I consider the term zero-waste to be a buzzword. The reason I say that is because zero-waste in most households is unattainable, but it’s a word that is thrown around a lot lately. It’s something that most of us strive to achieve; however, it is an unrealistic goal for anyone to be completely zero-waste. When I refer to zero-waste, I use it as a term that means zero-waste to landfill. I know that in some countries, recycling is a joke and that the local council doesn’t do enough to recycle your recycling properly. It also doesn’t help that so many of us don’t know how to recycle properly, but that’s a post for another day.

When I refer to zero-waste, I want it to be accessible, something that we can all strive to achieve day in, day out. [continue reading…]

I have a thing for chai. My mum has been making and selling her own tea blends for many years, and I’ve gotten used to having great tea around the house. Having worked for her for three years in her naturopathic clinic, I was drinking, making, selling and serving tea almost every day. I loved the smells that I would get from mixing different herbs and spices.

One thing that I never experimented with myself was making a spicy, rich, black tea based chai. She crafted the most delicious dandelion chai as well as a turmeric chai (I normally really don’t like turmeric chai when I have it out, but hers is pretty darn amazing). So, I set out on a mission to make a chai that would be bold, flavourful and healthy. [continue reading…]

In mid-2018, we made the decision to close our online store and start making plans to move to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Those plans involved us going full-time with The Minimalist Vegan in April of this year. We have done that and now are working hard towards making our dreams come true and moving to a city that has been calling us for many years.

Maša spent the first eight years of her life in Ljubljana and had dreamt of moving back ever since. Michael visited back in 2015 and fell in love with the Medieval city.

With our dog Chewy, we are moving to Europe in August of this year. [continue reading…]

When we think of clutter, we often link it back to the excess of things in our fixed environment, whether it’s our home, business or office. And even our stationary environments present the challenge of not only clearing surfaces but also having the presence of mind to address what we keep in storage.

But after decluttering our storage, there’s still persistent clutter that exists in different environments. I like to call this “clutter on the go”.

In this post, I’m going to share two fundamental examples of clutter on the go and the common triggers for how we develop clutter in these areas. [continue reading…]

One thing that I was worried about when I changed to a vegan diet was that I wouldn’t be able to have a white sauce in anything ever again. The smooth, rich texture of cheese melting in my mouth with whatever I was eating it with was a feeling I thought wouldn’t be part of my future.

It took me a good part of a year when I became vegan back in 2014, to realise that I could make a vegan version of a creamy white sauce and make it taste great! I knew that nutritional yeast was a vegan type of “cheese” to sprinkle on so many different things instead of dairy cheeses. On its own, I normally use it to incorporate into a tomato sauce with pasta, sprinkle on soups or risottos, or add it to my dog’s food! You can use it in so many different ways. [continue reading…]

Veganism is on the rise, and people are joining the movement, being inspired by different motivations. For us, it was to reduce pain and suffering to animals. For you, it might be for the environment. For others, it’s about optimising your health.

But does eating a plant-based diet guarantee good health? And if you aren’t experiencing the often promised health benefits of a vegan diet, what do you do?

In this conversation, we discuss our experience with health since we became vegan in 2014, as well as some things we’ve learned along the way. [continue reading…]

I’ve always had an on and off relationship with money. I’ve gone through phases of embracing money as a vehicle for financial wealth, and I’ve also had moments where I’ve questioned the concept of monetary exchange and the trance-like control it has over all of us.

But whether we like it or not, money is important. Yes, even for a counter-culture minimalist like me who’s tried to rebel against giving the monetary system power.

So if money is so essential, debt is bad. Like, really bad!

And I don’t say this to make you feel terrible about your situation. No, I’ve experienced the extreme clutter of debt my whole adult life.

Despite having switched-on parents. Despite having legit qualifications and years of work experience in accounting and finance. I still managed to trap myself in debt from the moment I could get my hands on loans and credit cards.

From ages 19 to 30 I got into debt, got out of debt (thanks to my late fathers’ inheritance), then got into debt again, before putting on my grown-up pants, devising a plan and executing on clearing over $20,000 in debt in a six-month timeframe. [continue reading…]

I remember when I first had this cake. It was near a nursery in a cafe that is surrounded by a beautiful park. This was before I became vegan. I recall noting down the name of the cake mentally as I fell in love with it. I wanted to have it again if I came across it next time I was out in a cafe. That day never came. It’s been over a decade since that day, and I am yet to see anyone make this cake, vegan or not.

So as I was going through my Pinterest binge to get some inspiration for recipes, I came across a Lumberjack cake that wasn’t vegan, and it brought back those memories. I was on a mission to recreate it and do the flavours and texture proud, but make it vegan and gluten-free. [continue reading…]

Giving and receiving gifts is something we’ve been doing since the beginning of time.

And you can see why. It’s fulfilling to provide meaningful gifts for people you care about and watch them light up.

But as a minimalist who ruthlessly watches your consumption habits, how do you manage the idea of gifts? Is the non-participation in gift-giving the answer? Or do we need to be more flexible? [continue reading…]