Greener Hair Care

Today I'm going to talk about my hair care regiment, which is pretty much nothing at all! I use a total of four items to care for my hair! Baking soda, apple cider vinegar, water, and (once in a blue moon) olive oil!

I know, you're asking yourself "What the heck?", but I wash my hair with 2 Tablespoons of baking soda mixed into one liter of warm water. Now you're saying to yourself, "That's not shampoo!", and you're right, it's the no shampoo method (Some call it the "No 'Poo Method", but it sounds bad..lol!).

Now why would I rather use baking soda and water to wash my hair? Simple, it's a green choice, and I know that the ingredients do not cause cancer. Why would I say that shampoo can cause cancer?! I'm not saying that ALL shampoos cause cancer, but it sure is hard to find the ones that DON'T have ingredients that cause cancer, AND when you do find them, they are quite expensive!

With Baking soda as my "shampoo", I can get a box of it for a dollar, and wash my hair possibly over 100 times for that $1. After all, currently water in our town is free from the tap!  All you do is dampen your hair with water, use the baking soda water, and scrub your hair with it, then rinse well.

Now for my "conditioning" method, up to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in one liter of warm water. I get a liter of apple cider vinegar for about $4, and (again) water is free! How does it work? Simple, after washing your hair and rinsing it, douse your hair with the cider vinegar water, scrub well, then rinse well! That's it! If you rinse well, your hair will not smell of the vinegar, although I personally put in about 5 -10 drops of lavender essential oil because I like the smell more than the vinegar, but it is not necessary.

So now your wondering why I have olive oil on the list, since I have the "shampoo", and the "conditioning" covered. Well, every 3-4 months I like to give my hair a hot oil treatment, meaning that I take 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, heat it to body temperature, and let it sit for ten minutes, then wash my hair. It helps make it feel silkier, and (even though it's bad for the environment) I like to die my hair, so it also keeps it from getting that dried out look.

Now, do I suggest you try these methods, heck yeah! Do I say you have to, no. If you do try them, remember that it takes about a month for your hair to adjust to this method of cleaning, since store bought shampoo strips your hair of it's natural oils, and this method works on using the natural oils of your hair to keep it healthy. Even if you don't want to wash or condition your hair this way, try the olive oil, it's great!  :)

Upcycling

I have to say that I am a little bit different than the average person, as you have seen from my choices in videos, it's true. But being different from everyone else is better in my opinion, simply because if the "herd" goes charging at a cliff, I know I won't be the one falling off. It's kinda like the "big" stock market crash from when I was little, people were investing like mad because eveyrone said it was the best way to make money fast, then the balloon popped, and people were jumping off of buildings because they couldn't face their loss of money. The way I view things is that money isn't the first and foremost thing in life. Yes, it is necessary to purchase things, and to pay bills. What I AM trying to say is that PEOPLE are far more important.

Besides, I am trying to not be a big consumer, so I am working on making do with what I have. People of the depression era had things right! Waste not, want not! One of the things that I do to succeed in this is that I repair items that I can, and if I cannot, then I try to upcycle it.

What is upcycling you ask?! That's a very good question, and the answer varies depending on a person's point of view. My point of view is that upcycling is taking an item that is no longer usable as is, and making it into something that IS usable!

I'll give you an example; I had this metallice tank top that was made of stretchy material, and I really liked the material, but I never wore it (except at home behind closed doors), simply because it was too short for my comfort. Now, MOST people would have gotten rid of it, or banished it to the back of their closet, never to be seen again. Now, I'm sure that we've agreed that I am not most people, so I pulled it inside out, put the side seams together, and sewed the bottom of it together. It now has a new and ever useful life as my FAVORITE reusable (and easily washable!) shopping bag!

I have to say that sewing is my favorite way to upcycle, but another method I have been trying my hand at is upcycling the plastic mesh bags that people buy their oranges/grapefruit in. I crochet one end together, then go to the other end and do a few rows along there, and make handles, Voila! Upcycled produce bag!

Another way I have upcycled in the past was when I had a waterbed frame that I no longer needed, but my shed needed shelving, so the frame became shelves in the shed. It's like I said, waste not, want not!

I DARE you to try it yourself!  ;)

Ideas for My Retirement

I have to say that my hubby and I are opening our minds for how we want to live when we retire. We want to live in a tiny house, which has a lower carbon footprint than the "normal" houses and lifestyles. You definately need to look outside the box for it. Here are a few out of the box videos that I enjoy!

As you can see, there are many ways to live small without it feeling small, and that there are many ways to build green. These are only a few of my favorites, so have a look, and find some for yourself!  :)