I know. It has been such a loooooong while since I have written a blogpost.

Yes, I really do miss writing and being able to share my experiences, reflections and thoughts about matters regarding sustainability and how to reduce waste in Singapore.

So with the coming Lunar New Year, I thought “why not finally write an article about it?”. And being in this low waste journey for 7 years, I sat down to think, “ what should I share about this year?’’

So, here is something a little different.

It is 3 Things I Do Differently This Lunar New Year and I hope you enjoyed this piece!

If you wish to read other articles we wrote about Lunar New Year, they are:

Snacks? Maybe A Little Less This Time

Ever since I shifted into my place, I started to realise that managing and avoiding food waste is something I struggle with.

Who would have expected that generating unexpected food waste is a lot more common than expected? Even I have some difficulty reducing it.

It could be food getting mouldy after being in the fridge for a certain period.

It could be past the expiry date and even though I now eat food past expiry date, these foods are no longer edible.

It could also be buying portions that are too much for a 2 pax household and not being able to use the ingredients in time.

Boy has it been difficult to manage food waste. This year with LNY and to avoid the mistake we made last year, we only bought 4 containers of snacks instead of 8.

We also guessed that we will be gifted some CNY goodies from our family and since we don’t open our house for visitation too, guess who is going to be eating those snacks? Yes, us! ><

Hence, we took a conscious effort to reduce the snacks we purchased this year, without any regrets.

Plus, we even went a step further today when purchasing the snacks by choosing some vegetarian ones and bringing our own bag to the LNY fair!

 

New Clothing = New In Closet, Not Brand New

Just a heads up, this one might challenge tradition a little, so only practice it if you are comfortable!

Is it believed that you should do away with the old and wear new clothes for Lunar New Year as it symbolises a fresh beginning to the year.

I stopped doing that for a couple of years ever since embarking this low waste journey.

But challenging the belief a little, I redefined what ‘new’ means to me.

By new, I define it to be new in my wardrobe rather than brand new. This means that I can still get pieces from second hand stores or clothing swap!

One of my favourite places to shop at is Refash 😊

The other strategy of mine – getting brand new clothing for Day 1 of Lunar New Year and wearing my old clothing for Day 2 and 3!

Why not meet in the middle to make your parents, yourself and the earth happy?

Everlasting Decorations

When my husband and I were deciding to buy flower decorations last year, I am so glad that we managed to get an everylasting one. By everlasting, I mean:

  • one that has no shelf life
  • one that can be reused indefinitely
  • one that is not theme specific
  • one that we see ourselves using for the next 5 to 8 years

For this year, we got our mum’s help to refresh the flowers and the decoration to change up the style and look rather than buying a new one!

This year, when we were buying our decorations for our front door, we applied the same rule to ensure it is everlasting.

 

 

Hope these tips help you during this Lunar New Year!