I fluffed up my hair by raking my fingers through my hair and fluffing it upwards and outwards.

That’s literally all I do to apply my dry shampoo. Some people wash their hair with apple cider vinegar after about five days of using dry shampoo to remove the dry shampoo buildup. If you want to try this:

Blend one cup of water with two to four tablespoons of vinegar to make your rinse.
After you have shampooed and thoroughly rinsed your hair, slowly pour or spray the mixture over your entire scalp, allowing it to run down the length of your hair (being careful not to get it in your eyes).
Make sure you let it to sit in the hair for at least three minutes, then rise out completely.

If you’re someone who would like to try this recipe out, I highly recommend it. I was skeptical before using it, but I was amazed at how much healthier my hair looked once I gave it a chance retain its natural oils. Also, with this mix, my hair ends up smelling like a faint scent of chocolate, and I can’t be mad at that.

P.S.

Since I have very light colored bed sheet sets, I do cover my pillowcase with a set of brown silk pillowcases so that the cacao powder won’t get all over the light sheets. Plus, silk is very good for your hair when you sleep. Some of silk’s hypoallergenic properties include a natural resistance to dust mites, fungus and mold, in addition to many other allergens. Silk can be beneficial for your skin and hair. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase can help your skin stay healthy and smooth and can help reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles

Got Rid Of My Bookshelf

February 13, 2018August 12, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / 1 Comment

02.13.2018

0600

Since I was 9 years old, I’ve always had a bookshelves. These bookshelves were used to store games, books, stuffed animals, my old boombox and a number of other odd items. I’ve had all different kinds of bookshelves, but now I was down to one. When I really started to minimize my possessions and pare down my physical objects, I wanted to get rid of my bookshelf.

However, I didn’t feel ready to make that decision. When you get rid of stuff, you’re also eliminating surface area for the other physical objects associated with that item. By getting rid of my bookshelf, I didn’t know where to store the items that were sitting on it. The only solution I could find was to donate my items or somehow find a new home for the item.

This didn’t mean I was going to shuffle my items around my space. Clutter is still clutter even when you move it around a space; you simply distributed it instead of grouping it in one location.

It meant that I had to really want to minimize the number of items and ONLY keep what I needed. It took a little bit of time, but slowly, my bookcase started to look more and more bare. I’m lucky that it’s a fold up bookcase, so I knew I could tuck it away easily.

My bookcase is simple piece of furniture. It folds up, it’s made of birch wood and was pretty cheap when I bought it. However, my profession requires books and I still have some books from college. Even when you flip through most architecture magazines, you’ll see some type of shelf that displays reading material or other items in the living space. It seemed that for me to get rid of my bookshelf, was me breaking standard design rules.

My other worry was, “What if I need it in the future?” That question comes up quite a bit when I declutter. I’ve learned to answer that question with, “I’ll find a way”. Since I do have extra room in my living space, finding room for storage isn’t the problem.

The journey to living a curated minimalist life is a flexible path with a bunch of turns. I’m not sure if there is an end. As our lives change, we will too. Over time, we’ll need items we’ve never needed before, so we adapt. It also takes work to let go of what you “think” is normal, and consciously choose to live with less. Breaking away from what you’ve always known and accepting it is an important step in this process.

A lot pf people struggle in this area. To break away from what we’ve envisioned our lives to be and what our standard of “normal” is, can be a mental exercise. Some people are more comfortable with change, some are not. I’m a creature of habit, so perhaps that’s why this was a victory for me. Owning a bookcase was normal for me, until I decided it wasn’t.

If you’re conscious about the amount of clutter you have, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Being conscious of your actions means you’re holding yourself accountable and that’s a part of this lifestyle. It’s also easier said than done.

So farewell to my bookshelf, you’ve served me well. But I no longer need your services. May you find a new home with a new owner.

Where did my books on my bookshelf go?

I donated my old textbooks back to my alum colleges (including art materials as well). I also donated some books to a few Little Free Libraries, and the rest to my local library. If you don’t know about what these Little Free Libraries are, check them out at Little Free Library Organization, and you might be able to locate one near you. I now keep the very few books I have left in my ottoman.

Upcycling Milk Crates to a Shoe Rack

February 6, 2018August 12, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / 1 Comment

02.06.2018

0600

Materials:

2 Milk crates (about 12″ cubes)
Twelve 2″ Multi-Purpose Construction Screws
(Optional) Three 1″ wood screws – (for creating the holes)
2 Wood boards (12″ x 11-1/4″ x 1/2″)
16 small screws for holding seats in place
Pencil

Tools:

Power Screwdriver
Table saw / Mitre Saw (or saw it by hand with a rip hand saw)

So I needed a small bench shoe rack piece of furniture. All of the designs and products I flipped through on the internet weren’t quite what I had in mind. I needed a fairly short lengthed bench that didn’t need to store a lot of shoes. I also wanted a compact design. I only own six pairs of shoes and I don’t wear them all in the same season so the rest of the room would be for my family.

I knew I had a few milk crates, which I saw the potential use for this project. It was simple idea and I knew what I wanted the final product to look like.

The interior space within each milk crate was 12″ wide, 12″ high and 10-1/4″ deep. The height of the crate was enough room for two levels for shoe storage.

Since I was going to use two milk crates, I went ahead and found two random wood boards about 1/2″ thick. The boards I found were slightly wider than the depth of the crates, but I left the extra inch for larger shoes.

So using a miter saw, I cut each piece of wood board down to 12″ x 11-1/4″.

Next I divided the interior height in half and created a guideline down the middle. Since the crate is plastic, I used an exacto blade to lightly score the midline.

Using the wood screws and my power screwdriver, I pinpointed the locations of where I wanted my 2″ screws to be located. I like using the wood screws when locating holes in plastic because I can hold the shank of the screw and still guide the power screwdriver to create the straight hole.

After the holes are created, I took the 2″ Multi-Purpose Construction Screws and screwed them into the premade holes.

For the four screws that were located further towards the back of the box, I screwed the 2″ Multi-Purpose Construction Screws inwards. And for the two screws located towards the opening of the box, I screwed them outwards.

I wanted the back of the box to be supported more since it was further back. Also, I didn’t want anything sharp located towards the front opening.

I simply install each box with a board, placing the boards on top of the screws. The boards fit well and were snug enough where they didn’t move either.

Most shoes are longer than 10-1/4″, so leaving the extra 1″ helps with different sized shoes. If you need to store boots or shoes that wouldn’t fit the original designed space, you can simply remove one of the boards and the two screws closest to the opening. (I left the two screws here to show the original design)

So there you have it, you can create a simple seat and shoe storage very quickly and with simple materials. You can install a wood board on top to create a bench or stack these crates on top of a 2″ x 4″ frame to have one more level. There’s a variety of designs this can break out into. I might just do that when the spring season rolls around.

Hope this post jogged up ideas!

Update:

I wanted to secure a seat on top of the crates so I took another extra piece of wood board and lined it next to the piece I usually keep on top of the creates.

I took my pencil and traced the crate pattern on the underside of each board and then used small screws to outline at least two crate holes using the small screws. In order to know where I had to place my screws, I flipped my screws over so that they would be standing on their heads and then gauged where the sharp end of the screw would land. The head of the screws had to hug the insides of the traced corner, so I knew where to place it. Wherever the screw could touch both edges of the location, was where I knew I had to place the screw.

I measured the location for the screws in this manner because I wanted the screw to fit right inside of the hole I traced. The head of the screw as well as the thread of the screws had to fit comfortably into the existing holes, once it was flipped over.

I didn’t screw the screws in the entire length of the thread, so be very aware of the depth of the wood piece you pick out and the screw length that you choose as well. The idea here was to still have the screws sticking out of the board so it would fit nicely into the holes that were traced.