Try Out the Un-Washed Look

I have a "dirty" little secret to tell you. But before I let you know, I want to clarify that this is not dirty at all. Shampoo is a scam! (Maybe it isn't a scam, but it is a waste of money.)

This hair has not used shampoo in over four years!

On my path to a cleaner life, after ditching disposables and detoxing my cleaners, I became interested in what we put in and on our bodies. I started searching for all the products I used on a cosmetics database. I read articles about products we use and what they contained. As much as I can tell, there isn't anything deadly about the products we use, but there is a significant amount of proof that they do contain things that are dangerous in large doses, or at least not healthy. I know that injecting a chemical into small mammals in large doses would be dangerous no matter what, and of course everything causes cancer in the state of California, but there is some truth there. Most people shower or bathe daily in the US. In that shower, we slather our hair with shampoo, often rinse and put on conditioner, scrub with a soap, wash with face wash, lather with lotion, slide on deodorant, and decorate with gels, sprays, powders, and pastes. Add all of these products, many containing the same ingredients, and now multiply daily. Those tiny amounts of chemicals are now starting to add up.

Here are some steps to smart product choices.

Summer is Getting a Bit Spicy

This summer is "hot, hot, hot," as my husband would say. I read yesterday about the "heat dome" that is covering central and southern United States. As a result, I haven't had much to harvest. Severe storms have knocked over the corn, the heat has rendered the tomato plants infertile, and it is just way to hot to get outside and do regular maintenance.

After my decent green bean harvest, there hasn't been much coming from the garden. Even the herbs are looking pretty tired. I let some go to seed and others I've been pinching back to keep going. I will share some herb tips later this year.

For now, I want to know your favorite recipe for jalapenos. I harvested these four this morning and am undecided as to what to do with them. I would love your input!

Decorate with your Favorite Jewelry

Those who know me, know that I am not much for accessories. I have a few favorite necklaces and some stylish earrings. Honestly, I've worn the same hoops for about two years without removing them. I never seem to like the way earrings look now that I have to wear my glasses. (Contact lenses were expensive and wasteful, and so uncomfortable. After using them for 13 years, I had to stop.) One reason I don't like to wear jewelry is I because I hate digging through boxes to find what I want. Even if I found what I wanted, it was probably tangled. There is no justifiable reason for me to buy a giant jewelry case, and it just causes more clutter. So I found this great idea on Pinterest.

This project is super simple and lots of fun. You need:

Washable Wipies

Reusables are possibly the easiest change a person can make at home. I'm pretty sure no one ever said, "I love driving by the landfill, I can't wait until it gets bigger." The truth is, I'm not sure people really think about landfills, unless they drive by one regularly. If this is the case, I'm sure it is easy to notice just how quickly they grow. This is not even to mention the really awful smell if you forget to turn the air in your car to internal before you pass by. So what can one person do against a literal mountain of trash? Find something you throw away most, and see if you can replace it with something you can reuse.

This was very easy for me at first, as I lived only on a university stipend when I had my first apartment to myself. The first thing to go:  paper towels. Growing up at home, we always tore the paper towels in half to make a roll last. (This was before the new smaller ones existed.) While on my own, however, I decided it was pretty silly to use a paper towel to eat my pastry each morning. What on earth is wrong with using a plate and just rinsing it off? Plus, my dog was house trained and it was only her and me. There were not a lot of messes to be cleaned up.

This decision has been harder to maintain with a bigger house, bigger family, and bigger messes. But I am happy to say paper towels are still banned to this day. Messes are handled with newspaper, towels, and baking soda (which soaks up liquids like pee and turns solid so you can sweep it up and clean the surface). There are many other disposables to ditch too. Starting with plates, utensils, and napkins, and moving on to cotton balls, menstruation items, and diapers. Before you throw out the toilet paper, though, you might want to start with something a little easier to lose.

How Clean is Clean?

I once read a review for a dish washing soap made by Seveth Generation. The reviewer's comment included a statement regarding how the detergent wasn't the most effective she had used, but it got things clean and her kid wouldn't die if he ate it. At the time, I didn't have kids, but I had dogs and sugar gliders. The comment made me laugh, but it also made me think. I was also toying with the idea of putting the dishwasher drain through a homemade filter in the backyard to use in the garden, and wasn't sure what would be safe to put on the plants. All of this led me to the term:  biodegradable. Here is what Google has to say:

bi·o·de·grad·a·ble

ˌbīōdəˈɡrādəb(ə)l/

adjective

1. (of a substance or object) capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms

The original use of the term applied to things made by nature, and therefore easily destroyed by nature. But, we now manufacture biodegradable products by using natural materials (wood to paper, vegetable oils to soap). For other products, chemicals and non-biodegradable materials are used. These substances are not easily broken down in our environment and as a result remain, build up, and cause negative impacts.

Having a clean home is universal throughout the globe. Standards of clean may vary, but the idea is generally the same. Clean might be lighting incense and using herb oils to purify, or it might be using an air purifier and a spray cleaner. Each culture has its own beliefs about what clean is and how one can accomplish it.

First Vegetable Harvest: Beans from Bush to Plate

I was so excited today to walk in my garden after a long weekend away and find the bush beans had gone from blooming to bearing. I have some photos to show the "processing" of the beans from garden picking to preparing for lunch.

My beans are growing in a "three sisters" mound. You can read more about this in my post about planting the three sisters.

Planting the Three Sisters

In the Americas long ago, and even modern day in some cultures, people relied on the Three Sisters to feed themselves. The sisters are corn, squash, and beans. This combination has proven to be a secret to balancing a diet when consumed together. The good news, is they thrive when they are planted together.

I have read about this often as I taught Native American History to elementary students. I was always fascinated by the knowledge that cultures had so long ago. I remember reading about how Squanto had helped the Europeans farm successfully, teaching them to plant fish under the corn seeds in a mound. Now, we buy special fertilizers made from fish emulsions to avoid chemical fertilizers. Listening to the past can be so valuable.

Yes, home birth is still a thing.

If you are not interested in childbirth or ever having children, you might want to skip this post. I do want to mention, however, that this is a part of that "living" thing I mentioned earlier. I'm sure the single life is really great (truly the fantasy has crossed my mind). For a lot of people, those hormones and internal instincts to mate and multiply are just too strong. This can make living consciously more difficult. So if your subconscious is winning, then you just have to be more conscious.

To start with:  pregnancy and childbirth.

Disclaimer:  

Any way that you manage to survive pregnancy and/or childbirth is your business and either way, the result usually has the same moving parts and abilities. I admire all moms, and I believe childbirth should be how you want it to be. I in no way judge any mother (although I do not approve of those on drugs, or who are purposely abusive or negligent). If you had a baby, that's awesome. It he/she was planned, even better! Congratulations!

Hopefully you read the disclaimer above, so I can now let you know that this information is fact and opinion. I am not a doctor or a midwife, just a mom who read books and did research. If you disagree with anything I say, then I applaud you for having your own mind. Do your research and follow your path.

Natural Process or Medical Procedure

I see the world of health as things that happen, and things that people do to "help" things happen. For example, we all had baby teeth. We hopefully have lost all of those baby teeth. Did yours just fall out? Well, hardly any of mine did. My first three were extracted by a nun at my school. The next several were removed with much pain and suffering at the hand of my awesome mother who tried everything. My teeth just wouldn't leave. Finally, by the age of 14, I was able to remove my own, last baby tooth. This is supposed to be a natural process, and it was except for the fact that I never wanted to go through any pain, and would leave the tooth in too long. Now that I have worked for a dentist, I know that you simply push for 15 seconds, then pull the other direction for 15 seconds. Do this for a few days and out comes the tooth. (The quick wiggles are painful and useless.) Conclusion:  our body is prepared for this process, it is natural, but sometimes you need to intervene to make it easier/better/less painful/etc.

On the flip side, there are wisdom teeth. The fact that many people have none or less than 4 shows that in our genetic past, there was a selection occurring to favor people with no wisdom teeth. Our skulls were using a lot more space for brain capacity and no longer needed the massive, extra teeth to help masticate tough, uncooked fibers. So, removal of these teeth is not so natural. It usually involves sedation/anesthetic and a professional surgeon. Very, very few people can avoid this medical procedure. Conclusion:  you need to intervene to survive this one.

Lets slide this analogy over to childbirth. (Sounds crazy, but bear with me.) For many, many years, just like losing baby teeth, mothers have given birth through a natural process, but usually with some intervention/assistance (here is that mom who tries everything). Our bodies were made for childbirth, just look at our awesome pelvis. Now here is the but:  sometimes things don't go "natural" and you need a medical professional to intervene. Even in our far away past, some mothers were faced with complications that often took their lives. Sometimes the natural process is interrupted and natural childbirth is not an option. But sometimes is not as often as you would think.

There are preventative measures that help (like pushing on a loose tooth for 15 seconds). Read, read, read! I read several books on childbirth and will mention them at the bottom of this post. One book actually theorized that the number one cause of Cesareans is the couch. Our bodies can run a marathon, but would you run one tomorrow without any preparation? Childbirth is your marathon and you have many months to prepare (whether you're going to the hospital or staying home.) You will use muscles you have never used before, and didn't even know you had. Start those Kegels now, even if you're not pregnant and don't plan to be. Can anyone predict if your childbirth will be like pulling baby teeth, or pulling wisdom teeth? Perhaps not always, but you can do a lot to make things more natural.

Childbirth "Preppers"

Too often people think childbirth is this really awful thing that you have to go through and the doctor, or at least the nurse, is in control. This view removes the mom from the equation completely. Moms have a job to do too. And personally, I wouldn't want someone else to control the process. The most important person during childbirth is the mom. So you can earn that position of control by taking it early on. Keep a journal, record everything, and learn as much as you can. Once your mind is prepared, prepare your body.

Getting your body in shape will greatly reduce some issues that might lead to extended labor and/or a Cesarean (I'm not a doctor, this is based on research from all of my reading). I did prenatal yoga at least 10-15 minutes each night, sometimes up to 30 minutes. It doesn't sound like a lot, but you try strapping a 30 lb beach ball to your stomach and doing yoga. Certain exercises will improve your strength, loosen that pelvis, and even put the fetus in an ideal position for birthing. Women who have a home birth on purpose know about these things and prepare for their birth. State law will not allow midwives to plan a home birth on anyone considered "high risk." They are also required to recommend transport if any issues arise during labor. So if your body is not doing the "natural" thing, you seek medication/sedation and that professional surgeon (think wisdom teeth).

Another preventative measure is diet. Diet is huge. Your body can do this naturally if it has the right ingredients. I took approx. 2,000 mg of vitamin C each day*, more if I felt like I was going to get sick. This does four things. It boosts immune system functions and increases iron absorption. It strengthens your water sack, so hopefully no early water breakers. It also has an added perk, it is a digestive mobilizer! Nothing is worse than constipation while pregnant, there already isn't enough room in there. Also, general prenatal vitamins are awesome, but don't get one with more than about 30% daily iron. Iron in vitamins causes constipation. Instead get your iron from natural sources that balance the iron with fiber like molasses, dark leafy greens, etc. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can. There is so much that we can get from good food. Buying sustainable is always best and at all costs avoid pesticides. Drink water until you think you have had too much, then drink some more. Buy a water filter, you'll need it later anyways if you do formula. Try to stick to a minimum of 80 oz. I did this by taking a 20 oz bottle of water to work, plus two 16-20 oz bottles of tea that I made each morning. Mother to be Tea is awesome. I also drank mixtures of other herbal teas like lemon balm, dandelion, nettle, and chamomile. I drank a glass of water with breakfast and several when I got home. Your body adjusts to water if you keep it up. I drank a lot before pregnancy so my body was already ready. You may pee a lot at first, but then it balances (until the end, when it doesn't matter what you do you will pee every hour). Be that weird person who smiles at clear pee in the toilet with pride.

Home Birth

On to the home birth. Just like women with obstetricians, we go to regular appointments where we are surveyed about our diets and any symptoms we are having. Our blood is sent off for analysis. We do a home blood sugar test with apple juice. Our blood pressure is checked, our bellies measured, and the heartbeat is monitored. Months are spent building a relationship with a midwife and meeting with other mothers to learn about and discuss our pregnancies. It is comforting to have women around you who know what you are going through, and who have often been through it all already. The relationships are priceless! (These classes are available for anyone who is pregnant, even planned hospital births. Get a doula for the hospital birth, and the relationship and support will be there with you.) Prep kits are ordered and delivered and usually, everything is ready before the big day. I say usually because my experience wasn't quite the norm.

During my appointments, my belly consistently measured a centimeter or two past my number of weeks. I really had no idea when my due date was. It was tricky to calculate with my erratic periods after leaving the pill. But that measuring tape was actually doing its job, because what we thought
was 35 weeks and 2 days was actually closer to 38 weeks when he was born. As my midwife always said, denial is a powerful medication, and boy did it work. I just knew it wasn't time yet and I managed through the morning with contractions, but didn't know what they were. I was uncomfortable. Every now and then I would stiffen and my back felt like it was trying to remove itself from my body. But I would just lay on my side or squat against the door jam. Finally, I called and told my midwife what was going on. She rushed over and checked me to find I was already 6 cm! All of a sudden this shit got real. Now I was in pain. I couldn't stand, squat, or lie across a yoga ball. I thought I was going to break in half. Within two hours, I welcomed my son into the world. His first world was my bedroom. I was on a birthing chair; my mom on a yoga ball in front of me sustaining the massive bruises I gave her as I gripped her legs. My husband was behind me on a chest pushing as hard as he could on my lower back, and the midwife was in front to the side. She quickly caught him, as he didn't pause for his shoulders. He wanted free. I held him skin to skin while the others just looked on in awe of his perfect self. Once the cord stopped pulsing it was cut. The midwife helped me finish up and then we laid him down for inspection. He was swaddled, and went to Dada. I am not going to lie, all my preventative measures and I still had six stitches. So, no, it is never perfect.

Again, this is not the norm. But, if you do some reading, you will find that many extended labors could be avoided by controlling the setting, lighting, mood, and companions. It is called the sphincter law. Ever try to poop in a public restroom? Isn't it more difficult when someone walks in? That's because everything tightens. Well, so does your cervix every time someone walks in the room, or lifts your skirt to check on progress. Moms need to stay relaxed and open, even in a hospital. And remember, denial is the best medicine, just download a contraction timer app on your phone and get real when the timing is right.

In hind sight:  I was extremely uncomfortable the day before. I couldn't sit down or lie down comfortably. Walking seemed to help, but I was bordering miserable. I went in the garden and picked blackberries and made a cobbler. Then, at approx. 4 am, I woke up starving and ate a bowl of cereal. At 7 am I was getting out of bed and my water broke, but everyone just told me I had wet myself because it wasn't time. Put all this together, and I had plenty of clues. It was building for days, but active labor was approximately 6-7 hours. That night I ate fresh blackberry cobbler and ice cream while soaking in my herbal bath.


My favorite parts of my home birth:  no bumpy car ride, no strangers, no bright lights, no hospital bed, no beeping monitors, no IV, no one telling me I can't eat or drink, no snatching of my baby before I can hold him, no car seat ride with big bulky buckles and straps, no awkward hospital visits where there is not enough seating for visitors.

Would I do it again? Yes, but someone else needs to handle the newborn, because that's where I suffered most. I'll talk about postpartum depression at a later date.

My favorite books (most available on Kindle):

The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition, and Other Holistic Choices
Aviva Jill Romm

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material
Ina May Gaskin

Yoga Mama, Yoga Baby: Ayurveda and Yoga for a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth
Bachman, Margo Shapiro, Lad, Dr. Vasant

The Birth Partner - Revised 4th Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions
Simkin, Penny, Harvard Common Press

Herbal Healing for Women
Gladstar, Rosemary

-I also watched tons of Call the Midwife. It is an awesome show. I know it is fiction, but they deal with real issues that you can research on your own.

*While I was pregnant, I was told that up to 10,000 mg of vitamin C was safe. If you get too much you just pee it out. I am now finding articles stating that only up to 2,000 mg is safe and only 85 mg is recommended for pregnant mothers. These articles list several side effects of vitamin overdose (most occurring with calcium or iron). I never experienced these, and do not feel that any ill was caused by my dosage, however, please consult your doctor or midwife before adding any supplements.

Minimalize for Space

It doesn't have to be messy to be cluttered!

Clutter is a life-long battle. It is so hard not to accumulate as time passes. You walk through the store and see so many shiny things. Look at that bowl, it really matches my napkins. Speaking of bowls, here is a cleaner made especially for toilets. Now that I'm thinking of my bathroom, I think I need another shelf in there, and then I'll need fancy baskets to put on that shelf. Before you know it, you have clutter.

I once read about the 100 things challenge. The goal was to cut down the number of items you own to an insane number of 100. This included everything from underwear to shampoo. I don't find this realistic, nor do I think it is a good idea. To me, this would be more expensive. Every time I wanted to do something, I would have to rent or borrow an item. Just one hobby, like gardening, can require many tools. Now add on sewing and art supplies and canoeing. That's a lot of things I wouldn't be able to do. This will not work. I like to do fun things. (Besides, I probably have triple that number in just books.)

Step 1:  Take a room at a time.

Or, maybe even take a part of a room at a time. Here is what I decided to do. Whenever I clean a room, I try to find something that can be discarded/donated. As I type, I'm staring at an ugly set of candle holders. I just haven't had the heart to throw them out since my husband lovingly bought them last minute one year for my birthday. If you can even discard one thing every time you clean a room, it can really add up. Just think of a beautiful "Zen" room while you do this and you will find it easier to let go.

Step 2:  Lose the Clothes (the ones you're not wearing)

Literally, if you are not wearing your clothes, lose them! Another cause of clutter is clothing. Luckily, as a kid, my mother got me into the habit of going through my clothes seasonally to donate to others. This stuck with me and I have improved upon it in the past year. After maternity clothes, post-pregnancy clothes, I'm never going to be thin again clothes, and the new getting thinner clothes, I just had a lot of clothes. There are two options:  donate them, or pack them.

Pack them?
If you have items like maternity clothes or clothes that don't fit right now, you might choose to pack them. Grab some space bags, or just use those giant ziplocks and roll the air out. Don't want the plastic? If you have the space, put them in a box. If you have no space at all, then maybe you don't need them that badly. If you still can't part with them and have some time or money, build or acquire furniture with drawers underneath or a chest. My husband and I built a platform bed with drawers and this picture shows a chest I bought second hand and refinished. (Also, this mess was caused by a cat I was caring for, I'm not quite that messy.)

Donate them?
I call this the "Pick 5 Challenge." You can tackle everything at once, or take chunks. Has the toddler finally fallen asleep? Quick! Empty a drawer from your chest/dresser. (This works if you have your clothes sorted, if not, you might need to take a day off and take out all of your clothes.) Now, pick only 5 of each item to keep and donate the rest. Let me clarify, make the categories you want. Only having 5 shirts wouldn't work for me personally, but I am good with having 5 tanks/undershirts, 5 work shirts, and 5 casual shirts. It does not have to be 5, pick 3, or if you have a lot to deal with pick more. After I did this, I was able to close my drawer without having to do the finger stuff. Now, when I buy something new, I have to take something out and put it in the donate bag.

Repurpose them, too.
If you have any old cotton items, cut these up and use them to clean. If you find an old sweater with holes that no one would want, cut that up too. You can use it to dust, or sew it into mittens, dog clothes, or a tea cozy.

Step 3:  Reduce by Multi-Use

Earlier I mentioned all the tools and items related to hobbies. Maybe we can lose some of those things after all. The kitchen is a good place to start. In the kitchen there has been an explosion of really cool things to buy. They have entire outlet stores dedicated to kitchen gadgets. Let's avoid those stores and look at what you already have. Is there an appliance that is redundant? Learn how to cook rice on the stove and you can lose the rice cooker. If you only use the hand mixer, then you don't really need that stand mixer. If the blender is a distant dream of margaritas never made, then just keep the immersion blender and get rid of the big one. And lastly, if you have enough dishes to go all week without washing, then you can definitely lose some of those. 

Speaking of dishes, let's talk about cleaning supplies. Remember that special toilet bowl cleaner? Save that money, you don't need it! I buy basic ingredients and make almost everything I need. I will have a separate post on specific recipes, but the main idea is vinegar, soda, and essential oils.

Step 4:  Reduce by Losing the Lazy

Maybe you don't have a lot of redundant items in your home but you are determined to reduce. In that case, find things that just make jobs easier and opt for the elbow grease. Leaf blower? Do you really need that? Can you do it with a rake? How often do you really use that mixer? If you're not baking cupcakes every day, maybe you could just mix by hand.

These are steps, in no specific order, and definitely not rules! These things help me, sort of. Still on that path, too.

"Where have you been?"

Three words:  Had a baby.

The good news:  I have lots to talk about!

The bad news:  I have more to talk about.

Well, I already knew quite a lot about bees. Now I can confidently say I know lots more about birds and bees. I took a lengthy break from several of my hobbies:  the garden wasn't so fruitful, the yeast died, and the bees, well they did fine for a while but we will get into that later.

To give you an idea of some upcoming posts, here are a list of topics I now feel comfortable sharing:

• home birth
• sustainable baby-care practices
• breastfeeding struggles
• postpartum depression
• colony collapse/disappearing bees
• food budgets
• herbal healing
• gardening techniques

I like to stay on topic, and my purpose here is to mainly discuss methods for living a slightly more sustainable life. However, I must say that actually living is a huge part of living sustainably. I feel that the last few years have been very significant regarding the ability of a full time working family to make changes for the better. Life happens. Sometimes it really happens. I want to be realistic with the world and not pretend like my life is full of flowers in my hair, a fully organic diet, zero waste living, and getting everything I need from my backyard. Yes, that would be awesome. But seriously, I don't think that this is attainable for me, nor many families in a similar situation. Maybe one day it will be possible. AT LEAST WE'RE TRYING! And so are many others. Discouragement is not my purpose, just reality checking and continuing on the path.