Ceramic Tile Note Pad

Most notes I write on paper don't really need to be kept or transported away from my house. Most of them are little reminders, phone numbers I need to have temporarily, tally marks for something I'm working on or just a quick doodle. So why use paper? Instead, I came up with this simple ceramic tile note pad and have one by my bed and another in the kitchen. At first I just used the tile and marker. Then I got fancy and made a little cloth backing for it, with a loop to keep the pen. It's a perfect solution for a temporary note or for my daughter trying to explain some mathematical concept to me!

Shampoo Bar

One of the things I really wanted to learn to DIY was shampoo - I hate buying then having to recycle those darned bottles. So here are the things I've tried that didn't work:

1 - the "no poo" method. This involves washing the hair with a mix of baking soda and water, then rinsing with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water. I tried this for a few months. It was a disaster. In my online research it said to just wait it out, that my hair was somehow addicted to shampoo and had to adjust to going natural...but that never happened for me. My hair was a greasy mess and I never got out of that stage. I only wash my hair a few times a week, so I just didn't find it believable that it was "addicted". Anyway, that was a total bust, even thought I wanted it to work, and even toted around that stuff when I travelled, etc. From what I can tell, this method works best for folks with frizzy or curly hair, and I'm the total opposite. 

2 - castile soap - I won't bore you, but it didn't work either. I may as well have used thousand island dressing. 

So - because my goal was to find a way to avoid purchasing the plastic bottles of stuff...I found a really great little all natural shampoo bar at my local Natural Grocer's store - and it works great! The bar is wrapped in paper, which is biodegradable, and claims to last as long as 24 oz of shampoo, which for me is a really long time. So, mission accomplished!

Paper napkins and towels

A roll of paper towels lasts me 18 months - I know this because out of curiosity I've written the date purchased inside the tube. That's great, but I know I can Do Better. It turns out that most of my paper towel use happens when I'm out and about. For example when I use a public rest room and dry my hands after washing, or when I'm at a restaurant and they don't use cloth napkins (I'm known to prefer a hole in the wall over a fancy restaurant any day, but there are down sides). So, I was intrigued to learn that in Japan people carry their own cloth hand towels to dry themselves with. The founder of People Towels has nice little write up on this. According to them, the average American uses upwards of 2,400 paper towels a year. Easily convinced, my first thought was to purchase some little wash cloths, they are inexpensive enough. Then I remembered, I have more bandanas than I know what to do with. So now I carry a bandana with me, it's folded and put in a pocket of my bag. I change it weekly, or more often if needed. It's used in restaurants as a napkin, and in bathrooms to dry my hands. It's an easy enough committment and easy to keep up with. 

If you're not convinced to carry your own little bandana (or towel, or a cute vintage hankie!) at least consider drying your hands in a scientifically proven efficient manner (oooo, fancy!) as shown in this brief explanation. Shake and fold people, shake and fold. 

Milk Carton Reuse

Milk carton food container

Sorry I've been missing for so long! I do have some more ideas to share though!

I found another way to reuse a milk carton - as a leftover/food container. I have been slowly getting rid of all my plastic containers and using glass. Recently I committed to taking one home cooked meal a week to a sick friend, and have found myself wanting to buy disposable foil pans (which I did once) as well as plastic food containers so she wouldn't have to worry about returning anything to me. This is so much better because it's reusing something that I only have so many creative uses for. My only caveats are:

• wash empty container out immediately with warm soapy water to get all the dairy out
• let food completely cool before putting it into the container - it has a waxy coating that makes it wonderfully waterproof but is not made for hot things
• clip, tape or staple the top to close it, but be careful not to jostle too much because it's not sealed like a plastic container would be

I'm pleased with this reuse!

Plarn Basket

basic instructions here

I would have totally taken basket weaving in college it they offered it! When I saw this basket making pin on Pinterest I decided to try it out. I had already cut out some 1" strips of bread bags for plarn that hadn't worked out for crochet plarn. So, I put them to use to make this kooky little hinged basket. At some point I'd like to make a bigger piece such as a tray, laundry basket or small trash bin. I really like how it turned out and it was a lot of fun to make and a great way to upcycle plastic bags into a functional little container.  

Glass Bottles

Glass bottles being washed for reuse

Much as I try to NOT to purchase single use bottles, they creep in. They come with guests. They come holding delicious sauces and liquids that I don't know how to make. Some I send off to recycle. The ones that have good tops that can be washed (most of them) I clean and reuse. Because of the small opening, cleaning can be a bit of a challenge. Typically they go through the dishwasher but don't come out fully clean. Enter the bobble wand - find it where the bobble water bottles and filters are sold. It's silicone and small and works great for larger mouthed bottles. The secret weapon for harder to clean or small mouthed bottles is activated charcoal. I keep a few tablespoons in a tin by my sink. These little black "rocks", along with hot water and soap, and a vigorous shake, gets bottles clean clean clean! So, after all that, what do I use these bottles for? 

• home made salad dressing
• lunch box drinks such as tea, kefir, soda
• home made syrups for my soda machine
• concentrated coffee for iced and hot coffee
• iced tea
• instead of water bottles

Refuse - the fourth R

cards ordered from moo.com

The Plastic Pollution Coalition has introduced me to a fourth R - Refuse. So it's Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Refusing brings a bit of advocacy into the Reduce strategy. And that's perfect for what I'm trying to accomplish this year. It will however be a challenge for me to go this Refuse route. By nature I'm a conflict-avoider and recoil at the thought of embarrassing someone for essentially doing their job (giving me a straw, paper napkin, disposable cup, etc.). I'm going to turn that awkward moment into an opportunity to share the message with others. When I ask the waitress if I could use my own cup for a cold drink...I'm going to share the reason why with her, ack! I'm enlisting a prop to help me out. I've purchased 100 of these little cards to help me broach the subject and leave people with something to think about. On the front is a brief statistic and the link to this blog, and on the back is an image related to upcycling/reusing. I hope that the act of handing this over and gently explaining what I'm trying to accomplish this year will endear me slightly and make this refuse thing easier to deal with. 

(I did a bad and ordered some mini-cards that are not printed on recycled paper, they do claim to be sustainably sourced though...I'll Do Better next time...and now I REALLY feel pressure to use them up so that won't have been an even greater waste of resources).