Now that I think that I have pretty much accomplished having only the necessities (and some luxury items like the microwave, one bowl and two plates), I found another challenge: what products that I use are probably useless or even harmful (to me and the planet)? I found ketchup, cookies and mustard to be on that list, so I'm currently boycotting those to lead a more healthy minimalist lifestyle and save money (and The Earth).
The next one isn't for everyone and maybe a bit of an taboo. A sort of an dirty hippie thing. But... you can keep your body decently hygienic with only water. Of course you must wash hands with soap and teeth with tooth paste, but bathing soap actually isn't an necessity if you use toilet paper instead of an bidet (I think that when using bidet, soap is important in order to get all the faecal matter properly off as there might be a lot of it). Then wash the body with water when in the shower, or river, or lake. Easy, simple and minimalistic.
Also cotton swaps are useless if your pinkie finger is as small as mine. Use your fingers and water when you shower to wash your ears (don't do this if you have long finger nails). I have also found out that I don't need shampoo anymore, only water. But since I have had some weird experiences in the past with the "no-poo method" I'm not recommending that to people with long hair. It might work or might not. It also depends on the water quality in your apartment: the chemicals and how hard or soft the water is. I have never used deodorant. I had one, but always forgot to use it. And haven't used make-up in years, don't shave.
I got interested in this after sleeping on the floor for a while. I started thinking that we humans buy all sort of crazy useless things that we think we need. Well, actually, I do think that I need my tatami and futon to sleep comfortably, but back when I was sleeping on the floor I couldn't admit that it was terrible, because admitting that would have made it even more terrible. I had a thin and cheap foam hiking mat, or I still do, but I'm not using it much inside the apartment aside from some short naps and for exercising. When on a hard surface, you should either sleep on your back or if you tend to sleep on your side, dig a hole on the ground below the sleeping mat for the hip bone and shoulder. But you can't dig the floor or if you do...that might end up being a bad idea. I often woke up with my shoulder jammed in an unnatural position. Some people claim that you shouldn't encounter that sort of problems if you don't weight much, but I'm actually underweight, so... Even chimpanzees build a bed before going to sleep.
But anyways...I wonder if anyone else goes even further with their minimalism? Beyond "stuff"? And what have you learned?
thebeet.com
www.gruum.com
