5 Minimalist Hacks to Simplify Your Life

Juggling studying, being a Mum and an author ain’t easy, sometimes you just need to outsource some things and make it easy for yourself! Zero waste living can seem daunting and time consuming, here are 5 easy hacks to make life easier for yourself.

1. Get things delivered! One of the simplest ways to live a zero waste life is to get your produce delivered. This is a great option for people who don’t have access to farmer’s markets - get the farmers to deliver to you!

In San Francisco I use @imperfectproduceand in Sydney I use @doorsteporganics - there’s a myriad of co-op and other options. Just have a search in your local area! Because they are delivered straight from the farmers, they usually have very little or no packaging. This cuts down on the individual plastic wrapping you see in supermarkets. You’re also supporting local farmers and cutting out the middle man!

2. Use one product multiple ways! Here is an easy way to use your reusable coffee cup for things other than just a takeaway coffee! I like to store snacks in my reusable coffee cup such as dried fruit, dates and nuts!

This is such a simple zero waste hack! I also use my reusable coffee cup to: ✅ store leftovers when eating at a restaurant ✅ use it to store biscuits and small pastries ✅ use it as a cup in conferences and meetings for water (instead of disposable cups) ✅ take it to festivals or markets for beer, juice and other drinks There are so many ways to use a reusable coffee cup. My favourite is this insulated one from @thesourcebulkfoods.

3. Make the switch to bars! Here is a simple zero waste travel hack- replace all your bottles with bars:

shampoo bottles ➡️ shampoo bar body wash ➡️ all purpose bar soap conditioner ➡️ conditioning bar face wash ➡️ all purpose bar soap To prevent bar soap overload, you can slice the bar soap into smaller pieces and you can fit them all into a soap container. This one is from @lushcosmetics That’s it! So simple, so easy! When I travelled to Fiji for 2 weeks all I brought was two little containers of different types of soap! I fit everything into carry on luggage!

4. Mindfully decorate. As an Australian living in America, I am always surprised by how many people decorate their houses according to the seasons or different holidays. The shops are currently filled with Halloween and Fall decorations. In Australia, we only tend to decorate for Christmas.

Instead of going out and buying loads of cheap, plastic decorations, why not decorate mindfully instead. For Halloween, I’ve put out some of my favourite hand painted skulls which I bought from local artisans in Mexico. I also got some of my favourite candles and got some lovely citrus scents for my diffuser (all these items I already had). No plastic pumpkins, no cheap throwaway decorations!

5. Set up some wardrobe hacks! The easiest way to streamline your wardrobe is to declutter (I have a 3 day decluttering challenge in my book), but this little wardrobe hack has been a great organising tip!

All you need is to stick some hooks on the back of your door! I plan my outfit the night before and lay it out from head to toe on these hooks. This includes jewellery and handbags. That way, there’s no thinking the next morning - you can save yourself from decision fatigue and it makes you look more polished! More importantly, this tip allows you to experiment and become your own stylist. It also allows you to rotate items in your wardrobe and see outfits in a new way! All these items were sourced secondhand from @thredup - including my latest find a @fendi bag!