It’s amazing how I feel like I’m living so ascetically now, compared to how I was living pre-pandemic. The most blatant ones that are applicable across the sphere are probably that the socials definitely lessened, the time for work and extra-curricular activities – the ones that I’ve always had a passion for – have suddenly gotten maybe double the airtime, or even more. With the socials lessening came the decrease in frivolous spending, too. That has been somewhat a relief. I realize that the money I spend on socials every week is probably the most that I spend on. I shop only on select occasions, and I have staples that can last me all seasons. I don’t spend much on food – I take a pre-packed meal from home, or when I need to buy outside, it doesn’t matter to me which restaurant it is. So the most expensive things I buy are actually the nights out with friends in restaurants of their choice, plus the drinks and the Ubers going home.
Wow. Talking about those elements feels like talking to my kids about how it used to be during the old days. Haha. Just to be clear, I don’t have kids. I was being metaphorical.
As I was saying, those are now a thing of the past. There’s none of those to spend on now. At home, the home cooked meals are a fifth of the price of a meal at my friend’s choice restaurants or probably even less. Plus they’re also reliably good, and reliably healthier too. I know most of my friends are taking advantage of GrabFood and all their attendant promos but I find myself rarely craving for anything these days. And it made me realize how decadent life used to be and how compared to now, and I’m really not complaining. I’m enjoying whatever it is that I have here, and actually prefer it.
The nights out translated into more hours of sleep and so that I think really helped with my skin and not to mention my sanity. I get more time to not hurry now and just, more time to take my time. Even my hair seems to be getting thicker, thank God. One of my friends told me about how she stopped shampooing her hair and limited it to once a week tops, and also only if there was a lot of sweat, sun exposure, and physical activity during the day. Otherwise, it would be water, and maybe conditioner, if necessary.
As a guy, I don’t really use conditioner, and I tried doing what she shared. It did a lot for my dandruff (the lessening of it!) and it really feels like it’s getting thicker now! This is pretty amazing if you ask me. I never thought a life without shampooing was possible but apparently, it’s pretty okay. No one at home tells me of any smell.
Even the showers have lessened. It helps with less drying of my skin. I take a shower every time I go out which isn’t that often, maybe once a week to thrice maximum to do the usual errands for the house and for work. But other than that, once a day seems to suffice. Now I have less acne breakouts, too. Pretty amazing.
I realized I don’t really need much of the things I thought I did. In fact, not getting them seems to make me feel fuller, richer, healthier, and happier overall. These small improvements with my skin, sleep, hair, eating and even showering habits may seem miniscule but they’re worth documenting. And how living with minimal products and being attuned and aware with how my body reacts to these changes are sort of meditative in their own right.