Over 50 Things we stopped buying and never missed. Oh the beautiful savings!

I keep hearing that becoming a Minimalist is only for rich people and it is expensive to become a Minimalist!


Honestly, I have never heard a good or solid argument for this comment. But here is an example of how Minimalism can save you money.


Lots of money actually!



Bellow,is a list of things we had stopped buying years ago and never missed them.

1. Television cable. ------------> Netflix and Amazon prime
2. Gas for my car. ---------------> Plug-in Electric
3. Oil change for my car.---------------------> Plug-in Electric car
4. Paper towels.-------------> Stack of 20 kitchen washable towels for drying hands and dishes
5. Disposable wipes--------> Micro fibers.
6. Garbage bags--------------> Barely create garbage. Directly in to recycle bin, compost bin and garbage bin. I have three small buckets, one for each in my kitchen and once they are full, I dump everything in the big garbage bins. (But have some bio bags in hand just in case.)
7. Any kind of ziplock bags.-----------> Reusable fabric pencil bags with zipper. Also Pyrex dishes.
8. Aluminum foils -----------> Not needed. Either use Pyrex dishes or cover plates with clean napkins. 
9. Tupperware. -------------------> see this post
10. Plastic wraps.------------------> Not needed Pyrex dishes. Flour cloth. Napkins
11. Sponges ------------------------> hand made crochet from recycled yarn. lasts many years and I just wash them with our laundry.
12. Dish washing liquid-----------> Eco Friendly Multi purpose cleaner
13. Surface cleaner-----------------> Diluted multi purpose cleaner or vinegar. ( Used for bathtub, kitchen.......)
14. Coffee filter -------------------> French press
15. Bottled water ------------------> Tap water in reusable containers. 
16. Hand lotion in kitchen--------> Gentle dish detergent. Olive oil if needed 
17. Jet dry dish washer rinse-----> White Vinegar.
18. Disposable plates, cups, utensils ...------> Small jars for party drinks. Plates and utenciles reusable.
19. Disposable napkins------------> Fabric home made napkins. Only have one pack handy for picky guests. 
20. Disposable aluminum containers------> Big Pyrex dishes
21. Salad dressings.----------------> Olive oil and rice vinegar purchased from bulk store in my own jars.
22. Yoghurt. ------------------------> Home made
23. Tissues --------------------------> Only have a home made handkerchief made out of old Tshirts for my kid with allergies. Rest of us don't need it. Don't even remember what would we be using it for! 
24. Books -----------------> Library and on line blogs. 
25. CD, DVD -------------> Pandora and Netflix.
26. Toys -------------------> Once a year for Christmas. One Big toy only. The Birthday party is our gift by itself.
27. Clothes ---------------> once a year or so. Only if we truly need something. (Consumerism and buying cheap clothing and fast fashion is horrible for the environment.)
28. Fabric softener-------> Not needed. Haven't used for many years and no one noticed. 
29. Drier sheets-----------> Not needed
30. Face wipes, make up removers, eye make up removers wipe..... ------ > wash with soap and wash cloth. Olive oil. Or coconut oil to remove make up. Don't wear too much make up any ways. 
31. Cotton rounds--------> Home made and reusable. 
32. Shower gel------------> Soap
33. Exfoliator and scrubs for body.-----------------> Natural Loofah or a wash cloth
34. Hair masks and treatments-----------------------> Olive oil and conditioner
35. Face scrubs ----------------------------------------> Baking Soda
36. Tooth Paste-----------------------------------------> Home made
37. Mouth wash.---------------------------------------->  No need
38. Different lotions for different parts of body. Foot lotion, hand lotion, cellulitis, dark spots, skin brighter.ETC, ETC....!!! --------> Home made lotion. Coconut butter+Shea butter+ bees wax+ water+ jojoba oil. Or just put some oil on right after shower and you are done. 
39. Different make ups --------------->  See this post
40. Colognes and perfumes ---------->  Only have one perfume and only use it on special occasions. Lasts two years. It is in my Christmas list every other year. 
41. Face mask, cleanser, toner, tanner, black head remover. Etc......... ----------> Soap. Lemon juice. coconut and olive oil. Peroxide for acne. Baking soda.
42. Hand sanitizers --------------------> Not needed.
43. Candles. Still have from old days. ------> But not really needed. Used once awhile. 
44. Bath foams, salts, fizzer........ -------------> Not needed. Preferring quick showers due to Drought. 
45. Seosonal decorations ----------------> see this post.
46. Air freshener -------------------------->  natural or not needed. 
47. Office supplies.------------------------> We are paperless.
48. Printer ink -----------------------------> refill.
49. Extra Shoes ---------------------------> maybe once per year for each family member only as needed. (Fast fashion is damaging to environment)
50. Latest gadgets and electronics.--------------> still working on my husband on that. But he is doing much better :) 

I am sure there is more. But honestly, many more items I see in other people's houses that I don't buy, need nor have.

It is kind of hard to know what you don't buy if you never bought them. For example different laundry detergents for dark and light and white and wool .........

Laundry perfumes!!!!!  ....... I never even knew they do exist!!!  (What a waste of money!) 

Did, NOT buying these items changed our quality of life? You bet it did! 

-A LOT Less clutter (Visually, Mentally and Emotionally).
-Less wasting time window shopping and browzing.
-Less stress due to things finishing and being low on something. (" I need to run! We need fabric softness and I can't do laundry!" A friend once said ).
-Less spending.
-Less time at stores ( We are usually In and Out).
-Less junk to organize and deal with.


 Yes. All these Less'es deeply changed the quality of our lives.

Think about it. 

What are YOU not buying and not missing?
Paris.


Addendum:


I noticed that my computer hadn't saved my proof reading and this post was packed with mistakes. Please accept my apology.


While I am correcting the problem, I may as well add few more items.


Hee hee hee.


Here there are.

51.  Vacuum cleaner bags ------------------------>Roomba and a hand held vacuum. Just emptying the canister directly in the garbage bin does it.
51.  Any specialty tools, like various peeler, Apple cutter, Garlic crusher, Olive oil mister...........
52.  Most school supplies. Pens and other items-------------------------------> We have enough from old days to last us years to come. (Don't even know where all these pencils and pens are coming from)
53.  Extra clothing -----------------------------> We buy about once a year or so and only what we need.
54.  Microwave. Haven't had one for years.
55.  Individually packaged snacks.
56.  House decorations.----------> We have only two paintings which we have had for over 15 years.
57.  Unwanted gifts for friends -------------------> Beer, Wine, Food, eatables, Flowers, Gift card (Everybody has more than enough stuff in their houses. More incoming items for them are not the best gifts)
58.  Jewelry (Custom or real)---------------------> I have had few favorites that I love for years. Nothing new coming in
59. Nail polish ------------------> Have had a couple for years now.
60. Last but not least!!!!! Anything other than strict necessary. Includes Extra Glasses, Extra Sun Glasses, Multiple different drinking and coffee cups and glasses, Serving dishes, Fancy looking anything, Duplicate of anything and anything that needs to be advertised to be sold.


Can't even imagine how hectic my life would have been if I had been buying those stuff.


Thank you everybody for reading. Please think about your own shopping habits.
Paris

Simple Green living, My father's style.

. The Ozone layer has a huge hole in it and is impossible to repair!
. The wild life species are disappearing!
. The pollution is everywhere!
. The water is acidified and corals are dissolving!
. The fresh water reserves AKA Aquifers are finishing and drying!
. We all are doomed!
. ...

Yes, it is happening. Yes it is bad. But the question is, what are we all going to do about it? Should we just seat down, be scared and complain? Should we continue living our lives the way we are told to live and once awhile feel bad about the garbage we are producing and recycle one or two bottles? Should we drive our SUV's around and get angry at the others and the government for causing pollution? Should we be very scared of all the chemicals in our genetically modified food and yet when it comes to buying None GMO food, complain about the high cost and think only obsessed and crazy people buy "Organic " food?

When I look at my own home and my own family, there is so much more we can do. There is so much we can change to become better tenants to our earth. Should I dislike my own life, make my family and friends miserable and nag and complain about the wasteful lifestyle? Or should I focus on positive changes we have done.

"Be positive" is the last thing I personally want to hear. Few years back, when depression came to my life and changed me forever, everybody was kind and loving. But not knowing what I am dealing with, people kept telling me to "Be positive". The problem was, I was and still feel that I am one of the most positive people that I know and yet being positive by itself, did not solve any problems for me.

My father.

Now let me introduce my father.
My father is an civil engineer. He studied in Munich, Germany over 45 years ago. He has many memories about how his landlords lived so frugally and how nothing was wasted.

One of his landlords he often talks about, back then, was an old German lady with memories from the war era. she had talked about the hunger, the hard life they had to endure. But one thing my father talked a lot about was the unbelievable amount of effort invested by every single person in post-world war recovery to rebuilding their country. He talked about how he ended up learning a lot from his own simple life back in Iran and the student life he lived in Germany.

When my father finished his studies, he went back and went right to the harshest areas of Iran. He worked hard in the southern Persian golf coast's heat and also in the freezing cold weather of northern Iran. He worked in dirt and mud. He worked in unlivable environments and yet enjoyed every single thing he built. He built bridges, factories, roads and dams for areas that otherwise had none.

Years late, when he got established, he created and managed a huge firm with over 40 engineers under his commend. He made great money and built a very comfortable life, yet when it came to water and goods, he valued every single grain of rice and every single drop of water. He never waited for a draught announcement to start conserving water, nor he waited for his financial situation to go down or the Electricity to become expensive to start turning off the extra lights. He just simply knows how much hard work and how much tear and sweat and blood it takes to produce these amenities. The amenities we take for granted. He simply valued all the hard work that was invested, so we can have clean running water, electricity and energy on demand. Yes, he values every resource we have been blessed with and use. He is one of the most positive people I have ever seen and had the pleasure of knowing.

Fast forward years later, my father is retired and lives in a cute and cozy house he himself built many years ago. This house is located in a village in the north of Iran next to Caspian sea. The locals used to maintain their lives with planting and selling rice, citrus fruits and Etc. But now, the lands are being sold and developed. The developers are building luxury vacation homes and villas close to the sea and the nature is changing rapidly and drastically. When I was growing up, that cozy house used to be our vacation home. We have great memories with our neighborhood children. He had created a deep bond with the neighbors as well.

Being retired and financially secure, he is enjoying the helps and gifts he is giving to young people, friends and neighbors around him. Yet when it comes to his own life, every single thing become repaired and every inch of dirt becomes used, planted and greened with something eatable or beautiful. Many years ago, he planted many citrus trees in his garden and when the fruits are ready, he contacts the neighbors to come and pick them up. It is actually nice and interesting to see how he names his trees based on his neighbors he dedicated the trees to that year.
"This is Mr. ...'s tree this year. I let them know when it is ready, so they can come and pick the fruits up. I am going to give that one to this young neighbor. They just had a baby and could use the money. They sell the fruits in the stands their dad owns" He says.

He is also the main giver of free fruits for neighbor's weddings, memorials, new baby celebrations...
My father doesn't know much nor is concerned about all the environmental problems and pollutions around us. But unknowingly, he lives the greenest, non-consumeristic life one can live.

Absolutely nothing gets wasted in his home. Every single thing has value and is getting reused.
"I don't like to buy cheap plastic things when all these good sturdy old stuff can still be repaired and reused" He says, not knowing anything about the anti-consumerism movement that is growing roots all around the world.

"Simplicity is the most important thing in life. Living simple and joyful is the best way of living. Why should I buy what I already have. I have more than what I need. How many clothes and stuff can I need and use in a life time. One belt is enough to secure my pants. I bought it 18 years ago and it still is good." He says.

He is not a hoarder. On the contrary, he is a minimalist and doesn't know it. He never just gathers things for the sake of having them. He just has and keeps strictly what he needs.

" Lets buy our groceries from the local stands. They need help" He says buying only from local small farmers to help them, but he does not know about the movement called "Locavor". He cooks from scratch, not because he wants to live green. Because he believes that is how the food should be. He buys only organic, not because he is fighting Monsanto, because he is believing that the food taste better and is healthier and again, that is how it should be.

Now my friends, about our planet and lives, being positive does A LOT for us. Choosing small changes, believing we ARE a part of this planet, being grateful and appreciative of the lives we are living and being content and stop our greed, can make a huge impact in our planet' well being.

How much do YOU respect and appreciate the amenities you have been given?

Paris

See my new page "Related Movies"

I love to watch documentaries. They are so many wonderful and eye opening documentaries out there and most of them are free. On my new page, i created a list of many movies and documentaries for you that have been life changing for me and my family.

So Please look on the right side of my blog for the newly added page called " Related movies".

I will constantly update it and add more links and names. I will deeply appreciate it if you wonderful readers add to my list by making a comment to this post.

Here is a link to my new page.

Thank you and enjoy.
Paris

My plastic filled vacation :(

Where were we for the past month? We were gone to Iran for three weeks to visit our families.

It has been eight years since I have last visited. Not being sure what to expect, i was kind of apprehensive at first. the thought of changing three planes with two kids without my husband was making me very anxious.

Image of Tehran from yahoo images.

Being American/ Iranian, traveling light is almost impossible. Bringing gifts for the beloved friends and family is a must. I truly enjoyed seeing their sweet and thankful faces when i handed them the small things i brought. But the challenge of making sure you don't forget someone and you bring small and light gifts, so they fit in your suitcase is a different story. The good news is that i managed to travel relatively light after all . More on my packing style coming later in my future posts.



Now lets get to the plastic filled part. We stayed with our families the whole time. The amount of plastic in every one's life was really hard for me to watch and try to stay quiet about, so i don't criticize and insult the kind and loving hosts and hostesses. They were working so hard and going out of their way to make us feel comfortable. It would have been very rude to start lecturing them about the plastics in their life.

Plastic Pollution on the Caspian sea shore.

Every single small thing they bought was placed in a small plastic bag. The bags were too small to be reused for anything else. Bottled water were used everywhere and tons of them were found in the garbage cans around Tehran( The huge capital with population of 14 million). When we ordered some Kebab ( The most beloved Persian food) they were delivered in individual Un-recyclable packages along with every thing else, all individually packed in plastic. Even the Lavash bread ( a flat and thin bread) for each meal was packed individually in plastic.

Later on, when we took a trip to the north of Iran next to the Caspian see, i was very sad to see that there were barely any sea shells left and the beautiful beach was filled with plastic trash. I remember as a kid that this shore was packed with beautiful shells and we collected just a few very unique ones to bring home with us. In this trip, we had to look hard and long to find only a few lone shells trying to compete with trash.

All i could do was, under curious eyes of the locals, start gathering the big plastic water bottles and bring them in one place away from the water. I couldn't find any recycling bin anywhere. But in town, there were lots of trash cans to prevent littering.  I was told that the trash gets separated by the waste district and is being recycled. I am not sure how much of it i believe.

On a positive note, here is what i accomplished while there.

. I informed my family about the great pacific and other ocean's garbage patches.

. I showed the pictures of animals dying wrapped in plastic and educated my family.

. My father requested no disposable plastic forks and spoons upon ordering some food for one of our gatherings. We just used the ones he had at home. He smiled and said he did it to make me happy :) ( Boy, I love this man).

. My wonderful brother In-law and his sweet and lovely wife started composting in their back yard. That reduces their need to use trash bags to discard the Biodegradable waste. It also will help their garden to grow better and hopefully will reduce the need for them to buy some vegetables wrapped in plastic.

. Did make some home made tooth paste with my lovely sister In-Law and showed her how Baking soda and vinegar cleans almost everything.

. Did talked to the shop owners that gave me shocked looks when i asked them for NO plastic bags. They all looked very interested in the idea and were unhappy about all the waste that has been created. They said that it is a first that a customer is asking for No plastic.


Now there were tons of good memories and small acts of kindnesses that impressed me enormously. With all the big hearts and caring personalities i saw there, I have very high hopes that some day people will realize the damage the new so called progress is causing to the nature and will act upon it.

What have you done for our nature so far this summer?

Paris

Don't give up on them.

Hotel soap.

A while ago, I saw a post on Pinterest about how to whiten and wash you pillows. On that person's blog post, i read the comments and was very surprised to find out that there are many people that don't wash their pillows. they just throw them away, because they are getting yellowed!!!

Coincidentally around the same time, I saw someone throwing away six perfectly good, but lightly yellowed  pillows. I was shocked!!! thinking about all the material and effort wasted.( I acted upon those pillows and saved them. More on that later)

I started imagining and thinking about the oil that has been extracted from under the ground, Factories that has been built, paperwork that has been done, regulations that has been set up to process that oil, Cotton plants that have been planted and harvested, animals that have been killed for their down and feathers to be used...
Just imagine all the work, time, money and effort going in to making those pillows! And then they have to be transported across the world by massive ships full of containers to finally get to our stores and bought by us. So we can throw them away, because we didn't want to wash them???!!!

This makes my head spin.

When we travel and stay in Hotel rooms, one small thing that has been bothering me was the soap that we use once or twice and would end up in the trash can. i always bring them back with me and keep using them till they are finished. Not because i am cheap. Because i value the effort and hard work that went in to making that soap and it shouldn't be only for one time use. I prefer to take our own soap, so we don't have to unwrap and discard the wraps ( Mostly plastic) the hotel soaps come in. But some times i forget and have to use their soap. That is when they always come back home with me and get used till gone.

Another day, I was at a drugstore and noticed they have many dying live plants. I asked if i could water them, they said "no, they are dying and it is time for them to go either way". I offered to take them home and take care of them. Then bring them back, thinking about all the plastic containers that will end up in landfill if they are thrown away. It bothered me that just because a teenager in the store forgot to water those otherwise perfectly good plants, they will all end up dead and their containers in landfills. But they said it is against their policy. So I ended up buying as many as I could for a discount. They are now happily seating in my home, well fed, green and fresh.


This made me think;
Why we give up on something so easily?
Why don't we work to improve things?
Why are we so scared of hard work?
What is up with this national laziness epidemic?
Why are we so scared of inconvenience?
Why are we taking things and our conveniences for granted?

Our life has never been more convenient as humans and we are still unhappy and are looking for easier life and even more conveniences.

Why nobody repairs things any more?
Why we don't care any more?

If your children get sick, would you treat them? If your home, your shelter needs repair, would you repair it? If your car needs repair, would you do it? Why not doing this for everything in our life?

Lets seat back for a moment and look around us and think about our addiction to newness. We have been brainwashed by the marketing companies to think," Why bother with something old, if you can have a new one for dirt cheap." The problem is, none of us know, or are told the high price that is paid for our dirt cheap conveniences.

I don't know if you have seen the animation movie " Robots". The whole movie is based on the mind set of corporations telling people ( in this case robots) to buy new upgrades instead of repairing their old bodies. Even in this movie the scrap metals are getting recycled. In our real life, nothing that ends up in the landfills gets recycled. Have you ever recycled a pillow?

China, the main producer of our dirt cheap plastic goodies is in horrible shape. The pollution in their water and air is unbelievable. Despite their economic growth, people don't look happier. I read that even in one of their factories, they had to install a net to prevent their workers from suicide attempts. This is the price that is paid for our disposable NEW plastic stuff we are addicted to buying.

Think twice before you throw something away and buy a new one. Can it be washed? can it be repaired? can it be used longer? can it be taken care of? loved? or upgraded or up cycled?

Stop and think and see if you can paint, reupholster, hem, repair, wash, glue, clean, sew, treat and even simply water something, before you throw it away and think about buying a new one. And guess what, the financial savings from the money you otherwise would throw away are a welcomed side effect too.

What have you cared for and revitalized lately?

Just saved big by living green.

Our huge ten years old TV.

We don't watch too much TV. We have bought our TV over ten years ago. It is a wonderful TV, but once every few years it needs a lamp replacement. The first two times, we ordered the lamp from the manufacturer and had to pay around $200 for the lamp.

A couple of weeks ago, the lamp on our TV just stopped working and it was time for it to be replaced. Our first instinct was, that it is a ten years old TV and we have spend so much on the lamp. It is not worth it. It is better to just get rid of it and buy a new one that is LED system and does not need replacement. The new Televisions are getting a lot cheaper these days . (We bought it for thousands of dollars with financing, back then).

All the friends that we talked to, thought the same. But something in me was very uneasy about the convenient and easy road. The guilt was bugging me. I felt very stubborn about finding an alternative solution. I personally was doing very good without a Television and if i needed to watch something, my computer was perfect. But my family likes the Television and they felt something was missing.

Our options were, We could do what everybody else would do and instead of dumping it in the dumpster, recycle it. But i am not a big fan of recycling either and i do it only in cases of the lack of better alternative.

In general, any kind of none biodegradable waste, makes me uncomfortable.
(since our electronics most probably would be shipped to India by a huge cargo ship to be broken in pieces). Then i felt bad about recycling a huge TV that all it needs is a lamp. It has been a great TV and the quality has been wonderful.

Then I thought what if we just buy a lamp and replace it, then if we still want the new TV, we can sell this one for the price of the lamp. This way, it is not going to turn in to garbage and someone else could use it.

Couple of night ago, we had some wonderful friends over and they mentioned that their TV is needing lamps too and they have been buying it from Amazon.com.

My lovely husband checked there and surprise!!! He found it for $40. Yes. Only $40 will give us another few years of wonderful quality TV.

So my point is, always check to see if something is repairable before replacing it. If we were not living a green life and were not worried about waste creation, we would have discard the TV, create a huge amount of waste, spend lots of time locating and choosing a TV and would have probably spend tons of money to buy a new one.

So, what we saved in this process was:
. The environment.
. Lots of time.
. Lots of money
and the most important thing is the life lesson our kids are learning from this decision.

We still have to take a trip to the electrical recycling center, but it would be for the Mercury containing lamp, not the whole Television.

What have you repaired lately?

This thanksgiving, what are you thankful about ?

Giving thanks.
Life is full of joy and happiness. Full of things, people and moments to enjoy and be thankful for.

But here are some things that we forget about and forget to be thankful for. Some things in life that we take for granted and are some of the most important things in our existance.

. The air we breath.


Air pollution.

Yes, the air we breath. After living in one of the most polluted cities in the world for many years, the air we are breathing has become very valuable. The pollution in many countries is unbelievable and the air is simply un-breathable. I remember when visited Tehran, the capitol of Iran. my eyes and my troth was burning from the car smoke and pollution. My white clothes turned black in just less than an hour. So yes, the air I am breathing today is one important thing for me to be thankful for.



Water pollution

. The water we drink.
I one saw this funny picture of a child looking surprised and saying " You are telling me you have so much clean water that you go putty in it?" . This is actually the interesting truth. There are so many people around the world that are missing drinking water. I remember that my dad was telling me stories about when he went to a very far away village in Iran to evaluate the situation for building a road ( He is an engineer). The villagers were very happy to see him and with lots of respect, they brought him water to drink. He said that, he saw dirt and small worms at the bottom of the glass. Now many years later, thinking about that, makes me appreciate every drop of clean, fresh water that i drink. I am deeply thankful.

. The comfort of having a shelter.
No matter how big or small our homes are, they are still our homes and they are a shelter for us to rest in. At this time, where we live, we have wild deers and turkies in our backyard all the time. few days ago, we had a big rain and i caught myself feeling worried for those deers. Then i remembered that all the animals in nature are living outdoors. Only us, humans are the ones that build shelters. We even have the luxury kinds too. This though gave me a deep satisfaction and thankfulness regarding my life and the simple fact , that my family and I, are having a shelter in the cold of the winter and in the heat of the summer. I am just so thankful.

. health.
Not long ago i was watching a very sad movie about a family that had AIDS. That night i slept very thankful. I realised the best news in the world for that family, at any given moment, would be someone telling them that they don't have AIDS any more. That night i though about it long and deep and i was so thankful that my family and I, live a life that could be the best news for someone. I am so thankful for every thing in my life. For having a somewhat healthy brain, a relatively healthy body and healthy family.

. Being born as a human.
I am not jocking. This one might sound very weired. But think about it. We could have been a fish or a lizard. But we happen to be a human being. The most intelligent creature on earth. We can build things and live a comfortable life. We are indeed very lucky to be human. The wisdom and knowledge of humanity serve us enormously and improve the quality of our lives.

. Having food to eat.
This one goes back to being human. imagine if we had to hunt our own food and there was no agriculture, farms or meat production. We are just lucky and need to be thankful. Be able to go to store or farmers market and buy our food is a huge blessing. Others worked hard to provide this food for us. I never forget what my daughter's 8 years old friend once said. She grabbed a grain of rice and said " We should not waste anything. It took a whole year for this rice to grow, so we can eat it". What a nice way to look at our food.

What are you thankful for today?

Don't need to be an excessive environmentalist.

 It is easy to live a sustainable life.

To love and respect nature, you don't need to live a difficult life, or sacrifice your family's comfort. There are many easy ways to live a happy and fulfilling life and still live green.

I have seen and read so many stories about people that spend hours, to peel the paper of a can to be able to recycle it, or don't use toilet paper, so they can save trees.

Living green should not sacrifieses your comfort and your familie's well being. Here are some easy changes that have a nominal effect on your life, but make a big difference in environmental health.

These tips are simple to apply and mostly focuses on the matter of choosing the greener version of everything we use. ?


Here are some easy tips about making a better world without compromising our happiness.

- When you go to Starbucks for a drink, ask for their "For here cup" or bring your own cup. Just decide that you will stop using disposable cups.

- If you have the desire and the financial option to buy a Electric or Hybrid car, consider it . You will save tons of money on gas too.

- Just learn and teach your family to turn unused lights off.

- Don't be wasteful. Try to reuse things and if something can be repaired, repair it instead of trowing it away and buying a new one.

- Try to go paperless in your kitchen. It is very easy and it saves a lot of money.

- Consider a smaller house if you have the option and the desire. Smaller house consumes a lot less resources and is much easier to care for.

- Buy only when you need something. Don't just buy, because, for a second, you think it is nice to own something or because it looks like a deal.

- Try to buy as natural as possible. For example, when buying any clothing, try to look for all cotton instead of all the synthetic materials. Cotton is from nature and goes back to nature, Polyester is plastic and will never go back to nature.

-   Invest in a water filter. Stop buying bottled water. It makes a huge difference environmentally and financially.

- Try to buy recycled paper, or toilet paper wrapped in paper instead of non recycled one wrapped in plastic.

- Isolate your home and always turn off your heater and AC when not needed.

- When ready to buy cleaning supplies, try to buy the Eco friendly kinds. You still clean nicely without of the huge impact on the environment.

- Stop buying books and use the library.

- Recycle as much as you can.

- Shop from your Farmer's Market. This one makes a big difference.

- When buying something, like cosmetics and toys, always look for the natural choices first. A naturally made cosmetic made in your own country, or a wooden toy, still gives you what you wanted with a lot less impact.

Do you do any of the above?
Paris

20 benefits of buying from Farmers Market.

Got Vegetables?

Here is a photo of my weekly farmers market purchases. 

Why it is important to buy from your local Farmers Market?







1.  More fruit and vegetable. You will get excite to buy and eating a lot more fruit and vegetable, since you will be more exposed to them.

2. Fresh produce.The produces are local. It means they were not brought from other countries. Thus they are a lot fresher. They were not ripened by the chemical gasses. They were ripened by the power of the sun.

3. Less Chemicals. Since they do not need to be transported too far, they need less chemicals to ripen them ( Ethylene gas See here)  and to maintain them.

4. Less Packaging, Less natural resources, less waste. All the produces you see in my picture produced ZERO waste. The egg cartons are brought back to my egg lady the next week and it makes her very happy. For the rest off the produces, i brought my own bags. You can shop zero waste as well. Just bring your own bags.

5. Less Transportation, less Pollution. The produces in the farmers market were not brought from a different continent, just to be sold to us. Thus very minimal transportation is needed. The less transportation is used, the less Oil or Gas is used. This means less dependency on foreign oil, less pollution in the environment, less maintenance, less refrigeration, less paperwork and less big corporation are involved.

6. More diversity. I leaned a lot more about different vegetable, and my kids are trying all kinds of interesting fruit and vegetable that we have never seen or been exposed to before. Diversity means more types of vitamins and minerals and not getting stuck eating the same old same.

7. Helping our local farmers. It is a pleasure to hand the money directly to the grower of my food. I think about all the hard work they put in growing and taking care of our food and then they have to sell them dirt cheap to the big corporations. The corporations are taking over the food market.

8. Better Nutritional facts. When the produce ripens naturally and is consumed right after harvesting, it has the highest amount of nutrients in it. The conventional produces that are brought from far way, are harvested weeks before they are ripened. This way, they maintain their texture. Then after weeks of refrigeration and transportation, when it is time for them to be sold, they are ripened artificially with Ethylene gas. Less sun means less nutrition.

9. Seasonal. Eating seasonal is just wonderful. The recipes, the smell of the season, the colors are pure pleasure. It is not fun to eat pumpkin in spring. Also, eating seasonal means, they have been produced locally, not on the other earth's hemisphere. The taste, the nutrition and the season's spirit is a lot better. The effect on the environment is a lot less too. It just makes sense.

10. Family quality time. Going to farmer's market is one of our favorite activities. My kids get to choose the fruits. They usually are rewarded by a sweet and nice person, by giving them that extra cucumber, or strawberry. They love it.

11. Making new friends. When i am saying thank you and good by to the nice farmers, we all say" See you next week" . When i didn't get the chance to go there for couple of weeks, they were concerned and asked me where i was. Also I know this wonderful older lady that has back aches and i am looking forward to see her and chat with her. She has the nices smile. It is such a pleasure to know these wonderful people.

12.  A happier community. Farmers Market brings happiness to our community. The music, the liveliness, the flowers, the nice person selling Organic herbs, the noises, the smell of freshness, all these just creates a happier place.

13. Fresh and natural out door air. I used to be always cold in the stores. All those artificial lights and refrigerators, make me get the chills. The farmers market is a natural, out door, fresh air experience and is good for all of us.

14. Light exercises. It made me laugh to write this. But the truth is that walking around, carrying bags filled with produce, in the fresh out door air, is a lot healthier that jumping in the car 20 times per week and buying one thing at a time, from a 24 hours Safe Way. This used to the old me. The convenience of having a big grocery store open 24 hours a day very close to our house caused me to not plan anything and just buy when i needed something NOW.

15. Better taste food. Just think about it. A produce that has been in the sun, without any chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides..., loved and cared for till it ripens without any artificial gases. Then sold and cooked the same day, taste better OR the produce that has been brought up in a soil that has no nutrition left and artificial lights, is packed with fertilizers, pesticides... then picked and refrigerated weeks before it is ripened, then it is transported half way acrossed the globe, then it is ripened with Ethylene gas, Then it is seating in the grocery stores for a long time before it make it in your basket. Which one tastes better.

16. Reduce consumerism. When we buy from Farmers Market, we break our dependency to the big corporations. We buy less processed and packaged food that are advertised to us. We buy less junk food and less unnecessary stuff.

17.  Access to less expensive organic produce. Since there is no middle men, the organic food can be found less expensive. Also Organic produces need a faster turnaround, otherwise they go bad. They lack the chemical preservatives. So the whole process would be a lot more expensive if the food is brought from far away.

18. No temptation for buying junk food. When we are going to grocery stores, we get exposed to so many unhealthy junk food. It is so hard to keep saying "No" to your kids when they want something they see. But in Farmers Market, whatever they ask for, it is a healthy food.

19. Not processed. Most food get processed and altered, so they look a certain way, or they taste a certain way and the most important part is, the amount of preservatives added to them is huge. In the Farmers market, the food you buy, actually goes bad after a while. This is always a good sign.

20. Learning about the food we eat. It is so wonderful to try the new recipes and new produces we buy in farmers market. We also ask about how the plant grows and how each produce is made. My kids learn so much from the knowledgeable people there.

Have you been to your local Farmer's Market yet?

Paris

Stop over-cleaning.

Are we over cleaning?

The cleaning process has become one of the most toxic processes in our life. Here in US we are becoming obsessed with cleaning. We are becoming so Germophobic that a huge isle in the grocery stores is dedicated to cleaning and disinfection. We hear horror stories about the germs and have become truly preoccupied with killing every single germ in our home. The price we are paying for this cleaning process is huge and we don't even know about it. Here are some of the negative sides of too much cleaning.


. Destroying The Good Germs.

Hopefully, we all remember studying about "The Good Germs and The Bad Germs". The good germs are our friends. They are necessary for our health. They are the defend wall that keeps Fungus and some other aggressive germs away and help to protect our body. If they are destroyed, the so called " Opportunistic germs" replace them and could cause diseases. We need the good germs. We should stop killing them with all our Antibachterial agents.


. Inexperience Immune system.

Immune system's mechanism works like the memory . That is how vaccines work. When our white blood cells, that are our defence system, encounters germs, they learn to recognize these kinds of germs and learn to defend themselves. When we inject our bodies with weakened germs( Vaccination) the germs are not strong enough to take over our bodies, but it is still enough for our body's defence mechanism to learn about them and build a defence system. This way, the next time this strand of germ attacks our body, our white cells recognize and destroy it.
When we are removing all the germs around us, the immune system becomes relaxed and too comfortable, thus the first attack of germs, could become successful and causes sickness. We are constantly exposed to all kinds of germs. Our strong immune system is the reason we are not sick all the time. Having a strong immune system is a lot more crucial to our health than having a germ free environment.


. Resistant germs.

Like any other cell and microorganism, germs can change and adapt themselves. It is called Mutation. Microbes and Viruses are smart organisms and can recognize our attacks. They can become stronger and resist Antibiotics, or other germicides. A resistant germ is very dangerous. Unfortunately, there are more and more new strands of germs that can resist our Antibiotics and other treatments. These new strand can survive easily and cause for our treatment to become inefficient. The battle with those germs are extremely hard. The more we attack them, the stronger they become.


. Chemical exposure.

Our bodies are a part of nature. We are from nature and need the nature. Over the past several years, we have been overwhelming our bodies with tons of chemicals, not thinking that they are just not natural and our bodies are not made to deal with them. The effect of chemicals on our body is a very controversial subject. Many researchers say that it is very unhealthy for us to be exposed to so many chemicals. On the other hands we are bombarded with commercials telling us, how safe and secure we will feel, if our kitchen floor is cleaned with the chemical they are selling. I personally believe, the best way is, to go back to our origins and back to nature. Stay away from chemicals as much as possible. Sometimes it appears to me, that the germ fighting chemicals, are more dangerous than the actual germs.

Based on Organic Consumers Association's report.
some cleaners are among the most toxic products found in the homes. In 2000, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10% of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers, accounting for 206,636 calls. Of these, 120,434 exposures involved children under six, who can swallow or spill cleaners stored or left open inside the home.


. Expense.

Buying all sorts of cleaning agents can quickly add up and put a dent in our monthly budget. There are many HUGE global companies that generate a huge amount of profit and their only product, is chemicals used for cleaning our houses. Just think about it. It is and has been a big business. This is the money people spend with the hope for healthier and cleaner life. In reality, We don't need all those gadgets to have a clean home. There are many fast, inexpensive ways to clean our homes. We can actually Save tons of money, only if we switch to the natural home made cleaners.


. Bad for the environment.

The effect our household cleaners have on our environment is devastating. The household cleaners are very toxic and are designed to kill organism. The problem is that, it affects all kinds of live organism. Many researches have been conducted regarding the effect of our household cleaners on the water and the soil in our planet. These chemicals mostly end in the oceans and poison the see animals. The same chemicals residue in the fatty tissue of the fish we are eating and it comes back to us as food. We should simply care about our planet and all the living creatures, specially knowing that one of those living creatures is us, humans and we are not safe from our own harm.



Now, I know the value of sterilization and disinfecting. Believe me, One of the most important things you need to know to become a dentist, is how to kill germs. Owning a Dental office for many years, caused me to become an obsessed germophobic. But the germs in a dental office are very different than the germs in our homes. What i am trying to say here, is that i am not against destroying germs. I am against destroying our own immune system, our oceans, our ecosystem and our future generations chance of a healthy planet, just to remove germs. I truly believe that the most effective ways to kill germs is naturally and without all the harsh chemicals.

What should one do to keep clean, yet consider all the above? The key is Moderation. Like every thing else in life, moderation is the best way.

I will soon have a post about how to clean naturally and with moderation!

Paris

Kid's Green Birth day party

Green Birth day party. ideas for kids.

When my son turned 4, I decided to have a green B-day party for him. It was very successful.

I believe ,that my kids don't need tons and tons of extravagant toys to be happy. We had that, and did that mistake. It made our kids overwhelmed and unsatisfied with every thing. Caused our kids to not value the things they had and the gifts they got.

It actually made them more unhappy. Because they didn't feel happy for the things they received, but they got unhappy for the things they did NOT receive.

Now think about it. If you get something good that you really want, once a while, will you enjoy it more or if you get everything you want," and don't want" all the time?



Bamboo forks actually work.. brown bag( goody bag)

So Back to our green B-day Party. Here are some tips.

• Party outdoors. In a park or zoo. I live in California, so this is a higher possibility, but if you have an unfavourable weather, you can have it in your home.

• Hand made cards from old used Envelopes. Children love to help.

• Idea Card. Attach "green gift ideas" to the card. I made a hole with a puncher and tied the two parts together with a Hemp robe.

• Reusable. You can use, reusable plastic plates and cups( Don't like the fact that they are plastic, but you don't want to have broken glass in hand either).

• Bamboo . Bamboo forks, spoons, knives and plates are good options. You can find them in party stores. 

• Natural drinks. You can make, homemade natural lemonade from fresh lemons , or make cranberry tea and add some sugar, Instead of serving the usual chemical fruit punch ( my kids love this)

• Natural snack. Almonds , Oranges and Watermelon ...

• Avoid. Balloons and plastic table cloth are very bad for the environment. Use cloth table cloth. Buy one refillable balloon that you can use year after year ( if you really have to have a balloon) .

• Home made. You can have your kids help to make a healthy cake ( Carrot cake) or cupcakes . Try to make it organic if possible . Also if at home, you can have kids make their own pizza, they love to make it as an activity. Otherwise you can make a very big sandwich at home and cut it in slices for the guests.

• Goody bags. For green goody bag items, the following can be used. T-shirts. Wooden toys, home made play dough in a small jar, organic home made cookies, little flower pots and seeds. Small mini plants for kids to take home. Small reusable shopping bag, lunch bags, reusable water bottle, reusable monogram napkins.Gift certificates for Ice cream. Small seedling trees from nursery . Avoid all those cheap plastic toys that will clutter your home, end up in garbage and eventually in landfills and oceans. For the actual bags, you can use reusable shopping bags or small brown bags or bags made from old newspapers colored and made by kids for goody bag, filled with the above.

When we had the party, the only garbage we created was:

Recyclable ( Didn't have time to cook them)
- Pizza box
- Cake box

Biodegradable:
- Orange and Watermelon peels.
- Cake leftover
 

Have you thought about having a natural Eco friendly party?

Paris

Population explosion.

Population explosion.

Disclaimer:
Before i write this post, i need to mention that i have no intention to insult or offend anybody and this post is simply about sharing the information i was exposed to, over the years and have been thinking about. I respect all the religions and all the personal choices.


Here is why i chose to write this post.



 

From Populationgrowth.org

" It took 250,000 years for civilization to reach a population of 1 billion. Today, we add 250,000 people to the planet each day. It took a century to add the second billion of us on Earth. Today, we add 1 billion more every 12 years."
Taken from Populationgrowth.org

"India is currently home to about 1.21 billion people, representing a full 17% of the earth’s population. India's 2011 census showed that the country's population had grown by 181 million people in the prior decade."



Taken from http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/indiapopulation.htm

Also please see.
 http://www.populationmatters.org/


I was born in Iran. a revolution happened there when I was 6 or 7 years old.
I remember it.

One thing happened after the revolution was a population explosion in Iran. People were told that it is up to the higher power to decide how many kids a family could have. So people everywhere were talking about god's will ( as I said, my blog has nothing to do with religion and personal believes).I remember also that the government was telling people, that they should make babies, because that is what god wants.

The result:.. Years later they had a census. Guess what . The population under 17 years old was over 70% of the Iranian population. That means a disaster in my opinion.
That means the country would need to provide 70% more schools, 70% more health care for kids , 70% more food. 70% more everything and be ready NOW for the first wave of new baby boomers. The country would need to be ready ASAP. The first wave was graduating from high school in a year. These kids will need colleges, housing, jobs, universities, more food....

They also will get married and make their own children. Just imagine. I believe ,THAT GROWTH by itself would move a country towards a financial disaster without considering the political issues.

I haven't lived in Iran for many many years ( over 22 years). But I heard that there are growing issues including but not limited to:

- Street kids.
- Homelessness.
- Poverty.
- Beggars.
- Prostitution.
- Horrible pollution( Tehran is gray).
- Unmanageable traffic.
- Young jobless people.
- Corruption.
- Addiction.
- Inflation.
- ...


I visited Iran in 2005 after many years, and actually noticed and felt of the change . What I also noticed was that how wonderful people were in that country that is going downward fast.

The drop in Population growth rate in 1980 in Iran was due to people's education on overpopulation.

The key is education!!!

 

So, after the census, the government decided to act and act fast. I remember seeing the slogan of" less children, better life" I remember that many people were going to villages and far away towns to educate people for having less kids. I saw it everywhere. I remember thinking about not having many kids myself, because i felt, it was not the right think to do.

Now, I know that China started a one child per family program. But I heard that they are running in to some problems. Since lots of families want boy, they make girls disappear, so they can have a second child that they are hoping is a boy. I heard that the girls birth might not be reported. or they might end up in orphanages or worst. That caused the number of boys being higher and the balance is lost in some regions. It was in the radio, that I heard this story. And that is why China has so many girls for adoption, but not too many boys. Looks like many girls have been abandoned without being registered anywhere. One good coming out of it is some wonderful families had the opportunity to adopt from China.

Again I am not trying to disrespect any country or any culture.

To me it looks like education would be the good way to go. I am not sure how effective it could be, but the experience in Iran was too late, but somewhat successful. But I believe we should start ASAP.
The population is on the rise and there are not enough resources to handle more population. The fast progress spreading across the globe requires more resources. There in nothing wrong with wanting to live a more convenient and comfortable life. But with the high number of people trying to reach a more comfortable life, there is simply not enough resources. A more convenient life tend to be more wasteful as well. That is why i, personally am trying to change my own lifestyle first and reduce the use of resources in our own family's life.

Years ago there were lots of death caused by sicknesses that are cured now. But (fortunately) since we overcame some of that problem, I feel that we need to compensate for not allowing the nature to do population control and take over this responsibility by controlling the population on our own. If we use Antibiotic, and treat ourselves to stop deadly diseases, we should also use family planning and birth control. Birth control and pregnancy prevention , to me looks like the most ethical and effective way to go.

less people would mean:
- Less deforestation and destroying the trees.
- Less pollution.
- Less global warming.
- Less diseases due to higher quality of life.
- Less traffic.
- Less stress.
- Less garbage.
- Less chemicals and fertilizers to meet the high demands of food production.
- Less destroying the nature to create housings.
- Less Poverty
- Less jobless people.
- Less of every thing. I assume; crime, rape, hunger, street kids,....

So I strongly believe that the first step we need to take is a population control. But I never ever hear anybody talking about it, due to it being a sensitive case to talk about. It is too personal. It is hard to talk about it without talking about religion. Also it appears to me that the countries with the rising population along with other problems mentioned above are harder to reach.

If the number of us humans grows with the same rate, soon the earth resources will be finished. It is a simple truth, the higher the quantity, the lower the quality becomes.



Paris.

Please feel free to let me know what you think of this issue.

The best coffee!!!

  

   

   

 

We like to drink coffee.

We are not addicted. But we enjoy the aroma of a good coffee on a Sunday morning. We used To just automatically drive to Starbucks and buy our coffee. But over the years many things changed.

What is Our new way of drinking coffee which we love and truly enjoy?

Here is the secret:

• USDA Organic
• Shade grown, rain forest alliance certified.
• Fair trade 
• Bird friendly
• Beans
• French press
• Purchased from bulk in my own bags to reduce the waste. 

Organic shade grown coffee. This coffee just taste much better. The regular , normal, natural coffee should grow in the rain forests. Shade and rain forest trees are the ideal environment for the coffee plant growth. The trees protect the coffee plants from bugs and other pests. They also provide natural fertilizer from their mulch. These rain forest trees also are the home to migrating North American births and are vital for those bird's survival.

 But we changed the coffee for our own greed and for the profit of our companies. The regular coffee we consume is made differently.  It is genetically modified to grow in the sun so the production per sq. is higher, thus the profit is higher. Unfortunately in many areas of the world many rain forest trees are cut down to make room for genetically modified coffee plants. This deforestation has an huge impact on the health of our planet.

When a coffee is organic, it means it has not been genetically modified, did not have pesticides and fertilizers. So our best bet is to buy organic shade grown coffee.

The market for the coffee is so big that are many black markets involved and many people make tons of illegal money in this process. Buying Fair trade coffee, makes sure the right people get paid by our purchase.

As far as the taste goes, grinding a bean from scratch makes a big difference. When you buy pre-grind coffee, the beans loose some freshness and aroma in the process . Invest in a grinder and enjoy making and drinking coffee every step of the way.

We switched to French press to reduce our electronics in our home. Surprisingly, we found that our coffee tastes much better. I think living the coffee soaking in the hot water helped to release more aroma and more flavor.

Have you tried to drink the better coffee yet?

Easy Laundry

Laundry.

One of the biggest complain of all times by families, here in US, is doing laundry.

Over the years I heard complains about :

• The time it takes.
• The load of unwashed clothes waiting
• The cost of detergent and fabric softener
• The allergies to some stuff
• The electricity cost
• The fragrances, some family member love it and some hate it.
• The washing separate. Baby clothes with baby hypoallergenic detergent, kitchen separate, undies separate, hand wash, wash in cold, delicate, ...
• The big old enemy, FOLDING.
• Surprisingly, the least of every body's  concern and my own #1 , effect on the environment.
• ...

I personally like doing laundry. A lot.

Here is why.

The greenest Laundry detergent !

For Laundry, I use Soap nuts . I absolutely enjoy using it. It simplified my life .

Just place 5 in a bag .

Pro's

• 100% natural.
• Inexpensive,
• Does not create any garbage.
• Biodegradable.
• Non-toxic.
• Cleans really good.
• Safe for septic and gray water system.
• Organic. pesticide and chemical free.
• Simple to use.
• Eliminates the need for fabric softeners.
• Keeps laundry simple and organized and de-cluttered.
• Has no fragrance.
• Eliminates odor.
• Safe around children.
• Saves money
• Softens and keeps the clothes from deteriorating.

 Cons:

Couldn't find any yet.

(Update: after a while, I noticed my whites are not as bright any more. I bought a regular laundry detergent for the white laundry and started using it once a month for whites only. This will keep the chemicals to minimal while still brightens my light clothes. )

I was pretty skeptical at first. But I have been using it for quit some time and had no problem with it. I am loving this product.

Paris