#SelfCareAugust was a huge success! I created a monthly challenge which was about slowing down and self care. This month was focused on:
1. Meditation 2. Exercise 3. Simplifying and slowing down
Here are 7 tips for sustainable self-care!
1. Join the sleep revolution. Long gone are the days where lack of sleep is worn as a badge of honour. Sleep is one of the most important self-care rituals for all high performers. In fact, Arianna Huffington wrote a whole book about it! Here are some simple ways to help maximise your sleep: 1. Have no electronic devices in the bedroom 2. Clear the clutter from the bedroom 3. Remove any blue light or harsh light sources 4. Make your bedroom a sanctuary
Here is a snapshot of my bedroom furnished with all secondhand finds. The linen I brought from Australia. Everything else was sourced from thrift stores and antique stores.
2. Create a beautiful ritual for yourself.Whenever I’ve had a long day or feel stressed out, I make myself a beautiful cup of tea and enjoy a simple tea ritual.
I use my favourite teapot from Japan, handmade cups from @goodwillintl ($1.99 each) and a beautiful brass tray which I also thrifted for $5.99. I buy quality organic tea from @ovvioorganics and savour every sip. As you can see, none of these simple pleasures cost a lot of money, but I feel rich in taking time to do it. For me, luxury is about the everyday things. It’s never about the designer handbags or flashy cars.
3. Create luxury in your every day life.
I lucked out at @communitythriftsf and scored these beautiful handmade ceramics for less than $4 a piece. I used to be the type of girl who ‘saved’ things for special occasions. I would only wear my best clothes or use my best crockery for ‘fancy’ occasions. Nowadays, I use my nicest things every day.
Studying medicine has made me realise life is short. For me, every day luxury doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, it just has to feel good. Using these handmade pottery pieces feel amazing, they have texture and character unlike mass produced items. That to me is the ultimate luxury, buying things of beauty that you aren’t afraid to use every day.
4. Have a ‘no complaining’ day. Have you noticed some people always respond with a complaint whenever you ask them “how are you today?” No matter what, they will always respond with a negative answer.
Let’s NOT be one of those people and be grateful for even the smallest things. Every day I start my day writing down 3 gratitudes in my @fiveminutejournal. No matter how hard the day is, there is always something to be grateful about. This attitude of gratitude has drastically changed my outlook on life. Why not have a ‘no complaining’ day - you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll catch yourself being negative during the day and also how much better you feel when stop!
5. Do some wholesome shopping. Bulk shopping is wholesome shopping. Ever since I switched to a zero waste life, grocery shopping is no longer a chore. There’s a certain elegance and simplicity to buying goods without packaging.
Here I have a small bulk shop using mason jars and my produce bags (available here). I’ve also stored my leftovers from the Korean restaurant we went to for lunch. Mason jars make great containers for take-away leftovers, there’s no need for plastic containers!
6. Take care of the planet, take care of yourself
Here I am 7 months pregnant and picking up rubbish during my beach side walk. In living a zero waste life, I’ve come to realise that taking care of the planet is a form of self-care. There is something so nurturing about looking after our environment.
Being pregnant has made me even more aware of how important it is to leave a clean, healthy planet for future generations. We can all do our bit to make our planet a better place. Let’s nurture ourselves by nurturing our planet. I feel better knowing I have tried my best. Perfection is not the goal, but effort is.
7. Do not take for granted the health of our planet
I want to talk about the rule of 3s:
It takes humans 3 weeks to die without food, 3 days to die without water and 3 minutes to die without air. We spend so much of our lives focused on the superficial, and we take for granted the fundamentals of life that we need.
It took me 3 minutes to get together my bulk shopping kit with thrifted jars and bags from @thesourcebulkfoods. I know we all live busy lives, but it doesn’t take long to set up new habits that will enable us to be better caretakers of the planet.
Without a healthy planet, we can’t have healthy people.
