ZEROWASTE MINIMALIST MOM

A picture perfect, well-oiled routine. That is the dream of every housewife. A place for everything and everything in its place - that is her mission in life. Perpetual tidying up and organising - a housewife's nightmare.  The flawed nature of us humans is that we allow the lure of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and this innate desire for comfort and convenience to rule the roost. That's how we become hoarders - devotees of the 'Just in case' and 'What if' mantras.  Here are some ground rules for budding minimalists: 1. OWN FEWER THINGS . Ever since I used Project 333 to curate a capsule wardrobe and applied the same principles in other areas of my home, I have delighted in having fewer things. Just like old friends, my clothes are dear to me now that I have chosen to keep only what fits and looks good on me.  In the kitchen too, I delight to greet my pots and pans, containers, crockery and cutlery, curated to fit the recesses of my cabinets and sitting pretty...

 I learnt about PLASTIC FREE JULY four years ago around the time when I accidentally discovered the KONMARI method while searching for effective ways to pack my son's suitcase.  WHAT IS Plastic Free July and WHO started it? Plastic Free July is the initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, an initiative started in 2011 by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and her team of volunteers from the local government in Western Australia.  Last year, an estimated 326 million people from across 177 countries took part in this initiative, one of them being yours truly. In a survey conducted after each campaign, they concluded that 8.5 out of 10 people change their lifestyle after the challenge and continue to practice plastic-free habits. BE PART OF THE SOLUTION - TAKE THE CHALLENGE. Go to the website: https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ Sign the PLEDGE.  That's it.  There's also a nifty Quiz that you can take in less than 5 minutes. By taking the Plastic Free July Quiz, you will: • help ...

WHAT IS CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM?  Conscious Consumerism is when all your purchases are determined by the impact the products may cause   S ocially Economically   Environmentally .  All the stages of a product's existence – production, packaging, use and disposal need to be taken into consideration BEFORE a purchase is made or even before it goes on your wishlist.  In the last decade or so, global environmental crisis has taken centre-stage, and consequently, consumers are finally becoming "conscious'. With this, brands all over the world are now trying desperately to woo this conscious consumer with more sustainable products while struggling to keep their profit margins high.  IMAGINE! Just  by being aware, a group of conscious consumers are able to drive entire industries to act sustainably and answer the world about their processes! Social media has played a large role in bringing about this awareness. Videos on fast fashion, articles on cruelty to ani...

The key word is PANTRY.    The word 'pantry'  comes  from the Old French word 'paneterie' meaning 'pain', the French word for bread, which comes from its Latin word 'panis'. In medieval times, food and supplies  were  stored in specific rooms: meats  were  stored in a larder, alcohol stored in the buttery and bread  was  stored in the  pantry . Interesting Fact :  The butler’s pantry was traditionally used to store silver, serving pieces and other kitchen related items. Because the silver was kept under lock and key in the butler’s pantry the butler would actually sleep in the pantry to guard against thievery.   By the  Victorian era , large houses and estates in Britain maintained the use of separate rooms, each one dedicated to a distinct stages of food preparation and cleanup. The kitchen was for cooking, while food was stored in a storeroom, pantry or cellar. Meat preparation before cooking was done in a...

Whenever I need tips on how to organise my kitchen, I turn to trusty YouTube videos. Unfortunately, most of them are done by non-Indians and, even if there are Indian presenters, they appear to be mimicking the Americans or English or European presenters.  A look at their pantries fills me with dread. There is SO MUCH STUFF. And it all looks so messy and confusing. Then they talk about organising bins, baskets, totes, etc and, by the time they are done, I end up feeling inadequate. Their pantry makeovers are like the story of Cinderella.  Why is so much money invested in buying so much stuff? Why don't they shop more often? Its not like they live in some remote area that they need to stock up so much food. And they have so much variety that half of it is never used by expiry date and they have to chuck it away.  Second, those expensive organising bins, all fancy looking and pretty no doubt, are still a real waste of money. Why can't they just keep groceries in their origi...

I bet right now you are wondering - why has Auriel inserted a candlelight dinner scene when she's going to talk about life BEFORE ELECTRICITY? My generation lived in the age of electricity. But, before 1752, electricity did not exist. It was by accident that it was discovered by a man we see on this 100-dollar bill. He was conducting an experiment to prove the connection between electricity and lightning.  But even before this. in the 17th and early 18th centuries, scientists  like Otto von Guericke, Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray and C.F.du Fay  were conducting experiments in this branch of physics . But even before this, in 1600, William   Gilbert, an English scientist had  already made a careful study of electricity and magnetism. BEFORE ELECTRICITY, c andles and whale oil lamps (oil from the blubber  of whales) provided most of the artificial lighting. Later on, kerosene lamps became more popular. All the liquid fuel lamps used a wick which ...