Applying Minimalism: From Culinary Struggle to Makeup Hacks

Good morning, everyone!
It's morning where I am at the moment, so if you’re just waking up too, I hope you're feeling alright ?

For this week's KISS Prompt from The Minimalist Community , I’ll be answering two questions. First one is;

How do you embrace minimalism in the kitchen?

If you had asked me this question a year ago, I probably would've shrugged. I simply wasn’t a kitchen person, and that’s always been ironic to my family, especially because I'm a woman. I’m “supposed” to love the kitchen. My parents still don’t fully understand how I can be so indifferent toward it.

Truth is, the kitchen has always felt like a necessary evil to me. A survival zone. Not something I enjoy. And I don't think that makes me any less of a woman.

Some people genuinely enjoy cooking, which is great. But for me, it's never been part of my hobbies. Still, not to toot my own horn, but... I can cook. Very well, actually. My mum always says it with this puzzled face: "I don't know how this girl makes such good stew when she hates cooking so much."

That’s something I wish more people would simply understand. Just because I don’t enjoy doing something doesn’t mean I’m not good at it.

Let's circle back to minimalism. I’ve started developing a little interest in the kitchen this year. Is that strange, or am I just growing up? 😅

I catch myself watching food reels on IG, even saving them. I watch recipe videos on YouTube now. And somewhere along the line, I’ve started dreaming of a well-set-up kitchen... the same way I dream of owning a Beauty-and-the-Beast-style home library.

I've realized something: when your kitchen is clean, uncluttered, and has the right tools, cooking becomes an art. It flows better. Imagine I have the right tool for everything, from blending to chopping to turning something into powder, my food doesn’t burn, and I’m not stuck scrubbing pots for hours after I eat. That'll bring me closer to loving the kitchen, wouldn't it?

At first, I told myself I'd set all this up when I get married, but on second thought... why wait? I want this for me. However, my location is a bit unstable right now, so a full kitchen makeover is off the table. But I started small, with my pots.

Those old metal pots were always burning my food. So I went out to get new ones. The seller showed me this fancy set with decorative stones on the covers, super pretty, but not practical. And that’s where minimalism kicked in for me.

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If it’s going in the kitchen, it has to work. Pretty is not enough. So instead, I got a clean, functional aluminum set. Stainless, simple, efficient. And I won't lie, buying those pots made me giddy. Now, every time I use them, I’m like, “Look at you, being a grown woman.” LOL.

Now, for the second question:

What are some of your everyday hacks for reducing waste in your makeup routine?

Oh, you already know I’m not skipping this question. I LOVE makeup. 😄

My top sustainability hack is buying multi-purpose products. Sure, I'd love to own a full makeup kit, but for now, I make sure every product performs double or even triple duty. I have an eyeshadow palette that doubles as blush and lip stain. Especially when I’m traveling, that one palette saves me from packing three different items.

This second one is a classic. Learnt this from my mum. You know those lipsticks you twist up until they “finish”… but you can still see a good chunk stuck inside the tube? These days, I use my eyeshadow palettes as lipstick, so I stopped buying those.. I just love the soft matte shade the eyeshadow palette gives me.

But back then, I used to scoop the leftover lipstick into a mini balm container. You’d be shocked how much product is left inside. It could last weeks!

Another thing I always do is to check the expiry date before I buy makeup products. It may seem small, but that’s waste management. I know how long it takes me to use up a product, so if it’s going to expire before then, what’s the point?

Also, I repurpose a lot. For example, those little bags that sanitary pads come in? I keep them.

They’re perfect for organizing makeup when traveling. Tossing your products loose into your suitcase is the fastest way to break something. But when you pack them into little bags first, everything stays safe and intact.

Honestly, I probably do more than I even realize. I even cut the container of products to get the best out of it if necessary. 😂 I call it, "getting the best use out of my money". I even once cut a lip gloss container in two.

Partly because I couldn't bring myself to go to the market just to buy one single lip gloss. Partly because I could clearly see that there were still products in the container. And I kid you not, I was able to use it for another two weeks before buying a new one.

One thing about me: I will squeeze every drop of function out of a product before I toss it. Whether I’m repurposing it, or turning it into something else, or using it in a new way, I don’t like wasting things. At all.

_{All Images are Mine. Thank you for reading! 🧸🧡}

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