Handkerchief - Classic Tissue

 

Ada yang pernah sadar gak sih sekarang betapa kita ketergantungan dengan tissue? Beberapa hari ini saya mulai memperhatikan ternyata banyak juga tissue yang saya pake di dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Mulai dari makan, ke kamar mandi, atau ya cuma buat ambil-ambil snack gitu di kantor. Pasti saya ambil deh itu satu dua tissue. Bahkan terkadang saya memakai tissue hanya untuk bersih-bersih meja yang kurang penting.

Kalo itu semua ditotal-total, rasanya banyak juga ya yang saya habiskan. Padahal tissue itu kan terbuat dari pohon juga, which means, semakin banyak tissu yang kita gunakan, maka semakin banyak pohon yang ditebang. Waw... Padahal kemarin saya gembar gembor semangat mau reduce waste, ternyata dalam kehidupan kita sudah terbiasa untuk menggunakan produk sekali pakai dan langsung buang.

Oleh karena itu, kemarin saat lagi beli peralatan kerja di Muji, saya memutuskan untuk membeli sapu tangan. Harapan saya bahwa saputangan ini bisa digunakan sebagai pengganti tissue yang sehari-hari saya pakai. Mungkin tidak semua, tapi semoga ini bisa mengurangi. Terutama untuk penggunaan tissue habis dari kamar mandi, atau setelah wudhu. Biasanya setelah wudhu itu saya mengambil 2-3 lembar tissue untuk mengeringkan muka, tangan dan kaki. Nah, sekarang saya mau merubah kebiasaan itu dan menggantinya dengan sapu tangan.

Terkadang kita sering berfikir, apakah iya dengan perubahan-perubahan kecil ini bisa berkontribusi pada bumi? Memang ada efeknya?

Di saat seperti itu, mari kita berfikir sebaliknya. Jika setiap orang mulai melakukan perubahan kecil dan sederhana ini, maka secara jangka panjang dan masive pasti akan tercipta perubahan yang besar.

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? 

No more free plastic bags in Bandung

In March 2016, the government of Bandung make a new regulation for plastic bag in the retail. Hyper mart, Supermarket and Mini market cannot give a plastic bag for free anymore. We need to pay Rp 200,- for one plastic bag.

"It is too cheap, what the difference that they can make?"

Maybe some of you will think like that. Feeling that the new regulation will not give a good impact in our environment. BUT, THEY DO. 

I can feel the difference, and I am trying to make a change in my lifestyle. Before this come up, I already aware about the damage of plastic bag. How much plastic bag that I used up, how it will not recycle until 100 years, yet I am still using plastic bag in my daily life. Plastic bag just convenient and I get it for free.

But now is different. Since we need to pay, people now aware about the plastic bag that they used. If you only buy a bottle of drink, or something that you can put on your bag, you will refuse to buy the plastic bag. It will not damage or harm you anyway. If you add up the number, I am pretty sure that it will reduce the amount of plastic bag we produce. 

Another changes is, the cashier in store will ask whether we bring our own grocery bag. They are not put your groceries in plastic bag directly. They will offer some alternative such as box as a replacement of plastic bag. If you buy a lot of stuff, rather than put in on 5 plastic bags and pay for Rp 1,000,- you can use boxes from the store, and it's free. 

I know that it just a matter of habit. You just need to change the way you shop, you need to bring your own bag. A little change in every body will give impact to our environment. Now, I am trying to bring my bag and reduce the number of plastic bag I produce.

There are a lot of inspirations in YouTube. They pursue a zero waste lifestyle. I realized that it is pretty hard for me to do that. But, I will try to make a small change. This is the right time to change. Maybe the government regulation is such a reminder for us. We need to give more attention about the way we live, the lifestyle we did, the trash that we produced, and their impact into our earth.

I hope that this regulation can get a fully support from people and another cities will follow soon. The world is sick now, we need to treat him better by change our habit into green lifestyle. You don't need to do something complicated. Just change your small habit from now, and consistently do it every day, and spread the news to people around you. You will thank yourself later.

xoxo

Minimalism Journey - Goals

Since March is coming to the end, I realized that I already spent the first Quarter in 2016. In this blog I write a lot of thing about minimalism lately, because I have interest in it. I will try to write my journey, my thought and everything that will help me be a better person. I realized that writing down all things in my mind, I can reduced my stress level, make me think clearly and also improve my writing skills.

In this post, I want to tell you about the reason I try to pursue a minimalist lifestyle and simplify my life. I think write down your reason is important because it can be your reminder when you feeling down, motivate you when you feel sad, and makes you think in order.

WHY YOU INTERESTED IN MINIMALISM?

The reason why I gain my interest in minimalism is because I watch a lot of YouTube videos. Since my last trip in Japan, I have interest in skincare, and I watch a lot of YouTube videos about Japanese skincare and review about them. It makes me want to buy a lot of skincare and make up. I just realized at the end of 2015 that I don't have much money left in my bank account. As I make a finance evaluation, buying skincare and makeup are my problem. Realized my problem, I make adjustment and another YouTube account to watch which is Living Light by Coco. I get inspired by the way she lives and continuous watching another minimalist YouTube.

I think the way minimalist living is quite interesting. I know that I buy something not because I need it. It more that the item looks good, it was on sale, I have money on my pocket. The concept is allign with my life vision. I do have an urge to buy a thing, and I have money. But, do I really need it? I need to think twice before I make a decision.

WHAT MOTIVATE YOU TO BECOME MINIMALIST?

Frankly speaking, my main motivator is money. I want to save money. I saw that minimalist lifestyle make you reduced buy thing that not necessary. Put on some basic item and you ready to go. I don't have to buy bag in 10 colors to become trendy and happy. I don't need to buy more shoes and clothes to look good. In minimalist concept the less is more. I need to spend my money on experience rather than goods.

WHAT IS MY MINIMALISM GOALS?

I do have a dreamy life that I adore and I want to achieve.

I want to have enough, not buying stuff if I don't need it.

I want to travel and experience a lot of things in my 20's.

I want to live healthy, stress free.

I want to spend my time with my family and friends.

I don't want to driven by consumerism and people.

I live for myself.


I think that is the goals that I want to achieve. I know that I can't change overnight. But at least I am trying. I will try to write down my journey in this blog. What in my mind, and what challenge that I get. Well, I do need this blog to evaluate myself actually. But I hope that this can help you to find your way to live simply, beside hundred blogs that speak about minimalism. Hope it can inspire you and make you feel that you are not alone in this journey. I make a mistake, and I am not shy to share this with you so we can learn together.

Just do your best. This journey is personal. You can start it slow or fast. You can declutter your whole stuff and live with the necessities. Or you can save some stuff that you enjoy and make you happy. Just remember not to giving up. We can do it together.

:)

Minimalism Journey - My thought on the last 4 months

Did I tell you that I want to be a minimalist? Trying to live with less stuff and stress?

Well, I need to admit that it was not easy. I try not to buy another clothes or shoes, but from the time that I post about minimalism, I already buy 3 shoes and 6 clothes. Half of it I got free from my company but still, I get more stuff that I don't need. At this time, I realized how bad my habit toward shopping. I usually just go to shopping center and buy something that looks cute or having sales so it seems cheap. Even tough I declutter my stuff, but If my bad habit of shopping not changing, my stuff will not reduce.

In the last post I write about my tips to reduce the urge to shop. Did it work? To tell you the truth, there are times that I did it and there are times that I forgot. After I get my first shoes, I went to Mall and see that my dream shoes on sale. After a week thinking about that shoes, I bought it. Hiks.. I feel guilty but actually I am really happy because this is my favourite shoes, I use it almost everyday. But, no excused I failed.

So, I realize that I need to change the way I am shopping. I watch a lot of YouTube videos about minimalism, living light and sustainable fashion. I am trying to find more motivation, and to remind me about this journey. I just think that all the person that I watch is cool and their lifestyle is something that I want. I am interested in the way the live, their action toward stuff, and how they be more productive and less stress about their life.

And in some other reason, I find that minimalism concept is align with my religion, Islam. We don't need money or more stuff to be happy. We need to be present, feeling grateful with everything that we have and minimize the desire of having more. In Islam, they teach us not to eat until full. They told you to put 1/3 of your stomach for food, 1/3 for water and the rest of it for air. Islam told us not to buy a lot of stuff that you don't need and always feeling grateful with everything that you have.

Back to my experience in the last 4 months, I know that changing lifestyle is something that not easy. You need to re focus again, and remember what motivate you in the first place when you buy something. Just remember that you make a bad habit for years, and you cannot expect in some weeks or months it will change.

So, now I just will enjoy this process and work hard to be better this month.

Minimalism Series : No Shopping Challenge

Setelah berhasil menyingkirkan beberapa pakaian, kali ini kayaknya saya mau challenge diri saya untuk mengurangi belanja. Yup, resolusi kali ini adalah...

TIDAK BOLEH BERBELANJA BAJU DAN AKSESORIS FASHION LAINNYA HINGGA AKHIR TAHUN 2015

Biasanya, setiap akhir bulan setelah gajian. Kaki tu gatel banget mau pergi ke Mall atau masuk ke pusat perbelanjaan. Niat awalnya cuma mau lihat-lihat. Tapi pas pulang pasti ada aja bawaannya. Yang dibeli sebenernya gak penting atau butuh juga sih. Cuma kaos baru, atau kemeja baru. Padahal itu juga jarang dipake.Tanpa sadar, kita sering banget belanja sesuatu yang cuma akan numpuk di lemari kita.

Apa gunanya kemarin udah declutter pakaian kalo pada akhirnya kita nambahin dengan membeli pakaian yang gak perlu.

Jadi,, selama bulan November hingga Desember besok, saya berjanji untuk tidak mengeluarkan uang dalam hal-hal yang berbau fashion. Toh, dalam kehidupan sehari-hari jilbab yang saya gunakan hanya biru, pink, dan hitam. Meskipun masih ada banyak jilbab lainnya di lemari.

Kebetulan juga saya memang ada niat untuk mulai hidup hemat. Setelah selama 7 bulan di Surabaya tapi kok tabungan gak nambah-nambah. Sedangkan teman saya tabungannya sudah dua digit semua. Malu saya.

Apa saja tips yang saya gunakan untuk mengurangi hasrat shopping?

1. Unsubscribed all email dari website online shopping, and unfollow olshop di instagram.

Seringkali hasrat berbelanja itu meningkat ketika kita melihat penawaran dari website. Seperti "diskon 20% untuk hari ini" atau "penawaran special". Hal ini juga berlaku untuk instagram. Ketika kita follow banyak olshop, pasti postingan mereka akan selalu memenuhi timeline kita. Ujung-ujungnya, kita jadi tertarik dan membeli deh. Padahal belum tentu kita butuh.

2. Kurangi bepergian ke Mall atau pusat perbelanjaan lainnya.

Seperti yang saya bilang tadi, niatnya cuma mau makan atau nonton terus ke Mall. Eh, sambil nunggu filmnya mulai, jalan-jalan dulu lihat-lihat baju. Akhirnya keluar toko bawa belanjaan deh. Sering gak sih kayak gitu? Makanya, kurangi bepergian ke Mall. Kalo mau nonton, pergi ke bioskop yang berdiri sendiri. Atau nonton dvd atau dari online deh. Sama teman-teman gitu di rumah siapa. Gak kalah seru kok.

3. Ketika mau beli sesuatu, tunda hingga 2 minggu.

Kadang, kita beli sesuatu cuma karena itu kelihatan lucu sesaat aja. Bukan karena bener-bener bagus atau pengen. Coba deh tunda keinginan membeli. Kalo kita masih kepikiran hingga 2 minggu kemudian. Baru deh kita beli. Kadang setelah dua minggu kita sudah lupa sama barang tersebut dan tidak tertarik lagi.

4. Bayar dengan uang cash

Kalo memang udah pengeeeeennnn banget dan kebawa mimpi. Boleh kok beli. Tapi usahakan bayar dengan uang cash ya. Karena seringkali kita gak sadar berapa jumlah uang yang kita keluarkan karena kita tinggal gesek dengan kartu debit atau kredit. Ketika kamu membayar dengan uang cash, pasti ada perasaan sadar bahwa kamu benar-benar "membayar" barang tersebut. Kadang saat mau bayar kita masih bisa mikir ulang kok. Sesuai gak kualitas produk tadi dengan uang yang akan kamu bayarkan. 

Nah, itu taxi 4 tips untuk ngurangin hasrat berbelanja kita. Saya juga mau take challenge untuk gak belanja selama dua bulan ke depan. Wish me luck yaaa!!!

Minimalism Series : Decluttering Clothes

When I am reading a lot of blog and watching video about minimalism, I feel that I need to do that as well. Maybe I am still not fully understanding about minimalism concept. But, I try to do some action to "repair" my life.

The easiest thing to start is clothes. I don't have a lot of clothes because I have a lack of confidence in term of body. I am struggling to loss weight, so I am not into pretty clothing or accecories. But, I do have a lot of clothes and scarf because I am wearing hijab.

When I first get a job, I feel like I can do whatever I want. I can buy everything that I need. Almost every week I went to the mall and buy clothes. I also bought 3 scarf every month from instagram shop. I spend a lot money in fashion thing because I have the power to control what I bought. At the end of the day. I BROKE.

I live with my father, I don't need to pay for housing and transportation but I don't have money at the end of the month. Pathetic. I know it was wrong but I can't stop. So, now I do have a lot of things in my wardrobe and I think it is a good start to reduce it.

So, this is the steps:

1. Pull everything out

I just take all clothes inside my drawer and hanger and drop it on the floor. It will help you to realize the actual spaces in your clothes. Look at all the clothes in the floor. You have to realize the amount of clothes you have

2. Choose your favorite clothes

Rather than pick the one that you don't like or clothes that you are not wearing for the last 6 months, I think it will be easy to choose the clothes that you wear often or clothes that fit you the best. After you choose the rest of it is something that is negotiable, whether you will keep or donate.

3. Rest of it = donate box

Store clothes that is not your first choice in a box and store it for 3 months. If you don't miss any of it, donate or sell it.

4. Clean and organize

Clean your favorite one and organize it in your clean wardrobe. Keep tidy and leave a space between clothes if you can

I think I already have less clothes. But, after this exercise I found that I keep a lot of clothes that I don't even wear it anymore just because I will use it someday.

It makes me happy to open my wardrobe and look at my favorite pieces of clothes. a clothes that I am confident wear it in front of people and clothes that makes me look good and happy.

I don't know that having less clothes will give you a happiness. Less clothes means less laundry, less ironing and less hectic in the morning. I am excited to start another work toward minimalism. Do you want to join?

:)

Minimalism, a way to escape the consumerism

Minimalism...

Sebuah gerakan yang mulai dilakukan oleh orang untuk melawan consumerisme. Apakah berarti seorang yang hidup dengan konsep minimalisme tidak boleh melakukan konsumsi sama sekali? Tidak boleh membeli apapun?

Nope, minimalisme bukan berarti tidak melakukan konsumsi. Karena sebagai seorang manusia kita pasti mengkonsumsi sesuatu. Namun, yang dilawan adalah konsumsi berlebihan / Excessive consumption.

Tanpa kita sadari, saat ini kita sudah dibombardir oleh banyak pengaruh. Cara paling gampang menyadarinya bisa dilihat dari reklame iklan di jalan2. Pada sadar gak sih kalo jumlah reklame ikan itu makin banyak? Dan itu gak cuma di jalan, di mobil, di bus, iklan sudah masuk ke ranah pribadi, seperti sms langsung ke handphone kita. Apalagi dengan adanya internet, pengaruh untuk membeli semakin terasa. Iklan di youtube, email dan website adalah hal lumrah dalam kehidupan kita.

Orang dipaksa untuk membeli di luar batas kemampuannya. Gimana caranya? Media memberi image bahwa kalo mau keren itu harus kaya dan punya banyak benda. Kita bisa lihat di televisi, kalo sinetron atau drama pasti rumahnya mewah. Reality show di luar negeri bahkan menyoroti kehidupan selebriti dan konglomerat. Kita diberi doktrin bahwa kehidupan seperti mereka itu yang harus kita tuju. Bahwa kesuksesan didapat dari banyaknya rumah yang kita punya, canggihnya gadget yang berubah tiap semester, dan juga trend fashion yang berganti tiap musim. Kalo kita gak ikut tren, pasti kita dibilang ketinggalan jaman. Gak gaul. 

Lalu apa yang kita lakukan? Karena kita sudah terdoktrin bahwa sukses dan bahagia itu seperti yang dibilang media, maka kita pun melakukan segala cara untuk mendapatkan kebahagiaan itu. Dengan gaji yang pas-pasan, kita kredit smartphone terbaru, mobil terkeren, bahkan rumah termegah. Fenomena tas branded fake sudah bukan lagi hal yang tabu. Supaya dibilang keren dan gaul, sampai berani hutang sana sini untuk memenuhi kebutuhan sosial itu. Hasilnya? Hutang yang banyak, ketidakpuasan hidup dan ketidakbahagiaan. Banyak saya temukan orang yang mengatakan bahwa dia tidak menyukai pekerjaannya tapi terpaksa bertahan karena dia butuh uang untuk gaya hidupnya. 

So, we work in the job that we hate to impress people we don't like.

Berapa banyak uang, waktu dan tenaga yang kita habiskan untuk hal yang tidak penting?
Sedangkan hal terpenting di hidup kita seperti kesehatan, relationship dan keluarga sering kita abaikan.

Jadi apa sih yang ingin disampaikan oleh minimalism?

Minimalism mengajarkan kita untuk menyingkirkan hal-hal yang mengganggu kita dari kebahagiaan.

We need to put away all clutter in our life, so we can get more time to explore our hobbies, spend time with the one we love and have a meaningful life.

Being minimalis berarti tidak menghabiskan uang kita untuk membeli barang-barang yang berlebihan. Baca: beli jilbab 3 padahal jilbab di kosan sudah setumpuk. Kita mengontrol keinginan kita dalam mebeli barang-barang hanya karena barang tersebut sedang diskon, karena barang itu lucu, dan karena barang itu sepertinya akan digunakan di masa datang. It will help us to escape the consumerism.

Living with Less

Seperti biasa, saya sering sekali menghabiskan waktu untuk blog walking dan menonton youtube. Apa yang sering saya tonton? Kalo gak drama korea ya beauty youtuber karena saya tertarik dengan produk2 baru yang berada di pasaran. Saya masih ingat, awal pertama kali kenal youtube saya langsung tertarik untuk mencoba produk yang direkomendasikan oleh para youtubers. Saya membeli bermacam-macam skincare product dan make up. Saya juga enjadi semakin sadar fashion. Mau tidak mau saya mengikuti apa sih yang sedang trend. Belanja sudah bukan lagi kebutuhan, tapi menjadi sebuah kebiasaan. Setiap habis gajian, saya pasti merasa memerlukan pergi ke mall atau buka instagram mencari apa yang bisa dibeli.

Belanja online itu menguras kantong tapi secara tidak sadar. Tau-tau saya merasa uang saya habis di tengah bulan. Semua terasa lebih murah. Dulu saya bahkan membeli jilbab 3 pcs/ bulan. Belum termasuk tas, sepatu dan baju. Pokoknya dulu saya boros banget. Padahal saya itu bercita-cita menjadi financial planner. Alhasil, dibandingkan dengan teman sepantaran saya, tabungan saya itu paling sedikit. :(

Saya sadar, bahwa saya sudah mulai menjadi konsumtif. Saya membeli barang-barang yang tidak penting. Belanja saya jadikan pengisi waktu luang dan penghilang stress. Saya merasa bahwa saya akan bahagia ketika saya membeli sesuatu yang baru. Apalagi mengingat saya sudah menghasilkan uang sendiri. Saya merasa uang itu adalah hasil jerih payah saya yang bisa saya gunakan semau saya. Tapi yang terjadi? Saya stress karena uang saya tidak pernah cukup. Padahal menurut saya gaji saya sudah cukup. Tapi kenapa selalu terasa kurang ya?

Di saat kebingungan tersebut saya menonton sebuah video di youtube mengenai konsep minimalism. Living with less item to pursue happiness. Setelah saya tonton, saya merasa tertarik sehingga akhirnya saya mencari tahu mengenai konsep ini.

Menurut saya konsep ini sangat menarik karena:

1. Sesuai dengan tuntunan agama. Di dalam Islam, bukankah kita sudah silarang bermegah-megahan dan bersikap boros?

2. Having less item = less time to maintain, to clean = more time to do productive activities

3. Simple

So, saya memutuskan untuk memulai lifestyle ini. Saya akan mencoba untuk menuangkan perjalanan itu di dalam blog ini. Semoga bisa konsisten ya

Wish me luck!!