This month’s simple treats

This simple treats post highlights a few tweeks I have made to make life run a little smoother, while also taking baby steps to reduce my impact on the environment.

Reusable make-up removing pads

While this doesn’t seem like a “treat” in the usual sense of the term, I am framing it that way because it removes a small source of stress: remembering to buy more pads to wash my face with. These reusable pads are to single-use pads what menstrual cups are to tampons and sanitary pads. As a side note, I highly recommend getting a menstrual cup – I’ve had mine for almost four years now and I have nothing bad to say about it! Both the menstrual cup and the reusable pads are a small investment at the start (£20 or less), which will quickly pay itself back in savings. Just think of all the waste you are not sending to landfill too!

Vegan foundation and moisturisers

Are you sensing a theme here? My second treat this month is also skincare-related. I have been on a mostly plant-based diet for the best part of two years now, but I have only just started intentionally buying vegan makeup (I know, I know, but I’m getting there!). I was a bit worried that vegan products would be too expensive or too difficult to get my hands on. However a quick Google search revealed that Superdrug has an affordable vegan and cruelty-free makeup and skincare line. I can also order them online and collect them in the Abingdon shop the next day, so no more excuses!

This is great news on three fronts:

• I don’t want to put animal bits on my face;
• I believe makeup shouldn’t be tested on animals;
• I don’t want to spend a fortune on beauty products.

Click here to learn the difference between vegan and cruelty-free and why they are both important. The products I have bought from Superdrug are two foundations, a moisturiser and a facial oil – I’m satisfied with all of them so far. In any case, if you wear makeup or use moisturiser, do look out for the leaping bunny and the vegan logos!

Calm mornings

I’ve been doing variants of Hal Elrod’s “miracle morning” for a couple years now. It involves (in varying proportions) silence, affirmations, visualisation, exercise, reading and writing. They’re all detailed in his book, but the main idea is to get up bright and early, in order to take some time for yourself and thus start your day right.

I have combined this miracle morning practice with creating time-bound goals and tracking my habits as suggested by Jeff Sanders. However, to track some of my healthy habits, I use gadgets such as my Fitbit – which requires me to turn my phone’s Internet on, so that it can sync with the Fitbit app.

Here comes the problem: while I’m supposed to be taking the time to check in with myself, my phone starts vibrating all over the show with notifications from various apps. It’s then easy to get caught up replying, googling things, worrying and essentially forgetting about the intention of the whole thing.

Therefore I’ve now decided to check in with my habits once a week instead and spend my mornings in blissful Internet-less peace. So far so good – I’m getting a lot more reading done already!

On my wishlist: a colour-changing mug

We stayed with my parents for a week early this month and I borrowed one of their mugs. When empty, it’s black with eyes on it, and when you fill it up with hot liquids, water and sea creatures appear – hours of fun! It’s the little things…

Please let me what you are treating yourself to in the comments below!

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