Zero Waste Wednesday: A couple of kitchen cleaners that are rocking my world

I'm deep into my zero waste project over at The Simple Year, and it's been both overwhelming and amazing. Overwhelming because there's still SO MUCH TO DO, and amazing because I now have an excuse to be full-on zero waste crazy.

Which is kind of fun.

Recently I've been researching do it yourself (also known as DIY, except I always want to say DYI. It flows better, don't you think?) ... everythings ... and found two kitchen cleaners that have passed all of my tests: They're simple, you can get everything you need for them in the bulk aisle, they smell fantastic, they clean like a champ, and nothing separates when you leave it in the bottle for extended periods of time.

So basically like a lazy girl's dream.

Total ingredients: Two.

All-Purpose Cleaner
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon castile soap (I like peppermint)
Mix that around in a spray bottle and go to town. Give it a shake with each use.

Why this is so great: It takes very little to get a clean counter, it smells great, it's cheap and it's easy. This is my new favorite counter cleaner, and I have no desire to go look for any other recipe, THAT is how great this is.

Also, fun fact, I just learned that you aren't supposed to mix vinegar and castile, or you get the worst of both because of some scientific reaction that I'm not even going to pretend I understand. My old homemade cleaner mixed the two. I solemnly swear to never do that again.

Looks like marshmallow fluff, smells like candy canes.
Uh, if you use peppermint castile like me. ;)

"Soft Scrub" Sink Cleaner
6 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons castile soap
1 1/2 tablespoons water
Mix and store in a jar.

Why this is so great: It's not great -- it's perfect. Again, it takes very little to clean my sink, it smells lovely, it's easy to knock together and cheap as hell, and it doesn't separate during storage. Go make this RIGHT NOW. See? I told you!!!

BONUS CLEANER: Did you know you can use used coffee grounds to clean and deodorize? You can put a jar in the fridge to absorb odors AND sprinkle in your pans to super scrub. Technically I haven't tried either of these yet, it just sounds weird which makes it right up my alley.

Um... a small announcement

Hey there, my internet friends! Today is not only my favorite mother-in-law's birthday and my cousin Seth's wedding, but Earth Day!

That's a lot of awesome packed into one little day.

We love you, Seth and Ashley!

I have a bit of an announcement to share that is definitely eco-friendly and is going to make me really have to step up my game:

So you guys, it's not really going to come as a surprise that I am a minimalist and that I'm trying to pursue a zero waste lifestyle. The minimalism is easy, the zero waste is hard. I tend to get sort of lax on the zero waste front, because I'm easily frustrated and it's kind of impossible anyway, no matter how hard you try.

Well... that's what my mind keeps telling me.

Um, so anyway, I follow a blog called The Simple Year. It's about women and the projects they undertake to "simplify." That's in quotes because simple is never actually simple. We had Kerry, who bought nothing new for a year, and Kandice, who downsized just about everything in her life, and Tracy, who has been working on a series of objectives to declutter and organize.

But each project only lasts a year, and when the group called out for applications for the coming year's Simple Year, I applied with the idea of a zero waste project.

And my proposal was accepted.

So I'm the new Simple Year contributor.

It's slowly occurring to me what I've signed up for. Not that it won't be completely awesome -- I'm so excited! But I'm also nervous. When I found out my project had been selected and told the family what I'd signed us all up for, the conversation went something like this:

Eric: So Mom has some exciting news.
Abby: You'd better not be pregnant.
Me: What?! NO! I'm, uh, the new Simple Year blogger. I submitted the idea for a zero waste year and got picked.
Johanna: MOM! You're gonna do so great!
Abby: That's awesome! You will rock that!
Eric: [Quietly grinning]
Me: Um, so... it's not just me who's doing this project. It's all of us.
Girls: Noooooooooooooooooo!

So they're super excited too is what I'm saying.

Anyway, I started April 15  and have a few posts up, which is why I figured it would be safe to tell y'all now. I'll be writing about the challenges and successes of practicing zero waste in a small town and with a (kind of unwilling) family (it's hilarious to me that the girls are freaking out about this because they already do so much -- they're minimalists, too. Is it the new title? I have no idea). It's going to be fun, and eye-opening, and it's also going to force me to quit being so lazy and distracted.

I will still be posting here. Simple Year is quite focused, so for all my random thoughts, Pointless Ramble will live on. I'm sure that's a relief (at least to my mother).

The end, I guess. Or maybe I should say, "The beginning."

Zero Waste Wednesday (-ish): Homemade sore throat spray

As we established in my last post, I've been sick. You know, I usually get at least one cold in the winter (it's tradition), and I've had some bad ones, but wow, the one I'm fighting now has got to be the worst. I was taking pictures for an article on the high school's new theater production last night and had to leave the room because I'm still coughing / crying / clutching my broken sternum.* Although, fact: I actually slept through the night last night. I'm not sure what to do with so much good news. I kind of can't believe I'm ever going to feel better at this point.

Anyway, when this whole ordeal started, I found an organic throat spray at the grocery store and that has been my constant companion these last seven days. When I looked at the label, I discovered the ingredients were just apple cider vinegar, honey, and some herbs.

Hey, I own apple cider vinegar, honey, and some herbs! When I finished my 2-ounce bottle in five days, I kind of wanted to see what would happen if I made my own.

This is why we have the Internet. I found all kinds of "recipes," although they all seemed to call for essential oils, and on that front, my friends, I am sorely lacking.

Just to prove I actually made this, you get a crappy photo.
Apple cider vinegar + local raw honey + recycled
spray bottle = I'm a genius!

Eh, what could happen? I decided to try THIS recipe from One Good Thing By Jillee (because if you're ever trying to find a tutorial on anything, she's got one), except basically cut out everything that wasn't water, apple cider vinegar or honey.

Which means my recipe was just: 

• 3/4 cup water (supposed to be purified, I used tap because our tap water is amazing)
• 2 tablespoons raw, organic apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons raw honey

... All heated up on my stovetop to melt the honey, and then put into my reused throat spray bottle. I had some left over, so I put that into a jar and popped it in the refrigerator because I didn't really know what else to do with it. P.S. To use, shake like mad first.

I suppose I could have added the sea salt ... but I didn't. My reasoning: Apple cider vinegar is used for its bacterial-killing properties and honey soothes, and water is just life or whatever, so good enough.

(Also: I was really tired when I made it.)

So of course now that I have said homemade throat spray -- which, I gotta say, tastes better than the store-bought one and actually sprays -- the tickle in my throat has abated. I've still used it (probably more than necessary) because I MADE THIS AND I'M SO EXCITED plus it's basically a habit at this point to cough and then spray. So I'm not sure exactly how well it works is what I'm saying. It can't hurt, that's for sure, so ... no harm, no foul.

In case you don't trust my tutorial and notes (and honestly, I don't blame you), I've got a few more links for you. Because I'm all about service and sharing knowledge, you guys.

THIS POST from The Hippy Homemaker lists a bunch of different herbs and whatnots that can be used to relieve sore throats. Huh, apple cider vinegar also loosens phlegm. Good to know.

THIS POST from Wellness Mama contains a recipe for a tincture where basically you're soaking herbs in vodka and then straining them, which sounds awesome.

And THIS POST from The Nerdy Farm Wife has both a spray recipe (using a tincture!) and herb lists for battling a sore throat.

As for the zero waste aspect of all of this: No purchased container to have to deal with later with the added bonus of already having all necessary ingredients on hand. Oh, wait, I think I'm supposed to do a pro/con list, sorry, it's been a while since I've done a post like this:

Pros
Got to reuse a bottle
Actually tastes fairly decent for a throat spray
No weird preservatives or ingredients I can't pronounce
Sprays well
Could probably also be used as a "swish" if you don't have a spray bottle

Cons
None that I can think of ... unless you just like going to the store when you're sick

*My sternum isn't actually broken. But something in that general area is definitely strained or sprained. Probably. I don't know, medical classes were sparse during my college days as an English major.

Zero waste!

Source.

Oh, you guys, I've made some great strides on the zero waste front that I am so happy about. I'm officially that weird tall lady with all the jars. I've been very frustrated in the past with my zero waste efforts because honestly, sometimes it just feels pointless. Zero waste is impossible -- there's no way to get to zero! -- and the world is kind of against us when it comes to packaging. Packages come in packages! It's insanity on a stick, and it's been easy for me to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Whatever that means.

But then I interviewed a woman for the newspaper who has been in town for just about a year, and she is such a zero waste advocate that she even organized a zero waste meet-up group. I was like, I want to join that group, and was soothed by her philosophy that you just do what you can do. Every bit helps and all that.

So yes, there's all this stuff I cannot buy without packaging, but look at all this other stuff that I can!

That's just been good on my mental stability.

So here's the thing about my new friend Inge: She is kind of great about making you believe you can actually succeed in your zero waste objectives. She is inspirational because she's so honest and open about the pros and cons, AND she's got two little kids and a husband -- meaning she knows the struggles that brings to the table, too.

So after our first zero waste meet-up (which I was kind of disappointed in because a couple of people hijacked the meeting with their own agendas, so it was less about learning options to reduce your own waste and more about how they wanted to control everyone else's waste, if that makes sense), I was ready to step up my game. It was nice to see that I'm not the only one interested in the concept, and reassuring that people from all walks of life were there: Young, old, rich, poor, but, weirdly, only one guy out of the 12 of us.

Anyway.

It's really just a matter of organization. Which, confession, I am not an organized person (I only look like I would be), so this is where shit gets real in the Walker household's waste reduction efforts. I have a thousand jars (that is probably not really true; it's more like 500), and it's just me taking the time to see what we need and make a list and match needs to jars.

P.S. I heard Bea Johnson, the queen of zero waste, say that the biggest mistake her family made in the beginning of their journey was trying to find bulk alternatives to the things they were used to buying instead of embracing what is actually available package-free. That was a light bulb kind of moment for me, but I'm still working on the execution. It's mentally challenging to go at it from a different perspective when you're used to getting whatever you want in a package.

I've kind of lost track where I was going with this.

...Oh, right: I have managed to collect a decent jar collection, and have gotten into the habit of making sure I take them with me to the store. Since some trips are unplanned, I make sure I have a smaller kit in the car for those occasions, as those are the times I'm just going in for, like, a couple things for lunch or whatever. I also have an old orange Tupperware container that I bought from my grandma when we were cleaning out her house. This thing is perfect for the meat counter:

Like this, minus the cute decal and wooden fence.

Bonus shot: Jars!

So it's easy to get stuff from the bulk bins, obviously, because you're just helping yourself. Ours has everything from shampoo and conditioner to chocolate chips to maple syrup and herbs.

The meat counter is another story: You're basically asking someone to do you a favor. I've done this five whole times now, and I've had different people each time -- the lady that didn't give it a thought, the teenager who thought it was insane, the guy who got flustered and forgot to take off tare, the girl who gave me the paper wrapper used to get the meat into the containers, and then this last guy who plopped Grandma's Tupperware on the scale, loaded it up, and said there were a lot of us who do this and he wishes more did because it's easier on his end.

So that made me happy. I always feel like I'm causing unnecessary work. But if I'm making it easier, yay!

I've also had lunch meat put into a jar at the deli counter and taken cloth bags to my favorite bakery for bread. The latter was when Eric was hunting -- he likes a certain kind of packaged bread, but I knew the girls wouldn't care either way.

Actually, when he was hunting I had my best zero waste cart ever (too bad I forgot to take a photo), having only milk, eggs and a bar of soap that were packaged out of everything I'd purchased for that week. I learned the hard way, though, that just because veggie chips look like they'd be comparable to regular chips, they are not and my kids won't eat them.

So back to packages for that kind of thing is what I'm saying.

It's been kind of ... well, not exactly fun, but it's been good for my self-esteem and my frustration level to see that I can have such successes. Our grocery store is awesome about tare, though, and I pick checkers who have been there a while and I know won't get flustered when a wave of jars et al comes down the line. Most of them say that they wish more people would bring their own jars.

I think that's kind of unexpected and also nice to hear.

Another round of 7 Pointless Updates with bonus memes!

1. I didn't mean to take a week-long blogging break, but sometimes the world is too much with me and I just can't get my act together. Plus I've been a little depressed. I'm trying not to be. I think that's the best I can offer at this point.

2. I am not leaving my house today. I simply refuse. I meant to sleep in this morning to get the day off to a good start, but I woke up at 6 a.m., which I decided to just embrace because that means I can take a nap in about an hour and not even have to feel guilty about it. My plans for the day include puttering around my house, tackling Mt. Laundry, and pretending the world does not exist outside these walls.

3. Yesterday I spent the day in Longview manning the cash register (well, figuratively, since we didn't have a cash register) at my grandparents' estate sale. It was depressing as hell, but my Aunt Ann was there and she's awesome and we had a good time together on the front lines. I guess the good news is that we did better than we thought we would, when the predicted downpour came the crowds had already thinned, and Johanna had plenty of cousin time.

4. It occurred to me, when we told Gram the total and she just kind of looked at us blankly, that she doesn't really care how well she did -- she'd rather have her life back to the way it was six months ago, before Gramps fell. I don't blame her. I'd like that life back for her, too.

5. Last night was Homecoming for Abby's high school. She and her friends did a bit of a dress exchange in preparation for the thing, which I would like to point out is both zero waste and minimalism and really fairly awesome. She's lucky to have tall friends. ;) I'm also 100 percent sure that zero waste and minimalism were not on the top of her list when she decided to participate.

6. Tomorrow is Columbus Day, but apparently it's not a real holiday since no one gets it off except for the federal government. Fun fact: Abby is no fan of Christopher Columbus, but she has to write  about him every year for the DAR history essay contest. It's kind of amusing hearing her rant. Plus also: Free money for her college fund.

Well, I thought this was funny, except for the fact that
whoever created this forgot to capitalize "day." That is just sad.

7.  I'm not really sure what to write for my seventh pointless update, but I'm committed to the number in sort of an arbitrary way that defies explanation, so here we are. The sun is shining, it's cool but beautiful, and I just decided to add "reading on the deck" and "taking a walk" to my list, even though both will technically mean I have to leave the house. I'd also like to add "eat a doughnut," but that would require not only leaving the house but going into the belly of the beast, so forget it. I'll stuff my emotions with an apple instead.

Zero Waste Wednesday: Reusable water stations

(Wow, it's been a while since we've had a Zero Waste Wednesday. I was off my game this summer, apparently.)

Oregon is green, you guys, and I'm not just talking about the landscape. All those jokes you hear about Oregonians recycling everything in sight and being able to tell the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Dutch Bros.? Totally true.

It's not uncommon to see people carrying around their reusable water bottles, but I haven't really noticed any filing stations (as I suppose they would logically be called) until the past few weeks.

We actually ran a story about this in our paper last month, when a local downtown sporting goods store put in a filling station for absolutely anybody to use. You just walk in off the street and fill up your bottle for free and be done with it.

And we have great water here, so yay us.

Well, I guess the high school also has a filling station, donated by the Class of Such-and-Such. But that one isn't public per se.

Anyway, the other weekend we went to a 100-year-old's birthday party in Salem (why didn't I write about that? I tell you what, August was not my month), and Eric, being Eric, wanted to stop at the new Cabelas store along the way. And here's what Johanna and I found when we came out of their (very nice) bathrooms:

Awesome.

 I wasn't thirsty, but I totally was wishing I'd have brought in my Klean Kanteen just so I could try it out.

(Although: Full disclosure, there was a New Seasons Market next door, so I went to the car, got my Klean Kanteen, and procured for myself a really kick-ass Americano. No regrets.)

Anyway, pretty cool, right? I was lamenting the fact that there aren't more of these, when it occurred to me that there actually really are. You just have to look for them, like so:

Lobby of my acupuncturist.

These little stations are all over town -- I've seen them at the dentist, the acupuncturist's and doctor's office. Maybe it's a medical thing? But the acupuncturist's is my favorite setup because she even has reusable mugs for us to use.

Not that I ever have. Just that I could.

This seems rather encouraging to me.

Pros:
Hey, free water!
Designated filling stations equal no waste...
...And encourage reusable water bottles.
And are way cleaner than water fountains. Uh, I assume.

Cons:
Not everywhere.
Some provide little paper cups (better than plastic, but still made of trees).

May Pointless Lists

Life update:
We lost Eric's cousin Aaron to cancer on the 17th. He's been battling lung cancer (and no, he wasn't a smoker) for the past few years. I kind of hate how we say "battle" and either "won" or "lost" when we're talking about cancer because that implies that if you try hard enough, you can beat it. That's not how cancer works. Never mind, I have no energy for this rant.

So we're sad. He was only 42 and it just sucks. I'm not sure what else to even say about that. Maybe some of my lame posts make more sense now.

Books read:
Like last month, I picked a book and stuck with it: My best friend Mara is an author, and she asked me to read her latest novel, written during NaNoWriMo last November. She'd posted a couple of excerpts on her blog, and based on that, I was intrigued and excited to read her book.

And OH EM GEE, as Johanna would say: It is FANTASTIC. I'm not going to say more than that because it's not out yet and there's no point in enticing you with something you can't get, but wow, I loved this thing. I called her up demanding to know what happens next, but she's one of those annoying writers who doesn't know what happens until she writes it. I NEED A SEQUEL, MARA. Throw a girl a bone, jeez.

P.S. When she gets this one published, it's going to be copies for everybody!

Art update:
Remember this picture I posted of Johanna's artwork?

It's now in the possession of my Aunt Ann, who saw it on the blog and worked out a deal before the night was through. (She's terrible at math, though, because she could have just had it for her birthday. Ah, well. Johanna's college fund is now a little richer.)

So that was kind of exciting. Maybe I should post Jo's stuff more often. ;)

Work update:
Our Saturday the 23rd edition contained a letter to the editor complaining about the fluff articles I write (i.e. my "spotlights" on members of our community who do awesome things but would never make it in the paper otherwise); on the 20th, I had a story in about a new local business and that lady is so thrilled she keeps emailing me to thank me. Life in a nutshell: I suck, I'm the best. That is actually fairly accurate, now that I think about it.

Can't believe I'm admitting this but I'm totally admitting it:
Abby is binge-watching Supernatural on Netflix, and I've sort of been sucked in. I don't think she appreciates my running commentary throughout the shows -- because come on! There is some weird shit going down that deserves to be commented upon -- but anyway, I'm totally intrigued and enjoying it very much, even though supernatural horror stuff ain't really my bag. (Example: I tried to read Cujo in tenth grade, and stopped three pages in because TOO SCARY.) I haven't caught all of the shows, but we're in season two and pretty soon they'll be in Oregon. THAT one I really want to see...

Light update:
This month, I decided to just be kind to myself. This was a rather pleasant undertaking since there wasn't any part where I could beat myself up for failing. Because I couldn't fail. Sometimes I am a genius.

I think the best part was that I made it a point to do things for myself that were outside of the house. I went places is what I'm saying: Book talks, farmers' markets, presentations, and all during the week. I know, right? I came home and then left again. Weird.

I feel rather refreshed by the whole ordeal if you want to know the truth. Enough that I'm going to tackle the pictures stored on our computer next, which is going to be a bear. Maybe choosing a project where you're forced to sit indoors isn't the best idea for a month that could potentially be pretty great weather-wise... but eh, we'll see what happens. June in Oregon is kind of a crap shoot.

Posts I really enjoyed this month:
How to Engage in Purposeful Decluttering, Be More with Less: Great tips for everyone, whether you're just starting out or you've been at it a long time.

21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own, Becoming Minimalist: That's an apt title. I was surprised. And kind of horrified.

Your Minimalist Wardrobe Questions Answered, Slow Your Home. Yes, yes, yes!

This Season's Must Haves, Slow Your Home.  More yeses! Great perspective on "must haves."

Zero Waste Wednesday: Lunch

Bento box lunch! Salads are more exciting
after you've been to the farmers' market.

Whew! I almost forgot to post a Zero Waste Wednesday this month, and I'm POSITIVE everyone single one of you (hi, Mom and Ann!) have been waiting with bated breath to see what nugget of wisdom I'd be passing along this time, right?

[Crickets.]

Ah, well.

So. Zero waste lunches. I am a big fan. My goal in life is to ban plastic sandwich bags from the house, but Eric keeps buying them (STOP THAT, ERIC!), even though, as far as I know, he rarely uses them.

Mysteries.

Abby and I use LunchBots bento boxes (but there are several stainless steel options out there -- this is not a product endorsement but rather an idea endorsement). Her lunchbox actually used to be my lunchbox until LunchBots made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I ended up with three smaller bentos, like so:

Abby's!

Mine!

Although you can get colored lids, I just went with stainless steel because, quite frankly, I like to toss these suckers in the dishwasher and not worry about whether or not the cute paint job is going to peel off. (These pictures make it look like the lid is attached; it is not.) Abby's box holds a sandwich, crackers and some sort of fruit or vegetable; I usually use the single compartment for a salad or a sandwich, and the double for fruit or vegetables. I rarely use the three-compartment bento. It's kind of my Plan B when the other two are dirty and I'm too lazy to wash them.

But I also am a big fan of glass jars and lids, and use them to hold yogurt, dressing, crackers, desserts, and whatever else I can shove inside:

Except I use plastic lids.

Glass jars and lids work great for zero waste lunches. You can't give them to a kid (I'm pretty sure Johanna kicks her lunchbox around for entertainment), but for an adult? Easy alternative. Plus everyone has glass jars knocking around.

I'm not a particular fan of plastic containers, but we have many from our pre-enlightenment phase (?) and that is what Eric and Johanna use for their lunches. Not as pretty as mine or Abby's, but it does the job. Eventually I'd like to get everyone stainless steel lunch boxes. That will probably take a while, just because of the initial expense. (These things aren't cheap.) No one seems to be in a hurry.

Um, in conclusion, here's what my lunch commonly looks like using my containers and jars et al:

This day I went crazy and put homemade ranch in a jar.

Add a cotton napkin and a real fork, and I'm good to go. The end.

Pros:

Super cute

Stainless steel is an environmental boss

Stainless steel is reusable, dishwasher safe, and practically indestructible*

I mentioned they're super cute, right?

Cons:

None for me. Johanna and Eric have to deal with plastic and its aftermath, but whatever. What's a million years to biodegrade, really?

Oh, wait: Expensive to start with

* It survived a bonk on our kitchen's tile floor, which is how we test the durability of all our kitchen products. Usually accidentally.

In which I write about our local farmers' market with perhaps too much enthusiasm, but it's my blog so I can do whatever I want

Once upon a time, like last Thursday, I decided that my deep need of fresh greens outweighed my profound dislike of crowds, and thus I found myself wandering around our local farmers' market, with Johanna in hand.

Side note, and we haven't even gotten that far yet, but I've been really bad about attending the market the past few years because it's Eric's racquetball night, it's a hassle to get down there after work and find a parking spot, and, as I think we've already established, I kind of hate crowds.

Whatever. I'm trying to expand my bubble this month, right?, so I picked up my baby from school and we immediately headed the seven miles back to town to see what we could find. Which, incidentally, was this:

In case it doesn't translate, that's a bag of salad mix, a bunch of spicy greens, two cucumbers, two sacks of mini tomatoes, salad turnips, radishes, early garlic, spinach, kale, cilantro, rhubarb and six ciabatta rolls.

Johanna is a fun one to shop with because she loves raw vegetables. She helped me pick out produce at every stand and got genuinely excited over the spinach and kale. She actually asked to go back for the kale with a polite, "Mom, I don't think you heard me: I want some kale."

Also: Cucumbers and tomatoes... in May. I did not expect that. Apparently there are greenhouses involved here, and yeah, you can tell the tomatoes were raised under tarps and not in the sun because they don't have the sweetness, but TOMATOES IN MAY. Who cares?!

Anyway, I was thinking of getting some pizza, also available at the market, and bringing that home for dinner, but with my bags o' awesome, we just headed home for salad and bread. You can tell we're all greens-deprived because no one complained about the lack of pizza.

Once home, I immediately made a salad (the mix with the turnips, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes) and sliced the ciabatta rolls, and then after dinner, I made a rhubarb crumb cake and Johanna experimented with raw kale and then kale chips. She decided she liked the burnt ones the best because they didn't taste like a cooked vegetable. The ones she deemed "too cooked" were inhaled by the rest of us. We tossed back an entire bundle of kale in less than 10 minutes. It was awesome. And probably had nothing to do with the generous sprinkling of applewood smoked salt we used to season the things...

P.S. It was so much fun to actually be excited about food again. I haven't played so much in a long time.

Anyway, my plans for the remainder: A fritatta using the spicy greens and early garlic (I just got some fresh eggs from a coworker, so that's awesome); spinach salads now that we're at the end of the salad mix; another rhubarb crumble because I have some leftover stalks and the first one was inhaled (plus what else do you do with rhubarb?); and maybe some salsa with the cilantro.

I'm thinking that this market needs to be a Mom and Johanna date every Thursday because we haven't eaten this well in a long time, plus it was kind of fun to see some familiar faces in the crowd and talk to the farmers (I have my favorites). And it was all locally grown!

P.P.S. I saw the mayor at the aforementioned cucumber and tomato booth, and I was like, hey, Paul, and he was all, hi, Trisha, and I felt pretty good about myself because the mayor knows my name, and this one doesn't think I'm drunk.

Zero Waste Wednesday: How I (sorta) saved my favorite sandals

Once upon a time, like when Jared and Brandi got married in 2007, I bought a new pair of Taos sandals to wear to their wedding.

Those things cost $60 on sale, but they were comfortable and, as I couldn't find anything else that would work--with time running out, naturally--I just went with it.

That was maybe the best $60 I've ever spent because I still have those sandals, and they are my favorite. They're super comfortable and they've worn like iron. Just by looking at them, you'd never guess they were eight years old.

Well, when my feet are in them, anyway:

Thank you for not making fun of my feet.

Here's what they look like without my feet. Not quite so great:

Thrashed is an understatement.

I took them to a shoe repair place a couple of years ago when the insoles were just beginning to tear, but the guy didn't have the resources--or maybe the resources don't even exist--to actually fix the problem. He just put some kind of resin or something on the holes and called it a day. But that wasn't the permanent fix I was looking for, and, to top it off, the insoles began to rip even worse after treatment.

Irony! But I still couldn't bring myself to toss them. I like them that much.

Now here's where our story takes a turn: Last fall, when I went into one of our local shoe stores, I saw a display of these:

Made in Oregon!

They're called Soxsols. Here's how the website explains them:

Soxsols are 100% machine washable, hybrid socks/insoles, designed for use in a variety of sockless footwear such as: sandals, high heels, flats and many children's shoes. Soxsols provide clean, reusable comfort and extend the life of your footwear.

So I was all like, huh, this might be perfect for fixing my sandals. I actually bought two pairs--one for my sandals, and another for these little cuties. My feet do not normally smell when I wear shoes, but wow, they really do when I wear these. And the Soxsols have really, really helped.

Too much info, probably. You guys, a blogger's life is an open book. Except for all those chapters I refuse to write.

So anyway, Eric cut a set to fit my sandals, and here's how we look now, with feet... and without:

Sorta better.

Maybe I should have chosen the beige insoles?

Hmm. It's obviously not a perfect fix, which bums me out. And okay, the Soxsols kind of slide around when there's no shoe wall to bump up against (I don't have that problem with my other shoes). So it turns out that I'm going to need to buy a new pair of sandals anyway, but for $15, at least I was able to keep these old standbys in the closet and out of the landfill. I figure I'll just use them like I'd use flip flops, were I still buying flip flops (kind of miss them, not going to lie, but I can't bring myself to purchase something that will literally end up in the dumpster at the end of the summer).

And that's how I (sorta) saved my favorite sandals.

The end.

February Pointless Lists

Valentine's cookies from my mommy.

This has been a weird February. Usually we're dealing with an inversion and don't see the sun all month (let alone the other side of the street). But this year it's been absolutely gorgeous. We're a month ahead in the spring game--trees and flowers are already in bloom. Which is scary because we live in an agricultural area and one good freeze is going to really mess up a lot of people.

But jeez, we got the good end of this weather stick. Poor Boston.

Well, anyway. The other day I was walking into work, and the sun was shining, and the wind was brisk, and I had my coffee, and I couldn't help but smile. This is exactly where I want to be, you guys. I am one lucky chick.

Colleges trying to recruit Abby this month:
St. Martin's University (my Dad is an alumni, so he was pretty jacked about this one)
Willamette University
Linfield (she's been waiting for this one)
The College of Idaho

...And a few medical leadership conference invitations. Abby was all, I want to be a physical therapist, not a doctor! as she looked through one brochure of seemingly happy kids in their surgical masks. Cool beans, yo. Can you do something about my shoulders? That'd be great.

Also, side note: She's pretty sure none of these colleges actually expect her to attend; they just want her $75 application fee. Huh. Well, that seems like a tough way to increase funding, but what do I know?

Another side note: It looks like the letters spree is over. Mail time is boring again.

Books read:
I finally finished The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, which ends on SUCH a downer (and you thought Empire Strikes Back was bad). Even though it was mostly just sad (because I already knew it was not going to end well for our heroine), I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory of Celaena Sardothien. And Sam! CRY.

Give me a minute to collect myself, you guys. I felt this one deep.

This month I also tackled Fairest by Marissa Meyer. I love Cinder, Scarlet and Cress, and am very much looking forward to Winter being released this fall. Meyer just spins a good tale.

But this one was only okay. I already knew Levana, the villainous queen of Luna, was freaking nuts, and I suppose her backstory should have made me feel a little bit sorry for her, or maybe a little more understanding, but not so much. She was just crazy. And the book just read different from the others. I don't know, less detailed, less... everything.

But hey, I did learn a few things, and it was sort of interesting to see characters introduced through Levana's eyes, I guess. Whatever. Abby just told me it wasn't supposed to be another Cinder, just a "little bit extra." Well... I suppose mission accomplished, then.

BUT! There were FOUR CHAPTERS of Winter at the end, and it was everything I love about this series. How the hell am I supposed to wait for the next one?

...And then I reread the Throne of Glass series again because I wanted to. So there.

Movies watched:
Johanna has been bugging us for a movie night, and we finally broke down last Saturday and watched The Lego Movie. And oh em gee (to quote Joey), that movie was hilarious. We were prepared to take one for the team for this kid, but we all ended up thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Who knew?

Project 333 update:
Let's see. I'm down a blue long sleeve t-shirt (wasn't wearing it so I turned it into PJs) and my grey sweatshirt skirt (bummed but for the best--that thing is hard to style for some reason). My new black turtleneck sweater wins the Workhorse of the Month Award--I wear it constantly and always feel like a rock star when I do. I have one exactly like it in grey. That one does not make me feel like a rock star. It's still in my closet. I'm kind of forgetting why.

Oh! And the weather has been so nice that I pulled out my black/white dot tank top and beige jacket to wear to a function of the girls'! And then froze my ass off! I guess sunny skies and 50ºs doesn't exactly translate into THAT kind of an ensemble yet, but hey, I tried, and I did look rather fabulous if I do say so myself.

Now my list looks like this:
Grey: Pants, skirt, cardigan, turtleneck sweater, pullover sweater (4)
Black: Pants, long-sleeve T-shirt, (black and white) blouse, (black and white) tank, cardigan, turtleneck sweater, scarf, boots, ankle boots, flats, coat (11)
Purple/Maroon: Zip-up sweater, pullover sweater (2)
Red: Scarf (1)
White/Beige: Blouse, skirt, pants, long sleeve t-shirt (4)
Teal: Zip-up sweater, t-shirt skirt, pullover (3)
Navy/Blue/Light blue: Cardigan, (navy) long sleeve shirt, (light) long sleeve shirt, jeans, denim skirt, scarf (5)

If my math is correct (and I'm not placing any bets on that one), that make 30. Weird. I would have never believed that possible a year ago. Have I mentioned lately how happy I am that I found Project 333?

Light update
My January attempts at food decluttering continue to go pretty well. My pantries (um, yes) are looking great. My freezers, however, are still kind of a wreck. This is because, while I am using up items from both, I've been using Sunday as my meal-prep day and usually end up with two or three dinners/sides in the freezer for the coming week. But we don't always eat everything I've made, so basically I've traded one form of clutter for another. On the upside, we haven't had Random Crap in a Tortilla Night ALL MONTH. It's like a February miracle. Still much work to do, but wow. I feel very good about this!

My February attempts at morning yoga have been much easier. Well, aside from the actually having to get up in the mornings, but even that has ended up not being so bad. I feel so much better in general after I practice, and practicing regularly has done amazing things for my neck. I missed a handful of mornings for various stupid reasons (like Tuesday, when I felt like crap), but I'm picking myself up and brushing myself off and counting it as a win. I think I'll be able to keep this one up.

Since apparently I've got a theme going here, I'm going to concentrate on getting the crap out of my little reading retreat. It's the one place in my house that I actually despise, which is unfortunate because it's so cute and I used to love it so much. It's not something I particularly want to tackle, but I think it's time. Look for that post, I guess.

Zero Waste Wednesday: Bulk aisle sucanat sugar

Okay, you guys, here's some news I've been very excited to share with you. So excited, in fact, that I've just sat on this information for the past three months.

Source
Spoiler alert: Sucanat sugar acts like brown sugar.

Oops.

Hey, so in my zero waste/minimalism mania, I've been trying to figure out how to replace products in my kitchen that are generally packaged very non-environmentally friendly-like. I bake a lot, so it stand to reason that I buy a lot of brown sugar. In its stupid plastic bags. Surely we could do better than that.

I scoped out our bulk section, but couldn't see anything that looked all brown-sugary. The old hippy in our natural foods section (I'd feel bad about calling her that, except that's what she calls herself because she is awesome) happened to be floating around, so I asked her what was what.

And boy, did I get a lesson. Apparently natural food section people LOVE to talk about natural foods.

The short answer is sucanat:

It's made by simply crushing freshly cut sugar cane, extracting the juice and heating it in a large vat. Once the juice is reduced to a rich, dark syrup, it is hand-paddled. Hand paddling cools and dries the syrup, creating the dry, porous granules we call Sucanat. Nothing is added and nothing is taken out!  

--From Wholesome Sweeteners website

Apparently (I don't know, science is hard), commercial brown sugar is made by taking everything out to make it white, and then adding molasses back in. "What is wrong with our food system?" she asked after a similar explanation. Then she let me try a sample (she's my new BFF), and based on that little interaction ('cause it was delicious), I filled my glass jar with the little granules with hope full in my heart.

Source
Just in case you're curious, this is what I use for my
bulk flour, sugar, coffee, oats and...

My hippy friend warned me that sucanat does not act like brown sugar when you're baking with it. It doesn't completely incorporate when you're mixing up your baked goods, for example--but that's cool because it melts in the oven. (When I make my vanilla syrup on the stovetop, however, it melts just fine.) It was slightly alarming the first time I mixed up a batch of cookies, just because it IS different than what I was used to, but you guys, the results were so fantastic. How fantastic? Let's just say that I have no interest in buying traditional brown sugar anymore, and not just because of the packaging. Sucanat just tastes better. That's enough for me.

Zero waste victory!

Pros:
Zero waste
Tastes amazing
No annoying brown sugar clumps to deal with

Cons:
When you first switch over and your 15-year-old decides to make cookies while you're at work, she won't believe you that the sucanat is actually the brown sugar and will therefore end up not making cookies after all. That is very disappointing, because you really, really wanted cookies.

Zero Waste Wednesday: Spice rack

So with my inaugural Zero Waste Wednesday a terrible failure, I thought we'd do something this time around that is nothing but success. (I can't decide if that's pride or vanity.) Behold, I give you my spice rack:

Dammit, family! How many times do I have to tell you that the cumin and
chili powder have to be together because they're deeply in love?!

I won't lie, I photoshopped out all the dust and grime from my cupboard. I will tell you that, but I will not show you that. Take the lesson from that as you will.

Our little town might be tiny and a tourist trap, but we do have a great market with a fairly decent bulk aisle. I mean, you can't get cocoa powder like you can at Mara's Market of Choice, but you can get about any herb or spice you can think of (even marshmallow root), so we're calling that a win. They sell reusable jars at the store, but I like these little four-ouncers from Ball:

Source

...And these reusable (plastic, blerg) lids:

Source

I've given many a lesson (okay, like two) to people who are curious about my jars. Both times, they thought that you had to pay not only for what's in the jar, but for the weight of the jar too boot. Nah, that's why God gave us tare. You take it to the customer service desk, they weigh it up (I let them write on my lids because I don't care about pristine white expanses) and boom! You are all ready for bulk action.

That blue number? Is the tare.
The black number is the bin number.

It doesn't cost very much to fill a jar; usually it's less than 50 cents. I was thinking of telling you exactly which herbs and spices are in my cupboard, but really, isn't that a matter of personal taste? So never mind.

Pros:

Zero waste!

Fresh and fresh!

I can buy just as much or as little as I want!
My spice cupboard is adorable!

Weekly poser opportunities!

Cons:

None. I mean, unless you're skittish about the bulk aisle, I guess.

Zero Waste Wednesday: "Homemade" castile soap

You know what I love? A theme. And do you know what else I love? Eric. I'm also kind of into zero waste, except that's a little trickier because I tend to get bogged down in the mire of failure instead of celebrating my (usually minimal, maybe that's fitting) successes. Or not successes. Sometimes all there is to celebrate is the fact that you tried.

And since I'm also a fan of alliteration, I present Zero Waste Wednesday, which I hope to make a monthly or bi-monthly kind of ordeal to step up my zero waste game and to share what I've learned. Fun fact: We live in a tiny tourist-trap of a town with limited options. Realistically, we're never going to reach zero waste, but hey, we do what we can do, right?

Here's a project I've been meaning to try for ages: Turning a bar of castile soap into a gallon of liquid castile soap. I first read about this insanity in Bea Johnson's Zero Waste Home and I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head.

Final result looks suspiciously successful.
Spoiler alert: Don't get your hopes up.

Maybe because I tried this several months ago with an unwrapped bar of organic olive oil soap that smelled like sandalwood, and let me tell you, it was a disaster. It smelled amazing, but it was the consistency of thick snot. Also, it turns out that sandalwood is not really the scent I'm going for when I'm cleaning. I don't particularly like smells, and that one just did not do much for my general constitution. It was all wrong.

I chalked that failure up to the brand of soap I purchased. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be anything but a bar? I used the entire gallon up, of course (because that's what a responsible person does when she's pissed off at snot soap) and then bought a nice bar of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap because hello, this dude also makes liquid castile, so logically this should work, right?

You guys, I am a huge fan of Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint castile soap. It's one of the few smells I like, and at this point in my homemade cleaner career, I now associate peppermint with cleanliness. True story. But Dr. Bronner's liquid soap is expensive--even when I buy it in bulk. And the bars, comparatively ounce for ounce, are not.

Or maybe they are. I never claimed to be a math genius.

Yadda yadda yadda, that bar has been sitting in my kitchen for literally six months. During my blogging break, I decided it was time to quit looking at that thing and just get 'er done already.

Also, I was completely out of liquid castile and needed to fill up our soap dispensers.

I didn't bother to get out my copy of Zero Waste Home because I was pretty sure I remembered the directions and also because Johanna was on my iPad, where the book resides. (It's also on my Kindle, now that I think about it, but it's not as pretty.) Eh, what could happen?

So I grated the soap. I had to do it by hand, which wasn't actually all that hard, but I was kind of regretting throwing away the shredding attachment on my food processor, even if it did almost take two of my fingers off this summer.*

When I was done, my bar of soap looked like cheese:

It's the cheesiest. Just kidding. Don't eat the soap!

Carefully** following the directions I thought I remembered, I added some water and then let that whole ordeal sit overnight:

I was supposed to add a gallon of water, but who has time to
measure? From making iced coffee all summer, I have a pretty
good estimate of what a gallon looks like in my favorite pot.

Then all that was left to do was walk away. The next morning, I checked my pot and found this:

Not the most attractive concoction ever.

I know this is completely disgusting, but my heart lifted a little bit when I saw this because my last attempt did not look like this at all. I mean, it was kind of looking like liquid castile already, which is most of the battle right there.

Next you're supposed to use an immersion blender to get it all nice and mixed, but I don't actually own an immersion blender, so I just got out a whisk and did the best I could. Which sort of worked. And then I went to pour it into my containers.

Which is when I discovered that this soap was also the consistency of thick snot. "Pouring" it into my jars created a pool of snot on my counter. Ah, well. So I got out my ladle, which would slink back to half-filled every time I dipped it into the pot.

So it took a while is what I'm saying.

Hey, though, the real test came when I poured said mixture into our foaming soap pumps. With Snot Soap I, there was no foaming action at all. Would Snot Soap II be any different?

Nope. And I tried various rations of soap vs. water, but to no avail.

So the moral of this rather longish tale is that again we have liquid castile soap failure, and I'm not going to go for a third attempt because:

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it. -- WC Fields

I mean, it's not a total failure because I've been using Snot Soap II to clean my dishes in the sink, and it works pretty well, although news flash: Castile isn't really the foamiest of soaps for that kind of thing, so if you're used to a sinkful of suds, this might be a bit of a stretch for you. Having used castile before for dishes, I'm fine with it.

Oh, and P.S. I thought maybe I just needed to add more water to make Snot Soap II not quite so snotty, but those attempts haven't been successful, either. But maybe that's just because I have limited patience and at this point, I honestly don't care anymore. My liquid castile soap dreams: Crushed.

To recap:

Pros:
Recyclable wrapper on Dr. Bronner's bar
Zero waste all the way around
Gets dishes squeaky clean

Cons:
Doesn't work in my foaming soap pumps
Snot!
Bruised ego

The end.

*Well, more like almost took two fingers off, if by "almost" you mean "took about ten layers of skin and bled like mad." I seriously thought I was going to need a transfusion, that's how much blood loss we're talking about. Also, it was rather terrible timing because Abby had a friend over and they were in the kitchen checking on the progress of dinner and all of a sudden I'm bleeding all over the floor and that kind of killed the moment. Anyway, I threw that blade in the trash ASAP. I need my fingers, that's why.

**Just kidding. "Carefully following" and "directions" are not words that usually meet in my world.

School supplies, or alternatively: I feel a rant coming on

So you guys, I really hate shopping for school supplies. I hate the whole ordeal. It's one big gimmick, and it's stupid and wasteful and dumb. We get a new list every single year and you're expected to buy it all new. Even if your kid comes home with a backpack AND grocery sack filled with leftover supplies at the end of the previous year, most of which is still perfectly usable.

It just drives me nuts.

Well, I was going to step off that train THIS year, thank you very much, so at the end of last school year, I had the girls put every single reusable thing into a box. The Box of Awesome. I figured it was just a matter of organization, really--if you have a stash, that should logically cut down on the shopping and waste, right? I even included the fourth grade list Johanna brought home (although I failed to actually read it because hello, summer vacation. I don't like to think about that kind of thing until the very last possible second. True story). Then I put the top on and let everything stew for roughly three months.

Since school starts next Tuesday (for Johanna, at least; I just learned Abby doesn't start until Thursday. High school is awesome), Johanna has been very anxious to get her supplies nailed down. She cares not one iota for new clothing, but wow, all she could talk about is the calculator she needs.

It was time to open the box is what I'm saying.

Why does Jo look like she's expecting something to jump out at her?

Hey, there's that aforementioned school list right on top! Um, what does it say again?

English and Spanish 'cause that's how our school rolls.

One glance through and it suddenly occurred to me that all the folders and markers and paper in my Box of Awesome are not even listed. 

Well, damn.

Johanna was more than happy to reuse her scissors from last year, and her pencil box was in surprisingly good shape. She had two used pink pearl erasers in various degrees of disrepair that she claimed, even though the list called for white polymer (we're rebelling). The earbuds threw me, but Johanna ran to her room to get an extra pair Abby had given her earlier this summer. 

So four things crossed off a list of 14. Let's compare piles:

Reusable.

Purchased. 

P.S. The top photo does not include her old lunch bag; the bottom does not include her new backpack. Oh, or the bottle of hand sanitizer she wanted because, and I quote, "What if there's a booger emergency?" It's hard to argue with that logic.

I'm trying to be grateful for the fact that Johanna is able to reuse things at all, but it's hard not to get too bogged down in the utter failure that was my brilliant Box of Awesome idea. I really thought I'd be able to write an amazing post about how great we did on the zero waste school supply front this year, but instead, the box is still full and is taunting me. I guess Abby might end up using some of it, but for now, she's thinking as long as she has a pencil, earbuds and a pack of gum, she's all set for the first day of her sophomore year. Sounds legit.

So I failed is what I'm saying. Ah, well.