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5 things I don't buy

5 things I don’t buy

Posted on January 16, 2023January 22, 2023

Over the past years I have been surprised by how many things we as people buy. Especially things we do not need, at all. Today I am sharing 5 of those things, 5 things I don’t buy myself. Marketing is extremely powerful and can make us think we need all sorts of things. I would actually say it takes time, strength and knowledge to recognize this, but also to resist it. But it is time we start doing that, because collectively we buy a lot of things we don’t need.

Here are 5 things I don’t buy:

1 Cotton Pads

Before I started a zero waste lifestyle I bought cotton pads every once I while, because I used those pads to clean my face and to remove my make-up. When I started moving towards a zero waste lifestyle this was actually one of the first things I stopped buying. Instead, I bought reusable cotton pads, which I still use today. Whenever I do wear make-up (speaking of things we don’t need …) I use those reusable pads to clean my face and afterwards I wash them. I bought them about 7/8 years ago so I can’t imagine how many resources this has saved us.

5 things I don't buy

2 candles

The second items are candles, and it took me a while to stop buying those. That’s because candles can be so cozy. For a romantic date night for example, or for a Sunday evening chill. You can even buy vegan candles and candles which can serve as decoration at the same time (some are really pretty). But what made me stop buying them was the realization of how bad they are for my health. Burning something, anything, is always bad for your health. Whether that’s wood, leaves, or candles. When you burn something, particulate matter is created. Especially inside your home, this is harmful. You breathe in particulate matter and a lot of candles have chemicals in them too.

3 lip balm

Next up: lip balm. A lot of people use that on a daily basis, without having the need. It’s just standard procedure for them. For me, I only used lip balm when my lips were really dry, mostly in winter. A few years ago I discovered that you don’t need special lip balm to do something about dry lips. It turns out you can use any oil from your kitchen cabinet. However, it is not easy to put liquid oil on your lips. Therefore I use coconut oil. Something which is already in my kitchen cabinet (I also use it for making DIY make-up remover) and it is firm. This way I can use something I already have as lip balm and I don’t need to buy it anymore.

4 body lotion

Something else I never buy: body lotion. The smell of body lotion on your body is nice, but I personally don’t ever need it. I don’t have dry skin, ever. Sometimes, mostly in winter, my feet are a little dry, but that’s all. Body lotion therefore is just nice for the smell, but it is not necessary at all. I never buy it and if I do need something to put on my feet, I use oil I have in my kitchen cabinet already: coconut oil. Yes, coconut oil can have many purposes.

5 all purpose cleaner

Two years ago I found out that it’s really simple to make an all purpose cleaner yourself. Only two ingredients and extremely easy to make. I even wrote a post about it, to share the recipe. I was a little skeptical at first, but I have never gone back to store-bought all purpose cleaner. The DIY version is cheap, simple, easy to make, non-toxic and it does the trick. I think I have saved a lot of money already the past two years. I use the DIY all purpose cleaner for my toilet, the sinks, the floor, the kitchen, it’s magical. And I really think it’s healthier for me.

Twice before

That’s it for today! Those were 5 things I don’t buy. This is actually the third post in this series. Read more about those other posts here and here. This means that so far, I’ve listed 15 items that I don’t buy at all or no longer buy. I think the list will get longer the coming years. Minimalism has brought me a lot so far. I have so much space in my head for other things and I have saved many euros too.

We need very little

And that brings me to my next point. Over the years I have really thought about minimalism long and hard. And if you really want to, you can minimalize much more. But the question is always whether I want to. I mean, if you think about it, make-up is something which I don’t need. Yet, I still have it. That’s because it makes me happy and feel good once in a while. So that’s why I keep evaluating everything I buy. Body lotion does not make me happy and so I never buy it. But make-up does and so I keep that. Next time I hope to share 5 more things I don’t buy.

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Follow my personal journey on Instagram.

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ABOUT ME

 

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Here’s what I posted most recently

  • Dieting distracts us
  • Documentary: I am Greta
  • 5 things I don’t buy
  • My positive impact in 2022
  • All my new purchases in 2022

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Ik gebruik al jaren een bamboe tandenborstel, die van Humble Brush 🎋. Naast dat hun product duurzaam is, doen ze ook wat moois met de winst. Dat maakt een product nou echt eco-positief! Je leest meer over poetsen met bamboe op mijn blog, via de link in mijn bio. Vandaag op de blog: iets waarbij de relatie met eco-positief leven wat indirect is: diëten. Januari is dé maand waarin veel mensen weer aan het diëten slaan en daarom leek het me goed om deze post nog net op de valreep in januari te delen. De blog van vandaag gaat slechts over één van de vele nadelen van diëten: het leidt ons af van wat echt belangrijk is 🧐. Weten waarom ik dat denk? Lees dan nu het artikel via de link in mijn bio. Ik ga dit jaar weer de challenge aan om de winter door te komen zonder de warming aan te zetten. Hiervoor ging mijn essential, een warmwaterkruik 💦, kapot. In deze reel laat ik je zien hoe ik een ‘nieuwe’ tweedehands kruik kocht. Vandaag te lezen op whenateengoesgreen.com: een inspirerende documentary over Greta Thunberg: I am Greta. Een documentaire over hoop, maar vooral over doorzettingsvermogen 🔥. Lees het nu via de link in mijn bio. Meer vegan producten in de schappen, yay! Gisteren probeerde ik voor het eerst de vegan lentil tikki masala saus van Patak’s 🧑🏼‍🍳. Zie in deze reel wat ik ervan vond. Vandaag verscheen er een nieuw artikel op mijn blog over: 5 dingen die ik niet koop. Want we denken vaak dat we dingen écht nodig hebben, maar vaak is dat niet zo 🧠. Check het artikel via de link in miijn bio. Vorige week verscheen er een artikel op mijn blog over alles wat ik nieuw kocht in 2022. Dat is een groot deel van mijn negatieve impact. Deze week was het tijd om te kijken naar de andere kant van de medaille. Vandaag lees je op mijn blog een artikel over al mijn positive impact in 2022 🌞. Je vind de link naar het artikel in de link in mijn bio. Afgelopen week verscheen er op mijn blog een artikel over alles wat ik nieuw heb gekocht in 2022. Eén ding op de lijst waren deze onderbroeken (een stuk of 20). En nu denk je misschien: waarom zou je in één keer zoveel onderbroeken kopen? Op 31 december, nog net op de valreep in 2022, kwam er een video online op mijn Youtube-kanaal over voedselcoöperaties. Ik denk namelijk dat voedselcoöperaties ons voedselsysteem democratischer en eerlijker kunnen maken 🥦.

Read my latest posts

  • Dieting distracts us
  • Documentary: I am Greta
  • 5 things I don’t buy
  • My positive impact in 2022
  • All my new purchases in 2022

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