Princess Llaguno

This week, I am decluttering some items and donating them. But before I do that I made a group chat with my family members and also asked some friends if they would like to keep the items that I choose to let go of. I am able to practice a lifestyle close to minimalism but also helping out my friends and family from consumption & spending their money in a way. I also heard that Facebook has a "buy nothing" group where people post things they are choosing to declutter and you can get it for free!

Last week, I went to my parents house and helped them find more ways to eliminate their food waste. I helped them organize their pantry so that they are able to see what they have available more easily, and I also meal prepped them some food from recipes that they already had in their fridge and pantry!

This week I kept in mind how many times I used my car to go to places where I can easily walk to. For some context, I live near "shopping center" that includes restaurants, groceries, coffee shops, etc. It is easily a 10-15 minute walk for me to get to these places but before this week I would just drive to save some time. I decided to walk to the coffee shop near me to work on some midterm things instead of driving all the way to campus and it was such a delight! The fall trees are beautiful and I was able to save some gas. 

This week I kept in mind the amount of coffee I buy on campus and how I can 1.) eliminate my waste 2.) spend less. The first day I brought my reusable coffee cup and realized that many places on campus couldn't really take it due to COVID reasons which was a bummer, but totally understandable. I then decided it was probably best to start making them at home, which has saved me $5 a day-- $20 this week so far! 

This weekend my friend and I decided to drive to Browns Camp in the Tillamook National Forest! It was such a refreshing change from the city and people since I have been in and out of Portland due to commuting to campus since the term started. I loved seeing the colors of the trees change as the new season comes. We made it a deal to be off of our phones the entire time and just meditate and be away from the thoughts we would be stressing about if we were still in the city. The change of scenery definitely helped with that! On our way out, we caught the pretty sunset-- check out the cool clouds forming too! 

This week I have decided to make a consumption and economy shift towards my lifestyle-- meaning I will only buy items that I need. I began this new shift by creating a meal plan for each day of the week. I wrote out what meals I plan to cook, then created a grocery list according to those recipes. Not only has it saved me money from buying unnecessary things at the store, but it's also the beginning of lessening my waste as I will be using everything that I bought without having them expire. An additional plus is that I don't have to think about what to make for dinner anymore each night as I had already laid out 20 mins to prepare for my entire week!