My 28th Trip Around The Sun

this photo has nothing to do with this blog post, but look at how chubby and cute those cheeks are! (hers, not mine)

In 17 days I will turn 28. I always think of each Birthday as my "New Year" and it really gets me thinking about all I'd like to accomplish as I grow.

A couple of years ago I started this blog. I was determined to live a less wasteful life. In many ways I feel I've been successful. We are very mindful in our home about the amount of waste we produce. Unfortunately I feel as though We've gotten off track. Another baby, a move, a new business, things have been busy! My goal this year is to establish a system that works for our family that brings us a few steps closer to a zero waste lifestyle and to declutter and only own things that bring us joy!

Over the next few weeks I will share and document the steps I am taking to simplify our life. I will share resources, tips for organizing and letting things go, zero waste grocery shopping (this to me is the most difficult).

I want more time. More time with my kids, more time with my husband, more time to play music (I barely touch my guitar anymore), more time to grow my business. Without the stress of constantly cleaning and organizing, I'm hoping I will have more time for these things I love. 

A lot has changed since I started this blog, but my goals haven't. Here's to making things happen!

I'd love to hear about the things your family does to be eco-friendly. Also, if there are particular things you'd like me to cover, please let me know!

Sweet Potato Baby Cracker

Hello! I haven't posted in quite some time (sorry about that!). I'm excited to share this baby cracker recipe. Liam absolutely loves them! I love that they are so healthy, easy, and close to zero-waste!

So, this was an experiment. I used a brown rice flour (but you could use regular or whole wheat).

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 banana (mashed)

1 medium sized sweet potato

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp water (approximate-add as needed to make a dough)

Cook and mash sweet potato. Mix all ingredients. roll out dough and cut with fun shapes (or use a cup to make a circle). Bake on a cookie sheet (I greased mine with a little coconut oil) at 350° for 5 minutes,  flip over and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Baked sweet potato cracker

So you may be wondering, "how are those "zero-waste"?". Well, the paper bags that flour comes in are compostable along with the produce scraps, and the can that the baking powder comes in is recyclable. 

One of my favorite things about this zero-waste journey is how it has transformed our eating habits as a family. Eliminating packaged foods has resulted in us eating more veggies and no more processed junk (not that we ate much of that anyways). I love knowing exactly what is going into my little guys belly!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

If you wouldn't eat it...

When I was younger, a good friend of mine gave me some advice. She said, "Lexi, if you wouldn't eat it, why would you put it on your skin?". I was a teen at the time and would do anything to cure my horrible skin. I used proactive and all sorts of prescription skin creams. Not until I was an adult did I think back on her advice.

The friend that gave me this wonderful advice is Jannell Brown, owner of Sol Spa in Harwich Port, MA. She is an amazing massage therapist and makes the scrubs she uses in her treatments. If you are from, or are visiting Cape Cod, check Sol Spa out!

As I'm sure most of you are aware, our skin is our largest organ and anything put on it is quickly absorbed into the blood stream. Can you pronounce the ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle? Do you know what they are? Scary! If you are curious about levels of toxicity in your skin care products, check out this site: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

image borrowed from: http://patientadvocates.com/is-your-make-up-killing-you

The past few years I have given up all my commercial facial cleansers and lotions. I now stick to baking soda and coconut oil. My skin has never looked better! Of course other things have changed, I gave up eating anything processed, cut back on my dairy consumption, and drink a lot more water. The other day someone told me I had beautiful skin. I had never heard that one before. 

I plan on going completely all natural once the last of my shampoo runs out. I tried the "no-pooing" and I loved it for a short period of time, but after a while my hair was really drying out. I read an article about balancing out the pH in your hair, and the "no-poo" method can reek havoc if you don't know what you are doing. For those of you who don;t know what "no-pooing" is.....

The method of cleansing and conditioning hair without using conventional shampoos. common no-poo concoctions include baking soda and water, apple cider vinegar and water, etc.

The first few times I told people I was trying the "no-poo" method they responded with, "Wait... You're not pooping?".

My next plan of action will be making my own shampoo and conditioner. I will of course keep everyone updated and share what works best (as well as what didn't work). Making all my own skin care products will drastically decrease the amount of waste our household produces, bringing us that much closer to being zero-waste!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!

A little weird

So, the other day I cooked dinner for a few close friends. I went to a local market to get my meat and presented the butcher with my container with a smile and an explanation. What I got was confusion, insulting facial expressions, and was told that I'm weird.

I was offended.  More than that, my feelings were hurt. No one likes to be treated as if they are strange for doing something different.  I got in my car and tried not to cry.

After preparing my zero-waste meal of the evening and enjoying time with my very supportive friends (they think I'm weird too, but not because of my eco-friendly lifestyle), I started thinking of the reasons my lifestyle may seem strange or foreign to others. The sad truth of the matter is we are living in a time when most things are disposable. We aren't made to be conscientious of the affect our consumerism has on our planet. My hope is that by sharing my journey, I can make people aware and help them to live a more eco-conscious life.

I thank all of you who continue to read my blog with an open mind. It's time for change.

Update: I reached out to the management of the market as a few friends suggested. I am certain that no business owner would appreciate their employees being rude to customers. I am happy to say I got a quick, and very nice response! Thank you to Cheryle of Dennis Public Market for being so diligent and following up!

Oh Baby!

I haven't blogged in a while. Mainly because we have been super busy, but also it's nice to take a little break from technology now and then.

Trying to be zero-waste while raising a child can be a challenge at times. This past week we had to prepare for a blizzard so of course that meant making sure we got all his cloth diapers clean in case we lost power. Luckily, we did not, and I enjoyed a wonderful, snowed-in birthday!

We recently moved Liam into his own room (formerly the art room). It was crazy to see how much stuff we had that we don't use. The amount of things that have come to be accepted as the normal for having a baby is just silly. Liam has grown out of a lot of his clothing before he even had a chance to wear it!

He is growing like a weed and I definitely cried a bit as I put away some of the clothes he out grew (unnecessary attachment to materials). It's funny how we attach material things to sentimental moments. Definitely something we as a family are working on.This is one of the many reasons we have allowed ourselves a year to really downsize. It can be quite overwhelming letting go of things that we have been so use to having around, but still very freeing.

The past few weeks we have been doing a lot of research on tiny homes to get ideas to eventually build a relatively tiny home for our family. It has also forced us to talk more realistically about the number of children we plan on having. Two may be our magic number.

I am so excited to continue sharing this journey! It has only been a month, and not everything has gone smoothly, but we have certainly learned a lot!

And now a photo with a cute (but not amused) baby...

Liam helping Mom blog. Please pay no attention to the blurred out lady in the background... 

We have yet to change out of pajamas.

I love Sunday's!

I love Sunday's!  Especially ones like today! Slept in with a snuggly baby and husband, went for a walk to the beach (5 miles!), and made a delicious dinner with my friend Kelsey. A zero-waste dinner!

Liam and Daddy enjoying the outdoors

Grocery Shopping Zero-Waste

Zero-Waste grocery shopping takes a little planning. I know things will be easier once I have a routine. Right now it's a lot of research and calling ahead to make sure places are okay with me bringing my own containers.

I called ahead to a local butcher who was fine with putting meat into my containers (thank you Peterson's!). I was relieved that the guy behind the container was so nice about it. I was so happy that people were inquisitive about my glass containers. It gave me an opportunity to discuss my zero-waste lifestyle.

Dinner

Here's my shopping list:

Spinach- I ended up getting mixed greens in a plastic container that I will use to make jewelry. I'm really looking forward to buying my greens from the farmers markets come spring. 

Chicken- put into my glass container.

Sandwich meat for my husband's lunches- also put in a glass container. 

*Produce- no bags!

The meal I made this evening consisted of steamed greens with a sesame sauce (made with tahini, maple syrup, and tamari), quinoa, and chicken. Simple. Easy. Delicious!

My version of horenso goma ae

*Unfortunately produce comes with stickers and stickers are technically waste. In the future we plan on growing as many of our own fruits and veggies as possible to avoid this.

The 5 R's.

Do you remember learning the 3 R's in elementary school? Reduce, reuse, recycle. Well, in my house we practice the 5 R's.

Refuse

Anytime possible, refuse anything that creates waste that cannot be recycled,  reused, or composted. Bring your own grocery bags,  avoid plastic containers,  don't use the toiletries at hotels,  ask guest to refrain bringing hostess gifts (tell them that their company is enough!).

Reduce
There may be times that you absolutely can not refuse. So try your best to reduce what you do accept.

Reuse
Use your "trash" in creative ways. Reuse jars for storage containers.

I make jewelry from plastic that comes into my home, or that I find.

 Above: Water bottles and other assorted plastics turned into beads to eventually look like this:

Recycle
If you cannot refuse something, and cannot reuse it, then recycle!

Rot
Compost! I love composting.  Seriously, I get excitement every time I make a trip out to my compost bin (yes, I know I'm strange). It's easy, and there are so many options!

We currently just compost our product scrap, our eggshells,  and our coffee grinds and filters.  However, there are so many types of compost bins that do so much more than that. I will hopefully be getting a meat composting system in the future.

My favorite thing about composting is how beneficial it is to my gardens. The better the garden, the closer we are to being a little more self sustainable, and being self sustained is just one step closer to being #zerowaste!