Spare Magazine

Table of Contents

Tips

Minimalist legends

Home

A Minimalist Home

Eco

Zero Waste

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Style

Designing a Signature Look: A Complete Guide

Philosophy

Aparigraha

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Tips

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Simplicity Legends Reveal their most practical tips to simplify your life One of the most important success lessons that I learned in my life is:“The easiest way to become successful is to find someone who is already successful at what you want to do and follow his/her footsteps”That’s why when I decided to start the Midway Simplicity blog, I reached out to the top simple living advocates with the following key question:“Could you please share with us one of your most practical simple living tips/ideas?”I was looking for more mainstream ideas that are not too harsh for the lifestyle of an ordinary person who just wants to find peace and enjoy more with less, without becoming an extreme minimalist. The following are awesome replies from humble, wonderful and inspiring simplicity advocates (or as I prefer to call them: Legends).

Love what you have.

One of the most helpful & motivating techniques I have used personally in my own life to simplify my habits and slim down my personal clutter & possessions is to truly love what I have.

I asked myself these questions over and over again…

How much of what I own do I truly love?How much do I buy do I end up keeping? Or even really use?How much of what surrounds me is really necessary and used in my day to day life?How much of my stuff is sucking my energy?

Andrea Briggs Inside Thread Studio

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A simple change to make is to put a hook or bowl for your keys near your preferred entrance to the house, and then deposit your keys there every time you come home.

It’s an easy habit to form, and in addition to saving you time so yous never have to hunt for your keys, it might help you in an emergency. If you’re ever in the position of having to leave your home quickly, you know exactly where to find your keys. If you live in a high crime area, be sure to store your keys in a place that isn’t immediately obvious, like on a hook on your coat closet door.

Erin Rooney Doland Unclutterer

My best tip to start living more simply is to stop checking email first thing in the morning. Instead, do your most important work first.

That could be a yoga class, writing, or another work project. When you check email first, you do everyone’s important work besides your own. You react to messages and shift your schedule based on email. Instead, do what means the most to you first; check email a few hours later.

Courtney Carver Be More With Less

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A Minimalist Home Leo Babauta, writer behind blog mnmlist.com shar es his thoughts on what a minmalist home looks like.

Minimal furniture.

A minimalist room would only contain a few essential pieces of furniture. A living room, for example, might only have a couch, another chair or love seat, a coffee table, a minimalist entertainment stand (not a huge one with a bunch of shelves), a television, and a couple of lamps. It could even contain less (couch, chairs, and coffee table, for example). A bedroom might have a simple bed (or even just a mattress), a dresser, and perhaps a night stand or book shelf.

Clear surfaces.

In a minimalist home, flat surfaces are clear, except for one or two decorations (see next item). There are not a whole bunch of knick knacks, and definitely not stacks of books or papers or other items.

Accent decorations.

A home completely clear of things would be a bit boring, actually. So instead of having a coffee table completely free of any objects, you could have a simple vase with a few flowers, for example. Or a clear desk might just have a family photo. An otherwise empty wall might have a tasteful piece of art (I use my dad’s artwork, as he’s a great artist).

Quality over quantity.

Instead of having a lot of stuff in your home, a minimalist would choose just a few really good things he loves and uses often. A really nice table, for example, is better than 5 pieces of press-board furniture.

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Eco |

Zero Waste Bea Johnson teaches how to get started working towards a Zer o Waste life.

The zero in “zero waste” makes it sound scary and hard to achieve. It is actually not as as hard as it seems, and it is as simple as following these Five R’s, in order: Refuse what you do not need.

Reduce what you do need.

Reuse by using reusables.

Recycle what you cannot refuse or reuse.

Rot (compost) the rest.

Refuse 1. Fight junk mail. It’s not just a waste of resources, but also of time. Register to receive less at dmachoice.org, optoutprescreen.com and catalogchoice.org.

2. Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs, and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?

Reduce 3. Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand.

4. Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.

Reuse 5. Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels, but rather enjoy the savings.

6. Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market.

Recycle 7. Know your city’s recycling policies and locations— but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced, or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.

8. Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal, or cardboard.

Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).

Rot 9. Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).

10. Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost receptacle, the more likely you’ll be to use it freely.

Thank you for being open to change!

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Style |

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| Style

Developing a Signature Look: The Complete Guide Berlin minimalist blog ger Anuschka fr om into-mind.com gives a four step br eakdown on how to cr eate a personal unifor m.

A Signature Look in Four Steps As with all things wardrobe building, the two factors to keep in mind are form and function. Before you can start sketching out the individual components of your signature look you first need to figure out exactly what form and function mean to you: what is the essence of your style (form) and what are your wardrobe needs (function). Step 1 will help you refine your style concept and extract the three pieces of information you need to create your signature look.

Step 2 is all about figuring out which functional criteria your signature look needs to fulfil. Step 3 is where the real magic happens: where you combine form and function to design your signature look, from the main items to the finishing touches. Step 4 will then give you some ideas on how to best implement your new look into your wardrobe.

Some Tips Before You Start Designing a signature look is a very creative process and you will need to do a lot of iterations until you arrive at the final look. Make sure you have set up a comfortable and inspiring work space for yourself that allows you to view a lot of images and notes at the same time, either on your screen or on a desk (if you have a colour printer and can print your inspiration images). Be prepared to take a ton of notes, rewrite your ideas and cull bad ones.

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Style |

STEP 1: REFINE YOUR STYLE CONCEPT The first prerequisite for developing a signature look: your style concept. Now, your style concept does not need to be a masterpiece yet, fully formed and stable for multiple seasons. For most people their style concept will remain a work-in-progress for several years and that is ok. Creating a signature look for your current likes will help you define them in detail and ultimately allow them to evolve and develop.

Before you get to work on your signature look, reserve an afternoon for an extensive inspiration session and build a huge mood board full of images that inspire you in some way in regard to your style. Aim for coherence and only allow images on your mood board that you truly love – no fillers. Then:

Use your mood board to build a style concept. Read this post for an overview of all the different components of a good style concept. For the purpose of creating a signature look, focus on the first three components only (ignore the others for now): The mini mood board represents • the aesthetic feel of your style concept, • the list of elements • the colour palette If you have never built a style concept before, take your time with this first step – spread it out over a couple of days and let your ideas develop. Sometimes, a little bit of incubation time does wonders for our level of creativity.

STEP 2: FIGURE OUT YOUR WARDROBE NEEDS Apart from your style, your signature look should also be tailored to your body, colouring and lifestyle, i.e. your everyday activities. Everyday? Yes, I believe your signature look should not be one that you wear twice a month for special occasions. As the flagship look for your overall style it should play a major part in your rotation of outfits and be suitable for everyday wear.

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To do: Write a set of guidelines for your look. What practical elements does it need to include, what climate does it need to be tailored to, which things do you plan on doing while you wear your signature look, what kinds of things do you like on yourself (soft shades and high-waisted trousers, etc.) and what not (bright yellow, large patterns, etc.)? Also consider how closely you want to define your signature look: do you prefer a greater level of variety in your outfits or do you want a very defined, strong look based on a set of specific items?

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STEP 3: BUILD A 5-COMPONENT SIGNATURE LOOK This third step is where you combine all of the information and inspiration you have gathered into a single outfit. Now, an outfit or a look is essentially just a combination of several different elements that you stack on top of each other. The output might be an abstract piece of art but the process of putting it together is really rather basic: start with the foundation, add some furnishing, add finishing touches, then step back and review. In this step you will be using this exact principle to design your signature look, component by component, from the bottom up.

Any outfit can be dissected into five components: proportion, colour, accessories, hair & make up and details. Put your style concept, mood board and notes on your wardrobe needs in front of you, then go through each component and ask yourself the following two questions:

• Which proportion/colour palette/accessories/ hair & make up/ details best represent the overall aesthetic of my mood board and style concept?

• Do my chosen proportion/colour palette/ac-

cessories/hair & make up/ details work with my colouring, body and lifestyle?

In a nutshell: For each component, find the best representation for your style concept, filter it through your wardrobe’s needs, then move on to the next.

Once you have written down some suggestions for each component, compare how they would all work together and adjust. Remember: This is not supposed to be a linear process, you will have to go back and forth several times, just like a stylist or an art director would, and adapt things, tweak and fine tune. Your final product should be a complete signature look with a full description of every item and possible alternatives.

a. proportion a. proportion

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Style |

a. proportion The proportion of a look is its most defining feature and should be chosen first. A proportion is nothing but a combination of specific item categories, for example a longsleeve, loose-fitting sweater + flared mini skirt + long-line, tailored coat or slim-fitting jeans + loafers + t-shirt + cropped jacket.

If your mood board does not contain a lot of outfit photos, finding a certain proportion to represent your style concept can be a little tricky. Ask yourself: if someone walked right out of that world, your style concept, what kind of outfit would they be wearing? A suit or a loose maxi dress? Jeans and a t-shirt or lots of layers?

Check out the Proportions Catalogue if you need more inspiration. Function is a key factor for this component, so make sure your chosen proportion is 100% tailored to the climate of where you live and your activities.

Example: The proportion that definitely stands out from our sample mood board is cropped, relaxed-fit pants + a loose-fitting shirt + flat shoes. The leather jacket from the middle picture could be an optional topper.

b. colour Extracting a colour essence from a mood board is usually a little easier and more intuitive than extracting a proportion. Inspect the colour palette you have created as part of your style concept, narrow it down to about 2 – 4 colours and then compare your chosen shades to your own colouring. Do they suit your skin tone, hair and eye colour or do you need to tweak them a little? Click here for suggestions on how to tweak a colour palette to your colouring without losing its overall aesthetic.

Example: The colour palette of the sample mood board is relatively muted and deep. I would extract black and burgundy as the main colours and my first choice for key pieces (jackets, pants or shoes), and a light creme as a neutral. Rose gold, gold and a brighter red would make great accent colours, worn either as accessories, make up, nail polish or paired in small doses with neutral pieces.

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c. accessories Once you have selected the base of your signature look, its colour palette and proportion, you can move on to the finishing touches and details. Refer to your mood board and your list of elements and ask yourself: Which accessories could I supplement my proportion with to better match the overall feel of my style concept/ mood board? Think jewellery, belts, scarfs, gloves, bags. Remember: no accessories is also a statement.

Example: The sample mood board does not contain too many accessories, but we can use our colour palette and the overall feel of the mood board to select some criteria for accessories we need (like a bag), even if the final look is supposed to be relatively streamlined and simple. The rose-gold elements of the mood board could be represented by either a few pieces of delicate rose gold jewellery or a watch.

d. hair & make up Next up: hair & make up. Would a bold red lip express the overall look you are going for or would a classic 10-Step face a la Bobbi Brown be a better fit? Your colouring is obviously a big factor to take into account here, but also your lifestyle: How much time are you able to devote to your beauty routine every morning? Do not aim for an elaborate routine, if you are more of a wash n’ go type.

Example: The beauty component is the easiest one to extract in this case: Deep red, burgundy nail polish + a wash of soft gold or bronze eyeshadow. Hair: long and strictly unstyled.

e. details Details like tucking hems, rolling up sleeves, patterns, textures and embellishments can completely transform an outfit so as a last step take some notes on the details you want to include in your look. If you prefer a more fluent signature look, these are definitely things you can vary from time to time, e.g. wear a stripy t-shirt one day, a stark white one the next.

Example: The mood board features two striped shirts and, since a marinière in black/cream fits our colour palette well, it could definitely be included in our signature look. Another important feature: rolled up hems and bare ankles.

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Style |

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STEP 4: IMPLEMENT YOUR SIGNATURE LOOK What comes after the design process? Yep, the implementation. Incorporating your fresh, new signature look into your wardrobe. Here’s how: practice, try it out, tweak some more Get at least one version of each component of your look and work with it: Try on the full look, including hair and make up, experiment with a few details (e.g. tuck in your shirt, add some liner, etc). Remember that styling is a profession and therefore a skill that can and needs to be trained. While you are at it, pair a few of your signature look components with the rest of your wardrobe and write down the best looks so you have something to refer to later. stock your wardrobe Once you are happy with your final look, aim to curate several items per component that you can mixand-match. Depending on how fluent your signature look is, choose slightly different versions for your components or double up on items. If the above look was my own signature look I would aim for this constellation: 3 pairs of pants (all a relaxed-fit, in black, burgundy and a light creme shade) 4 tops (two striped, one burgundy, one black) 2 pairs of shoes (one black, one burgundy) 1 watch (to wear every day) 1 eyeshadow palette (with a few different colours) 2 nail polishes (one in burgundy, another in either deep green or a deep marine shade) 2 clutch bags (one black, another in creme) 1 pair of glasses (black) 2 leather jackets (one in a shorter, loose fit, another that is a bit longer, but more tight-fitting) As a final step, consider rearranging your wardrobe a little: Group all of your signature look items together and make sure you give them a good spot in your wardrobe (read: not the back of the shelf or crumpled up in a hard-to-reach drawer).

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Philosophy |

Aparigraha

By Emma Newlyn

“Let your concer n be with the action alone, and never with the fruits of action. Do not let the r esults of your action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.�

Krishna

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Aparigraha is the last of the five yamas of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga. It often translates to ‘non-greed’, ‘non-possessiveness’, and ‘non-attachment’.

What does this yama teach us and how do we translate this on and off our mats?

The yamas are essentially moral guidelines by which to live with regard to our relationship with ourselves, and the world around us. These moral codes can be applied both on an off the yoga mat, helping us to practice not just for the benefit of ourselves, but for the world around us.

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Philosophy | Patanjali’s yamas are:

• • • •

Ahimsa: Non Violence Satya: Truthfulness Asteya: Non Stealing Brahmacharya: ‘right use of energy’

Last but by no means least is Aparigraha, which often translates as ‘nongreed’, ‘non-possessiveness’, and ‘non-attachment’. The word ‘graha’ means to take, to seize, or to grab, ‘pari’ means ‘on all sides’, and the prefix ‘a’ negates the word itself - basically, it means ‘non’. This important yama teaches us to take only what we need, keep only what serves us in the moment, and to let go when the time is right.

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.....

Aparigraha is actually one of the central teachings in the Yogic text the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna shares one of the teachings that could perhaps be the most important lesson of all to learn: ‘Let your concern be with action alone, and never with the fruits of action. Do not let the results of action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction’.

What Krishna is essentially saying here, is that we should never concern ourselves with the outcome of a situation, we should only concern ourselves with what we’re actually doing right now as we work towards that outcome.

For example - how often do we worry about what might come of the effort we put into a project at work, a holiday we’re planning, or a meal we’re preparing, that we never really enjoy the work itself ? So often we worry if we’ll be successful enough, or ‘good enough’ when we put our hearts on the line to show the world what we’re made of, that we forget why we started in the first place.

Go for it!

If you know you have something to do and share with the world, this teaching from the Bhagavad Gita tells us to do it – and to do it with all our hearts – and to let go of what might come of it. Great poets like Henry David Thoreu and Walt Whitman, painters like Camille Corot, and even composers like Beethoven couldn’t be sure of what would come of their work. Many were considered unworthy of recognition when they first showed the world their creations, but when they let go of the need to be praised by other people – when they let go of feeling as though their happiness was determined by what other people thought, and they just worked for the love of it – they allowed their passions to come alive, and lived fulfilled and abundant lives. When we understand and can fully comprehend how to live in this way, it’s a bit like taking a huge sigh of relief….

Here, we’ll discuss how we can all cultivate a little more ‘non-attachment’, ‘non-greed’ and ‘non possessiveness’ in our lives….

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| Philosophy

Aparigraha on the mat: We may all walk into our Yoga class looking forward to practicing, setting our intention and ready to move and breathe our way towards a more peaceful mind.

Often halfway through though, something happens: We lose sight of the real reason we came, and our practice is no longer about connecting to ourselves and being present, but about being better than the person on the mat next to us, or pushing ourselves into that super impressive asana…. Sound familiar?

This is where the ‘non-greed’ and ‘non-attachment’ aspects come into play.

If you have developed a home practice, then you’re already feeling the benefits of getting on the mat more often. The more we practice of course, the stronger and more flexible we become physically, but it takes a little longer for our minds to catch up.

While our bodies are more than happy with this daily

dose of asana practice, the mind is all too often distracted with thoughts about how we could be better, stronger, or how we could get into that fancy arm balance quicker. We never seem to be satisfied with just what is at that moment, the mind becomes greedy, and we want more. As I’ve said in a previous blog post about the Yamas & Niyamas - we live in a ‘Mc Donalds society’, we want everything, we want it now, and we want it super-sized.

Practice for the love of practicing Progress in our practice is encouraging, but it doesn’t need to be the only reward. The sheer joy of the practice is the greatest reward in itself, realising how freeing it is not to have a specific goal we must achieve, but to simply move our bodies in a way that feels good. If we practice for the love of practicing, without forcing or pushing ourselves beyond our edge, the body will unfold naturally and those more challenging asanas will be accessible in no time.

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Philosophy |

Aparigraha at home: How many clothes do you have in your cupboard that you know you won’t ever wear again, but they’re still hanging in there just in case? How many gadgets, ornaments, books and shoes do we have that we really just don’t need?

Aparigraha can teach us that we actually probably don’t need the new shirt that looks exactly like that other one we have at home, we probably don’t really need to buy that new cushion just because it goes with the new wallpaper, and we definitely don’t need that new car just because it’s better than our neighbours’….

The more we hoard material possessions, the more we weigh ourselves down with not only physical, but energetic baggage, and the more we become attached to and worry about losing these said possessions.

Believing that the new object we buy will bring us happiness is based on a feeling of lack that all too often enters our minds. In this sense, ‘lack’ is that sense of ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I’m not whole without that new thing’, when really we always were and always will be good enough no matter what. If we lighten the load a little by either selling some of the things we don’t need, or even better by giving them to charity, then we move towards living a less cluttered life both in our homes and in our minds.

The next time you feel you need to buy something new, take a moment to think of why you need it so much - will it bring lasting happiness?

Will it help you find peace? Will it help you live in a more self-reliant and simpler way? (Hint…. This is also a great way to save a lot of money!)

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Aparigraha in diet: Many texts advise eating moderately, so as not to disturb our practice, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in particular lists over-eating as a hindrance on the yogic path. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t enjoy your favourite meals and treats, and it’s so important to make sure each of us nourishes ourselves to stay healthy, but it’s useful to listen to our bodies to recognise when enough is enough. It has been well documented that the world’s ‘blue zones’ (the places in the world with the highest life expectancy, and the healthiest quality of life) eat until about 80% full, so as to allow the body to properly digest and assimilate food. Okinawa in Japan is one of these blue zones, and the phrase ‘Hara Hachi Bu’, meaning ‘eat until you are eight parts full’ originates here.

It’s not just how much we eat that is worth considering, but also how much we throw away!

30% - 50% of the food produced in the world ends up as waste, this is equivalent to up to 2 billion tonnes. With a growing global population of around 9 billion people, demands for food are growing, but still well over 8 million people in the world go hungry every day. The food currently wasted in Europe could feed around 200 million people, so why are we still being greedy, over-buying and wasting food?

While of course we can’t all travel to undernourished countries to help feed those going hungry, we can still do our bit to help. When we practice on our yoga mat and help ourselves to feel good and create a sense of peace and positivity, that’s only really the beginning of the practice…. What we do after that is where it all counts; by creating a sense of peace within ourselves, we essentially make our selves more useful in the world. When our minds are less cluttered with worries and attachment, we can get on to the important stuff, like really making a difference in the world around us.

Start small; this could mean sticking to your shopping list next time you’re at the supermarket and not putting those extra indulgent treats into the trolley. It could mean cooking a big meal to share with friends, to make sure nothing goes to waste, or it could mean saving any leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

Maybe this could lead on to donating tins of food to those in need, or even volunteering to help feed those at a local shelter. Remember, our practice is to help ourselves feel good, but it doesn’t stop there…

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Philosophy |

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Aparigraha in our minds: Hindsight is a wonderful – and annoyingly useful – thing. If only we knew that those things we obsessively worry over didn’t really matter? If only we could stop being concerned with what might happen, and just enjoy what is happening?

Each time we enter into a new relationship, experience a sensation of joy and happiness, or start a new project, there’s often a flash of concern as we think – even just for a moment – what happens when this is over? What will come of this?

Becoming attached to a positive feeling or a positive experience is completely human, why wouldn’t we want to feel happy for as long as we can? But when we experience positivity, do we really let ourselves fully have that experience, or do we cling to it, willing everything to stay just as it is in that moment?

Change is the only constant thing we can expect in life The Sanskrit word ‘Parinamavada’ is the teaching that ‘everything is in a constant state of flux’. Indeed, change is the only constant thing we can expect in life. Just as the trees drop their leaves in Autumn so that they may grow new buds in Spring, the day turns to night, the seasons come and go, we too go through

changes every moment of every day. Our physical bodies are undergoing change every second with cells regenerating, blood flowing, bone wearing down and then being stimulated to build up again, breath moving in and out of the body; so too do our minds experience change continuously.

Happiness, joy and peace are important emotions to feel, yes, but so too is sadness, anger and loss. To experience only the good stuff is to experience only half of what life has to offer. The school of life exists to allow us to experience and learn from every aspect of our being, the light and the dark, and to truly live we must not push away the things we don’t want to feel, but allow them to happen, and know that this too shall pass. When we let the moment be what it is without either trying to cling to it, or to push it away, we can really say we’re living in that moment, allowing things to come and go, without the need to possess any of it.

Aparigraha offers us so much freedom - the freedom to work and do what we love without worrying about the outcome, the freedom to rely less on external and material possessions to bring us happiness, and the freedom to experience everything life has to offer, whatever that may be. See what happens when you apply this yama to your life, what happens when you just let go?

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Contributors

A little bit about our inspiring minimalist writers.

Mohamed Tohami from Midway Simplicity “Look at me as a normal person who is frustrated by the radical minimalism tips out there and has decided to document and share his midway simple living ideas and experiments with you..

Leo Babauta from Zenhabits “Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.”

Bea Johnson from Zero Waste Home “My name is Bea Johnson, native of France and currently living in Mill Valley, California.Since adopting the Zero Waste lifestyle in 2008, my life and that of my family have changed for the better. We not only feel happier, but we also lead more meaningful lives based on experiences instead of stuff.”

Anuschka Rees from Into Mind “Hi, my name is Anuschka and I live in Berlin. I’m interested in all things minimalism and living a slower, simpler life with less stuff. This blog is where I write about everything I’ve learnt so far.”

Emma Newlyn from Yoga with Emma “Emma is a musician, yoga teacher and blogger from the UK, with a passion for spreading wellbeing and happiness to others. Having trained with Esther Ekhart, she now teaches yoga classes in the South East of England with an emphasis on exploring your potential and getting to know the real YOU.”

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