Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Days 22-31


Day 22- The Farm. So there is this fabulous local restuarant that serves local, organic and even vegetarian options. Everything from organic, local wines to in-season, local produce. I know, most of you just rolled your eyes, but TRUST me, you'll taste the difference, and MAKE a difference!

Day 23- Making Lotion. Some of you know that I'm in the process of perfecting a lotion recipe. I try my best to make all of my own skincare products, because your skin is your largest organ, and I do not want to put anything toxic or harmful on that organ. Once the recipe is perfected, I'll let you know, until then I just keep tweaking...

Day 24- Knitting Bag. Remember how you all made fun of me for saving ribbons at Christmas time? Well, I had some scrap material and some left over ribbons, which I used to make a bag for my knitting projects. Super quick and easy and $0 out of my pocket!

Day 25- Paperless Statements. This will take minutes! Go online to your bank, credit card companies, electric company, any and all bills you pay and select paperless. Make sure and check when you do it because a lot of companies offer discounts for doing so. Cut down on mail, and wasted resources!

Day 26- Buying Products with Less Packaging. This was more difficult than I anticipated for many reasons. You have brands that you like and trust, and this new venture has forced me to try new things. Also, I'm trying to buy things in the bulk bins, well that requires me to remember to bring my reuseable bags too. And, it requires me to be THINKING while shopping, so I have to read labels, think about packaging and price. It's becoming quite the intellectual exercise!

Day 27- Getting Involved! As many of you probably remember I went on a little rampage about how getting involved in your community is a HUGE part of sustainable living. One of the most important ways in my opinion to be involved is in our education system. I've been looking for ways to get involved with the school system, whether I just start attending school board meetings, or apply to teach art lit, etc. (if any of you have a good suggestion for how to "get in" let me know.)

Day 28- Shampoo/Conditioner. Again, the skin thing. You are using a soap that has so many chemical and synthetic ingredients, it's scary. I don't want to rub that all over my head. Well, making the change is much more difficult than I anticipated. I care probably too much about my appearance, and a huge part of that is my hair, so I want a shampoo that is going to not leave my hair looking or feeling dry or greasy! I've tried a couple brands now, on a new one and not loving it. Will keep you posted!

Day 29- Say NO to Bottled Water. I feel like this is a hot topic right now and most of you are aware of all the information. I'm working hard to avoid bottled water. People, drinking fountains are safe! Don't believe the garbage you've been told over the years, if it wasn't safe they would not be able to put a drinking fountain there, the water IS tested. I keep finding myself without a bottle though, so I put one in the car and one in my bag. That way I never have an excuse to buy water that was most likely poured into that water bottle from a tap, and then sat in that plastic in heated rooms so it's now full of toxins.

Day 30- No List! I HATE junk mail! Such a waste to everyday throw all this paper in the recycling! Go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=743 and for info on how to sign up for the no junk mail list. You have to send it to a couple different ones, sometimes, because your name gets put on lots of different lists!

Day 31- Knitting for Charity. I'm super excited about this. I'm learning to knit right now, and there's a group through Joann's (Fabric/Craft Store) that meets and makes blocks (little square pieces of blankets) and then puts them all together for charity. So it's a perfect way for me to learn to knit and give back!

1 comment:

  1. Look what I found! Made me think of you :)

    http://blogs.babble.com/family-style/2011/04/06/this-easter-try-dying-eggs-naturally/

    ReplyDelete