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The Psychology Behind Buying New Items

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

09.23.2019

0600

The psychological triggers that cause consumerism is a powerful strategy that companies use to target shoppers. As humans, sometimes we make decisions that the heart justifies. When companies know what these heart triggers are, they are in an influential position to offer something your heart will say yes to. Buying decisions are as emotional as they are logical. By understanding why we tend to buy new items, will help in understanding how to curb that need and want.

To understand consumerism, we have to take a step back to understand how we are targeted by big corporations and what tactics they use to catch our attention.

WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES OF MARKETING

There are a few strategies of marketing that are frequently used. There are many reasons why people purchase new items, but there are the Top 5 reasons why people tend to buy products.

  • To Belong or Be Relevant. We have an emotional need to want to feel like we belong to a bigger picture and to feel relevant. Some people buy brands when they see ‘cool’ people in the advertisements, because they want mimic them. People unconsciously associate a certain personality with the brand based upon the ads they see, and if this personality is appealing to them, they buy the brand thinking that this action will bring them closer to this personality.
  • To Be Right or Not Be Wrong. Some purchases are driven by pride. We want to be able to share positive recommendations with our peers that display our own wisdom in having made that choice in the first place. According to the Social Proof Theory, items become more appealing when they are desired by others. This lets people to sometimes buy products that they don’t need, just because of their perceived attractiveness.
  • To Fulfill One of the Four Basic Needs. These are the four states that humans are programmed to pursue, and these needs drive many of our decisions. Shopping can be a means to reach certain goals.
    • Health: “I want to drop 10 pounds after the holidays.”
    • Wealth: “I want to feel more energetic in leading our team and business.”
    • Relationships: “I want to feel confident and ready to date again.”
    • Spirituality/Happiness: “Love the skin you’re in everyday!”
  • To Have Security. To feel safe is an innate emotional need for us. Some people go shopping to escape from bad moods, bad days, a feeling of uneasiness, etc. Others buy brands to attract attention, such as a person who may buy expensive cars to improve their perceived status. Perhaps a person might buy certain clothes to appeal to the other sex.
  • For Memories and Loyalty. There’s an emotional attachment to our memories. The memories that we value the most, are the ones we will tend to draw from.

WHO THEY ARE TARGETING

  • People who make purchasing decisions rooted as much in emotional impulses as logical facts.
    • Purchasing anything, is as emotional as it is logical.
  • Buyers who have egos.
    • When making purchase decisions for themselves, buyers will naturally think about themselves and what they stand to gain by buying the product
  • Buyers who have a greater commitment to fleeting losses than to seek gains.
    • Pointing out what a buyer stands to potentially gain from buying their product, and what they might miss out on, if they don’t.
  • Buyers who are naturally suspicious
    • Selling experts always preach the importance of establishing a relationship of trust and credibility. If they can gain your trust, the sale is almost complete.
  • Buyers who respond psychologically to visual elements and stories.
    • The logical side of buyers craves facts and figures, that’s why numbers (price, technical specifications, etc.) are featured so prominently in brochures.
  • Buyers who crave value
    • Buyers are perked up by the prospect of somehow ‘winning’ the battle against the seller. By gaining as much value from the sale as much as possible, the buyer will feel that they walked away from the sale gaining more than what was presented.
  • Buyers who travel in packs
    • Buyers have a herd mentality, when opting to move together in large groups. They will naturally be swayed by what a great number of their peers have done, as opposed to standing alone.

By understanding what triggers us as consumers into purchasing new items, it helps us recognize where we might be weak when it comes to buying anything. Self reflection is always a process, and it’s an ongoing journey to understand ourselves better. I have had to reflect on my own purchasing habits and tendencies, so I am no different than anyone else.

When I started to declutter my life, I really examined the products and items I no longer used, but I had not let go of. I don’t like to waste my money, and I doubt anyone else does either. As long as you understand what triggers you as a consumer, you can gain more control over your purchasing power and your spending habits.

How I Organize My Jewelry

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

09.09.2019

0600

So I’m a simple girl which means I have simple ways of organizing my life as well. Since I am a minimalist, I actually don’t own a lot of jewelry. So, I thought I would show you how I organize my jewelry.

When I was a kid, my necklace always became tangled, no matter how I seemed to store it. I didn’t really figure out how I wanted to organize my jewelry until later on. Parts of my jewelry organization was due to the fact that I didn’t have that much jewelry to organize when I get older. It actually really helps my life to organize less stuff than more stuff.

I thought I would show you how I organize my necklaces, bracelets, and earrings

For my necklaces I like to use a Velcro strap, in which all I have to do is grab the Velcro loop and my necklaces fall naturally in an organized fashion, due to gravity. I also use a Velcro strap to organize my bracelets. For some of my necklaces I like to use a binder ring, because the design gets caught on the Velcro, when I lift it up. But for the most part, I’ll use Velcro straps. I also like using the Velcro straps due to the flexibility that it allows. If I need more space, to organize my jewelry, it allows that need.

I use a Velcro strap to organize my bracelets. One of my bracelets is fairly wide in shape so I needed something that was flexible to it.

My earrings are organized a fairly special way. I never really had a clear way of organizing my earrings up until I just thought, “Why not just attach them to a piece of fabric?”. So that’s exactly what I did. I sewed a piece of extra fabric to the inside of my jewelry pouch, and I just attach my earrings to the fabric. I actually pre-punch holes using a pushpin something generic and I just attach my earrings to those pre-made holes. I like this design because of the fact that the earrings don’t get lost and the backing of the earrings are still protected by the extra piece of fabric.

The fabric piece flips out, to access the earrings easier. I also keep my extra earring backings on a small safety pin that’s attached to a ring. I have quite a few extra earring backings, so, I have quite a few safety pins on the ring.

I created an extra detachable fabric earring piece for traveling as well. This travel earring organizer is used when I need to use different backpacks or bags while traveling. It’s used for trips when I don’t want to bring my entire jewelry pouch.

I organize my rings in a similar manner, where I keep them organized on a small necklace chain. The necklace chain for my rings is kept with my other necklaces. It’s easy to lift up the necklace chain and have the rings fall naturally. When I travel, I will keep my rings organized on a carbiner, but most of the time, they stay on a necklace chain. They don’t get tangled, and they stay organized, due to the sequence I arranged them in.

So, that’s how I organize my jewelry. If I ever acquire more jewelry, or a bigger bag, I’ll likely use the same techniques and system that I have for this bag. Hopefully, some of the methods I’ve shown you here, might spark and idea for your organization system.

How To Reduce Waste In Your Home

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08.12.2019

0600

Reducing the amount of trash that comes into your home is not as hard as it sounds. It might sound like a daunting task because we as consumers, buy a lot of packaged items that we bring into our home. However, it’s a simple process of elimination.

For instance, if you evaluate your kitchen items and everything you buy weekly, monthly, and yearly- that’s pretty much your entire list. For the yearly items, if you can find reusable alternatives, you can essentially eliminate your yearly inventory shopping.

Then, list all your weekly items that you tend to buy, and find reusable, non-toxic alternatives for those items. Your weekly and daily items are most likely the trash culprits. Half of the time, we don’t realize how many coffee cups we buy every day or even plastic packaged lunch items that we purchase daily. Eliminating the daily trash will help greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters your home. There are a lot of reasonable alternatives when it comes to kitchen items. Using cloth napkins in lieu of paper napkins, and using real dishware instead of paper plates can help eliminate the disposable trash output. You can also use real utensils instead of disposable utensils. You can bring a reusable coffee Tumbler when you go to get tea or coffee, so you don’t end up with a disposable cup.

A lot of people don’t know that the paper containers provided for us at grocery stores, and food establishments are lined with plastic, and those containers do not compost or bio degrade. The plastic layer, prevents it from composting completely. It’s a little bit like green washing because you may think your container is completely made of cardboard but it really isn’t. Using reusable items is a much better alternative, because you are in control of how much trash you are producing.

For your bathroom items, it’s the same process as evaluating your kitchen items. Go through your items and figure out which products you use and purchase, yearly, weekly and daily. Slowly replace the yearly items with reusable and sustainable options, as well as a weekly and daily items.

When it comes to medications or anything medical, I suggest that you consult with a doctor before you decide to eliminate certain products. I purchase sunscreen consistently. I live in California, where the sun is strong, and skin cancer is a real concern. I’m very aware that I am producing plastic trash with my sunscreen bottles. However, I would never want to put my health at risk just so I can proclaim that “My lifestyle is absolutely zero waste!”, and I wouldn’t want you to do that either.

Health concerns are very personal, so you know your own limit. If you can eliminate a plastic contained product and opt for a reusable version, than I think that’s great. Right now, I buy my conditioner, body lotion, bar soap, liquid soap, and tooth powder, in bulk. When it comes to sunscreen, face moisturizer and dental floss, those come in packaging.

You can use this evaluation process for the other rooms in your home. The biggest trash producers are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Some people have other rooms where they tend to buy a lot of items for, and those can be also evaluated in the same fashion.

This process takes time, and it takes self awareness to be consistent. Start slow and just work on an area or room in a certain amount of time. If you give yourself a time limit, staying consistent and motivated, becomes easier.

Zero Waste Closet Part III

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02.27.2018

0600

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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

  1. 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
  2. Bottoms
    1. Shorts- Casual- Denim
    2. Skirt- Mini- Black & Leopard Print
    3. Pants- Black
    4. Pants- Casual- Denim- 2
  3. Footwear
    1. Sandals- Black
    2. Heels- Ankle Boots- Black
    3. Flats- Closed- Blk
    4. Boots- Tall- Blk
    5. Boots- Casual- Brown
  4. Other
    1. Dress- Convertible- Black
    2. Pijama Top
    3. Pijama Bottom
    4. Robe
  5. 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“.

Backpack Hacks

/ Yen-Van Tran / 4 Comments

08.15.2017

0600

With all of my backpacks that I have ever owned, I hack them the exact same way as I always have. Going back as far as middle school, I always had to hack my backpacks. It was my way of customizing my carrier to my exact needs and over time I would edit it as my needs changed. Within each compartment I always created some type of hanging or attachment mechanism to hang my water bottles, extra bags within the compartments or hang something I needed access to immediately. most of the time I hung items that I needed access to so that those items weren’t at the bottom of my bag, where I had to go digging around to look for them.

Front of the backpack

  • I always attach extra reflectors so that in low light, vehicles or any type of light can bounce off of my backpack and I can be visible. These reflecting straps are for bikers, but I took two of the straps and weaved them through my exisitng strap set up.
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  • For all of my zippers that open to significant compartments, I always sew a section of the zipper, so it limits the access to that compartment to only one direction of movement for the zipper. I prefer to only have access in one direction for the zipper movement so it’s easier to watch over and maintain. I also attach metal rings right below the point of the sewing block (through the exposed zipper tape) so that I can use this ring to lock my carabiners from the outside but to also hang items on the inside of the bag.
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  • On the inside, I hook extra interior metal rings with carabiners to the exterior rings that are popping through the tape so I can hang items on the inside. I’ll hang my water bottle from these interior rings (when my external water bottle pocket has my coffee tumbler in it) or small bags so I can keep items separated in the same compartment. These interior rings are there for anything that needs to be hanged or utilized.
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Sides of the backpack

  • I also sew blocking for my smaller compartments and create a locking system for these pockets as well. For the smaller pockets, it really just depends how and where you want to secure the pocket. I chose to insert an extra ring so that I could attach an extra carabiner to it and lock the zipper with it.
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  • For my external water bottle pocket, I usually take one of the extra backpack straps (that I trimmed off)  to create a safety strap for the external water bottle pocket so that it can hold taller water bottles more securely. There have been a few incidents where my external water  bottle pocket wasn’t deep enough and due to the fact that I had so much stuff in my backpack, my water bottle managed to get squeezed out of the pocket.
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Back of the backpack

  • I usually trim the extra strap slack that comes with the backpack straps. I don’t like any loose hanging straps so I will measure how high I want to carry my backpack and trip, then hem the straps accordingly.
  • For my backpack straps, I like to keep my smaller items very close to me. So I will attach some type of pocket (large enough to fit my “wallet” items and my cell phone) to the front. This backpack didn’t come with a pocket for those types of intimate items.
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  • I also ALWAYS, ALWAYS attach an extra carabiner to the other strap, so I can hook my keys onto my strap quickly.
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So there you have it, those are the hacks I made for this backpack. This is my day to day back pack, so I’ll run to the store or go hiking with it. I do have another hiking backpack that’s a 65 gallon capacity for traveling and I’ve hacked that accordingly as well. Hopefully you may see a hack i described here that you would like to use on your own backpacks or carrying bags that you may want to use.

Created Slim Hanging Organizers

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08.01.2017

0600

Materials:

  • Three 7 inch-8 centimeter, white zippers (for one pillowcase design)
  • Two 12 inch, pink zippers (for the second pillowcase design)
  • Two Velvet Hangers

Tools:

  • Sewing Machine or sew by hand

I always try to take up less space than necessary when it comes to my home. It’s not that I dont’ have the room to spread out, but I personally don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t like my items and possessions spread out over a large space because it takes more energy to find things and living a more compact lifestyle helps me keep my possessions to a minimum. As a designer, it’s an interesting challenge to minimize the space that I take up.

So I decided to create a slim organizer for my closet. I had a hanging closet shelf but I wanted to get rid of it. In order to get rid of it, I still needed some type of organizer in its place. The items that I needed to organize were small clothing items as well as small accessories. This slim organizer only needed to hold the weight of those items. I did move some stuff out of the original hanging shelf to other areas of the house, so what you see in the images below isn’t a direct transfer of items to the new slim organizer.

Hanging organizers actually already do exist in stores, but from what I’ve seen, these organizers tend to have the user access the pockets from the front of the organizer. It would be easier for a person who has a walk-in closet to use those organizers, but I wanted to make a slim organizer which I could access from the side.

So in the end, this organizer helped me reduce my space by half:

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Here is what I did…

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I gathered my pillowcases and designated one of the pillowcases to be divided into three sections and the other pillowcase would be divided into two sections.

I took one pillowcase and hemmed the open end of the pillowcase. I then folded the pillow case into thirds and marked the lines using sewing pins. This pillowcase would have the three 7 inch-8 centimeter, white zippers sewed to it.

 

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I sewed along the lines to close off the three separate sections, then I placed my zippers down to mark the location of the zippers. Depending on how I wanted to access my slim organizer in the closet, I had to choose which side of the pillowcase to attach the zippers. Since I wanted this slim organizer to be on the right side of my closet, I wanted the openings on the right side of the pillowcase so that when it was hanging up, I could access the slots easier. I also left about an inch margin between the zipper and the edge of the pillowcase because the items inside will create a bulge that I had to take into consideration.

I used an ink pen to make tiny dots at each end of the zipper. I actually marked the dots in between the zipper teeth at each end, this way, it also centered the location of the zipper. I connected each set of dots to create the cut lines in order to fit my zippers into the pillowcase. I just used scissors to cut these lines.

 

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After I cut the lines, I inserted the hanger into the opening that was on the end of the pillowcase that was originally closed. I folded the pillowcase in half (vertically) to find the center and pretty much wedged the metal hook through the pillowcase. I chose to place my hanger on the original closed end of the pillowcase because if I used the hemmed end of the pillowcase for the hanger, the weight of the items in the organizer might weaken the that end of the pillowcase over time. I had to consider the weight of each pocket that was created, so I constantly thought about the overall weight that would pull on the material itself.

Once I placed my zippers into each slot that was made, I folded the edges of the pillowcase down to the zippers and pinned them together with sewing pins. Then I hand sewed the zippers to the pillowcase (making sure I sewed both the hemmed layer and the top layer of the pillowcase to the zipper).

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Once I was done, I used the same process to create the double pocket slim organizer. The triple pocket slim hanging organizer will be used for small items and the double pocket slim organizer will be used for some extra pieces of clothing items.

I don’t know if this is a favored design, but I personally like how much less space it takes up. this design works for me and, my space. Hopefully this design may jog some space organizing ideas for you as well.

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Returning To The Beach

/ Yen-Van Tran / 4 Comments

06.06.2017

0700

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On my journey to a more minimalistic life, I donated items and slowly learned to not live without others. I didn’t donate everything to donation stations, but I also tried to donate to organizations that I knew, could use my items. For my college textbooks, I donated some of them back to the school libraries so perhaps other students could use them. For my alumni collegiate programs, I donated my scanner and other art materials to the materials library for future students.

When it came to items that I had collected from camping trips or even small rocks I collected throughout my childhood, I knew I had to return those items back to their rightful spots.

The beach was always a place where I still have fond memories of, along with my family. The smell of the air and the sand between our toes, and watching the ebb and flow of the tide coming in, all form a significant part of my childhood memories. We never lived by the beach, but it certainly impacted me enough to this day.

Among my “items to donate,” I found a bag of sea shells that my brother and I collected when we were young. I knew I had to return them to the beach, because that’s where they belonged. As a kid, I was so fond of the beach, I always wanted to take it home with me. I remember being excited to create a small sea shell collection and that all of these smaller items were mine. I wanted to know why I felt this way, and why I approached collecting items the way I did.

Our sense of ownership emerges at a very early age. Growing up, we learn to become attached to items, and the feelings of ownership over our possessions is a part of our culture. In psychology and behavioral economics, the endowment effect (also known as divestiture aversion and related to the mere ownership effect in social psychology), is the hypothesis that people ascribe more value to things merely because they own them. This means, that we value items more more highly as soon as we own them. Part of this reason is tied to how quickly we form connections between our sense of self and the items we consider ours. Even as children, we believe that our objects have a unique essence and prefer to not have a duplicate of the same item.

Looking back on my collection of sea shells, I never separated the idea of owning an object, and keeping the memories that the object produced. It seemed that having an object from that event, could and would bring forth the memory of that event. Even so, if I had to attach an object to the event, I think I would only choose to attach a photo to it now. But with all of the social media and everyone seemingly documenting their lives, even photographing events wears on me.

So I’m returning the sea shells. I’m returning them to their rightful home and where they belong. I return a lot of items that I know have homes other than my own. I’ve returned dry cleaner hangers to my local dry cleaners, I’ve donated my books to the library,  and I’ve donated my old records to Rasputin Music & Movies. (Most of the records were not in good condition, but I knew the store would dispose of them properly). This list could go on and on, but I really do try to return items to appropriate locations and organizations.

There is a home for every object in our lives. If we take a little time out, and do a little bit of research on your own, perhaps you can find the best home for it.

What I Stopped Buying- Kitchen Items

/ Yen-Van Tran / 1 Comment

11.08.2016

0800

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So my list of “Items That I No Longer Buy” continues onto the kitchen area. This list will include items I stopped buying for the sink area, cooking and dining area. As well as a short list of items I no longer buy for grocery shopping as well as the refrigerator.

For the kitchen items, switching over to reusable items really cut down time for shopping and running errands. I didn’t have to constantly keep track of what I was running out of or running low on. Plus, looking for sales wasn’t as stressful as before. Since I shop so little now, I actually tend to only look for a sale once, and just stock up on the bulk item in my glass container. The products that I do stock up on now, will last me for a much longer period of time.

It’s interesting when I do go shopping for bulk kitchen items such as soap, vinegar or baking soda, because I know exactly where the items are located in the stores, but I’ll walk around thinking that I’m forgetting an item (also because my basket will ultimately have a total of 4 items in it). When in the end, the total number of items I need is just the four…. for the next 5 months, because that’s how long it lasts. It’s great. You should try it!

SINK

  1. Dishwashing Soap ———————–> Bulk Dr. Bronner’s Liquid soap
  2. Plastic Dish Rack ————————> In-sink Metal Dish Rack
  3. Paper Towels —————————> Fabric Kitchen Towels
  4. Kitchen Cleaning Spray ——————-> Vinegar & water mix,  Baking Soda as an exfoliant
  5. Dish Cleaning Sponges ——————-> Alternative Dish Scrub (Alternative Dish Scrub)

COOKING

  1. Plastic cutting Board —————-> Wooden cutting board
  2. Plastic Kitchen Tools —————-> Metal/Wooden Kitchen Tools
  3. Non-Stick Kitchen Pans ————-> Stainless Steel Kitchen Cookware Set/Cast Iron Pans

DINING

  1. Plastic Water bottles ———————> Reusable water Bottles
  2. Plastic Straws —————————> Metal Reuseable Straws
  3. Coffee Filters —————————> French Press (doesn’t use disposable filters)
  4. Plastic Utensils ————————-> Silverware
  5. Paper Plates —————————->Dishware

GROCERY SHOPPING

  1. Plastic Bags ————————–> Reusable grocery bags
  2. Plastic Produce Bags ——————-> Fabric Produce bags (DIY Produce Bags)

REFRIGERATOR

  1. Plastic Ice Cube Tray ——————-> Metal Ice cube tray
  2. Plastic Tupperware ——————–> Glass Tupperware

What I Stopped Buying- Bathroom Items

/ Yen-Van Tran / 2 Comments

 

11.03.2016

0800

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So I thought I would go over what I have actually stopped buying in lieu of alternative zero waste options. A few people have asked me about what I had to give up when I started my journey to a zero waste lifestyle and majority of the time I knew I was forgetting to mention certain items, so I decided to mke a list of what I gave up.

The items listed with “N/A” indicates that I no longer use it and didn’t find a replacement for it. There’s only one item that repeats and the item is the sage leaves which I use in lieu of candles and the scented bathroom spray.  The bathroom and kitchen were the most effected rooms during the change of switching over to zero waste alternatives so this list is one of the more elaborate lists.

This list can give you an idea of what I gave up, but to be honest, I really didn’t have to give up too much. It’s simply a list of items that I simplified and the replacement items are longer lasting and more durable over a longer period of time. If you’re thinking of moving towards this lifestyle, I hope this list helps. If you’re loking for any of the items I listed, take a look at my store on my homepage and skim through the room categories. There, you’ll find the suggestions I recomend for certain areas in your home.

MEDICINE CABINET

  1. Face wash (Clearsil) —————————> Unpackaged organic soap bars
  2. Deodorant (Secret Invisible solid) —————-> Deodorant crystal
  3. Toothpaste (Colgate) ————————–>  Baking Soda
  4. Plastic Toothbrushes  ————————->  Recycleable toothbrushes
  5. Band aids (BAND-AID) ————————>  Gauze and paper tape
  6. Antibiotic ointment (Neosporin) —————->  Bulk honey
  7. Cotton balls (store brand) ———————->  N/A
  8. Cotton swabs to clean my ears (Q-tips) ———–>  N/A
  9. Fancy body lotions from (Victoria’s Secret) ——–>  Bulk body lotion
  10. Face lotion (Neutrogena)  ———————->  Bulk face lotion
  11. Rubbing alcohol ——————————> N/A
  12. Dental Floss (Oral-B SuperFloss Dental Floss) ——> Dental floss (ECO-dent)
    1. ECO-dent is packaged in paper, with a little bit of plastic packaging
  13. Bug spray for your body (OFF) ——————-> Citrus essential oil
  14. Jewelry cleaning liquid (La Sonic Jewelry Cleaner) —> N/A
  15. Makeup————————————-> Organic makeup
  16. Body Sunblock ——————————-> ALBA Sport Sunblock
  17. Face Sunblock  ————————> Mineral Fusion Sunscreen Moisturizer

SHOWER

  1. Shampoo bottles (Pantene Pro-V) —————-> Bulk Hair Shampoo
  2. Conditioner bottles (Pantene Pro-V) ————–> Bulk Hair Conditioner
  3. Disposable razors (Gillette) ———————-> Epilator
  4. Shower Pouf ———————————-> Pumice Stone & Wash rag

SINK

  1. Tampons (Tampax) —————————> Keeper Moon Cup
  2. Scented bedroom spray (Bed Bath & Beyond)  ——> Sage leaves
  3. Nail polish (from wherever) ——————–> N/A
  4. Nail polish remover (store brand) —————-> N/A
  5. Bathroom cleaning sprays (Scrub/409)  ————> Vinegar & Baking Soda
  6. Toilet Paper (Plastic packaged) ——————> Toilet paper (Paper Packaged)
  7. Bathroom Hand Soap ————————–> Unpackaged organic soap bars
  8. Bathroom rags ——————————-> Microfiber cloths
  9. Candles (to make the bathroom smell nice) ——–> Sage
  10. Bathroom sink scrub brush ———————>  100% Sisal Fiber Bath Sponge

TOILET

  1. Toilet cleaner (Scrubbing Bubbles) ————–> Bulk Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Soap

Replacing Items to Become More Minimal

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

06.29.2016

0800

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There are times when I purge my possessions and I’ll tend to donate my smaller items that are contained within larger ones. I know that I do not need certain items any longer and that will bring me to the question of ‘Should I replace it with a more convenient and logical container?’. There are a few reasons why I tend to trade out items for others. Sometimes the function of my possession will not benefit me any longer or simply that it takes up to much room.  As someone who tries to continually downsize and minimize my life, I’m in a constant battle with this issue.

When I look at what I’ve accumulated over the years, I can pinpoint each moment in my life when I bought all of my possessions. Each of those memories mark a certain age, stage of life and mindset I was in at the time. As I’ve grown older and my dreams changed as well as my goals, certain items in my life no longer fit. It used to take lot for me to let go of items. I never owned a lot of items to begin with, but the notion of letting certain items go was still not easy for me to get used to. I tend to look at my items and wonder “What if I need it someday?” and that question has always created hesitation.

As our society has changed, one of the newest discoveries was that services such as tool rentals or car rentals or lending  and trading services have become more accessible. I really do enjoy the fact that I can let go of certain items now because there is a service out there that can fulfil my  need for household chores or auto service and even more. The fact was, I used to want to hold onto items because I wanted to depend on me and only me to have the tool ready whenever I needed it. However that came with the burden of the items taking up room and the maintenance of the item. If I can find a service that can fulfil certain items I’m purging from my collection, then I will donate it and never look back. That decision in itself changes the way I look at everything I own.

Downsizing will usually result in the purging of items and I don’t think it’s such a bad idea. My life is still divided into functions and routines and even different areas of my home are separated, so by downsizing into smaller and more reasonable possessions- well it makes sense.

For instance, recently I donated my large toolbox for a smaller and more reasonably sized tool carrier. The length is shorter and the width is smaller but it still contained all of my tools perfectly. Also, I donated my old purse for my shoulderbag. I simply needed an a shoulder bag that could carry more items due to my current lifestyle.

Replacing items isn’t exactly living minimally but it is living zero waste. When I donate my items, I know that I do not need them any longer and they do not serve a purpose in my life anymore. Trying to make my life as compact as possible tends to be the reason for the tradeouts. Also, the smaller my containers are for different areas of my life, simply reminds me of the minimalist lifestyle I’ve committed myself to.

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Reuse Items

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

02.01.2016

0800

I’m located in Northern California and recently we’ve had some rain. It’s good situation, in fact it’s a great situation. Our seasons have been delayed in the past decade that we’re always thankful that we can replenish our water supply when the opportunity arises.

However, this situation also brings other issues to the area such as floods, landslides and residential water damage. There are five rain gutter spouts attached to my home and one of them releases water a little too close to the exterior structure of the house. There are splash blocks that are sold to be placed beneath the downspout elbow, which helps to disperse water away from the foundation. But I also don’t like to go out to buy new items if I can make it at home.

So my solution was to take an old metal paint roll pan and cut two slits on the wide-sided end, and about six inches apart. This section cut would create the gap where the water could exit the pan. I hammered the new piece of metal down and then slipped it under the spout.

Here was my solution:

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For those of you who may have the same issue, I hope this post helps.

A Zero Waste Closet- Part I

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

01.23.2016

0800

So my closet isn’t a quite a minimalist closet, but it isn’t elaborate either. However, it does have enough pieces of clothing to satisfy me. To give you an over all perspective of what I have in my closet, the list looks something like this:

Intimates:

  • 2 bras
  • 2 robes (one for winter, one for summer)
  • 4 pairs of socks
  • Undergarments
  • 1 sleep shirt

Tops:

  • 1 dressy coat
  • 2 dressy blouses
  • 2 hoodie sweaters
  • 2 light jackets
  • 2 tank tops
  • 3 short sleeve shirts
  • 4 blouses
  • 3 long sleeve shirts
  • 2 long sleeve sweaters
  • 1 business suite
  • 2 team short sleeve shirts

Bottoms & Dresses:

  • 2 short dresses
  • 3 long formal gowns
  • 2 pairs of jeans
  • 1 pair of yoga pants
  • 1 pair of denim shorts
  • 2 skirts

Footwear:

  • 2 pairs of boots
  • 1 pair of flats
  • 2 pairs of heels
  • 1 pair of sandals
  • 1 pair of house slippers
  • 2 pairs of running shoes
  • 1 pair of work boots

Jewelry:

  • Three Jewelry Sets (1 set = 1 necklace, 1 ring, 1 bracelet, 1 set of earrings)
  • 1 purse
  • 1 pair of sunglasses

Running Gear:

  • 2 pairs of running pants
  • 2 pairs of shorts
  • 2 short sleeve shirts
  • 1 running tank top
  • 1 running pullover
  • 2 sports bras
  • 2 long sleeve thermal shirts
  • 1 long sleeve shirt
  • 1 snow set = (gloves/hat/fleece neck gator)
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So that is an overall view of what I have in my closet as well as what I own as of now. I use 1 set of hangers and hang up 17 pieces of clothing (I actually have 4 hangers that are not in use). I may donate more items from this list, but I haven’t decided yet. (That’s why I titled this post “A Zero Waste Closet- Part I”)

When I started to write down my clothing inventory, I was amazed at how many pieces of clothing I didn’t even wear anymore. They were just taking up space when someone else could have been wearing it, long before I stopped looking at it. I was embarrassed to see how much I had after I documented everything. Now I’m not saying this is a standard everyone should minimize their clothing inventory to, but I know that I am happy with my inventory. I still think I have too many pieces of clothes, but I will decide later if I should donate anything else. (keep an eye out for “A Zero Waste Closet- Part II”)

Have you found anything in your closet that you may not need anymore?