Becoming a minimalist

"Once you've succeeded in dispensing with something you thought essential, you realize you can also do without something else, then without many other things." - Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler

A little over a year ago I began to seriously reconsider the amount of "things" and "stuff" in my life. I decided it was time to get rid of clothing I never wore and the things in my drawers that were useless and unnecessary. I tackled my closet first, getting rid of a good number of clothes that I never wore and were no longer in interested in. Shoes came next and jewelry. Then, I lived with it for awhile.

Meanwhile a friend introduced me to a neat blog he came upon - mnmlist.com. I perused the blog with fascination and admiration for the author's simpler lifestyle. I was particularly attracted to this post:

"Stop buying the unnecessary. 

Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness. 

Reduce half again. List 4 essential things in your life,

do these first,stop doing the non-essential.

Clear distractions, focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.

Fall in love with less."

Several months passed and then I went full throttle back to my closet and drawers to get rid of more
things: clothing, shoes, cosmetics, books. I was soon to be leaving on my cycling trip, so my purging was coupled with packing and organizing. Finally I was set for my trip with one small duffel bag, taken up mostly by my sleeping bag and thermarest.

Living this summer with only cycling clothes and 2 shirts, 2 shorts, a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, a fleece, and several other little things allowed me to let go essentially of any connection I had to my stuff. I wore whatever was clean and it didn't really matter - twas the nature of the trip. When I returned home this fall I took my final steps to really defining myself as a minimalist, getting rid of most my books, jewelry, clothing, single-use kitchen items, office things, bags, and more.

The journey to becoming a minimalist is never ending - I continue to donate things and question my need for certain items. In particular, I am always questioning how I can have more functionality with less. I'm still on the search for the perfect minimalist wardrobe...just enough clothing to cover all my activities, but not too much. 

So far, I'm loving it. Minimalism is the lifestyle for me. 

Why I did it?

1) Stuff is stressful - being surrounding by lots of stuff is outright stressful for me; stuff management (also known as organization) is not fun; whenever you move you have to bring all your stuff.

2) Most stuff is unnecessary - when comes right down to it, most people probably don't use half the things in their homes; so, I ask, why own it? I personally would rather only be in possession of the things I use frequently. 

3) I'm searching for simplicity in life - I want the simplicity of a walk in the woods, to be the simplicity of my everyday life. In 21st century society, this is hard to come by. For me, simplicity is going to be a lot easier to achieve with less choices of outfits and more time to focus on what really matters. 

4) To practice non-attachment - attachment to stuff is unhealthy...

5) I am not my stuff - I don't want to be defined by my stuff and so there's no reason to have a lot of it.

6) Less consumeristic - it seems like a funny correlation, but it seems the more you have, the more you buy...you're searching, essentially, for the perfect item - this is not my style. With less things, I only have to buy the necessary items, once they ware down. 

At the core of it all, minimalism is not owning as few things as you can, it's owning only those things that are essential to you and making a conscious decision to be in possession of each and every item you own.

Living a more sustainable, frugal, and chemical-free life

In October I made a trip to, what I feel resembles, a modern apothecary shop to pick up some ingredients to make my own lotion. I had found a recipe in a book of herbal remedies I recently obtained and wanted to try it out. Needless to say, it was somewhat of a failure. I tried a multitude of different recipes and methods, but couldn't quite get it right. So, I scrapped the lotion idea and dove headlong into finding recipes to make everything else I could think of: shampoo, toothpaste, lip balm...you name it. 

Through trial and error I have found the recipes that work best for me. Instead of lotion, for example, I now enjoy using a harder body balm. My goal through this process has been to keep my ingredients at a minimum, to reduce the amount of things I'm purchasing and to add to the simplicity of life. 

Conditioner and Shampoo (I've since gone back to using a organic, natural conditioner because of my lovely dry winter scalp) 

Toothpaste (great consistency!) - unfortunately tastes like soap; I need to obtain some stevia to help sweeten and flavor it. 

Perfume spray, deodorant (works great, smells great, since moved to a tin), lip balm, dry skin oil

Ingredients box (essential oils, glycerin, tools, coconut oil...etc)

Other products in my cosmetic cabinet: saddle sore/acne remedy (important for a cyclist), homemade lemon balm tincture for reducing stress and anxiety, lavender body balm, sleep pillow...

One may ask, why I've chosen to take on the hobby/lifestyle of making my own products. Here's my answer:

1) More sustainable - to the best of my ability, many of my products have metal containers and those that do not at least are at least reusable. I still am trying to figure out the best way to not use plastic in the shower; I've already broken a glass container. Commercial products, whether in tin or plastic, come in a new container every time you purchase them. Also, as much as I can my ingredients are local, therefore energy is not used to ship them to me. The same goes for the products themselves; unless your commercial products are produced and packaged locally, they have a huge carbon footprint to get to you.

2) Frugality - simply put, homemade products are way cheaper...by lots.

3) Chemical-free - my homemade products are 100% natural (literally, not in the marketing sense) and contain no chemicals. I'm sick of unknown ingredients and unpronounceable ingredients. Many of the ingredients in our cosmetics have properties of neurotoxicity, contribute to cancer (DEA ingredients turn to nitrosamines, which may cause cancer, also formaldehyde releasing ingredients), and are also environmentally toxic. [http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/] I look at cosmetics the way Michael Pollan looks at food... eat food - use only the true natural ingredients.

Want to read more on cosmetic safety? http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/myths-on-cosmetics-safety/

Future recipe goals: sunscreen, soap (though usually very good locally made), makeup, cleaning supplies (simple with vinegar and baking soda)

Burlington Bound

After a 2.5 month journey across the country on my bicycle, the last thing I want to feel is...settled and rooted. And so, my new adventure and new life exploration will be in Burlington, Vermont. Why?

1) The great outdoors:

When it comes right down to it, I just want some fresh air. Living in the 21st century, means living indoors for a lot of people and blocking out nature as much as possible. With air conditioning, cars, and gyms, people don't have to spend time outdoors if they don't want to. They can live in artificial environments if they choose, but that way of life is not for me. Here in Ohio, particularly Southern Ohio, I can certainly find ways to be outdoors, hiking in foothills of the Appalachians, horseback riding, kayaking in our many lakes, cycling the country roads, and even doing farm work. But there is a  part of me that wants to live in the mountains for a while and take hikes up to vast vistas, ski on real snow, and so much more.

2) For a change of scene:

I grew up in Ohio and I went to college here as well and I love it. I embody the midwest, but I don't want to settle down, just now, in a place that I know so well. It's time for a change and to experience a new place.

3) To meet like-minded people:

There are cyclists, rock climbers, foodies, environmentalists, and people with my lifestyle here in Ohio, but in scarce numbers. I see them at the farmers markets, at the bike co-op, at the rock gym, and in coffee shops, however they are the sub-culture hidden beneath the trending suburban lifestyle. I want to find a place where my lifestyle is reflected in the majority of people around me - I think Burlington is an excellent start.

4) For an adventure:

Plain and simply I just cannot sit around any longer. It's only been about 3.5 months since I ended by cycling adventure and it's time for a new one. Now is not the time to settle, it's the time to get  up and go do something new.

Six months ago, I was not in this mindset at all. Had I not taken this cross-country trip, I would be settling down and I may have ended up miserable. It took an adventure to push me onward to even greater adventures. So, to all those young people out there - take the time right now if your life to go exploring...whether that means a moving new big city, traveling abroad, picking up a new hobby, do it. You don't have to go far to find it and you won't regret it when you have exciting stories to tell your children someday and life experience to draw from.

Life Post-Bike and Build

Well, real life is back again and the transition from Bike and Build has somewhat resembled the feeling of culture shock. The things that are completely acceptable on a cross-country bike trip, in a group of 32 people that spend 24/7 together, are not exactly normal in everyday life. For example, I can no longer...
- bring my camelbak wherever I go and look like a normal person (does this stop me? absolutely not)
- pee on the side of the road or behind a bush (going to the bathroom is so complicated now)
- randomly participate in giant cuddle puddles
- eat 6000 calories a day
- go to bed at 8:30 pm and not be missing out on the happenings of the evening
- where the same clothes every day...people would start to wonder
- not shower yet continue to have normal interactions with people
- ask cafes/stores/bike shops to give me discounts or free stuff for a good cause
- have morning/afternoon/evening dance parties (it's not the same by yourself)

Other frustrations...
- having so many clothes to choose from everyday
- having to figure out what I'm going to do each day
- nobody quite understands my summer
- my muscular biking thighs are slightly too large for my pants
- a lack of 32 buddies to bike with

Post-Bike and Build is now colliding with post-college life, which is quite ridiculous. I am in the midst of attempting to put together a collage like year of income sources and activities to keep me busy. Thus far this looks like teaching music at theatre camps, opening up a piano/voice studio, marketing myself as an accompanist...free lancing my way through this year. On top of that I am swing dancing a lot, taking historical interpretation classes, volunteering...and more. Now all I need is a house where I can grow a garden and live happily ever after with my dog :)

Vancouver!

We threw ourselves into the Pacific Ocean yesterday with excitement. We made it across the country on our bikes. There were so many emotions...happy to be there, sad we are leaving each other soon.

Today we package our bikes to be shipped home and one by one we will each depart for the real world again.

Almost there...

As we tend to do, almost our entire group ended up at a breakfast cafe this morning at mile 9: Washington Cafe and Bakery. The people there were so friendly. We got multiple loaves of bread and brownies to take with us for free! The kindness of other people is amazing. We took a group picture with one of the women there and had a great time.

Afterward we got back on our bikes to tackle our final long day. We rolled up and down the road writing inspirational and sentimental chalk messages to each other. Then out of nowhere we were riding along the Puget Sound. It was overwhelming to realize that we have come all the way from New Hampshire.

The afternoon was beautiful cycling along with the water on one side and the lush rainforest on the other. Everytime we came around a corner is was another cool thing to look at. We were cycling under a canopy of trees...awesome.

From there we cycled through Bellingham and on to Lynden where we are for the night. The final miles of the trip we could see huge mountains in the distance. The best was Mt. Baker, which reaches 12,000 ft and was covered in a blanket of snow.

Tomorrow we head into Canada and get ready for our last day and our wheel dip into the Pacific Ocean!