The Burning House Project | 2014

To many who are not familiar with art or photography in particular, I introduce you the “Burning House Project.” It is a photography project in which the subject is to answer the question: “What would you take with you if your house is burning?”

This project was introduced to me when I was still a student in college and was taking a course in photography. It was such a fun class, we got to use film SLR cameras to take photographs and develop them in a dark room. Good times! Anyways, so my professor talked about this brilliant assignment in class and proposed us to take on it.

The photograph above was taken in 2014 as part of my photography class portfolio. It was somewhat fun to think about the scenario, but it was also difficult. That year I still owned a lot of things - it was definitely during pre-minimalism time there. I owned a lot of stuff then, and sorting out my lot to come up with the things I would bolt out with during emergency was… a chore. I would imagine that I will end up dying because I needed to gather all these things. So, most things in the photograph were sentimental things that I would take with me if my house was in flames.

Here, I’ll list them for you (from left to right):

1. Box of letters and cards (I used to exchange handwritten letters with my best friend)
2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Digital Camera (no longer have it as of today - sold)
3. Plush toy (Mokona/Larg from XxxHolic)
4. Photo album
5. Peter Pan book (present from friend)
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book
7. The Clow Book (Toy from Cardcaptor Sakura anime)
8. 1 TB HD (I have already started to digitalize documents/photos)
9. Leather military boots (to be donated - see from previous blog post)

Now that I assess the 2014 Burning House photograph, I am certain that I won’t be reaching for the same things again. I am planning to do another quick shoot of the Burning House project soon, so I am posting this old project now to later use to to compare it with the new project. Currently, I am not sure how it will be nor what items will I be taking with me this year (if my place burns) - but I am looking forward to see how it turns out!

2017 Earth Day Entry | Sustainable School/Work Lunch Swaps

Happy Earth Day 2017, everyone!!

To commemorate this day, I would like to show you the sustainable items that I have swapped to~

Ladies and gentlemen I here present to you the swaps I have made for school/work lunch. From left to right:

1. Bamboo/wooden cutlery (please pardon the stained spoon - I have been eating curry very frequently)
2. Metal straw
3. Handkerchief/fabric/cloth napkins
4. Stainless steel insulated mug/bottle (Zojirushi flip top cap bottle and S’well water bottle)
5. One of my many glass tupperware/lunch box

These are the things I bring to work for lunch. Though it is more work for me to prepare and have all of these things ready for work, I have been enjoying preparing my own meals. It gives me a sense of accomplishment when I do not create so much waste.

This way of living does not only give me this satisfaction, but it also helps me learn more about cooking, patience, respect, and about myself. I have been bringing my lunch to work for close to three years now and it has been a smooth journey so far. I did struggle a bit at first because I was still a student at that time - so I would forget to bring homemade lunch to school/work and buy from food vendors on campus (they are not the best food nor the cheapest nor the cleanest….). It is now all under control and I have not eaten lunch out in a very long time thus far.

Hope some of you decide to make at least ONE sustainable swap this year (psst! the stainless steel travel mug is a good start!)

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” - Robert Swan

Minimalist WIP | A break after decluttering

Today, after decluttering I took a break and decided to watch a video. Luckily, I was able found an interesting one on YouTube, it’s called “Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism” uploaded by JapanSocietyNYC.

The video is a recording of a lecture or presentation given to an audience introducing the ideas behind Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism, a book about the minimalism experience and reflections of Fumio Sasaki. The presentation was organized, precise, and informative, the author (who was also the presenter) poses simple everyday questions and shows us data to back up his own answers to these questions.

Here are a few points that was discussed in the video:

• Having more time, meaning of time
• Having more freedom
• Better relationships
• Obsessed with throwing things away
• Ease in moving to places
• Success v.s. satisfaction

It was definitely motivating to me listening to his view on minimalism and his experience on that lifestyle. Here’s a quote from the author, Fumio Sasaki: “I’ve let go of a lot of things; but the one thing that I’ve let go that is most important is the idea [of] ‘that money or fame is the most important thing’.”

Minimalist WIP | First Decluttering of the Year 2017

Without a doubt, as time goes by, things will accumulate. This will be my first time documenting my declutter experience this year. I believe I might have done mini decluttering sessions at the beginning of this year but I did not take the chance to “document/record” it for… records keeping of my own - so to speak.

Ah, spring break, what a good opportunity for spring cleaning. Throughout the week of spring break, I was able to pace myself to declutter my place a bit. So the categories I decluttered mainly were: clothes, shoes, jewelry/accessory, and kitchen appliance(s).

After decluttering my place, I decided to organize all these things. As for clothes, I did laundry and tomorrow I will organize it by season and (finally) put away any winter clothing. I shall be showing you the aftermath of the things I decided to let go of (some of which are in my eBay store - you can go check it out by clicking on the “eBay Store” tab).

And…. behold!

Now, from left to right:

1. bag of plastic bags - to be dropped off at a nearby Rite Aid
2. Leather military lace up mid calf boots - still in great condition, wore it for more than 5 yrs; but this year I decided to switch out of animal leather products. It will be donated.
3. Electric kettle - have not been using it for an entire year; it has a crack on the lid, but works perfectly. It will be given to a friend.
4. Three bags of clothing/textiles - bottom two are clothings which will be donated; top bag is scraps of fabric, products of costume making hobby.  The scraps bag will still be under my roof until I can find a place in NYC to donate it to if possible.

If you happen to know any good resource to donate fabric scraps in NYC - please let me know! I’d greatly appreciate it!

“I refuse to live in fear of not having enough.” - Courtney Carver (https://bemorewithless.com/)

Minimalist WIP | Resources

I discovered the term “Minimalism” a few years back, when I was watching YouTube videos as I was packing my stuff to move. Even til this day after I have already moved, I have been enjoying watching YouTube videos about minimalism. And minimalist doesn’t stop there, it opens you to other kinds of thought process like sustainability, living intentionally, using more natural things on you and around you, etc. Watching and knowing about these individuals taking on these challenges in life, seems like a valid purpose to me as well. I believe that is why I am somewhat addicted to these kind of content since then and now.

Information in video format is efficient these days, especially when people recount their own perspectives. Listening to their experiences and stories  in their own manner of speaking really makes you connect with them and be inspired by them as they have similar goals and ideas relating to minimalism.

Below you will find some resources I like to use/tune in to for inspiration and motivation pertaining to the minimalism idea as a lifestyle choice.

YouTube:

• Madeleine Olivia - not only does she talk about minimalism, she also offers information into her take on veganism. A lot of her videos focuses on vegan diet.
• Alli Cherry - your typical YT blogger but with very good resource information about minimalism, zero waste, sustainability, etc.
• The Minimalist Ninja - recently discovered her videos, she puts out helpful content relating to minimalism and zero/minimal waste lifestyle.
• Jenny Mustard - One of my favourite YouTuber to watch. I love her minimalistic style in clothing and home decor. Her content is visually beautiful and simplistic, reminds me of Muji stores.
• Snapshots of Simplicity - a recent find as well. This channel features very nicely on how to live simply and sustainably.

Blogger(s):

Of course, minimalism is not limited to how you manage your clutter, it is also how you live your life. There’s a duo of gentlemen who have started this wave of minimalism in recent years and they call themselves “The Minimalists”. The things they suggest and information they offer, I find valuable. I like to listen to them as I clean my place. It’s as if they are some friends just chatting away in the background - it’s fun. As far as I know, they have made a documentary regarding minimalism and how they perceive life as a minimalist and how it changed them. They also host and record podcasts and live streams on Facebook and Instagram!

Another blog I loosely follow is by Courtney Carver  and her blog is called Be More with Less - this is one of the first minimalism-related content I came across while I was sorting out my wardrobe. Carver offers great pointers on how to curate a capsule wardrobe as well as encouraging words and advice.

That is it for now. It’s a small list, but it works for me.

Oh! I want to start doing “Quote of the Day” at the end now, since I know a real nice quote that I first heard from “The Minimalists” guys:“Love people, use things. The opposite never works.”