Using bleach may not qualify as perfectly contentious, however, bleach has its occasional place in my house. And bleach gel certainly has its merits (e.g.: shower wall tile grout, bleaching out designs on t-shirts and other similar crafts, ...).

But bleach gel pens are horrendously wasteful . The amount of production resources, packaging, and plastic that goes into a 2 oz pen is ridiculous. And, at approx. $3/oz, they’re also a huge waste of money.

But with a few minutes on your hands, some water, corn starch, and bleach, you can make your own bleach gel. Here’s the recipe I used.

Figured I’d share my new discovery. 1 month ago

I’m giddy about this easy, effective, waste-less, cheap way to wax.

There are a ton of recipes online, but the one I used yesterday was:

1/8 cup lemon juice (I used lime)
1/8 cup water
1 cup sugar

Bring the mixture to a boil. Keep on low heat for 3 more minutes. Stir, stir, stir. The mixture will bubble up when heated, so use a deep-ish pot. You can make it in the microwave as well.

It’ll take a little while for it to cool down enough for you to use it. If you don’t use all of it up, it’s storable (just microwave to reuse).

Use an old t-shirt for strips (clean and reuse later… this is a no-waste waxing method)

I’m sorry to not credit the website where I found the recipe, but I tried finding it again to no avail.

Perks roundup:
-Super cheap
-Perfectly effective
-No waste
-Takes only a few minutes to make 14 months ago

i’d very much love to get your recommendations for earth & animal friendly products and round-the-house tips.

1. Menstrual Cups!

Amazing for so many reason including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) much more environmentally friendly than most feminine care products. you buy a cup, and use it for years. in all that time, the only trash you generate is the box the cup comes in.
(ii) all the perks of tampons, and then some.
(iii) effective. no leaking, even during a heavy-flow day workout (which included jumping jacks, jumprope, mountain climbers, lunges…)
(iv) thrifty. a menstrual cup costs around $23 (that’s about 3-4 months worth of tampons) and lasts for years.

2. Thai Deodorant Stone

my first try at cruelty free deodorant was tom’s of maine. unfortunately, it didn’t do the trick for me. my next find was the thai deodorant stone / stick. and here’s why i like it:

(i) it works like a dream.
(ii) thrifty find as well. costs about $7, lasts forever (according to reviews).
(iii) i haven’t licked it myself, but apparently it’s just crystalized salt. (i’ve been making it a point to moisturize my pits.)
(iv) doesn’t stain yer clothes.

3. a paste made from hydrogen peroxide and baking soda works wonders cleaning seemingly-hopless baking pans and such. i discovered this lovely tip on reddit.

4. a mixture of sugar and olive oil makes for a great exfoliant. (i was skeptical about rubbing sugar and oil all over my face, but it was lovely)

5. add some ground black pepper to your hot tea to help relieve a cough. my friend shared this folksy remedy with me. my cough relieving potion is now: hot tea, honey, maybe some warm milk, and freshly ground pepper. it is helpful, and actually not un-tasty.

and ginger helps relieve nausea. just sayin’

6. used dryer sheets are good for dusting, because they’ll have some static cling. i try to dust off a few surfaces on my way from dryer to trash can.

disclaimer: absolutely none of these came from ‘1001 tips for teens’ ... however, if you ever have the chance, put your anthropologist hat on and flip through the book. 18 months ago

I am in love with Dr. Bronner’s Organic Castile Soap.

I am in awe of how well it works – and it works on just about anything you could think to clean (tile to skin). The versatility is delightful. And it’s cruelty free and planet friendly.

Without going into the usage perks and environmental drawbacks of Kurig coffee makers, I’ll get straight to the chase.

Along with the availability of reusable Kurig cups, you can buy plastic lids and reuse the cups designed for one time use. You can even reuse the lids.

(1) Take the foil off a used ‘singe use’ cup and clean it out. (2) Fill it with your favorite coffee, put a lid on it, and put it away. (3) When you brew, make sure you align the hole in the bottom of the cup with the needle in the Kurig.

-Fill each cup a little over half way. There’s a little personal figuring out that needs to take place at this stage of the game.
-Once I fill the cups, I put them in the freezer. I don’t know if storing unsealed coffee in the freezer is good/bad/nothing, but that’s how my mama always did it.
-I find waiting to fill up multiple cups at once more time efficient than doing it each time I brew a cup of coffee.
-Some ‘single use’ cups are thinner than others, so try to apply the lids gently. 19 months ago

On the conscientious frontier, one of the things I’ve started being deliberate about purchasing toiletries that where developed without animal testing. I’m using up what I have before replacing it with “cruelty free” products and have come across some great product discoveries. Two worth sharing:

(1) Switched from Lancome (L’Oréal U.S.A. tests on animals) to Physicians Formula (makes PETA’s list for cruelty free) facial powder, and am just as happy with the performance about 1/3 of the expense.

(2) Switched from Dove body bars and Aveeno facial cleanser (Dove’s parent company is Unilever and Aveeno’s is Johnson & Johnson, both of which test on animals) to African Black Soap. It gets its color from camwood and cocoa pod ash, and does an amazing job sucking dirt out of my pores. I got it for about $2.50/bar on Amazon. *African Black Soap is made with honey, so it is not vegan friendly. 2 years ago