Achieving harmony in minimalism for an environmentally friendly lifestyle has been a part of me for most of the year, although it's not like it's an easy lifestyle to live, but then I guess being an introvert made this much easier for me to put into practice and live by, and even though the society around me cherishes flamboyant lifestyles, I'm still able to stay on track, and today I'll love to tell you all about it.
Growing up, one of the core minimalist and valuable things I learned from my grandparents, whom I grew up with, was farming and the idea of planting one's own food in order to not just minimize the cost of food items but also maintain a friendly and healthy environment that would create a conducive environment.
I remember being very small when I was encouraged to plant my first tree as a young boy, and the stem I planted was that of a gauva. Although it seems like it'll take eternity for the tree to grow tall and many years before it starts bearing fruit, well, that was true; it did take years, but one thing I didn't know is that even though my main mindset of planting the guava was to have something to eat when famished, isn't that the thought of most kids😃? What Ididn'twknow wass thattheetree wouldl grow big enough to do more than that.
I can remember growing up in my grandparents place, and the guava tree of yesterday has grown so tall to the point where I didn't just look up to it for fruit but also depended on it for fresh air. As I live in a part of the world where electricity isn't constant, one way to get fresh air when the heat is unbearable is to either open the window so the room will be well ventilated, but the easiest is stepping out and sitting next to the trees that promise to give us undiluted free air that helps us forget about the heat.
It's so pleasing to know that the small stem I planted years ago grew up to become something so valuable for me and my environment. In fact, most times when the heat becomes unbearable and I can't go out at night for fresh air under the tree, all I do is simply move to the room whose window is closest to the guara tree, and there I get to enjoy a decent amount of air than I would in other parts of the house.
Still on farming as a medium to achieve harmony in minimalism for an environmentally friendly lifestyle is the act of planting my own food items. I've been in and around the garden from a tender age, and even then, I don't really understand what we're doing and how it impacts us, our finances, and the environment. But growing up, I got to understand this and know how it impacts our lives, and this has made me a perpetual gardener.
Through the years, in order to bring about ease and cut costs as a minimalist, I've indulged in many homesteading activities, one of which is farming. I've planted almost all kinds of food items, from yam to maize, tomatoes, guava, sugarcane, vegetables, cassava, melon, and several others, to mention but a few.
All of these put together have gone on to save the day on several occasions because I simply walked into my farm, harvested a few items, and dinner would be made at no cost. On a normal day, I would have spent a huge amount of money to buy all of those food items I'm harvesting for free on my farm.
Farming plays a big role in our environment, whether intentional or unintentional. As a homesteader, we're playing a key role in curbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also helps and aids the soil's health. The act of crop rotation and the use of organic fertilizers bring about healthy soil and promote biodiversity.
Another aspect and way whereby I achieved harmony in minimalism for an environmentally friendly lifestyle is through my skills. I'm a skilled shoemaker, and I can also sew clothes, and with those skills, I've utilized the opportunity to do things myself without having to depend on paying a huge amount of money to get them done for me. Ever since I learned how to make shoes, I've had little or no need to purchase any footwear whatsoever. Rather than purchase, I simply pay a visit to the market, buy the leathers at a cheaper rate, and craft out the shoes to my taste.
This act has been cost-effective to me and has also saved me the stress of jumping from one store to another, all in the name of searching for clothing and shoes. Although I still buy clothes once in awhile because I hardly practice what I've learned, this has made me forget some of the things I've learned about sewing, but for shoes, except for sneakers, others can be crafted from scratch.
Another thing about maintaining harmony is the ability to do things yourself and recycle items rather than throw them away. The act of recycling saves our environment from being jam-packed with different waste materials here and there, and for me personally, when any of my shoes are torn, I simply pick them up and do some manual repairs on them to make them fit for use again.
And in situations where the shoe is torn beyond repair, what I usually do is recycle, whether that's using its various parts for something else or just utilizing them in the creation of new footwear entirely. This usually saves me the stress of running around having to inhale toxic gases from vehicles into my lungs, and most especially, it reduces the amount of waste I've around me.
The same is done for clothes, as I can literally pick up a fabric of my old clothes and, rather than throw them into the trash, I can use them to sew clothes for my niece and nephew's toys and teddy's. As you know, children love their teddy, and they'll do everything during their play to care for the teddy the same way we do for them.
That's about it for now. I'm not saying I'm perfect at maintaining harmony in minimalism for a friendly environment, but I'm playing my path and hope to indulge in more of such activities going forward to make our environment more conducive, harmonious, and friendly for all.
Thanks so much for your time. Have a wonderful day ahead, and stay blessed.
All photos are mine.
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