CHANGE - Our lifestyle today

Stumble upon some blogs, I found some inconvenient truth about human. It is so scary that the way we live today has impact to our environment. I am extremely happy that I read that blog or watch YouTube videos about some lifestyle that different from the usual. It makes me think and consider the way I lived that is so harmful for others. 

Easy, Fast and Cheap Plastic

This is what our society want for their life. They want everything fast, convenient to bring, convenient to eat, and have a cheap price. For example is plastic bag and water bottle. When you want to buy something, even for one or two items, you want to have a plastic bag to carry your groceries. Even you can put it in your own bag. "It's free in Indonesia anyway, why should I refuse?", that's the way we think when we get them. You will think that you will reuse them to collect trash in your home, but 50% of it will just go to the trash bin without you think twice. As for water bottle. This is quite tricky if you life in Indonesia. Because we cannot drink tap water. It is not safe for us, that's why plastic water bottle is so convenient for us. You can just buy it everywhere and throw it when you finish. Bring your own water bottle everywhere and refill them seem to be burdensome for us.

I am trying to reduce the number of plastic I use these days, and I realized that it is SO HARD. When I went to supermarket to buy something, I am so shocked that everything is covered by plastic. My favorite biscuit and snack, spaghetti, rice, flour, spices, even fruits and vegetables. They all packed in plastic. It is so easy for us just to take all that we want, and throw away the packaging. We think that everything that covered by plastic will look better, stay longer, and not spoiled. But what we do with our plastic after we come home? We just throw it away. When you need some plastic? You can buy it since it is so cheap.

April's challenge

Time flies so fast that we pass the first Quarter of 2016. I can't believe that it is already 3 months I spent my life in Bandung. Bandung is so different from Surabaya. It's rainy season here, so I don't need air conditioner it's already cold. I wear my blanket all the time.

Except the weather, the food in here is just too good. Everything is delicious. I eat a lot of food here and gained weight. But I am happy. I am glad that I move here. Living in Bandung makes me feel like home. This city offer the comfort of Yogyakarta, my hometown.

That's why I have a lot of exciting plan in here. I am so excited to try a new thing and explore new experience. Now, I have interest change my lifestyle to become healthy both physically and mentally. There are a lot of things to do. I want to take a baby step, one thing at a time. Because I know changing habit is not easy. The hardest part is to start change and consistently do it every day. So, what is my April challenge??

1. No spend money challenge

I know that each month, I usually spend my money on clothes, or makeup, or skincare. Now, I want to make a challenge not to spend money on those things. My financial focus for this month is to buy only the necessary, maybe some groceries, so I can save up more money in my bank account. I really want 50 million cash in my Bank Account. I hope to achieve that before I turn 25 this year.

The goals of this exercise is to make a intentional buying. Usually I use my money to buy something that is unnecessary. Buying stuff just because it is cute, looks cheap because discount, or just because I am bored. I also think I still have a lot of good stuff. I want to use up all my make up and skincare before I buy a new one. I realized that I collect a lot of stuff. Since I want to be more minimalist, I need to reduce the number in my room. I don't think that throw away all my stuff is a good thing. That's why I plan to used up all my skincare and make up product.

2. No plastic bag challenge

With the new regulation of government in Bandung, you need to pay for Rp 200,- for one plastic bag. This new regulation hope to increase the awareness of people about the damage of plastic bag. And hopefully it will educate them to bring their own bag when they shop. I try to bring my bag and some plastic bags, so whenever I buy something I can refuse the plastic bag and use my own. I am start doing it from the last March, and I think I am doing fine.

With this challenge I realized that plastic bag have no value in our eyes. I bought several CDs yesterday. I already bring my own bag and successfully refused the plastic bag from Supermarket. But when I bought the CDs, I just accept the plastic bag casually. I realized it later that I just bring more plastic bag home. Habits are scary. You just doing it without even think. From now on I am trying to be more aware and conscious about the plastic bag and make sure to refuse them.

3. Spend more time for Allah

This is my personal goals. I am trying to have more Shalat Sunnah and fasting this month. There are a lot of this to be grateful for. I am not feeling good these days. I hope I can heal my soul with doing what Allah told me. I want to get closer with Him. Amin.. 

4. Continuously doing my morning routine: WORKOUT

That is my April challenge that I hope to achieve this month. I really want to do that and make a new habit to become a better me. What is your goals for this Month?