May marked my fourth month and third place living in a coronavirus-affected world: Portland. The long-awaited return to the locked-down city I love has been both exciting and depressing. However, in a week's time, May changed from being just another month of this shit to the month Joey and I got our own apartment, and … Continue reading Buy Nothing
Like just about everyone else in these later weeks of social distancing, I have been cleaning out my closet. Well, more accurately, I am organizing closets and drawers at whomever's home I am currently staying at. I recently (finally) read Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and doing so inspired even more cleaning … Continue reading Cleaning Out the Closets
Maybe you have heard the term digital minimalism. Or maybe it is just me who is constantly seeking out ways to be happier with less: less noise, less clutter, fewer things and worries and comparisons. Paradoxically, being content with fewer of these mental distractions means freeing up more mental energy and time to work towards … Continue reading Digital Declutter
When I lived in Thailand, everything came in a plastic bag. Iced coffees in takeaway cups: bagged; fresh fruit from the market: double bagged. The one that always killed me was when I would stop into a 7-Eleven post-run on a humid evening, red faced and dripping with sweat. I would grab a plastic water … Continue reading Single-Use Plastics
On my first day at school with the set intention of minimizing my personal production of food waste, I was served the biggest bowl of noodle soup I had ever seen. I am talking comically large: like, my own personal serving platter. I had never even seen the giant bowls that the soup was being … Continue reading Food Waste
Ah: January. Everyone has long since busted out their puffy jackets—"long padding" as it is referred to here in Korea—and despite people in Muju telling me this is a very weird, snow-less winter, I am still perpetually cold. January is also the time of year when everyone is focused on being their best selves. It … Continue reading 2020: A Year of Living Simply
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