The Future Is Bright

I’m watching “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things”, and there’s something kind of turning over in my mind that I’ve thought about before but not too much in depth, until now.

The people in this documentary are saying things that have incredible merit, no doubt. Minimalism and living with less is a valiant, important, and worthwhile thing to pursue. And I think that if you have the resources and the capability to do so, then you absolutely should. It’s better for your psyche, better for the environment, go crazy, down size your life.

But.

Man, are the people in this documentary WHITE. Some of them have no doubt struggled with things that I feel close to home. But others’ transitioning into a minimalist life style, by quitting their job, and buying a tiny house, and living on a farm, or having a 420sqft apartment, especially designed for your want to have optimal usage of your space, but not a lot of it? That’s not realistic. These are things that are reserved for a select few of individuals. Going zero waste isn’t easy and the start up is expensive. And if you have children, are working a very demanding or extremely unfulfilling job, it’s going to be difficult to find the time to start. Donating or trashing all of your belongings and living with less is a great idea. But it’s not as easy like so many people talk about it being, for people living lower income America. These things are miles away from top priorities from anyone that is trying to put food in the table.

We need to acknowledge this.

I have tried a bunch of new zero waste hygiene options and would like to share them with you:

Hair washing:

My #1 recommendation for this is to buy a shampoo bar from Lush. They are a little pricey ($9-$12), but last long, leave no residue, come in various scents and target different hair needs, and leave your hair soft. The only hair product I use is one of these bars. 

I used to use a shampoo & conditioner bar from Whole Foods (only $2), but I found it left a residue in my hair and doesn’t leave it feeling as nice as the Lush bar. 

The other option, for those of you who are brave, is to use baking soda and then an apple cider vinegar rinse. This is the “no poo” option. I haven’t tried this personally, but have heard good things. 

Hair spray: 

I used to make homemade hairspray out of lemon and vodka (the recipe can be found on my blog) but now find I don’t really need it (though I frequently curl my hair). 

Deodorant: 

The options are almost limitless here. I find rubbing a little bit of coconut oil on your underarms and then following with a 50/50 mix of baking soda and corn starch works very well. The coconut oil keeps the baking soda from causing irritation. 

Another option is to buy an all-natural spray on deodorant in a reusable glass bottle. This is good if you want a scented deodorant. 

Lush has many deodorant options like bar and liquid deodorant. They tend to be pricey, but might be worth a try if these other options don’t appeal to you. 

You could also buy a crystal deodorant rock, which I haven’t tried but have heard works well. 

Make-up removal:

Coconut oil on a cloth or reusable cotton pad works the best. 

Feminine Hygiene: 

Menstrual cups are an option that many women rave about once they try one. 

Cloth pads are another great option. I recently tried Party in my Pants and would definitely recommend them. 

Shaving: 

Invest in a safety razor! They are a bit pricey (and seem a tiny bit scary) so I haven’t bought one yet. I’m working on it, though. 

Use a soap that really lathers. 

It may just be me, I don’t know. But every single time I see this on my dash or on someone’s blog or anywhere else, I kind of just breathe a sigh of relief. That’s one more person who cares. That’s one more person who doesn’t hate me.

Because it means so much, especially when all the media is spewing out is that I’m a terrible person and no one wants people like me near them. It means so much because I’m tired of people who won’t sit next to me in class, or who choose to join the longer line at the grocery store because they don’t want to be beside me and my family. It means so much when I have to lift my head any time someone says the words Islam or Muslim because I’m scared that they’ll say something that’ll hurt, when I have to pay attention to the news because who knows what so and so is saying now, who knows which of my people are being attacked now, who knows what’s going to happen to me now.

It means so much because I’ve been given the idea that the world is against me. And a huge part of it may be, but at least I’ve been reminded that some of it, just a small group of people, acknowledges that I’m a person too. That people like me are just that, people.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make this holiday season less wasteful, starting with what I give for gifts. More experiences, fewer things. And if they are things, then I’d like them to be wrapped in sustainable/compostable wrapping, consumable, and/or useful. I’ve got ideas for homemade body scrubs, tasty breads and granola, and maybe experimenting with making loose leaf tea. 

Whenever you go out, bring with you:

-a reusable water bottle filled with water (this prevents the purchase of plastic water bottles)

-an empty reusable coffee mug that can be filled during your travels, or a full reusable cup mug that you filled at home (prevents paper coffee cups and gives you a discount at many coffee shops, including Starbucks) 

-some kind of small cloth that can be used in place of napkins, tissues, and paper towels

-at least one reusable shopping bag (I have one I bring everywhere that folds up into a little square pouch) 

1. When in doubt do not throw it out,

2. Rust is a variation of red, always an acceptable color.

3. Never be the early bird at the yard sales, the real possibilities are in the rubble.

4. Never sell among yourselves, trade only.

5. Broken is better and imperfect is perfect.

6. Don’t look at what it is, look at what it could be.

7. It’s about the moment you get that idea, not about the thing itself.

8. Make the recycle bin your first stop.

9. Hunt, find, and then Tell others. No secret source allowed.

10. Never worry about how to get it home, just get it and make arrangements.

🌎buy free trade

🌎buy organic

🌎buy local

🌎use less plastic

🌎DON’T FUCKING LITTER

🌎cut down on animal products

🌎self-love

🌎meditation

🌎small acts of kindness (try 1 daily)

🌎learn a new skill each year

🌎recycle, reduce, reuse your things; UPCYLE PROJECTS!!

🌎donate your extra things (each season)

🌎wish people the best and more

🌎smile at strangers

🌎give to the less fortunate whenever you can, even if it’s just your ears to listen to another human’s experience

Conjunto de sofá e mesas de centro feito de paletes reciclados.

The budget itself was an “austerity” budget, which aimed to greatly increase student fees at universities (which are levied by the Australian Federal Government, not the universities themselves), it proposed extending the wait time for unemployment benefit (Newstart) to six months minimum from the current three month maximum, increasing the number of jobs a person on Newstart had to apply to from the then-current 20 per calendar month to 40 per calendar month (doubling the amount of job applications you had to send out, effectively), and imposing a minimum co-payment for people who were being bulk-billed under our Medicare system (at the time, Medicare bulk-billing meant no excess costs - and even then, it was largely restricted to people who had health care cards, or in other words, people who were on Centrelink payments, or on low incomes).

The budget was decried in the media and in parliament as being unnecessarily punitive on people who were in need of assistance, and very much a “grind the faces of the poor” budget.  There was massive public outcry, but not much actual political action possible - the Abbott government were elected at the end of 2013, the earliest we were going to see another federal election was about 2016.  Most of the measures described above never made it through the legislative process - even though the current Liberal government’s budget forecasts (in 2017) were written as though some of them would still manage to pass through our Senate - there was still “zombie legislation” attempting to grind its way through various committees even then. 

The budget in question was one of the factors in the eventual deposition of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

and

We’ll see what Tumblr does to the image quality…

On the acid lovers: It’s weird that they group strawberries in with blueberries though as acid lovers?? They def all seriously benefit from mulch, but while blueberries want it crazy acidic (ph 4.5 - 5.5), potatoes also want it plenty acidic (pH 4.8 - 5.5), strawberries and garlic are in the standard weakly acidic (ph 5.5-6.5) range. 

The standard recommendation for blueberries is pine mulch aka soil conditioner, and TONS of it, because it’s so acidic*. You can actually mix it in the top few inches of the soil when you plant them. Pine straw just won’t get you as far. 

Since we’re suddenly on the topic of lowering soil pH, Ammonia sulfate is the quickest and most cost efficient way to do it, though you may have to go to a feed n seed to find it. You can dump elemental sulfur everywhere  - which is what is commonly recommended to gardeners - but it takes a long time to actually lower the pH of the soil. We’re talking years. You can also just dump phosphoric acid on the soil. Whichever method you choose to go, these are best done BEFORE you plant blueberries or other acid lovers in. And get one last good soil test before planting. Correct the soil pH before planting. Your plants will thank you.

There’s too many people out there planting their blueberries in soil that is way too alkaline, and then they get upset that the plants are sickly yellow and non-productive. Soil pH matters!