Reduce my ecological footprint

I’m marking this goal as ‘done’ – but I’m still continuing doing it!! (There’s still lots to do!!;))

I haven’t done anything new recently, but I’ve kept up doing the stuff from before.. Including cloth pads, my radical ‘no shampoo/no washing’ haircare;)) /even when the going was tough – yup, sweets make hair oily, did you know that?/ & reduced soap use.. (& no chapstick or hand cream or lipstick/makeup)

The eco store didn’t have the biodegradable dishwasher detergent so we resorted to ‘classic’ but Mom was willing to buy the eco one (& will when they get it, luckily the ‘ordinary’ one doesn’t always wash perfectly either, so it’s not all the detergent’s fault!! as Mom first thought & claimed.. Dad is for the eco one cause it smells better.. less toxic, when he opens the dishwasher..) – this was a huge accomplishment by itself!! (Hopefully they’ll be green even when I’m gone!)

Still more progress to be done in the washing of clothes area… (& a better dishwashing detergent, nicer to the hands to be found..)

Oh & computer/electricity use.. /blushing slightly/

Still doing water-only hair-care (& mostly ‘water only’ shower/bath too)!
Using much less soap, just when really necessary… (My skin is thankful!! Not so dry as usually)
Still using olive oil with St John’s Wort instead of hand/face cream!
Bought Nepal soapnuts (& got Mom to try them!), bought biodegradable dishwasher detergent (inspired by a friend whom I inspired first!;)
Got organic cocoa pods & dry apricots (yummy!) – & checked out the local health food store..
Started using cloth pads for my monthly ‘feminine days’ (feel awesome!! wash extremely well too!!)
Washed sinks & tubs with vinegar! (ACV & white)
My family & Grandma buy recycled toilet paper now (pays off to be grumpy & preach)

Further challenges: reduce use of electricity. (Adapt to daylight more – how? From night owl to early bird, for Nature’s sake – is it possible?)
Find out how much electric appliances use up & do the math!
Is there a biodegradable floss?
(Zero waste toothpaste & stain removal intrigue me too..)

How to simplify, minimize & ‘Zero Waste’ one’s life? (& lives of one’s closest-?)

So since my last entry I only washed my hair twice with absolutely just plain tap water…

It did feel odd, & is a bit greasy still… But I’m hopeful this would stabilize – at least there are articles online that give me hope (?)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=394226&in_page_id=1879

Not sure how often to wash it… My hair actually smells better than when washed with soap or shampoo, & my ends are great… But the scalp is flaky (white) & a bit itchy after washing & drying (I hope this is temporary) – my hair is long & I keep forgetting to wash it earlier on in the day so I use a hairdryer & hair near the scalp is a bit greasy…

Goals: to wash it earlier on in the day & let it dry naturally…
to try the vinegar rinse…
& post in Naturalliving for advice ;)

So people have taken this as a goal before!!

WOW!!
stop using shampoostop using shampoo & conditionerstop using sodium laureth sulfate (ie harsh shampoo)stop drinking shampoostop buying shampoostop usingstop using plastic bagsstop using the snooze button

After an ‘incident’ with Head&Shoulders (it got into my eye – stingy!!!) I refused to let it anywhere near my head again.

I looked around online a bit, & found some ideas.

There’s ‘no-pooing’ (found in Naturalliving in the LVJ, they also have an own community ‘no-poo’) that’s mostly about using baking soda and apple cider vinegar/lemon juice instead, & we don’t have that right now, and apparently vinegar stinges & mustn’t get near eyes too!
http://community.livejournal.com/naturalliving

So yesterday I went & washed my hair with – regular soap!
Okay, not regular, but pretty artsy lavender-soap with real lavender in! (Unfortunately a bit old so it doesn’t smell that well anymore…)

I had not washed my hair for about a month before – largely due to back problems. /Please don’t die on me now, it’s not like I was going to soirees or anything. I mostly just braided it. It get very oily at first, but then it somehow stabilised. Only the scalp was a bit of an issue – got itchy at a point, but even that stopped after a while. So now I can understand Indians who never washed their hair and only used oil to massage in much better!! If I ever have another hippie moment in my life, I may actually try that someday!/

Other sites had other suggestions.
One site actually said that someone’s husband or bf just got used to rinsing his hair with water – & nothing else! (It got oily at first but then it stabilised.) http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf380724.tip.html
As I have very long hair (that hasn’t been washed for 1 month) I was a bit sceptical of that, but I might try it someday too.

Babyslime in her Introduction to no-pooing explains people have used soap before all along!http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html

I’m still researching this one, so if anyone has any great suggestions for ideas or sites that are as chemistry-free & Zero-waste as possible, I’ll be happy to hear!

Oh, & I know I could just buy organic shampoo, but that wouldn’t be half as fun!

Okay, so what we already do.

We have solar water heating (panels on the roof) – excellent for sunny days! (while the neighbours on my side of the house have to burn wood even in the Summer sometimes, very annoying!)

It would be ideal to maintain electrical water heating or some other form, so that on the rare occasion of wanting to shower on an absoultely rainy day (2 or 3+ in a row, more likely) it wouldn’t be necessary to burn wood, but ah well!
(At least it’s wood from local & renewable forests!)

We have the compost.

When I lived with Granny & I ran the household the organic waste was put on the balcon & ultimately taken to our compost back home.

I try to buy as little as possible, with as little package as possible.

We get milk from a farmer, & I lobby for the homemade variant of ‘sour milk/yoghurt’! (Sis still wants the bought ones though, & true, sometimes the homemade stuff has been a bit weird in taste & look, so then I just mainly abstained from any, although confronting the farmer might be a better idea – I asked my parents to inquire about that, but they didn’t. – When they inquired last year, it got better…)

We make muuch less garbage than the neighbours, but it’s still a process…

I’ve talked to Mum & Sis about the plastic bags (‘Just say no!’ & bring your own), & the situation has improved a bit, but still too many plastic bags in the house…

Talked to Mum about buying a whole chunk of cheese instead of less than 1 (1/4 or 1/2 or 3/4 means extra packaging, & they’re getting absurd with the packaging!!) Ideally we’d get it from a farmer and in our own Tupperware-ish dish or wrapped up in a cloth or so. environmentdo more for the environmentRespect the environmentfight for the environmentDo more to help the environmentBe more greengreenbe greengo greenbecome greenLive a zero-waste lifestyleCreate Zero Waste at Work