Minimalism and Pets

Minimalist lifestyle involves getting rid of all unnecessary material possessions from your home.  So is keeping a pet something that is in line with the ideal minimalist lifestyle ? one might ask.

Well, the Short Answer is  YES 

For the long Answer please keep reading.  

If someone suggests to me that I must get rid of, or re-home my dogs to 'fully embrace the minimalist lifestyle' I can pretty much guarantee that  I'll probably never speak to that person again.

It is not only because I love my pets, but because I feel that pets become a part of the family the moment they walk into our lives. (I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way).

Adopting minimalism as a lifestyle is not limited to merely getting rid of all possessions. It encompasses much more than simply decluttering your surroundings. 

The reason why people think  that minimalist cannot have a pet with their lifestyle is that having a pet requires you to spend  your time, your energy and your money on them.   

Minimalism requires you to only keeping what is essential, what adds value to your life and what brings you joy.

Well  does a pet fit in to this definition of a ideal  minimalist lifestyle? one might ask.

To put it simply a pet, be it a dog, a cat or a bird  adds value to your life and brings you joy, therefore it becomes quite clear that it is not only possible but probable that someone embracing minimalist practices will hold on to their pets. 

-A pet is clearly different from "material possessions". A pet is a live being, it has it's own unique personality and pets are very attached to their owners (or the more likely scenario is that the  owners are very attached to their pets). 

- Having a pet has shown to have many health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, and even helping to cope with depression and anxiety.

-Having a pet helps you to battle loneliness and makes you more responsible as you have the duty of  taking care of the pet.

-Having a pet will help teach children responsibility

-Pets help you become more selfless

-A pet does not suddenly appear in your life. It is more likely that you made a conscious decision to buy or adopt a pet and make him a part of your life.

- A pet will help you reduce your stress. 

-A pet (especially a dog) will motivate you to become more  active because you must take it for daily walks and this will encourage you to socialize with other dog owners too. 

-Dogs are good for protection and they are extremely loyal

-A pet (especially a dog) will teach you what is most important in your life. For your dog it values nothing more important than spending time playing with you and seeking your attention. It values you as a person and is not bothered by your wealth or social status

-Pets teach you to be content with life. Give a cat a cardboard box and watch as it will play for hours with it. Pets are happy if they have food and water, a place to sleep and an owner who gives them a bit of love and attention.

Therefore, having a pet definitely has more benefits than drawbacks .

That being said you can incorporate a routines when it comes to bringing up a pet,  such as 

-Have a schedule for your pets such as having specific times for feeding, exercise and bathing them.

-Limit the number of pet  toys as pets prefer to play with their owners rather than their toys.

-Focus on feeding your pets a balanced diet, grooming them properly and getting them enough exercise. This will help you have a healthy pet and prevent illnesses. 

-Give necessary any vaccinations and medications according to the direction of your vet.

-Have some money saved up specifically for your pets for any unexpected illnesses and visits to the vet. 
- It is of utmost importance that You and your family  make a conscious and well thought out decision together, to bring a pet into your life. Unless you are ready to fully commit them and make them a part of your family, for at least  the next 10 to15  years or have the financial and physical means to support them, don't get a pet. 

Therefore, I would say having a pet is fairly  in line with the minimalist mindset and It is a intentional choice that we make to bring a pet in to our homes and make it a part of our family.

So does a Pet fit into the definition of an ideal  minimalist lifestyle? The Answer is definitely  "YES" 

How to Setup a Functional Work or Study Space

Whether you are a Student, Employee, Work at Home Mom or Entrepreneur, having a specific designated place to work or in your house or office, is vital to increase your productivity. A well-organized, functional work space will create a more constructive, practical, and, professional environment for work and will benefit in your professional and academic life. 
The suggestions and ideas listed below can be used to set up a Study Desk for a Student or a Work Space for an Employee or to set up a Home Office.

1. Figure out what the space is going to be used for. Ask yourself if it is going to be used by a student or an employee or as a home office. It is important to take note if the space is going to be used by a single person or by multiple people. The type of desk and, the essential items necessary to set up such work/study area will vary according to the needs and the preferences of the person or persons using such work/study area.

2. Choose a good quality Desk that can be used for a long time. Make sure that the desk is, sturdy, versatile and can be used for multiple purposes. Therefore, as your experience changes in your lifestyle (such as transitioning from being a student to a working professional) you can adapt desk space to suit your current lifestyle without having to buy brand new furniture. Buy a desk with drawers so that, what you don’t need to use for the current project can be kept out of site. For students these drawers can be used to store text books, binders or extra school supplies, and, it will help you keep your desk surface clear and minimal.

3. Place the Desk in an area where there is good natural lighting, and, in a place with minimal distractions.

4. Get a desk organizer and keep only the most essential items on top of your desk. Remove everything else.

5. Stop or limit keeping personal photos and, numerous little ornaments on your desk. It is taking up valuable space on your desk surface. If you feel that you need to keep personal items such as photos, I suggest you digitize some photos of your family and, make set it as the wall paper in your Computer or Laptop. That way you can see your family photos without taking up space on your work surface.

6. Set up an organization system which is functional and easy to maintain in the long run for your workspace.

7. Focus on one project at a time. This is important especially if you are working in an office that uses a lot of paper documents. It will prevent an important document ending up in the wrong folder and, limit the chances of misplacing important paperwork.

8. Clean and organize your Work/Study desk, at the end of the day.

9. Limit the number of school supplies you keep on your desk - dear students, I can safely tell you now that you really do not need to keep 30 black pens, 15 pencils and, multiple sets of colourful highlighters on your desk to help you become a better student. Even if you have organizers to store them, it will become virtually impossible to maintain the clutter in the long run. A messy study area makes it harder for you to pay attention to what you are studying  and will only be a distraction. You will tend to spend more time cleaning and organizing your desk, wasting valuable time you should be using to do the actual studying. Remove all clutter from your study area. I suggest, you buy only a minimal amount of school supplies. Buy only what you need, and before you go shopping for school supplies at the beginning of every school year, look through and take stock of the supplies you already have and buy only what you absolutely need. As a bonus, this will help you to stop wasting school supplies and save you same money on back to school shopping.

Simple Steps to Save the Environment

In this post I like to write about some simple habits and daily changes you can make to reduce the impact you have on the environment. Given the drastic and long lasting impact of  environmental pollution I believe that it is the duty of all members of the society to do what they can to protect the Environment. Most of these habits can help you to reduce the amount of trash you produce, protect natural resources and even save you some money. Here are  some simple ways to protect the environment. 

Switch to Reusable Products instead of using Disposable Products.

1. Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles 

2. Use Cloth or Canvas Shopping Bags instead of taking home Plastic Shopping  Bags

3.Use Reusable produce bags for fruits, vegetables

4. Use a Glass or Stainless Steel Lunch boxes

5.Use Re-chargeable Batteries

6. Use cloth handkerchiefs and cloth napkins  instead of tissues or paper towels

(i.e. basically stop using one time use disposable items and switch to reusable alternatives)

Save Electricity

1. Turn off all electrical appliances when not in use.

2. Unplug charging cords from the wall plug to prevent ‘vampire electricity’ use.

3. Use Solar Panels (if it is within your budget to do so).

4. Use energy efficient electric appliances in your home.

5. Turn off computers when you leave the office at the end of the day.

6.Use energy efficient bulbs such as LED bulbs and CFL bulbs in your home and office.

7.Encourage your local authorities to look for more sustainable ways of producing electricity such as Using Solar or Wind Power Stations.

8.Place work/study desks, kitchen counters and dinning tables in a place where you get a lot of natural sun light. 
9. Air dry clothes instead of using electric dryers.
10.Iron full loads of clothes once a week instead of ironing a few items at a time.

Save Water 

1. Stop any garbage being dumped in waterways and rivers

2. Install Low flow taps and shower heads

3. Install a rainwater tank for the garden 

4.Use less toxic cleaning supplies and use natural alternatives

5. Fix all broken taps and pipes to prevent water from leaking.

6. Wash full loads in the washing machine and switch to an energy efficient model if you can.

Reduce Paper Usage 

1. Opt for paper less bills and switch to online bill payments

2. Print both sides of the paper

3. Recycle old paper products

4. Borrow books from the library or switch to reading e-books

5. Read news online instead of buying the paper

6. Don't accept any paper flyers or any junk mail

7. Use papers which have been printed on one side for rough paper or for sketches or for kids drawings.

8.When buying printer-paper buy from companies which use sustainable practices

9. Don't Print documents unless you absolutely have to

10. Don't print handouts of presentations and email a copies of the presentation to the group.

11. Use the note app on your phone to type out random notes  and doodles instead of using a paper note book.

Transport

1.Walk (it's good for your health and your wallet)
2.Use Public Transport
3.Carpool with your colleagues when travelling to work.

Reduce Garbage 

1.Adopt the 3 R system- Reduce Reuse and Recycle  and if you want to take it a bit further and adopt a Zero Waste Lifestyle Adopt the 5 R system Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Re purpose and Recycle.

2. Switch to reusable products

3. Sort your garbage before disposing it

4. Have a compost bin in your garden

5.Bulk buy ingredients and use reusable containers

6. Avoid buying items with plastic packaging as much as possible

7. Re purpose plastic containers

8. Avoid getting plastic straws, plastic cutlery and paper napkins when you are buying take away food.

10. Bring your own reusable coffee cup and stop buying paper coffee cups.
11. Repair items 
12.Dispose of old electronics, batteries, laptops and phones is a environmentally responsible manner
13. Donate, Re purpose or Recycle items that you no longer need. 

It is important to stress the importance of protecting and saving the environment and adapting practices for sustainable use of non-renewable natural resources.   

These habits and tips are easy to adopt as a part of your daily routine and will have a great impact on the environment in the long run. Make it a point to become conscious and intentional about what you buy and what you choose to bring in to your life. Protect the environment and its resources for the present and future generations.

You may also like to read Simple Eco-friendly habits for Daily Life