How to create a minimalist healthy eating plan

Well, it's finally here. After researching, testing, and revising my plan over and over, my guide on how to create a minimalist healthy eating plan is finally ready. This guide is meant to help create healthy eating habits while using the minimalist concept of focusing on what's most important first while letting go of less important things. In this case, what's most important to me in this eating plan is taking care of my health, affordability, and sustainability (meaning that I can follow this plan indefinitely because it's easy to stick to--eco-friendly grocery shopping is long enough to be its own post).

I thought about sharing more specifics of my plan, but decided against it for reasons I'll explain later. However, if you really want to know the details, let me know by sending me an email or commenting on this post. For now, this is a guide on how to create your own plan, because I felt like that would be more beneficial to everyone than seeing what I eat.

Since this is a post about health, I have to throw some disclaimers in here: I'm not a medical professional or a dietitian. And even if I was, I'm not your healthcare professional and don't know anything about your personal health needs. So keep in mind that what I say in this article is my opinion based on what I've found works best for my body, is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be medical advice. You should always check with your own healthcare providers when making changes to your diet. Or something like that. You get the picture.

Here's what to look forward to in this post:

1. Make your goals
2. Add in more of the good stuff
3. Stop what isn't working
4. Re-evaluate
5. Some bonus tips

Oh, and if you want to save this post for later, you can pin it with this link.

1. Make your goals

As with any minimalist transition, I think it's important to know what you're aiming for. Just saying "I want to be healthier" is vague enough that you might not even know if you reach your goals. 

Also, I kinda dislike the word goals. I feel like it puts a lot of pressure on things, which for me, means that I'm likely to revolt and go in the opposite direction because I'm just stubborn that way.

Try to lead me, I'll resist.

If this is you too, then think of it like deciding what you want out of this change and then making decisions based on your desires instead of making goals. 

Lastly, I don't consider this a diet. For me, this is a lifestyle change. So it's not about how quickly I complete the changeover.

If you care, here are my "goals" or desires with this eating plan:

• Better digestion. I know since I've been eating more take-out, it's definitely affected my stomach.
• Better energy. I have a tendency to eat a lot at once and then not eat again for a long time, which makes my energy levels uneven during the day. So this plan is not just about what I eat, but also about when/how I eat.

That's about it. I know when I mentioned creating this plan before, I talked about having gained a few pounds, but I'm not doing this to lose weight. I'm more concerned about the health implications behind weight gain--from what I've read, virtually everyone who is overweight is malnourished. Someone can eat a lot, but that doesn't mean they are getting proper nutrition. Of course, this is usually true for people who are underweight as well. 

So my goal is to eat healthfully and increase my nutrient intake. As a side effect, my weight should change, which would indicate that I'm eating what my body needs. If it still doesn't change or I don't feel any better, then I probably need to see a doctor about my digestion. Either way, I'm using my weight as an indicator of nutrient absorption. 

I purposely didn't post this in the spring or the beginning of the summer (for my hemisphere) because I didn't want to follow the trend of posts about getting ready to look good on the beach. I also didn't choose to wait until around the end of the year to follow the New Year's Resolution trends. That's because I don't want to encourage people to engage in unhealthy behaviors or do things because of peer pressure. This is not about weight loss, getting skinny, or looking good in selfies.

Also, if you're looking for a detailed meal plan, this post is not about that. Remember, this is how to create a plan, not what the plan is. I'll explain why I don't give all the details of my own plan in section 5 of this post. Now, on to how to create a minimalist healthy eating plan.

2. Add in more of the good stuff

Once you have your aspirations all lined up, the next thing to do is start changing how you eat.

The difference between my healthy eating plan and a "diet" is that this plan is mostly about adding more healthy foods, while a diet usually has you cut out foods so you can lose weight or meet some other goal.

Since I want better digestion, I slowly added in more fiber. I did this slowly, because adding too much at once usually causes more digestive problems. I generally don't count calories or check on my nutrient intake on a daily basis, but I do check in periodically. The restaurant and processed food I was eating were low in fiber. I decided on some easy, affordable ways to increase my fiber intake that I enjoy. This included eating more kale, Granny Smith apples, beans, and homemade popcorn. I also started adding more fiber to smoothies and baking. I do this by sneaking in ground flaxseed and pumpkin puree. Not only are these great binders, but they really don't change the flavor either in the correct quantities. You just have to either switch them out for another element in the recipe, adjust your ratios, or start with a recipe that already has them.

As an added bonus, adding fiber fills you up more than less fibrous foods. This helps with my second goal or aspiration, which is better energy. It helped almost by accident. Because I'm full faster, I eat smaller meals. But then I can eat another meal a while later instead of waiting for 6 or 8 hours. Eating more frequent, smaller meals give me more consistent energy than larger, fewer meals.

Meal prepping also helps with this goal. I'd get really annoyed if I had to make meals from scratch 5-6 times per day. But by prepping one dish and eating it in small amounts several times per day, I'm just reheating. I supplement the prepped dish with snacky foods like popcorn, or an apple with nut butter, alternating between snacks and "meals."

3. Stop what isn't working

The good part about adding in healthier foods first is that if you focus on eating more of them, you end up with less room for unhealthy foods. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider what else you might need to remove. After paying attention to what I eat and how it affects me, I decided there are a few things I needed to stop doing.

First, eating takeout. You just never know everything that goes into a meal made in a restaurant, but it's likely to contain a lot of the following: oil/grease, sugar/sweeteners, salt, and ingredients that come from packages (processed foods with weird man-made products). None of those things make my stomach very happy.

Bloating. The struggle is real.

Second, eating frozen or prepared foods at home. Just like restaurant foods, there's a bunch of potential digestion-ruiners in prepared meals. I suspect that preservatives and other chemicals also bother my GI tract. I've taken to making my own versions of various condiments and sauces that are easy to make, cheaper than the bottled stuff, and minus all the unpronounceable ingredients.

Third, eating anything that doesn't resemble real food. My main goal at home is to eat foods that come in the most natural form possible. I'm not aiming for 100% whole foods, but relatively close. For example, of all the pastas out there, I digest the kind made only from brown rice best. So I'm not foregoing pasta, but I don't buy any kind made of wheat, corn, quinoa, beans, soy, or konjac.

4. Re-evaluate

Food is such a big deal to most people. It's a large part of social interaction, cultural identity, and also can carry a lot of stigma and shame. Any or all of these factors might be in opposition to your goals with a healthy eating plan. If you find this happening, you can decide if there are ways to compromise or do things differently. You can also ask people that you eat or buy food with to support you. Tell them you're trying to eat healthier and ask if they want to do it with you, or if they can at least help you stay on track by not tempting you with unhealthy foods.

Also, you can see if the changes you've made are helping you get to where you want to be. Keep in mind that if you've been eating a certain way for a long time, it may also take a long time to see any difference. Manage your expectations accordingly.

5. Some bonus tips

Just like everything else in this blog, this isn't a guide for making drastic changes quickly. This is about making small changes slowly so you don't get shell-shocked and give up. 

Each step listed above was a change I made and eased into gradually. I've seen videos of people who decide to quit sugar for 30 days. They take everything with sugar in it and throw it out and quit cold turkey. My plan isn't devised for a sprint, it's a marathon. So I eliminated foods I no longer wanted to eat by using them up little by little until they were gone. Then, I didn't buy anymore. This method works great for avoiding withdrawals or cravings, too.

This is of course not to say that I won't ever eat out again, or have any processed food. That's just unrealistic, considering every once in a while I'll want to take a break from cooking everything myself. I just know that eating a lot less of these foods will make me feel better, and also be more affordable. 

The reason why I didn't show my full meal plan is because what works for me is not necessarily going to work for you. Everyone's body is different, so copying everything I do isn't a blueprint for success. I think we can all agree that certain things, like processed foods, are not the healthiest. But beyond that, I think each person has to observe how what they eat affects them and react accordingly.  

Something else I read is that you shouldn't start a new diet and exercise program at the same time. If you aren't getting proper nourishment, then you'll be more prone to injury. So starting to exercise (or exercising more vigorously) while also messing with how you eat is a bad idea. I haven't stopped exercising completely, but I'm only doing some walking and very gentle strength/stabilizing exercises right now. 

That last thing I want to say is an acknowledgment that I don't think there's anything groundbreaking about this guide. It's mostly common sense. However, I think what's different is the idea that you don't change everything at once and that you're trying to live life differently for a long time, not just do a crash diet for quick results. Becoming healthier doesn't happen overnight.

How to create a 2021 summer capsule wardrobe

Happy summer! I spent the last 3 months wearing my neutral spring capsule wardrobe. The weather changed a lot recently, so it's definitely time to shift to a new capsule. Here's what's on tap for this post:

• How things went with my spring capsule
• My tips and tricks for designing a capsule wardrobe for summer 
• Things I changed from spring to summer
• Did I buy any items for my summer capsule wardrobe?
• Details about my summer 2021 capsule wardrobe

If you don't have time to read this post now, you can pin it to read later.

 

How things went with my spring capsule

Everything went fine as far as not needing any extra clothing above what I chose. In fact, I didn't need a lot of items that I included. Here's a summary:

Among my shoe choices, I only wore my running shoes.

For outerwear, I only used the gray zip-up hoodie.

Out of all the tops, I only wore the Old Navy road trip T-shirt.

As far as bottoms, I used the black Capri-length leggings and I think I wore the gray leggings once.

I didn't wear either of the dresses.

From my jewelry, I wore my smartwatch every day and wore the essential oil diffuser necklace several times.

In accessories, I used the backpack (once), the sun hat a few times, the sunglasses frequently, and only the black cotton purse.

So out of 33 items, I only used 11 items!

You may be wondering, what did I wear the rest of the time? Well, I spent most of my time at home. I don't bother to get dressed if I'm not leaving home. So I was either in my PJs or my workout gear. 

If I was planning on working out, later on, I'd put on those clothes in the morning and still be wearing them if/when I went out during the day. Plus, as I mentioned in a previous post, I very often wear clothes more than once before washing. Or at least I did before it got so hot--I had to change clothes after a single wear during the recent heatwave, and even now it's still pretty hot where I live. I also sort of have capsules for my sleeping clothes and workout gear, though I don't plan it out that much.  

My tips and tricks for designing a capsule wardrobe for summer

If you haven't seen (and don't want to read) my previous post about my spring capsule, I will do a quick recap of how I decided what to include in a capsule. Basically, you want to choose clothes and accessories that you enjoy wearing, that will last through the season, and that is versatile enough to work with several other pieces. A capsule should include fewer items than you would normally wear, and the rest should be stored away so you can easily view and access the capsule items. Capsule wardrobes typically don't include undergarments, pajamas, workout gear, or a work uniform that you don't have a choice about.

If you've ever seen how kids dress when they first start picking their own clothes, you can take some cues from that about how a capsule wardrobe can be assembled. Kids gravitate toward choosing their favorite pieces of clothing and wear them over and over again. As an adult, it might not be your style to pair yellow rubber rain boots with a Princess Elsa dress worn over brown corduroys. 😆 But the mindset behind a child's wardrobe decisions is very similar to how you can decide what to put in your capsule.

I know it's likely there will be a lot more events like concerts, festivals, parties, weddings, etc. coming up that maybe weren't available last summer. If you have something like that in your future, think about whether you want to include outfits for those events in your wardrobe. In my opinion, if you have an item you're only going to wear once or twice, I wouldn't bother having it as part of your capsule. I personally would set aside that piece to go in my storage area so it isn't cluttering my capsule closet for 3 months when I only need it one time. An alternative is to think about whether you can wear things to events that you use more often.  For example, are you comfortable wearing that "little black dress" or your favorite suit to more than one event? If it looks good on you and is appropriate for the occasion, why not?

Things I changed from spring to summer

My spring capsule was neutral, with 99% of the outfits some combination of black, gray, and white. I think this is a great idea for someone who prefers not to wear a lot of colors or isn't interested in taking the time to work out which colors go well with others. If you buy pieces based on how they look individually, I can totally see why this would be the case. It's hard to bring something home and figure out after the fact how it will look with what you already own.

But I want more color in my wardrobe than I had in the spring capsule, so this will not be a neutral capsule. I'm also leaving out dressier pieces that I put in for spring, thinking I'd have occasion to wear them. I didn't. I prefer to dress casually, so I wasn't about to put on clothes I would wear to work or an event just to run to the grocery store. There's no point in me cluttering up my wardrobe with these items just so I can pass them over every day. They're staying out of my closet to hang out with my off-season items.

Lastly, I'm in the process of making some items to add to my wardrobe. This isn't because I really need more clothing, it's just a fun project for me and a way to use items I already had on hand. I was hoping to get these done before summer, but life got in the way. So as I add them in, I'll mention them in a post about my crafts projects.

Did I buy any items for this capsule?

Kinda. As I mentioned above, I have some items that I'm going to add. A few of them were clothes I thrifted with the intention of altering them to fit me. I bought them a while ago, and knew they would be for summer wear, but didn't get to them in time as they weren't as important as other things, like re-organizing my apartment.

Also, I was all set to use the same flip-flops and other sandals I've had for 3+ years. They're both cheap pairs I got from Target, the kinds with the foam soles. But they're both falling apart. I want to replace both of them with a single pair of sandals that are more sustainably made and will last longer. I'm looking into options and when I make a decision, I'm probably going to include what I found in an upcoming post about eco-minimalism.

For now, I'm just including a single pair of sandals, since I don't wear flip-flops outside of the house.

Details about my summer 2021 capsule wardrobe

You'll notice this list is way pared-down from last time. I'm also going to include some things that I've been told were "against the rules" in terms of including them in my list: workout gear. I feel like it's only fair because I sometimes leave the house wearing them to do things other than work out. However, I'm going to group them as a single item in the "tops" category, because I don't know how much I'm going to integrate them into my wardrobe. The bottoms are all full-length leggings, and it's been way too hot for that, so I'm leaving those out.

Anyway, here's my capsule wardrobe.

Shoes: 👠

1. Barefoot running shoes in blue

2. Black lace-up sandals

Outerwear: 🧥

3. Gray zip-up hoodie

Tops: 👕

4. Black cotton tank top

5. Gray cotton tank top

6. Old Navy road trip t-shirt in black

7. Turquoise eyelet and cotton sleeveless top

8. Turquoise tank top

9. Workout tops (old t-shirts with the sleeves and necklines cut off)

Bottoms: 🩳

10. Black cotton shorts

11. Black short biker shorts

12. Turquoise capris

13. Black capri-length leggings

14. Navy casual skirt over shorts 

Dress: 👗

15. Strapless knee-length sundress in black

Jewelry: 💎

16. essential oil diffuser necklace

17. smartwatch

Accessories 👛👒🕶

18. black cotton purse

19. Ecogear backpack

20. sun hat

21. sunglasses 

Quite a bit shorter than last time, but it still seems like plenty of clothing. Stay tuned for crafty updates.

 

My minimalist living room makeover on a budget

Since my budget bedroom makeover is complete, I felt like I might as well work on the rest of my little apartment. I can't really do anything with the kitchen, so that leaves the living room and dining area (they're not really separate rooms).

I shoved a bunch of furniture from the bedroom into the dining room during my bedroom makeover. Now it's time to reorganize and do a low-key minimalist makeover of my living room and dining room!

Here's what's in store in this post:

1. My current living and dining room layout
2. Prep and decluttering
3. Choosing a theme
4. My new floor plan
5. Decorating my space

If you don't have time to read the article now, you can save it to Pinterest for later.

1. My current living and dining room layout

In case you didn't catch my last post, I took my desk, chair, and a bookcase and put them in the living/dining room. The existing furniture included a futon I use as a sofa, a TV on a TV stand, and some miscellaneous items. Here's what it looked like before I moved furniture in from the bedroom.

I'm using that app that only has one template for drawing again. which is why the upper rooms (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen) are listed as "partial." At least half of them aren't visible.

Anyway, you can see how the main area has one big window and the entry is in the bottom right corner (the brown indicates the fake wood flooring). There's a half wall at the entry that I use to rest my keys, sunglasses, etc. To the left is the living room, and to the right is the dining room.

The kitchen is open to the dining room (no separating wall) and has a 2-level countertop. One level is taller, but the part that's in the dining room is table height. I think maybe you call it a breakfast bar? I have a couple of chairs there, and it's where I eat many of my meals. I have a little tray table too, and sometimes I eat in front of the TV as well.

When I moved into this apartment, I was using the futon as my bed and I didn't have any living room or dining room furniture. I had a roommate in my first apartment, and she brought all the furniture for the common area. When we went our separate ways, I got this place. Since it had that bar area already, I decided not to spend money on a dining room table. I upgraded my bed instead, plus I bought the TV stand, a TV, and the chairs. I do lots of arts and crafts stuff, so it's more important to me to have a place to do that than it is to have a dining set.

I don't have a coffee table either, because the futon opens up into a bed and it would have to get pushed out of the way if I had a table. Sometimes I use the futon for guests, but obviously not lately. Sometimes I lay it flat just for myself to lounge on while I watch a movie.

I didn't buy end tables in the living room because the arms of the futon are wooden and they're flat, so I can set a drink or the remotes on there.

When I was younger, I guess I was really into pine with a light-colored stain, because that's what color all my furniture is. So it all looks similar. It isn't really my favorite anymore, but there's no way I'm replacing everything anytime soon. So it'll work for now.

You could say this area is already sort of minimalist. But with the addition of the desk and bookcase, I feel the need to organize things better and make my space look nicer. I also hide my workout stuff and arts/crafts stuff in my bedroom closet when people come over because it looks messy to me. But I want to keep them out and also have everything look nice.

2. Prep and decluttering

As with my bedroom makeover, I did a declutter and deep cleaning of the living/dining space. There wasn't much to declutter, but I did take down all the artwork/photos from the walls. I didn't want what was already there to influence my decisions about what would come next, so I stacked them against the wall in my bedroom.

My main issue, as I mentioned, was the stuff in the dining area. I've thought for a while that I needed better storage for everything over there. I don't like how it's all just laying on the floor in plastic containers or not in any container at all.

3. Choosing a theme

As with my bedroom, I can't paint the walls or change the flooring. But there are a few things in my favor. First, all the furniture has similar wood grain and stain, so nothing looks mismatched. It's also neutral enough in color and design that it can sort of blend into the background.

Second, the futon has a zipper cover in forest green. I can't for the life of me remember why I loved dark green and pinewood when I was younger. But I can easily change out the cover.

So that just leaves deciding on an overall theme and colors. While the blue and white theme in my bedroom is soothing, I don't think it's exactly what I was looking for in the common area. I also don't like the way the paler blues look with the pine furniture. That's why I moved it out and stuck my pine dresser in the closet.

I researched what colors go well with pine, and the recommendation was for jewel tones, especially dark green (haha). But I just kept going back to blue. Not blue like my bedroom, but I found a teal blue cotton twill futon cover for only $30. I looked everywhere, and as usual, Amazon was the cheapest. Other places I looked at had similar options for $60-$150. Other colors in jewel tones were navy blue, purple, and burgundy. Two of those looked too dark, and the third (the purple) looked kinda weird to me. More red tones than I would like. So teal it is!

Given that the futon is the only piece of upholstered furniture in these rooms, the theme became "teal and pine" or something along those lines.

The color of my new cover on a futon frame similar to mine

4. My new floor plan

Other than changing the color of my futon cover, there wasn't much to do. I just needed to arrange any new furniture brought into the room and think about decorating the walls. 

The only other issue was what to do with the mess in my dining room. While I would love to get a fancy arts and crafts organizer system from a place like Ikea or The Container Store, that's just not in the budget right now.

However, I did need a better setup in that area so I ended up adding a few pieces that I found for free on Craigslist. There were a lot of options, but I was limited to what would fit in my car and that I could carry myself. I settled on two things: 

I think this used to be a game table. I left the chairs behind for someone else.

This dresser fits all my miscellaneous crafts and exercise items.

The table isn't in the best shape, but that's fine because I'm using it as my sewing table and for art projects, so it will only get worse from here! Based on what I'm using it for, I saw no reason to search for something more aesthetically pleasing or to try to fix it up. It could be a good place to place food, and I have a white table cloth I can throw over it for when friends come by. The rest of the time, it's just me and I don't mind how the table looks.

The dresser just needed a quick cleaning and it was good to go. It's close enough in color to my existing furniture and far enough away from the other pieces that I'm satisfied with it "matching." The tall door on the right side is the perfect height to store my yoga mat and other workout equipment. Meanwhile, the drawers are great for fabric, art supplies, yarn, and whatever else I need to get creative.

After I moved things around a few times, I came up new floor plan I'm happy about. Here it is.

I emptied the contents of the storage totes into the new dresser and put them on the top shelf of my closet for now. I'll keep them for a while and give them away if I don't end up using them for something.

I'm very happy with how things are. When I'm painting, I can set up my paints on the new table (I was using the tray table before) and have plenty of room. My sewing machine now has a permanent spot on the back corner of the table (unless I'm using it) and I still have enough space to work on other things. If I need to sit down either in front of the easel or the craft table, I can grab either my balance ball chair or one of the chairs from my breakfast bar.

The futon and TV setup stayed almost the same. I just moved the futon back a little so there was better traffic flow now that the desk is there. The balance ball doesn't quite fit under the desk when it's on its stand, so when I want it completely out of the way, I can move it in front of the craft table.

I like having my desk under the window. I take more breaks from working to look outside. But I read that's better for your eyes anyway to move your eyes away from the screen when you're staring at a computer all day. I can tilt my blinds just right so I can see out but nobody can see back in, and it's nice to have the option of a breeze and some fresh air while I work too.

5. Decorating my new space

I thought about getting some throw pillows for the futon but decided I don't want to spend the money right now. Ditto for the meditation cushion I was eyeing. If/when I splurge on that, it will probably go in the top left corner of the living room, behind the futon. I probably get the purple color (I bet you thought I was going to say teal!).

I may also switch out my white table cloth for one that matches the slipcover (or coordinating color). Anything but white, because that's just asking for trouble if I put any food on it.

As for the artwork, I didn't really theme my choices. My decisions were informed more by the sizes and placement, plus what I want to look at. I put a few pics on the back wall where my bedroom door is. I decided the dining room (AKA the craft space) will be used to display past and future artwork that I make myself. I put up a few pieces and may add some more as I create them.

There are still some blank walls: the one next to the futon and the one behind the TV. I think I will leave the TV wall blank, and leave the other wall as more real estate for my own work as I make it.

In total, I spent ~$30 for the new futon cover plus whatever it cost in gas to pick up the 2 pieces of furniture.

I have some final thoughts I wanted to share about the bedroom and living/dining room makeovers. 

• None of these changes were a necessity. I just thought it would be nice to do something different, and an interesting experience to share in blog posts.
• If you're wondering why I didn't include pictures of the rooms, it's because I'm a private person, and it feels invasive to me to share pictures of my home with strangers on the internet. Also, my current phone camera is garbage when it comes to high-quality images. I tried to take pics. No matter what angles and lighting I used, I wasn't happy with the results. You probably won't see too many pictures I took myself on this blog.
• I could have done these makeovers with less money. For even cheaper makeovers, I could have gotten a bedsheet from the thrift store and used that to make my bed skirt. I could have used a thrift store-bought comforter, throw, or pillows to change the look of my futon (although $30 is pretty darn good for a cotton cover). 
• This could have been a free makeover. I could have simply moved around my furniture and/or added the free stuff I found on Craigslist. There are often decorative items for free on there too; if you're patient and persistent, you can find the right stuff.

Despite these caveats, I'm glad I did these makeovers. I think my apartment is much more functional and pleasing to the eye than how I had things before. Even though the old floor plan was fine, I didn't put much thought into it when I moved in.  Looking at everything with a critical eye after using the space for some time allowed me to come up with alternatives to what existed.

If you will do/have done your own makeover on a budget, comment below about what you changed and how you like it!

How to create a minimalist bedroom on a budget

After downsizing my clothing and creating a capsule wardrobe, I decided I wanted the rest of my bedroom to feel as organized and comfortable as my closet. So I started searching for how to create a minimalist bedroom on a budget. I'm going to share my favorite tips with you and how I used them in my bedroom.

1. Preparing the bedroom for a makeover

2. Deciding on a minimalist theme

3. Picking a furniture layout

4. Setting up and decorating my bedroom

If you don't have time to read the article now, you can save it to Pinterest for later.

I wouldn't mind that view from my bedroom!

1. Preparing the bedroom for a makeover

So you know where I started from, my bedroom initially had no particular style to it. It was just a collection of furniture that sort of matched and various pieces of artwork that I liked. The first thing I needed to do was cut down on miscellaneous items in my bedroom. I went around the room and re-homed things that didn't need to be in my bedroom, like my keys, a stack of mail, etc. 

I also wanted to do a different furniture layout (more about that later), so I figured I might as well remove everything from the walls. But before working on that, I decided to pare down my possessions further by using the steps listed in our decluttering article.

After that was done, I moved out all the furniture except for my bed and did a deep cleaning. I even washed all the walls.

This portion of the project took me all day, and I ended up sleeping with just my bed in the middle of my bedroom. I was tempted to keep just the bed and ditch all the other furniture. But I decided that was a bit extreme for now, so I went on to do research about what overall theme I wanted for the bedroom.

2. Deciding on a minimalist theme

I wanted something simple and peaceful. I'm not allowed to paint my walls, hang any window coverings, or put holes in the walls (it's a rental), so I was limited in how far I could take any theme. The walls are white-ish (let's call them off-white), the carpet is beige, the furniture is a natural pine, and I wanted to keep my blue bedding. I thought if I switched out or removed the pine furniture, I could have a blue-and-white theme.

I'm not sure if you can call this a "minimalist" theme per se. When I looked up minimalist bedroom styles, some of the suggestions I found were Japanese, Scandinavian, Zen, Boho, neutral, black-and-white, and all-white. None of those really matched my personal tastes very well.

Bohemian bedroom

But I really love the color blue and find it very relaxing. I think it pairs well with white, too. To make it more interesting, I wanted different shades of blue. So I decided to take this concept and make it minimalist. I'm not much for knick-knacks anyway, so I figured I could easily create the look I wanted without over-decorating. My color palette was inspired by this look:

3. Picking a furniture layout

My bedroom used to have my bed, a small dresser, a bookcase, my desk, and a balance ball chair in it. In case you didn't catch that, I did not have any bedside tables. My bed was against one wall in the corner with my desk next to it, so I used that as a sort of nightstand. Here's how my furniture was arranged.

The blue line above the bed indicates the window.

Pretty crowded, right? Yep, my place is small.

I didn't want my desk in my bedroom any longer, and I didn't want the bookcase in there either. During the purging and cleaning process, you may remember I had already moved out everything except for my bed from the room. So those pieces stayed out (I'll figure out what to do with them later). 

I wanted to keep the dresser, but I had this idea to put it in my closet. I got rid of so many clothes that this was easy to do. Now, most of my clothes are folded up in the dresser and the rest are hanging up on one side of the closet.

It was annoying to make the bed when it was in the corner because two sides were against the wall. Since I was taking a bunch of other furniture out, I decided to center the bed along the back wall so I could walk on both sides of it.

Next on my list was finding bedside tables (two of them, for visual balance), lamps, and something I always wanted--a chest to put at the foot of the bed. I figured if I could find a good deal, then I'd get it. If not, then it would wait.

I did a quick sketch of my bedroom and how I wanted the furniture placed so you can visualize what I'm talking about.

I should mention the drawing isn't to scale. It looks like the door might hit the chest, but there's actually a foot or two of room there. I'm using a free program to draw this, and it only makes square drawings. The room is more like a vertical rectangle. So no worries there.

Either way, it's a small room, so removing that additional furniture will help with how cramped it felt and definitely make it more minimalist.

4. Setting up and decorating my bedroom

My bed is just a simple metal frame with a memory foam mattress (and plywood to support the memory foam). I thought about getting rid of the frame and putting the mattress on the floor, but I like the look of it elevated. I think the room would be too bottom-heavy if the largest piece of furniture is low to the ground.

Putting my mattress on the floor isn't the look I want.

However, the metal frame is ugly. I didn't want to buy a new bed frame, so I looked into ideas to make it more attractive. This project looked interesting, but it felt intimidating for me to do on my own. Another suggestion was to wrap the legs and rails in overlapping ribbons, maybe with cotton batting underneath. I would have to pull the mattress and plywood off to do that, so that was a hard pass.

I wanted to try making my own pleated bed skirt. I don't want a traditional ruffly skirt--that's not my style. Except when I priced out fabric, it was going to be way more expensive to make one myself than to just buy one. So I bought this one from Bed Bath & Beyond in ivory. It has good reviews and is relatively affordable, plus I didn't have to take the whole mattress off to attach it--I just slid the mattress side to side and attached in to the plywood. The fabric quality is just okay, but it will work for now. It hides those ugly metal corners and wheels well enough.

I already have a sheet set in a soft grayish-blue, and last year I got myself a weighted blanket to see if it would improve my sleep. I chose the brand Luna because the blankets themselves are eco-friendly, but was very disappointed when the duvet covers that came with mine were 100% polyester. It took two washes to get the chemical smell to go away. However, it looks like now they have duvet covers in 100% cotton. Here's the color I got for my duvet if you want to see it. They sell their products on Amazon as well, but I bought them straight from the manufacturer's website because they have much better prices there.

Since I already had the bedding in the colors I wanted, once I added the bed skirt, my bed's makeover was complete. On to find the rest of my furniture.

First things first, I needed bedside tables. New ones were more than I wanted to spend, so I started looking at used pieces. I found two of these bar stools at a thrift store, for $5 each:

The stools are about 13" around on the top. All I need space for is a lamp, water bottle, phone, and a book. So far, everything fits. I thought that if it starts to feel too small I could add larger glass tops to increase the surface area.  I really like the minimalist aesthetic that these stools brought to the room, and they can be extra seating whenever I have people over!

I also needed small table lamps to go on each table. At first, I fell in love with a set of these:

But I'm way too frugal to spend $60 on a couple of lamps. So I decided it was time for an easy project. I bought 66 feet of fairy lights. I put one end of the lights into a mason jar I already had. A quick tip: it helps to turn them on while you're putting them in the jar to see if you have enough lights inside. Then I ran the lights up over my window (they sit on top of the blinds), down the other side, and put more lights into a second jar on top of the other table. Since the jars were free, I spent about $10 on new bedside lighting! This is similar to what my "lamps" look like.

Last on my list was a storage chest. Wow, they are expensive. I didn't find an affordable option. It isn't like I really need it. I just thought it would be a nice place to sit down while getting ready, and a place I can store my off-season clothes and extra blankets. I'll keep looking, but it's fine if I don't get one.

The last thing I wanted to do was add some artwork to the walls. I put back up some pictures of family and friends. I also used some pictures of the ocean and sky I took over the years. I printed them out on photo paper and put them in frames I already had. Here's a beach picture I took during a trip several years ago:

Oh, and here's a tip for renters who can't put nails in the walls like me: I use 3M Command Strips. In fact, I'd probably use them even if I could use a hammer and nail instead, because they allow me to place things exactly where I want. With a nail, you have to figure out where to put the hole, which is not the same place as where you want the frame to sit. This is way less complicated.

Overall, things worked out well. I started off with one design and ended with a different result, but that's OK too. I think when you have a small budget (I spent about $65 total), you have to be willing to change your plans. Also, if I'd researched furniture costs ahead of time, I might have gotten discouraged and decided it was too expensive to even try. Improvising along the way allowed me to come up with satisfying alternatives to my original ideas.

I love how airy and soothing my bedroom feels now. I have just slightly more furniture than I need (with the extra bedside table and lamp), but I like the symmetry of the two tables. 

I think this is also the first time ever that I've had a fully coordinated room where everything matched and there was a theme. I always thought something like that would be more time-consuming and take a lot more money. Another win for minimalism!

Next, I'll have to work on my living and dining room, because it's suddenly very crowded in there. But it doesn't seem so intimidating now that I've handled the bedroom. 

How to create a neutral capsule wardrobe for spring 2021

Happy spring! In this post, I will talk about creating a capsule wardrobe for my favorite season. Here are some of the concepts we'll go over:

What is a capsule wardrobe?

How to design a capsule wardrobe

How do I choose what goes in the capsule?

What do I do with the rest of my clothes?

Do I need to shop for pieces for my capsule wardrobe?

How many items should I have in my collection?

What happens if I need something that isn't in the capsule wardrobe?

The benefits of using a capsule wardrobe

Details about my personal capsule wardrobe

If you don't have time to read this post now, feel free to pin it for later!

I briefly mentioned capsule wardrobes in my last post, which was about how minimalism makes life easier. As promised, now you'll get the full scoop and lots of tips I found while learning how to build my own capsule.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

If you haven't heard of this term before, a capsule wardrobe is a downsized collection of clothing, shoes, and accessories that you can mix and match for versatile looks. Typically, the wardrobe is used for a season, and then all or part of it is switched out for the next season.

How to design a capsule wardrobe

There are lots of different opinions about how to create a capsule wardrobe. I read about a few of them and chose what I liked best to create my own capsule. Here are the guidelines I decided on:

• Every piece has to be in good condition and expected to last through the season. They all have to fit, be comfortable, and be something I feel good about when I'm wearing.
• The capsule has to be fewer items than I own that I would normally wear during that season. So if I have 50 items that I would normally wear during the spring, it's cheating to include all 50. Some of them have to be left out. Out of 50, I would probably say 40 or 45 would be my max for the capsule, but that's just a general idea, not a hard-and-fast rule.
• Each item has to match up with at least 3 other pieces in the capsule. This is how I narrowed down what to include--so if I had a top that would only look good with one pair of pants, that stayed out of the capsule.
• The collection does include outerwear, like jackets and sweaters, but doesn't include sleepwear, swimwear, and workout clothing. I'm not counting hair clips or hair elastics because I never use anything fancy. I'm also not including socks, because that just seems silly. All my socks are basic and are hidden by my shoes. But if I was including tights, I would have those as part of my capsule because they're more visible. Don't fault my logic--you do you. 

Some people do a "work outfits capsule" and a separate capsule for clothes they wear outside of work. If you have a job with a strict dress code that doesn't match your off-work attire at all, I guess that's a good idea. But that isn't really necessary for me right now, and probably not if I ever transition back into an office.

I used a few more tips, but I'll talk about those more later in the post.

How do I choose what goes in the capsule?

Once you have your rules ready, you want to start reviewing all the items in your closet. I would start with clothing and move on to shoes and accessories after.

I took out all my clothes (except for PJs, underwear, socks, and workout stuff) and put them on my bed. First, I put aside the stuff that I know I'm not going to be using in the spring, like my winter coat and snow boots (I hope, anyway!).

Next, I took out any items that I should have donated last spring--stuff that I just don't wear anymore because I don't like it or need repairs.

Once that's done, I had a much smaller pile of clothes. I separated them into dresses, tops, bottoms, and outerwear. This is where I brought out a notepad and a pen. I made a list of all the pieces. Then I put together outfits in my head. Each time a piece made it into an outfit, I put a checkmark next to each of them.

When I ran out of ideas, I looked at my list. For the clothing that didn't have 3 checkmarks next to it, I asked myself if there were any more outfit combinations I hadn't thought of. Or, if I even cared whether this stayed in the capsule or not. More clothes got eliminated this way.

Next, I went through the same process with my shoes, belts, bags, and jewelry.

What do I do with the rest of my clothes?

So you're not tempted to sneak more clothing into your capsule wardrobe, I recommend taking the rest of the items and putting them elsewhere. I do this anyway for my off-season items, so it was no different in that aspect. There was just more clothing to put away this time. You can put them in storage bins in another room, in a different closet, under your bed, or wherever. Just try not to leave them in the same place as your capsule wardrobe.

This is a good time to donate anything you don't want anymore, too!

Do I need to shop for pieces for my capsule wardrobe?

Of course, the fashion industry has caught on to this trend of creating capsule wardrobes. If it were up to them, you'd buy all brand-new clothes for each season's capsule! But since I'm not a trust fund kid, I used a lot of what was already in my closet.

However, I was going for an overall neutral look (I wanted to wear mostly black and gray), so I ended up buying a few things to fill in some gaps. I probably could have done without the new clothes, but I was still phasing out my shopping habit. Plus, I donated a lot of stuff, so in the end, I have fewer clothes than I did before.

If you usually buy a lot of pieces on impulse, you may want to plan ahead a month or so with your capsule wardrobe. What I mean by that is, if you typically buy something just because it's cute or on sale, but doesn't necessarily match with anything else you own, then you might not have the right clothes to mix and match into several outfits. If you want to give the capsule a try, you might have to buy more clothing at first to make it work.

This is probably against some minimalist rule, but in my opinion, a capsule wardrobe isn't necessarily about wearing fewer clothing pieces. It's about reserving your time and energy for other things that are more important than the precious minutes (or hours) you might spend trying to figure out what to wear. 

How many items should I have in my collection?

Steve Jobs had a capsule wardrobe to the extreme, where he wore the same thing every day: a black long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I believe he said he did it so he could better focus his creative energy.

Courtesy of www.businessinsider.com

Obviously, it isn't necessary to go to the extreme of having several sets of identical clothing. Most of us prefer more variety than that! We aren't all running multi-billion-dollar companies, either, so maybe we don't need as much brainpower focused on something other than clothes? 

Anyway, for us non-billionaires who just want to make getting ready slightly less complicated, how many items should be in a capsule wardrobe? I don't have a strict answer for you. Like I said, I ended up with fewer clothes than I would normally wear, but I didn't want to limit myself too much for my first try. I do see a lot of examples that have between 30 and 40 items, for your reference. I'll tell you how many pieces I have in an upcoming section of this post.

What happens if I need something that isn't in the capsule wardrobe?

Then add it in. Obviously. If you get invited to a black-tie event and you don't have any formal wear in your capsule, then take it out of storage, buy it, whatever. Then put it away again after the event.

However, if you realize that you made a mistake in your planning and left something important out, try to swap it out for something you're not using as much. But in the end, you have to do whatever you're most comfortable with. I doubt the fashion police are going to come to arrest you regardless. These are all just suggestions based on the decisions I made that worked well for me.

The benefits of using a capsule wardrobe

This spring is my first-ever capsule wardrobe, and I wanted to try it for a few weeks before I published this post. So far, the biggest change I noticed is how clean my closet seems. It's so empty! I didn't realize how cramped things were until I moved out everything except my capsule wardrobe.

It also definitely made things easier for me to choose an outfit. I feel like I can pick up just about any piece of clothing and match it with any other piece of clothing in this wardrobe. And yeah, everything is in neutrals, so why wouldn't it work together?

My time getting ready has been reduced down to how long it takes me to put the clothes on. Really fast. I love it!

My only complaint is that sometimes, I want a little pop of color, and I didn't allow for that. I thought about swapping stuff out, but I decided to wait. For the next season, I think I'll try to challenge myself some more with non-neutral colors.

Details about my personal capsule wardrobe

I thought about making one of those collages that other people have done with their capsule wardrobes, where they have all their pieces laid out in outfits or grouped by type, all in one picture.

But I have no idea how to do that, nor do I want to try to photograph all my pieces of clothing. So instead, I found shopping websites that have pictures of my clothes (or something close). If I found a website, then the clothing has a link. If not, I just described the clothing.

Here's my neutral spring 2021 capsule wardrobe!

Shoes: 👠

1. Skechers flats in black

2. Black lace-up sandals

3. Black tactical boots

4. Barefoot running shoes in blue (yes, blue!)

Outerwear: 🧥

5. Eddie Bauer Girl on the Go Trenchcoat

6. Free People gray moto style jacket

7. Gray zip-up hoodie

8. Crochet poncho

Tops: 👕

9. Black cotton tank top

10. White cotton tank top

11. Old Navy road trip t-shirt in black

12. Gray 3/4 sleeve knit top

13. Mossimo black sleeveless peplum top

Bottoms: 🩳

14. Gray leggings

15. Dark wash denim shorts

16. Dark wash jeans

17. Black Capri-length leggings

18. Fair Indigo black pencil skirt

19. Dark gray joggers

Dresses: 👗

20. Black and white sundress (mine has straps)

21. Strapless knee-length sundress in black

Jewelry: 💎

22. essential oil diffuser necklace

23. silver ring with Om symbol 🕉

24. plain silver hoop earrings

25. ear cuffs

26. smartwatch

27. silver prayer box necklace

28. vintage-y crystal and silver bracelet

Accessories 👛👒🕶

29. black cotton purse

30. shiny black purse

31. Ecogear backpack

32. sun hat

33. sunglasses 

I laughed when I counted all of these up because there's a capsule wardrobe concept developed by minimalist Courtney Carver called Project 333 (pronounced "three thirty-three", which I think refers to 33 items every 3 months). She has a book, an online course, and a free challenge you can participate in. I found her blog posts about capsule wardrobes a good starting place to figure out what works for me.

I wasn't aiming for 33 items or any other number. I just followed the instructions I wrote above and that's how it turned out!

I'm definitely having fun with this though. I love organizing stuff, so even the planning part was fun for me. I'm looking forward to doing this again for the summer, at which point I'll update you on how the spring capsule worked for me and give you the details about my summer capsule!

Minimalist lifestyle: 5 reasons why life is easier with minimalism

Life can be easier with minimalism--if you do it right!

In our previous post, 5 Common Misconceptions about Minimalism, we revealed the negative image of minimalism. These opinions are probably why people give up trying to be minimalist, or why they don't try at all. If you believe any of these misconceptions, it would be easy to get frustrated by a minimalist lifestyle!

So if you haven't already, I recommend you read that post first, then come back and learn about 5 reasons that life can be easier with minimalism. I also give you tips on how to make changes and be more minimalist. Here's a quick preview:

1. The minimalist lifestyle can improve your finances

2. Being more minimalist can give you more time to do things you enjoy

3. Minimalism can make your relationships better (or help you start new ones)

4. It's easier to stay organized with a minimalist life

5. You can reduce your stress with a minimalist lifestyle

If you don't have time to read it now, you can pin this post for later.

1. The minimalist lifestyle can improve your finances

I've only been minimalist for a few months, but I've already noticed that my bank account isn't as empty. Being stuck inside for the past ~year led me to do a lot of online shopping and ordering takeout. I did it because at first, all the stores and restaurants were closed, then because it didn't feel safe to shop in person, and mostly because I was bored.

All those shipping fees, restaurant delivery fees, and COVID price gouging started adding up. Suddenly, a $2 bottle of hand sanitizer cost $25--what?! It's a good thing that I didn't have a commute anymore and couldn't go out to dinner with friends because I didn't have money for that after buying toilet paper and cleaning supplies. 🙄

By making a few small changes in my shopping habits, I saved a ton of money and still bought things I enjoyed.

• I waited until I met the minimum purchase for free shipping before placing an order. Sometimes, things I wanted would go out of stock while I waited, but it wasn't like I needed them. I didn't apply this rule to necessities.
• I started picking up my take-out meals and doing curbside pickup of groceries instead of getting everything delivered. I know some people make a living off delivering food, and I'm sorry to take away money from them. But I shouldn't help anyone if I can't pay my own bills.
• I paid myself first. This means I set up an automatic transfer of part of my paycheck to go directly into savings. That way, I didn't have the chance to spend the money accidentally while it was sitting in my checking account.

2. Being more minimalist can give you more time to do things you enjoy

When I first started to be more minimalist, it definitely kept me busy. Making a change takes time and energy. It can also cause a lot of stress, especially if your life is already busy. This is probably where a lot of people get frustrated and give up.

This time when we're all social distancing is a good opportunity to make those minimalist changes. Chances are that you're doing less of something right now, so you have some free time. Once you've finished the transition, you get to keep the free time you gained.

I did a few things that may sound weird to you, but give them a try if you're comfortable with them. I guarantee they will give you more time in your schedule!

• I don't do laundry more than once per week. I used to do it about twice a week for just myself, and that took a lot of time. Now I just wait. I also have fewer clothes to wash, because...
• Since I rarely go out, I, ahem, re-use my clothes. Some of them, anyway. Before you get grossed out, I don't wear my underwear more than once. And obviously, any sweaty workout clothes don't get re-used. But if I'm only wearing clothes for an hour to run a quick errand, are they really dirty? If they still look and smell clean, then I'll wear them once more before they go into the washing machine. I also have a special place in my closet so they're not touching clothes that haven't been worn. I have no idea if this makes any difference germ-wise, but I do it anyway.
• Speaking of clothes, I made myself a capsule wardrobe. I'll explain more about that in my next post. But it definitely saves me time getting dressed!
• I clean for 15 minutes per day and that's it. I even set a timer. Whatever I can't get done during this speed-cleaning session has to wait until the next day. It was tough at first because I love having everything pristine. But after a few months, it stopped bothering me. It's not like my place is dirty, it's just...normal. And obviously, I don't include emergency clean-ups in my 15 minutes. If I spill a carton of orange juice on the floor, I clean that up and still get my 15 minutes of cleaning in later in the day.
• I use apps on my phone and laptop to restrict my social media usage. I actually HATED using these apps at first, because I would be in the middle of something and get locked out. But it really does save time! And really, I wasn't doing important things. My friends all know I use the timer so if I suddenly disappear, they know why. 😁
• All my bills are paid automatically through my bank. I had this mostly set up already. But I never set up my credit cards to withdraw automatic payments, because I was scared I would overdraft my bank account. Now that my budget is more organized, I feel comfortable enough to set this up for an automatic withdrawal. I have a list of all my regular bills, when they come out, and how much they are. I just check my balance once a week to make sure there's enough money for the bills and how much is left over. It only takes about 5 minutes.
• I decided to cut back on TV watching. I used to just keep it on in the background. But now I only watch my very favorite shows, and I limit it to two hours in the evening. Then I do other things before bed that don't involve screens, like some easy yoga and reading a book.

3. Minimalism can make your relationships better (or help you start new ones)

I'm not a very outgoing person, but I do like to spend quality time with close friends. Freeing up extra time meant I could concentrate more on those relationships, even though we couldn't see each other in person the same way.

Since my gym has been closed, some of my friends and I started doing "walk dates" where we'd meet at various parks or trails and take walks with our masks on. 

We also text or call each other like we did before, but more often. I think everyone in my circle of people, including me, has felt the need to check in on each other more during this strange time. Luckily, none of us got infected so far, but we still worry about each other and need some extra support.

I've been really good at following the social distancing rules. I haven't invited anyone over, and I haven't visited anyone's house. Sometimes my place feels lonely, but I have more time to work on hobbies! I think it's good to be alone and get re-acquainted with yourself every once in a while.

I also decided to join some online groups when I wanted to learn more about minimalism, as well as some forums that talk about hobbies I'm interested in. I haven't met any of these people in person, but it's been nice chatting with like-minded individuals.

If you're hesitant to meet people in person right now (you should be!), it's relatively easy to find free online groups to join in just about any category of interest. These interactions can lead to genuine friendships based on those common interests.

4. It's easier to stay organized with a more minimalist life

This is in part because of all the recent online shopping, but my apartment started to feel very claustrophobic lately. I felt like I spent a lot more time cleaning and trying to put things away because there was so. much. stuff. 

I even ended up buying a few things that I already had, because I couldn't find them! And my apartment isn't that big, so it's pretty sad that anything got lost inside it.

Luckily, because it's such a small space, decluttering wasn't that bad. I used the methods listed in our article, How to Declutter in 5 Steps. I got it all done in 2 weekends, and bam! Life got so much easier.

It wasn't just my physical space that became more organized because of minimalism. As I mentioned, I freed up time by cutting back on things that I didn't need to do and weren't as important to my life. It's crazy how much time I was wasting, and I didn't even realize! But if you add it all up, it leaves big gaps in your schedule so you can easily organize the stuff you actually need and want to do.

5. You can reduce your stress with a minimalist lifestyle

As you read the above reasons that explain how minimalism makes life easier, you could probably guess that making these changes would reduce your stress level. 

Having more free time for friends and family, relaxing, exercise, healthier eating, or hobbies would certainly reduce stress. 

Making even small changes like these had an unexpected side effect: a shift in my mindset and perspective about life in general. I became happier in many areas of my life, and at least more content in others. Of course, we're still in the middle of a pandemic, and there are lots of problems with the economy, social issues, and lots more. So to say I'm ecstatic about life would be a stretch.

But despite everything going on, I'd say I'm reasonably happy and fulfilled. Especially compared to last year. I see now that I was trying to self-medicate with empty distractions, like mindless spending and consumption of media.

I'm definitely not perfect. I'm new to all of this minimalist stuff and have a long way to go before I'd consider myself really minimalist. But I'm sure that things are still way better for me than they would be if I hadn't become more minimalist.

These steps were fairly painless and didn't make me feel restricted at all. Maybe I'll make more cutbacks in these categories in the future, but for right now I'm good with things how they are. 

If you're thinking of making any of these changes, I suggest going slowly and taking breaks. It's important to give yourself time to adjust to anything new. That way, you're less likely to get burned out and go back to how things were before.