It's slow fashion season!

"What is slow fashion season," you say? 

Well, every season should be slow fashion season really. 

But, each year you can put yourself to a challenge by ditching fast fashion and buying no new clothes for 90 days. 

>>> Click to read about why I am doing a #fashiondetox (link)

If you too like the sound of breaking your bad habit of going to clothing shops IRL or online when you want something new, I have made a list of alternatives for you to get your fashion fix!

1. The good ol' Op shop

   

At first glance, op shops seem to be filled with unflattering ganny clothes, but if get digging you can really find some gems! They are a collection of hundreds of people's pre-loved clothing so chances are each op shop has stuff you might like. Duck into op shops often to increase your chances of finding some nice stuff.

2. Pre-loved Fashion markets

   

I've found the best stuff at little stalls where people are selling...

We live in a disposable culture that when we are done with something, normally just throw it away.

We have all come to realise by now, that there is no such place as away. Well, there is. And it is normally a big hole in the earth. And we are filling them at exponentially destructive rates. If you are interested in empowering yourself to make some simple switches in your waste habits to reduce your negative impact, you have come to the right spot!

Here are 11 things you can stop putting in the bin from today:

# 1. Food Scraps

The erosion of top soil of the planet is one of the biggest problems humans face. The organic living elements in soil we grow our food in are disappearing and not being replaced. While we are also letting tonnes and tonnes of decomposing food waste rot in landfills. The loop of natural cycles of organic matter is broken and causing catasphic scale damage. The easiest and most powerful thing you can do to be part of the solution, instead of...

While we might know of how minimalism can benefit us grown-ups, you might be wondering how and if minimalism can benefit kids?

Some might argue that minimalism is the kind of thing that is a fully personal decision and you shouldn't 'force' that onto children.

If you understand what minimalism is truly about (having a home surrounded by only what adds to your life), then you will too agree that it makes for a beneficial element of a healthy home and lifestyle for children. Here are 5 reasons your kids could benefit from your family adopting a more minimalist life:

Reason #1- They get more of the real you

Having less clutter in your home will save you so much time in your home duties and your home will feel better, meaning that you will be less stressed and more available. When we are chasing our tail around an overwhelming messy house, we are less available for being the real version of ourselves that our kids love.

Reason #2- Sharing and community

With...

Yep.

Doing a detox... but not the kind you would think.

This is a detox from fast fashion... an addiction that most of us have in Western countries, no matter our income.

Even if you don’t have an addiction to fast fashion, you probably have at least a bad habit. A habit of needing o wanting a new piece of clothing and immediately going to buy it new from the shops or online, instead of getting something already in circulation.

So what's this #fashiondetox?

I didn't make it up. I am joining 20,000 other awesome humans in pledging to not buy any new clothing from July till September. 3 months. 90 days. It is part of a movement of promotion of slow fashion rather than fast fashion.

3 reasons I am doing it:

1. To reduce ecological damage that I purchase into existence

Even though I am an advocator for the environment, minimalism, and circular economy... I feel that in the last year or so clothes have been my downfall. With my changing body...

If you look at the dictionary definition of minimalism you will be met with the idea that minimalism is an art style rather than a lifestyle. The term is used to describe a lifestyle that has only been popularized in the last 10-15 years. But seriously dictionary companies... Get with the times, yeah?

There is also a lot of misconception about what minimalism is out there, which makes me not want to call myself a minimalist. So if you want to know what minimalism really is, then you have come to the right place!

What is minimalism?

My favourite definition of minimalism is a quote from one of the most well-known minimalist advocates Joshua Becker:

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”

Basically, it's about creating a life that only includes what you actually value by actively letting go of what you don't.

Minimalism is not: Having as little belongings as possible...

If you do a big tidy in your home and 3 days later it feels cluttered again, you have come to the right spot. Some areas of our home feel like literal clutter magnets and I am going to identify 3 of the common spots that seem to have the magnetization problem, and I will tell you what to do about them.

First, we should look at the main causes of clutter.

Clutter #1 Cause

Your belongings do not actually belong. You own items that aren't actually loved and used. There are a bunch of reasons why we buy and hang onto such items. When we have lots of things we don't need, there's not much intentionality in what we keep so we disconnect from being able to properly manage clutter.

Even well-organized spaces can be filled with this kind of clutter. If the belongings shouldn't belong then you are just organizing clutter in with your loved belongings.

Clutter #2 Cause

Your belongings are not kept where they belong. In other words, you don't have a home for your stuff. The things you...

New mums need minimalism

Being a new mum, you are responsible for another human's life 24/7, looking after a house and the people in it, and whatever else you have going on, too. It can all get overwhelming just managing all the things we need to manage, let alone managing all the things we really don't need. Mums have 1000 things on their minds to manage every day already and cannot afford clutter robbing us of any more of our time, mental space, money, and happiness. We need to simplify.

Understand what you will gain by letting go

Before trying to declutter (especially with how hard it can be getting it done with a baby), we need to get clear on our 'why?'.  You need to know that by letting go of all that doesn't serve you, that your life will be filled with SO MUCH MORE JOY. Almost every task in your home will be simplified and take less time and mental processing. Decluttering will make your home feel so supportive instead of feeling like you are in an endless...

Many women stepping into motherhood feel pressure to start buying so many things filling their house to be a "proper family home." I am here to tell you that society's norms are not working and the 300,000 items in an average home (in the USA and I am sure Australia is similar) are slowly robbing women of feeling the best they can in their homes. And yes, there have been studies done that show women are more affected by clutter than men.

My journey into motherhood came at ease and while amazing support from those around me was a huge contributor, I do not think I would have had the same experience if my home was not set up to support me as well. So let me share some of the reasons that make minimalism motherhood's best friend.

More Stuff = More Time

Everything you own takes up a little bit of time by owning them. Some items we own take up a lot of time, like the dishes, for example. We spend a while each day washing them and putting them away. Other items take up only...

What exactly do I mean by the title?

Well, we live in a society where it is very easy to disconnect from our own impact. What I am talking about is how we only feel responsible for our stuff while it is in our possession and not before or after.

For example, we see a dress we like online, we order it and it gets shipped to us, we chuck the packaging in the bin, we wear it (hopefully) and when we are over it, we throw the dress in the bin, too.

While I know that it is not the fault of the individual that we live like that, I believe that it is the responsibility of the individual and that the most impact of change can stem from the individual level.

The Impact of Our Stuff

Now with the example of the dress, the impact of buying the dress includes the environmental impact of materials it was made from, the lives of workers who helped make it, the impact of packaging production, the fossil fuels shipping across the globe, the tags ending up in landfill, the...

If you have been following me for a little while you might have noticed that I am passionate about both minimalism and sustainability.

But I am here to tell you that the two subjects are completely integrated with each other and that I believe minimalism is the baseline and foundation to begin living a more sustainable life.

Let me share 5 environmental benefits of minimalism:

1. Buying less stuff created less stress on the ecosystem

Let's knock the obvious benefit out of the way first. With minimalism you buy less stuff so there is less need for stuff to be created, consuming recourses, burning fossil fuels, degrading our soils, and polluting our environment.

80% of the items people keep are never used according to 'NAPO'. If we never buy that stuff in the first place we are eliminating the negative environmental impact that has on the planet.

Imagine if all of the worlds implemented their own version of minimalism, just how much less stuff would be produced and how much ...