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 and green oral care.

As a dentist AND an environmentalist, I can not help but think about all the ways we can become more natural and more environmental friendly when it comes to our oral care. The amount of small pieces of plastic we are sending in to the nature due to our teeth cleaning routine is huge.

I am not even talking about a Dental office with everything disposable and made of plastic. I am just talking about our homes and what can we do to reduce the amount of chemicals we enter in our bodies and the water stream along with the amount of plastic waste we create.

In our own home, I have searched and tried many different ways to reduce our impact while maintaining a healthy oral hygiene.

Here is what we do:


Floss:

I have tried many different flosses. There are some flosses that are made of real silk and I was very excited to find them. But the problem was, due to the tight contact between my teeth, the silk floss kept getting ripped. The best floss for myself, I have found to be the VeganFloss. All my family have been using it for the past four years without any problems. They are available in almost all health food stores. I buy mine at Whole Foods. The packaging is made of paper and the floss last a VERY long time. After all, 100 yards of floss is a lot of floss. When new, the floss is wrapped in a small plastic wrap which needs to be removed. This is my least favorite part about this product. The floss itself is also appeared to be not biodegradable. But the packaging is biodegradable.






Toothpaste:
Home made in reusable jars. HERE you can find the recipe.

 

Tooth Brush:

I have tried many different tooth brushes and so far, my favorite has been Environmental toothbrush. I order them on Amazon. The handle is made from Bamboo and the bristles are made from natural fibers. The packaging does not come with plastic windows. We usually order a pack of 12 and color code the handles with a small dot with different color nail polish for each family member. The main problem with these is that they are not made in USA. I like to buy things local and prefer to help the local economy. We are shortly due for our new set of 12 and this time, I will try to look for a local company that can provide similar brushes. Based on my research on Amazon.com, there are many new local companies formed lately with great quality toothbrushes. I will definitely give them a try.





My review of Green Panda toothbrush:
Kathy from Green Panda has been kind enough to send me a tooth brush as a sample to try. Here are my findings:


Pros:

 

1. Sustainable bamboo handle
2. Natural bristles
3. Made in USA
4. Reasenably priced
5. Easily found in stores (Whole Foods)
6. Family owned small business
7. Post costumer packaging
8. Anatomic shape

Cons.

1. Too big for my mouth. Was hard to handle and maneuver due to a pretty big size.
2. I personally am not a big fan of anatomical shapes. No other options for the classic shape.
3. Bristles are too hard. I prefer softer bristles.

In general, other than the comfort part, it was a good toothbrush. I believe it just needed some getting used to.



Here is another brand I found in the Rainbow store in San Francisco. "Brush with Bamboo". Have not tried them yet.

I am not a big fan of mouth wash. But a good alternative to the chemical mouth washes is warm salt water. Some baking soda dissolved in water along with some mint extract can also freshen up the breath and neutralizes the acidity in the mouth.

What is your green oral care routine?

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

Home made, almost plastic free toothpaste.

Toothpaste has been one of the problems for my zero waste green lifestyle. We all go through them a lot and they almost always come in plastic tubes. Not to mention all the chemicals in them.

As a dentist, I have became very fascinated with finding a solution to this problem. So, I got to work and started experimenting all kinds of options.

Here is my final recipe after months of research, trial and errors.

Disclaimer:
Even though i am a Dentist, I am not giving you my professional advice here and am just sharing my own recipe. Please consult your dentist with any problems, or professional questions.

You will need:

. Xylitol 6-8 packs
. Hot Water 2 tbsp
. Hydrogen peroxide 2 tbsp
. Vegetable glycerin 4 tbsp
. Spearmint extract 40-50 drops
. Baking Soda (As needed)
. Dr. Bronner all in one liquid Castile soap( Not in the picture)
.Tums Extra (Optional, also not in the picture)*



1. Dissolve 6-8 packs of Xylitol in two tbsp hot water.

2. Add equal amount of Hydrogen peroxide and vegetable glycerin. I start with two tbsp of each.

3. Add spearmint or any other flavor extract you enjoy as needed. I put around 30 drops.

4. Add 1 tbsp of liquid Castile soap.

5. Mix everything together.

6. Add a small amount of baking soda gradually till you reach your desirable texture.

7. Add more vegetable glycerin as needed if it is too hard.

8. Place it in your jar and live it open. The Hydrogen Peroxide might foam up and free some oxygen. Mix it after a while to let the oxygen out and help your paste to form.

Done.



 . Xylitol is a natural form of sugar. Research has shown that it is beneficial to the oral hygiene and it helps the re-mineralization of teeth before the occurrence of dental caries. It also reduces the growth of some bacterias that are involved in decay generation by interfering the bacterial growth and regeneration. In our case, it also gives our toothpaste a more pleasant taste by sweetening it.


. Hydrogen Peroxide is an excellent germ killer. It fights the non aerobic germs that are one of the causes of periodontal diseases. It is also a strong whitener. You don't want to overdue the usage since it will also destroy the good germs and your natural bacterial environment in your mouth. That could cause the reduction of your mouth's defence system. Without the Healthy and natural bacterias in your mouth, the so called opportunistic germs and specially fungus could attack your mouth causing canker sores. You also want to make sure you are not allergic to Hydrogen Peroxide.


. Vegetable glycerin. For me, glycerin has been better that coconut oil. The reasons are, coconut oil's texture is unpredictable. It solidifies in cold and liquefies in heat. That could cause your toothpaste to change texture with the outside temperature changes. Coconut oil is also transported and imported traveling usually a long way and it's production has a high impact on the environment. The glycerin acts like a lubricant and reduces the damage the baking Soda could cause due to it's abrasive nature. It also improves our toothpaste and gives it that creamy soft  and smooth texture. They are some debates over the benefits Vs contraindications of glycerin in toothpaste. It is said that it creates a film over the tooth and it does not allow the enamel to re-mineralize. As a dentist, to accept this statement, i need to see some solid researches. When i place a sealant over the grooves of a tooth prior to it getting decays, i am sealing the tooth. My gut feeling on this issue says, if there are decays, they need to be addressed as soon as possible and if they are no decays, the glycerin film might even be helpful by sealing the minerals in and protecting the enamel from the attack of bacteria and acids. But that is my opinion and i have not seen any researches regarding this matter yet. Please do your own research.


. Spearmint extract. I love the freshness it brings after brushing. But you can choose any flavor.


. Baking soda is purchased in bulk and I bring my own bag to store. Thus, zero waste. It is a mild abrasive that whitens teeth. It is very effective in removing the plaque and even some tartars. I have heard stories of people using it with Vinegar though. This is a NO NO for me. One of the problems we have these days and have been seeing more often lately, is erosion of teeth due to high acidity levels in the mouth. It could be caused by heartburn, high consumption of Sodas and acidic drinks, and ironically, the higher amount of salads with vinegar and lemon juice for healthy eaters have been causing some serious erosion and sensitivity. So, last thing we need to do is to add more vinegar or lemon juice to our daily regime (Sorry Dr. Oz, but i respectfully disagree with the lemon juice on teeth). Another thing you need to note is that Baking Soda might be too abrasive for cosmetic works. So if you have anterior work done, the Baking Soda might remove the glaze and it is not recommended. It also should be used only with very soft tooth brush since it is pretty abrasive and could cause gum recession. I highly recommend you to brush gently and never scrub vigorously when using this recipe.


. Dr. Bronner's all in one Baby Mild Liquid Soap. Just a small amount gives our toothpaste a very nice foaming effect that makes the whole brushing process more pleasant. The liquid soap cleans and flushes away all the unwanted debris from the mouth. I like to use Baby Mild kind that has no scent and is mild. The liquid soap can help to reduce the harsh effects of all the abrasives and cleaning agents in the mouth.  For more information, follow the link on the name.

*.Toms Tums Extra ( Sugar free). Now this one I came up with for people that have acid erosion and sensitivity on the teeth. High acidity could be due to stomach problems, heartburn, consuming too much Soda and acidic food including salad dressing. You can dissolve one tablet of Tums in your hot water along with Xylitol and just continue as the recipe says. Tums will neutralizes the acidity and also helps to re-mineralize your teeth due to high level of Calcium.

We use a Popsicle stick to scoop up the paste and place it on our brush. The consistency changes over time and you can easily add more baking Soda or Glycerin to re balance the texture.

What is your favorite toothpaste? Do you have a recipe you would want to share here? please do so.

Thank you
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?

For here cup !!! Coffee.

In our house, we love coffee. Drinking coffee is not the greenest thing to do. But we still love our coffee. Imagine there are some people around the world that are cutting the Amazon trees and rain forests down just to plant coffee bushes for us. Then they are taking care of the bush and harvest them. Then we have the big corporations with all their paperwork and team of professionals roasting and preparing and transporting them here for us so we can drink our latte in the morning!

But what can i say. We just really love coffee. For our home, we buy Shade grown Organic bulk coffee to have a much better tasting drink with lower impact on our environment. See my post regarding that here.

 To make it, we use French press. Simple. No filters needed. We ground our own coffee at home with a small electric coffee grinder. The smell and taste is unbelivably good. Zero waste created and the used coffee ground end up in either our garden, or compost. 

But when we are going out for coffee, we usually bring our own cups. Our reusable cups have been our friends for a long time and we are used to them.

When we forget our cups, we try to just seat down and have our coffee there in the Cafe. Most of them have porcelain cups that you can request. In Starbucks, they call it "For here cups" They are beautiful and the coffee or tea or any other beverages tastes great in them. Once we are done, we just 

bring them back to the counter and thank them. very easy.

It is very frustrating to see people order a drink and get a to go plastic cup and then seat there and drink it. At the end, that one drink produces waste. With the volume of beverages these coffee shops are serving and selling, the amount of waste is stunningly high numbers of cups, lids, straws,...

In the landfills.

So Please, when you go for that nice drink with a friend and you want to seat down to drink it, either bring your own coffee cup, or just ask for their "for here cups". Your coffee will taste better and you will drink it with a cleaner conscious.

What type of cup have you used to have your drink in it lately?

Paris

Simple 15 Min. Shoe repair.

Ripped only after few months.

Simple 15 Min. Shoe repair.

Yesterday, i noticed my beloved husband's Gym shoes. The sponge on the back side was completely gone. I asked him about the shoes.
"It is time for them to go. I need a new pair" Was the answer my husband gave.Of course, I couldn't agree more, at first.







In my mind:

My inner Economist Housewife said:" Oh boy. Didn't we just buy those few month ago? They suppose to be the best kind that is good for the back support. But he is right. The whole back is gone and they have no support. We will need to spend lots of money again to buy another decent pair.

My inner Green Diva said: "We will donate or recycle them. So someone else will use them."

My inner Economist Housewife said: "Or we can take them to the neighborhood Shoe repair store (Cobbler) and have them repaired. It hopefully will cost less.

My inner Green Diva agreed: " We could do that.What a waste if all these plastic pieces end up in landfills.

My inner Homestead said: "I might be able to repair them. All i need is some shoe glue and some foam. A quick trip to a craft store will solve that."

My inner Green Diva didn't like the idea of driving to store( Gas and pollution) for a small task. She also didn't like to buy packaged glue and foam. All plastics and all waste and clutter creators.

Well. I combined my inner Economist Housewife, my Green Diva and my inner Homestead and came up with a solution.

I said" I am going to try to repair it only with what i have in the house. So here i went.











The foam was completely gone. But the fabric was still there rolled down.




I searched for something in our home to be used to replace the foam. Some soft and puffy yarn and a crochet stick were my solutions. You can also use your dryer lint to replace the foam. I also thought about using an old folded sock to replace the piece which could replace the fabric as well, if it was missing. But in this case, the fabric was there.

It took less than 3 minutes to crochet the pieces. I measures the holes on both shoes and made two of these.

Then just placed them in the shoe.Unrolled the fabric and cover the pieces. Sewing them was a little bit of a healthy and fun challenge considering the position of the piece.

Here is the final result. Like new. They also feel very comfortable and resilient.My husband loves it and he said they have never been so comfortable before.

What have you repaired lately? Please live a comment and let me know. I love reading your comments.

Paris

Quest to finding the perfect purse.

Quest to finding the perfect purse.

Purses are one of the most vital parts of a woman's life. They carry all our stuff, along with our children's stuff. Not to mention carrying our husband's keys and valet and sun glasses for them.

"Honey, can you please put my key in your purse? I don't know where to put them." Is a familiar phrase in our home.

Many years ago, i bought a red purse that i used once in a while. I just loved the color. Back when i started to reduce and minimise, this one was a purse that i just couldn't let go of. So i kept it.

Now i only have three purses. One is for summer, One is a gift from my lovely sister in-law that i Cherish and love and one is my red purse. Once the cold weather started, i started carrying the red one around and loved it. It was making me happy. My only problem was that since it was a big purse, i tend to over fill it. But i was OK with it. Unfortunately, being an inexpensive purse, the wear and tear started showing right away. Before i knew it, i started not enjoying it as much. The little threads started showing and only after couple of short months use, it already looked old.

The look started bothering me and it was time for another purse. Here is my quest for a perfect purse.

Since i am not buying anything any more unless i really need and love it, i took this quest very seriously. First i looked on line to see what i really wanted.

What was i looking for?
. Something versatile to be matched with any kind of clothing.
. Made with natural material. No plastic please.
. Minimalist look.
. Classic and timeless look,
. Not too expensive, but the price was something i was willing to pay for a purse that lasts few years.
. Preferably red. I still loved the color of that red purse of mine.
. Preferably a consignment piece since i love to reduce, and reuse. It is good for the nature.

My quest started with online searches. Everything i loved were very expensive designer pieces. Then i looked in the Mall. The same problem. The style i liked were mostly either made of plastic, or very expensive.Then i started looking in the consignment stores in our town. The styles that i liked,  were almost all made by "Dooney and Bourke" brand. They are just all beautiful, but too heavy. I remember when i used to have few of their purses and they were hurting my shoulders. The prices in consignment stores were reasonable compare to the original price. But my comfort was not something i was ready to sacrifice for beauty.

After many searches and stubbornness, i finally was ready to give up, just go to the outlet mall and get the expensive , but almost perfect brown purse i saw there. I truly wanted something that lasts a lot more than few months for me.

One day, when i was dropping some stuff at the "Snowline hospice store" for donations, I just suddenly decided to have a look there.

BINGO.

There it was, waiting for me, the exact purse i was looking for with the tag still on , brand new with the beautiful price of $4.75. Yes I am not joking. It was four dollars and seventy five cents. It was made by Wilson leathers and was red. It was even smaller than my old red purse thus the perfect size for me. It looked like it was custom made for me.

Yes. That is when my quest for the perfect purse ended with a very happy ending.

Lessons learnt. Always take your time and research and don't under estimate the second hand donation centers. Always check there for hidden treasures. After all, the place might not look as nice or clean or fancy as other stores, but you never know when you might hit the jackpot.

I am set for a long time now.

Have you looked for your perfect purse yet?

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?

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

12 benefits of going paperless in the kitchen.

Every body is going paperless. Even the health care is required to go paperless.

Why not us?

I did a search on line and this is what i found on www.chacha.com

"Last year, Americans spent nearly $2.3 billion on paper towels, sending 3000 tons of paper towels to landfills each day."

You can start with your kitchen. I have been paperless in my kitchen for over 4 years now and is working perfectly. Can't even imagine my life before a paperless kitchen. You need to make a minor initial investment at first, but it is a very inexpensive way to go in a long run.You can change one thing at a time. Lets say you buy only one of the items below this month and replace your paper version with it at first.  Next month you buy the second item and so on and so forth. This will help you and your family through transaction. You can also find very inexpensive ones in dollar stores.



It is very simple.

All you need is


Dish towel, Microfiber cloth and( hand made) dish cloth
All I need!!!

. A set of Microfiber cloths. I love these. They clean everything effortlessly. They dry fast. Just make them damp for a perfectly clean surfaces without any chemicals. For killing germs use the mixture of Vinegar and water to clean every surface. For the kitchen counters,  i sometimes use boiling hot water left in my kettle from my coffee. Use one microfiber cloth per day. After you are done at the end of the day, just hang them to dry. The next day, place the used one in dirty laundry basket to be washed and use a fresh one. This will keep the germs away without any chemicals. I don't even remember when was the last time i bought paper towels. Use the same color. It will looks so much more calming and organized in your kitchen. I use a different color set for bathrooms.

. A set of Kitchen towels. The kitchen towels are used for any kind of drying . Hands, dishes , Fruit.... I hang one in my kitchen. I also have backups to use for drying big dishes. You can place them on the counter to let your dishes air dry on them. I don't have a drying rack (Never liked them). Don't need them. A towel does the job and gets washed regularly. It is great to have less, but more efficient stuff.



Hand made by myself. Recycled yarn

. A Natural fiber sponge. use the natural kinds that are sold everywhere now. I made my own with a recycled yarn. It started as a fun project and i noticed they clean better and last a lot longer. I have not bought a sponge for months now. My dish scrubbers are being washed and reused along with other laundry.

. Old and stained towels. Old towels are used for the floors. After your kitchen towels get old and stained and you need to buy new ones ( That might take years) , Just buy a different looking set and use the old ones for the floors. This way you won't mix them up .

The benefits of going paperless:

1. Saves lots and lots of money by not buying paper products.
2. Saves lots of storage space.
3. Saves the landfills and oceans. Do not trow all those papers away.
4. Saves the trees from being cut to make single use paper products.
5. Saves gas. I remember when my husband went to store to just buy paper towels.
6. Saves time. Not roaming the stores, looking for the best, yet cheapest paper towels.
7. Saves water. Believe it or not, making paper towels is a very water intensive production.
8. Saves electricity. Again, fabrication of paper towels use a lot of energy.
9. Saves the fish. All the chemicals and bleach being used to make paper towels look good are not being dumped in the water system and oceans.
10. Saves Stress. You will never run out and have to worry about buying them.
11. Saves your family's health by keeping them away from tons of chemicals.
12. Teaches kids to stay away from disposables.

Have you gone paperless yet?

Paris

Minimalistic fall decoration.

Fall is here. Well, sort of. Here in California we had to turn the Air conditioner on today. It was just too hot.

But the excitement of fall is here. Halloween decorations and pumpkins are everywhere. My kids were very excited for us to decorate. But guess what, i didn't even noticed that I gave away ALL our Halloween decorations when we moved. I thought i kept some. But it is all gone.


So what i did. Went shopping. In a pumpkin farm. Not a party store. and also went for a walk in the neighborhood. That took care of all our decorations.

Here are some tips.

- Buy some inexpensive pumpkins to carve and make Jack-o lanterns.
- Buy some truly, unusual looking gourds.
- Make a center piece with the gourds.
- Hang the gourds at the door. It actually looks spooky.
- Have you kids color the smaller pumpkins.
- Pick some leaves and walnuts, or any other natural greens you can find. Use them to make a wreath.
- Make leave shaped cookies with your kids. They will have fun.
- Decorate the cookies with Candy corns.
- Make apple Caramels.
- Make a wreath with apples.
- Boil some Cinnamon sticks in the water to create natural aroma.
- Use fall yellow flowers for decorations.

Perks.

- Easy to clean.
- No storage needed.
- Gentle on the nature and environment.
- Biodegradable.
- No plastic.
- Supports local farmers.
- Inexpensive.
- No clutter.
- Fun to make, not a chore.
- Edible decoration.
- Stimulates your creativity.
- Valuable and enjoyable due to the investment of time and effort.
- No Packaging to create trash

Have you decorated your home naturally for the season yet?

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

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