Live a zero-waste lifestyle

I kinda wished for new cool experiments, & am researching ‘Make your own Chocolate’!! lol (to avoid plastic wrappers! – & iffy things in one’s food! – Ha!)

Also did a W/O & came up with the idea of documenting all my experiments – with a digital camera/camcorder.. for posterity!! lol

/So now those two are still needed! lol/
I also want to keep a list of ‘zero waste experiments I wanna do’, & hm, I just might post it here, why not? :)

I really miss some ‘way out’ experimenting!! lol

PS My hair is still in the non-wash routine lol – haven’t washed it for about 6+ months now – WOW!! (it got a bit drizzled on my rain/shower steam sometimes..) Mainly cause my neck hurt & I didn’t wanna risk ‘water only’ cold water on my whole body! lol
When I took fish oil capsule 2x daily (plus ate pumpkinseed oil on my salad) it would get real greasy, but if I stayed away from the fish oil & had minimum oil in general, it was better..
So, no idea what I want to do with this, been invited to the seaside & I guess it would get wet there.. (?) Still not sure if I’m going or not lol
When put in a bun or low ponytail, it still looks sorta presentable :))

Seven simple steps to trashing your trash
http://www.alternet.org/environment/46335?page=2
1. Feed the garden
2. Have bag, will shop (just have a cloth bag everywhere so you’ll use it – interesting concept – wonder if my Mom could be retrained to do that?)
3. Sort it out (the recyclables – of course!)
4. Think bulk
Brenda Platt of ILSR makes a point of buying groceries in bulk. Rather than buy single-serve applesauce cups for her kids, she opts for the big jar and scoops it into smaller containers herself. Simple? Yes. But simple is key.
5. Positive reinforcement
It’s the same technique we use for supporting fair trade companies and organic farms. Support those companies that are making a point to reduce their waste—and avoid the rest. Eric Lombardi, of Eco-Cycle, says we’ve got to “reward the recyclers. The clean companies must win the profits.”
6. Shrink wrap
What better motivation to waste less than reducing the size of your trash receptacle at home? Substitute a small plastic grocery bag for your trashcan, and wiser purchasing habits will follow naturally.
7. Your Trash, Their Treasure
Repeat after me: there is no “junk,” there’s only useful stuff yet to find a home. Before you look to the landfill, consider giving your broken fridge or over-lounged loveseat a chance at a happier second life by posting it for giveaway on websites like Freecycle.org or SwapThing.com. And PlanetGreenInc.com will actually buy your spent ink-jets, conked-out laser cartridges and defunct cell phones for their recycle program, giving the money generated to charity.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/46335?page=3 gives you “Top Five Trash-free Towns: Berkeley, CA

In Berkeley, the birthplace of curbside recycling, the Berkeley Ecology Center’s fleet of recycling trucks runs completely on biodiesel, and Urban Ore, a local for-profit “total recycling” center, rehabs and resells items that people would otherwise pay to send to the landfill.

Boulder, CO/Santa Monica, CA

You won’t find trashcans at some weekly farmers’ markets in these towns. Santa Monica’s Main Street (Sundays only) and Boulder’s Zero Waste farmers’ markets offer patrons a choice between composting and recycling their waste—an ultimatum that prompted vendors to offer compostable to-go materials and patrons to bring their own canvas bags.

Seattle, WA

The Wasteless in Seattle program includes bold new measures to reduce waste – such as mandatory recycling with fines for violations – and the Take-it-Back Network, which sent 600 tons of computer monitors and other components back to retail stores in 2004.

New Zealand” (Okay, that’s not a town, but still!!;))

“In 1999, the New Zealand government launched the Zero Waste New Zealand Trust, an initiative that offered $25,000 (NZ) funding to councils that adopted a Zero Waste resolution. Since then, 48 of 74 (66 percent) of all local councils have made the switch.

Germany

In response to a 1991 German packaging law requiring suppliers to take back and recycle up to 70 percent of their packaging, the Green Dot program was created, in which consumers deposit Green Dot-certified packaging refuse in specially designated bins. It then gets picked up and recycled—all paid for by the manufacturers.”
(I’m not sure if the Green Dot programme is as perfect as it sounds, but it’s better than nothing!)

So Urban Ore lives here: http://urbanore.ypguides.net

I’m in love with this video!! http://cbs5.com/video/?id=14299@kpix.dayport.com
& the amazing sinks!!! (okay, so the reproductions are new, & the real oldies are costly, but they are still gorgeous!!) – & some can be found cheap at Urban Ore or such!!
I so regret letting Granny’s sink be thrown away!! I adored it!!

Ohh, when will something like this reach our little Slovenia??!!

So: SoapNuts work well!! (we tried them on darker/grey clothes, as they can leave greyish/brownish tinge..) YAY!!

Almost no smell, Mom took ‘em out when the washing machine stopped the washing cycle, & before the rinsing cycle began.

Clothie pads wash well with the regular load of white linen & the regular washing powder Mom uses… (They were rinsed & soaked in cold water, with salt added, immediately upon use. even those with no salt added initially, only later, washed well.)

I bought eco-friendly dishwasher detergents too (for the dishwasher & hand use), & soap (for hands or stains on clothes).

Next thing to test: if more eco-friendly washing powders work well too…
Brushing teeth with salt… (?)
Research hair-care & personal hygiene through centuries & in desert areas.

This week, I bought the Nepal SoapNuts for washing – they smell kinda acidic, & I read online the clothes smell slightly acidic too after washing, at first, but then the smell disappears!
So we’ll see;)

I still remain with ‘Water Only’ hair-washes! The forum is an inspiration, & my hair & I are still adjusting..

I am contemplating washing my teeth with salt… (?) Apparently it is supposed to be helpful against sore gums/gingivitis…

& what I really want to BRAG about: I FINALLY got courage to refuse bags in shops like bakeries too, or for cocoa nuts/dry fruit or such (where I was embarassed to do so before!)
‘No bag, please, we are eco & take no bags anymore!!’ (I smile, & may add in a lament over heaps of bags that have piled up in the past!)
& GUESS WHAT: I get freebies!! (2 bagels at a bakery, some yummy organic bread in a health store) &/or VERY pretty smiles!!

YEAH!!!!

Okay: so be BRAVE!!

We are venturing in the female hygiene area!!

As a true Zero-Waste girl (!!) I decided I would NOT order the fabric ‘Always Ultra’ from the internet store, but try to do it the way our Grannies did it!!

I firmly inquired, & found some old bits of cloth, so now let’s see how this works!

I’ve been waiting to try it for a whole week, & now that time is here – at last!! (after so-&-so much bitter chocolate has been consumed!) I suppose it will be okay for my days of ‘not much’ but really interested if it will be enough for the ‘heavy time’ period of 1 or 2 days!
I tried to use less & less of real ‘Always Ultra’ & got it to only 4 pads the last time, but it was still environmentally unfriendly! Really curious how this will go!! ;)

It is similar to having disposable cotton pads (non-Always) & you basically forget about them mostly too!!

Found great info & blogs & forums of people who have tried it already!!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=19345

Water washing
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=14383&highlight=Water+washing

So today I tried some ‘banana’ face mask LOL
I tok a small bit of banana, & put half of it on my face & hands, & ate the other half!
Not sure how long to leave it on, but Sis said, ‘Until it stinges’. so when the skin got ‘pulled together’ a bit, I washed it off.

Today I brainstormed & thought about & written about some other things that would have to ‘go’ on my beautiful zero-waste farm…

& Nivea is one of them! Nivea is much better than certain hand/face creams, it’s been around for ages & what our family has used in the winter. But Zero Waste? No.

The mental containers are just, well, more junk. (Though they can be reused, & I could inquire into whether they can be recycled too. Ideally, shops would take ‘em back & give them back to factories to put more Nivea in. We have a bunch for ‘arts & crafts’, but honestly, how many can you use?)

Also, I looked at the ingredients list, & there’s a bunch, including ‘perfume’. OoO /didn’t know this!/

Anyway, I smeared my face & hands with olive oil today. & then went for a walk. It does make one slightly greasy, but absorbed eventually (not sure if into my gloves or hands) & some protective grease on one’s face is a good thing in this kind of November weather!

So today I washed my sink & toilet brink with vinegar!!

It was my first!!

I had to, because an aunt is coming together, & might use the loo!! OoO

I was putting it off long enough. First of all, I love my ‘artistic’ sink. (Kind of the only thing reminding me I’m an artist these days…)
Secondly, I really hate using heavy chemicals, & wanted to use something more environmentally friendly!

After talking to Mom & browsing online I decided to give vinegar a try, but I was still afraid it might eat up my spongie (didn’t!) or latex gloves (didn’t use ‘em!) or be terribly complicated or weird or such.
Online they recommended white vinegar (‘It’s stronger,’ Mom said.)
http://www.rd.com/content/extraordinaryuses/extraordinary-uses-for-vinegar/4
But going about it ‘Zero Waste’ I realized trying our local cider vinegar we use on salad would have to come first!

The only thing is, I used too much… (Mom said, ‘Just pour it in, don’t dillute!’ so I did (especially cause I thought, ‘Oh, this one is weaker!’) – it was a full bottle, so I must have used up more than 1 dcl. But Dad said, ‘That sink was so dirty, even if you had used up 1 bottle – 1 liter – who cares?’ LOL)

Afterwards, I said to Dad, ‘It’s shiny & we don’t have to buy the conventional cleaner like, ever.’
He didn’t believe it & had to come see. He admitted it looked shiny & spotless!! (erm, almost. I still think of myself as a bit artsy.)
Mom said she used to clean sinks with a conventional cleaner first, & then use vinegar ‘just to make them shine!’ OoO
NO NEED FOR THAT!!
Vinegar Does the Job.

We still need to test the vinegar on kitchen sink & the dishes… But I have a hunch we’ll use it a lot more often now! Especially if I’ll be cleaning!

The down side is a big smell… But you can open your window & just air it off… (& if you can put this stuff on salad, at least you know it has no serious side effects!)
It is a good idea to do it as quickly as possible & not inhale too much… possibly have a window open at the time of cleaning (I forgot to) & not bend over the sink too much, my eyes are a bit touchy… I could do it without actually bending over it so much, just have to take more care next time!
I think I will use the gloves too… (& report if it eats them up, LOL. I figured about it this way: it will only destroy 1 glove, & then I’ll know LOL I could experiment with a useless glove too.. hmm…)

The best thing is, the apple cider is produced by my Uncle on his farm, we get it in reused wine bottles, locally, so this is truly Zero Waste indeed!!

I’m giving myself 5 stars for being brave!! LOL