Things I No Longer Use Or Buy As A Minimalist

I use the term “minimalist,” lightly because I am not a perfect minimalist, however, I have adopted several minimalist practices over the years and incorporated them into my simple living lifestyle. One of those practices is minimizing certain goods or items in my life and in my home. After being stuck at home recently, I know I need to do another round of decluttering, but I’m happy that these items aren’t a part of my home today.

Today I am going to share what I no longer use or buy for my lifestyle, why I have come to this decision, and what (if any) alternatives I use instead.

One. Microwave

When we moved into our much smaller apartment I dropped off our microwave at our local Goodwill. It worked great, but we decided the microwave lifestyle was not for us. I felt that it encouraged us to eat poorly and it took up too much valuable kitchen space. It doesn’t really take a long time to heat food up stove top instead and it actually tastes much better. What about popcorn? I make it fresh in a pot on my stove and I love watching it pop before my eyes. It does slow cooking down, but I feel that the slowness has been good for us.

Two. Conventional Oven

Just like our microwave, we decided it wasn’t necessary. I brought our conventional oven to work to keep at the kitchen here because there is no  stove at the office. We never used it at home because our regular toaster oven toasted just fine and everything else was baked in our regular oven.

Three. Plastic Utensils

I don’t like plastic! Its not just bad for the environment, it is bad for our bodies too and it does seep into our food. For travel I have a stainless steel portable utensil set and for home utensils I often use bamboo.

Four. Dryer Sheets

More chemicals to put on our clothes and in our water supply? No thank you. I feel that dryer sheets are not necessary at all. I use a natural detergent with lavender essential oils so my laundry still smells nice without the extra. Plus I dislike adding the nylon netting to landfills every time I’ve used up a sheet.

Five. Plastic Tooth Brushes

This was the easiest switch of all; we switched to bamboo.

Six. Disposable batteries

I only use rechargeable because they’re much better for the environment and my wallet. I use them so much on my photo shoots for my flashes.

Seven. Body Wash

Just more unnecessary plastic. Soap works even better when you buy the right kind.

Eight. Paper Towels

Anything disposable is not my friend and that includes paper towels. People are usually surprised when they hear this, but paper towels are a very modern invention and people got by just fine without them in the past. Instead I use $1 towels from Ikea that I reuse and wash time and time again as cleaning rags. For napkins I also use linen napkins.

Nine. Clothes I don’t love

I do love clothes and I do buy them occasionally, but I make sure to only buy clothing that I absolutely love and know that I will wear over and over again for a long time to come. That means not buying clothes that I just happen to like in the moment. If I save it for later and I’m still thinking about it then I know its a keeper. Because of this I do my best to avoid trends, unless it is something I would wear whether it is “in fashion” or not. That means that I rarely shop fast fashion. You will not find a bunch of unworn clothes in my closet.

Ten. Cleaning chemicals

I don’t like the way chemicals make me feel, the way that they smell, or the potential they have to harm me, my cat, and my loved ones. And of course they are bad for the environment too. For all my usual cleaning I use only natural products. For any Covid related cleaning concerns I use pure alcohol. (As a cleaner, never for consumption. I feel ridiculous having to write that, but with all of the U.S. President’s awful Covid-19 advice I want to cover all my bases.)

Which household items do you no longer buy or find necessary?