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5 things I don't buy

5 things I don’t buy

Posted on January 16, 2023July 6, 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

 

when a teen goes green

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

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  • Why I don’t use paper towels in public bathrooms

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Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) naar Bratislava (🇸🇰) reisde. Dit was reisdag 3/6 van onze duurzame interrail reis. Ik ben vandaag 25 jaar geworden 🥳. Ik hoop heel hard dat dat betekent dat ik ongeveer op een kwart van mijn leven ben. En wat een verjaardag is dit! Ik mag het vieren in Kopenhagen met mijn favoriete persoon @casperchristiaanse , terwijl ik met de trein door Europa reis 🚃. Ik ben een gelukkig mens. Op naar de 50! Dit is hoe ik van Dresden (🇩🇪) naar Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) reisde. Niet een bijster lange, maar wel een prachtige treinreis, omdat je door het nationaal park Boheems Zwitserland gaat. Dit was de tweede reisdag van onze interrail (2/6). We zijn op de helft van de interrail. Terwijl ik dit typ zijn we onderweg naar Warschau (8,5 uur vanaf Bratislava). Nog twee bestemmingen te ontdekken, maar wat hebben we nu al veel genoten. Elke dag goed en lang slapen, nieuw vegan eten proberen, bijzonder lang wandelen, spelletjes spelen, weinig schermtijd, genieten van de mooie uitzichten en zon: deze reis is genieten 💜. Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Amsterdam naar Dresden reisde 🚃. De interrail is officieel begonnen! (1/6) Vandaag verschijnt er geen artikel op mijn blog. En de komende twee weken hierna ook niet. Dat is voor het eerst, in de 7 jaar dat ik schrijf. Een heel leuk onderdeel van duurzaam leven is tweedehands kleding. Hier zijn 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in augustus 2023 🌞. Je zag het al in de reel van vorige week: ik ben op vakantie geweest naar Gent, in België. Het was een ontzettende aanrader, en daarom verscheen er vandaag een artikel op mijn blog over de leukste en duurzaamste hotspots in Gent 🌆. Check it out via de link in mijn bio Gent, wat was je prachtig 🌆. Dit is absolute een duurzame vakantietip (oh, maar wees niet zo naïef als ik en ga lekker met de trein 🚃). Binnenkort is op Youtube de gehele vakantievlog te bekijken.

Read my latest posts

  • Interrailing through Europe
  • Sustainable and fun hotspots in Ghent, Belgium
  • Crowd-funding for a better financial sector
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