A new blog

I decided to start a new blog because I felt the topics I want to write about didn't really fit this blog anymore. I won't take this blog down because I love to read old blogs and I'm sure there are people who'd like to read old posts on here. Thank you for your views, your comments and encouragement. I really enjoyed being part of the community.

If you like, you can follow me on my new blog.

The day before the plastic diet

Tomorrow is the first day of the plastic diet. I've been wanting to participate in a zero waste challenge since it caught my attention. I discovered that during the month of September, there is a 30 day challenge called 'the plastic diet'. I'm not sure about the rules of this challenge so I came up with a couple of rules of my own.

- Refuse all single-use plastic (cutlery, cups, straws, bags, condiments etc.)
- Avoid plastic packaging as much as possible.
- Use my keepcup if I want to take coffee or tea on the go.
- Buying things packaged in paper or metal is okay (because these can be recycled properly, unlike plastic)
- Write a post every couple of days showing my grocery hauls and write about other zero-waste related topics.
- Put my trash in a trash jar (I got a big cookie jar in a cupboard lying aroun, use what you already have :) )



My first 'low-waste' haul. Bags for the fruit and bread, glass bottles for the yoghurt (unfortunately with a plastic lid) and chocolate milk. I returned the ice-tea bottle to the store and got my 25 cents back.

I really look forward to the next 30 days and I'm curious to see how much plastic I can avoid.

with love,

Jip.

It's been a long time...

The last time I wrote on my blog was two years ago. A lot has changed since then. My last internship will start in two weeks, my boyfriend and I moved in together and we got a lovely cat named Ginger. But more about that in another post.

I also recently found a new 'purpose' in life: producing as less plastic waste and to live as sustainable as possible. My goal (at least for now) is a zero waste lifestyle, but less waste might be more realistic. I've been educating myself on the subject  by reading articles and watching videos on Youtube and I find the possibilities fascinating. I already incorporated a lot of things into my routines, like taking my own bags when grocery shopping, going to the farmers market instead of the supermarket, using a reusable coffee cup, I replaced my toothbrush with a bamboo one instead of a plastic one and so on, and I really enjoy it. So on my blog I want to document my wins and losses regarding this lifetsyle. It recently occured to me that a lot of things in the zero waste community are quite old-fashioned (for example, the shopping resembles the way people would do it in the past). Therefore, I think the name of my blog fits perfectly.

Are you interested in producing less plastic waste?

With love, Jip.

Another year has come to an end

This year really flew by, didn't it? I can picture last New Years Eve as if it were yesterday, and in two days it'll be time again to celebrate the new year!

Source

 For the last two years, I believe I have been writing my New Years resolutions (a couple of them, anyway) on this blog so I can see how I did at the end of that year. It's become some kind of a tradition and I really want to do it again, but first, let's see how I did this year:

• Be more healthy: just like at the beginning of this year, it is something I am still working on. Sometimes it can be so hard to resist the tempation of junk food, especially when in company or when feeling not so great. But in the end, I always feel better when eating healthy, so I want to do that more often because it is better for me than just eating whatever I like, and feel good temporarily.

• Teach myself how to properly paint nails: I have been painting my nails more often than I did in the past, but nail polish is actually not allowed at myinternship, so I only wear a translucent one during the week and then sometimes I paint them when I go to school, or on the weekends, Speaking of nailpolish, I just dropped the brush on my boyfriends duvet cover so I have to be more careful. But at least the colour is pretty!

• Stress less about everything and think positive: Again, this is something I'm still working on. This actually became worse this year and I really feel like I just have to snap out of it. There was a time when I did not stress about things this much. so i should be able to 

• Be a little more outgoing: This is something that has improved so much and I am really happy about it! I still feel really self-conscious when I talk to someone or when I am on the phone, but at least I talk to people more now.

• Get organized: I have been trowing away/donating things I do not need anymore this last year, but I still have a lot of stuff that just needs to go. In a couple of days I'll be home again so I can tackle my bedroom. I am thinking of doing a purge/declutter challenge or something similiar, so that I don't have to do everything at once.

Next to these goals from last year, which I will be working on again in the next year, I also want to add some new goals/resolutions:

• Engage in some kind of sports: I already joined a yoga class this year, but I want to do something that really gets me in shape. Running isn't very safe in the dark around my neighbourhood.. Does ayone have ideas for free at-home sports?

• Learn to sing: Or, at least, just sing sometimes, just for myself. I'm not aspiring to become a famous singer but I really like music and it can also help with my stammer, so why not try it?

• Learn to read music notes: A few years ago, I had piano lessons and I loved playing the piano. I want to be able to do it again, but first i really want to learn to read notes because it would make playing much more easy. 

• Spend more time blogging: Since changing my clothing style, I have been thinking about what I want to do with my blog, should I continue, should I stop? Should I change things? I know one thing, and that is that I LOVE writing on here, I really like expressing myself through words. And I love the fact that you, lovely readers, actually read it and leave comments, and maybe you can even recognize yourself in some things that I write. That's how I often feel when reading other peoples blogs. 

This past year I have been watching A LOT of youtube videos about self-development, and this girl is one of my fsavourite Youtubers. She made a series about resolutions/goals and it's very inspiring, here's the first video of the five-part series.

What are your resolutions for next year? Let's make 2017 amazing!

With love, Jip.