About The Blogger

My name is Tammy Lim and I am an award winning blogger from Top 10 Malaysia Magazine and Cleo Malaysia Magazine. I have been blogging since 2008 and I am also the founder of a local Malaysian beauty & lifestyle community called The Butterfly Project. People often tell me that I'm a wonder woman, but in reality - if it's something you love, you can do wonders.

When I'm not wondering, I'll be on my computer searching for the next fountain of youth or hunting down a fantastic deal. I'm also a shopaholic, wanderluster, spa enthusiast and proud hipster who loves planning special occasions and surprises for her loved ones.
  • Top 10 Female Bloggers in Malaysia Award
  • Cleo's Next Top Blogger Malaysia Award
  • Founder of The Butterfly Project Malaysia



  • What To Do During MCO?

    4.27.2020

    how I stay sane during MCO

    It is a difficult time for all of us during Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia which is just a form of lockdown but with more freedom than what you would expect from an actual lockdown. Gradually, it became stricter but I am still grateful to be able to go out for essentials in my neighborhood. 

    The Malaysia MCO started on the 18th of March 2020, and it continues till (I don't know when). I was expecting even before it was announced by the Government. Even if the Gov did not suggest it, I would have done so for my own team for fear of the pandemic. Traveling via public transportation isn't exactly helping especially for my staff who have to brave through the LRT cramped with hundreds of people every day.

    Even for myself, I take the bus, MRT, and then LRT on a daily basis just to get to work.

    (towards the increase of infections, I started taking Grab/MyCar out of my own pocket).

    I was grateful when it started, the ability to work from home is God sent, however, working from home started to take a toll on my mental health as I soon find myself in a state of depression. I am used to being alone or left to do my own activities but during MCO, it is the mere fact that one cannot escape outside that enprisons your mind, and soon eats away at your spirits.

    MCO week 2, I chop 4 inches of my hair out of frustration, or maybe because I was under the impression that I am a natural-born hairstylist - wrong.

    I started planning on how I could channel my mental state to be distracted with things that I could do right at home and today I wanted to share, in a simple list how you can do so too.

    You know besides cooking, working, etc.



    MY #MCO TO-DO-LIST

     easy to do home DIYs

    Home Makeovers
    This is something that some of us might put off in the past, but right now you have all the time in the world to actually start repairing, transforming, or upcycling something at home. Whatever the budget you have or none at all, you have the power to change your home to what you want within your limitations and capabilities. The more "hardy/talented" you are, the more you can do.

    Top 1: Go online to buy and research prices! I shop on Shopee a lot because it gives me the freedom to choose who I want to buy from and read reviews before I buy. Be sure to buy ready-stock and if you need it fast, get it from local sellers (check with them first!).

    make the best of being at home!


    turned my balcony into a tea-time stalking corner


    turned my toilet into an urban jungle poo place


    repair whatever I can find at home


    figuring out ways to hide ugly areas

    Me? I resorted to Youtube videos and Pinterest pictures to help me makeover some really annoying items that I have been putting off for the past 5 years at home. For instance:
    1. I DIY my ugly study table and then more
    2. I makeover my balcony from (ugh don't wanna sit there) to (yay let me be here whole day)
    3. I change my barren ugly toilet, to a mini jungle toilet, so now I poo in the jungle.


    I'm planning more makeovers as I have a lot of grudges at my tiny home of 500sft. It is a rental so therefore a lot of existing furnishing, mood, theme, fixtures are not exactly what I am looking for.  However, since I can't afford my own property, I will have to do makeovers that's rental friendly. Rental friendly means, you can reverse it back to the way it is or that it doesn't actually damage/change entirely what's not yours in the first place. Else, you're going to be slap with a hefty fine by your owner or risk losing your deposit.

    A lot of youtube videos home makeovers are catered to rental friendly! 

    Decluttering
    Thanks to Marie Kondo's 2019 Spark Joy movement, most of us are aware of the fundamental steps to a home where no clutter can clutter your mind no more. I am still working on this, struggling to part aways with all my "precious". As a shopaholic and box hoarder, I kept a lot of "maybes" at home, tucked away at any corner I could find. The maybes are items that maybe I would use say for as a gift, as a storage, as packaging when I deliver things. So many maybes.

    I just need to say there's no maybe! who cares!

    kitchen decluttering watch my IG-Story here

    I did declutter my kitchen, which was the first place I started in my home. The Kitchen was filled with all sorts of thingamajigs, and I couldn't understand how just two-person needed 20 cups and 30 plates at home. Besides items that could be donated, there are a lot of items that you don't realize can be clean and recycled (plastics/paper/glass). Since I live near Tesco and Ikea, there are recycling hubs there. If you live near 1Utama, they have a huge recycling program as well (including the latest food-compost program here).

    Tip 1: You can pack and donate them to those who need it, or to your building cleaners.
    Tip 2: You need a lot of garbage bags to prepare for decluttering.
    Tip 3: Clean your beauty stuff, they can be recycled at L'Occitane / Melvita stores.

    IPC recycling station

    Tesco recycling stations


    Plant Therapy

    Ok, I am ashamed that in the midst of decluttering, I am actually adding more things into my home! But wait, these things make up a part of my home. In my ultimate search for peace, tranquility, and serenity. While I was decluttering, I actually regretted spending my money on items such as beauty products that, could not stand the test of time. Either the packaging disintegrates or it expires. Why oh why I have so many of these that I pay good money for, but ultimately, in the end, is worth nothing?

    I murdered a lot of plants before I got here

    gardening as a therapeutic hobby 

    I do realize I only have one face, one skin and I do not need all these things. So yes slowly I have started getting rid of it even before MCO started. I hope to be able to sell them at a relatively cheap price to find them new homes because I still love them, just can't keep them.

    The money earned from my garage sales, I turn them into improving my tiny home. I bought plants, started propagating them as well. They make my tiny home a joy to be in. Every morning I would wake up to greet my plants all standing proud and tall with the sunlight streaming in my balcony window. 

    Never in a million years would I thought, I will be a plant person. I never had a green thumb anyway, whatever plants that fell into my hands, died in one way or another. Call me the murderer if you will. When I moved into my tiny home, I fell in love with Monsteras and brought back two. Now I had my ups and downs and even shared on social media to seek help on reviving them. They went to hell, back, and hell again with me. At one point, I wanted to give them away to a friend in a bid to save them.
    My experiences, and watching a lot of plant gurus on Youtube, helped me to stay strong and persevere through my green journey. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I fell in love with plants and wanted MORE! I studied and plan, precisely what plants I would need. Mind you I did not just buy any plants, I wanted specific plants that would suit the ecosystem that I am building at home.


    find ways to make your home your home a healing sanctuary

    Most of them are air-purifying plants, and most of them to my dismay are indoor plants that can't stand the sun. My balcony is a south-facing one so it gets sun-like from morning till evening. I learned that my Monsteras absolutely hates this and I did torture them out there for a while before I learn, no they did not like to bath under the sun.

    There's just so much I could share about my journey but I want to keep this short, right now I have nearly 100 plants at home (started from just two Monsteras). I propagated and even gave them to my best friends and family. The joy of seeing them grow, give birth (well u know) is such a therapeutic experience.

    I now enjoy gardening right on my balcony, having the earth in between my fingers, getting down and dirty, seeing life grow right at home.

    They're the gift that keeps on giving (when they love you back).

    If like me, you're finding yourself going mental. Try any of the suggestions I shared and I hope they would help you reach the joy of being at home.


    Hope this helps! Stay strong and stay safe!


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