Minimalism: In the shower

Before you even begin to think that this post is going to be a bit too TMI for your taste, it’s not, I promise. Just hear me out.

I had a house guest once who stayed a few days at our place, and obviously, at some point, she did have to shower. I walked her upstairs to our bathroom and gave her a tour, to show her where everything is. The first thing she said was, “You have absolutely nothing here!” She was literally quite astounded. At first, I did not understand. I had everything anyone would ever need in a shower. Confused, I asked her what she meant. She said that in her own shower, and in other people’s showers where she’s visited, there would be a whole collection of products strewn across the sills and the floor. In my head, I thought to myself, what products? I guess there is more to showering than just soap, shampoo, and conditioner. When I asked her how many, she said ten to twenty! And here I was thinking I was going overboard by having conditioner around. No joke, I thought about nixing it. So the next time I went to my parent’s house, I looked in their shower, and sure enough, there were about ten items there. A bar of soap, but also, a bottle of Bath and Body Works Body wash. There was a second bottle of body wash for men, likely my dad’s effort to not smell like Cinnamon Apples. A plastic loofah. There were separate shampoo and conditioner bottles, one of each specifically catering to men and to women. There was a facial scrub, as well as an exfoliating scrub, which I’m assuming is for the rest of the limbs. Thus, my count added up to a total of ten products, just as she said! So I guess her shock was accounted for.

I wonder what happens if she ever stays over again, for our bathroom has gotten a tiny bit sparser than before. She may be even more baffled that all three of our products (soap, shampoo, and conditioner) now come in bar form at our house, and stay in one tidy little corner of the bathing area, tucked neatly away in a row. This is a pretty recent development in the household, but one that I won’t turn away from any time soon. In an effort to seriously reduce my plastic waste moving forward, I reconsidered many household items that came in plastic but had alternatives, shampoo and conditioner being two of those. Mike and I were already using soap bars, and have been for years, but bars for the hair was a revelation to us. There are people who say they can never get used to the feeling of using a bar for their hair. Fair enough. For me, it reminds me of younger years in the Philippines where we would just use the same bar for our bodies and for our hair. It wasn’t a big deal then, so to me, it’s not a big deal now. The shampoo bars create really great suds actually, and my hair feels much cleaner, and less oily, than when I use the liquid alternatives. Then again, a different (likely drier) hair type may consider it too dry. To each their own. Lucky for me, these work.

To further reduce plastic waste, our bars are purchased without packaging. Now, these bars could get a bit pricey, I must admit. We have found some go-to brands at places like Whole Foods, Mother’s Market, as well as other local stores for around $2/bar. It’s still more than your Dove bars of soap (unfortunately packaged in either a box, or a set of boxes, wrapped in plastic), but the extra cost is worth it to me. The shampoo bars can be even pricier, with Lush Cosmetics selling them at about $12/bar. However, they do last 80 washes, which is about a month and a half for us two. And the conditioner bars at Lush are equally as expensive, but since I consider hair conditioner as a luxury, I don’t use it on the daily, and if we run out, I just go without for a while.

So frugal me, how do I cope? We make do by asking for them as Christmas and birthday presents. We specifically ask for no plastic packaging of any kind. Most give us our gifts without packaging at all, which is perfect! Sometimes, soaps wrapped in paper get thrown in, but we recycle that right away, so I can still sleep soundly at night. It’s a consumable gift that brings me a lot of joy (knowing that it came package free) and that brings me a very pleasant experience (if you’ve ever used a Lush shampoo bar, you would understand). This past Christmas, we asked for bars of soap, shampoo and conditioner from a lot of our loved ones, and I think we received enough to get us through March or April. Which is convenient because our birthdays come around in June and July. So we can replenish our stocks once again, in due time.

I’m not saying every one needs to switch to bar form, right this moment. I’m just saying, if our house guest was correct in saying that everyone does have ten to twenty products in the shower, then as long as every household cuts that number in half, what a difference that would make in plastic waste! You don’t even have to get rid of the bottles if you really don’t want to. If men and women could share the same product and not buy into the advertising, then they can purchase in bulk, larger bottles, and produce less waste overall. Perhaps Mike is lucky in the sense that I have absolutely no interest in smelling like a walking flower. Good scents to me include cotton, charcoal, sage, and lemon verbena. Maybe I’m the lucky one, since Mike actually likes scents of Lavender and Vanilla, too. Whatever the case may be, there must be a mutual ground somewhere. Why not choose a scent or product that can work for both? Or why not just forget all the hype about scents and go with a good ole bar of non-smelling soap. Gasp!

Either way, I am pretty happy about my minimalist shower. I don’t even consider it minimalist at all, really. Sure, I may get push back after posting this post. Maybe some people will tell me I just don’t understand their skin type or their hair type. How they have needs to prevent flaky skin or flat hair. How they easily get split ends, or oily foreheads. I almost didn’t want to post this after writing it. But then I think back to when I used to join kids and shower in the middle of the street when it rained. Where a bath meant taking a bucket from a pot of hot water and carefully making sure to rinse as much of myself off as I could, so as not to waste it. I think of families who don’t even have a means to heat up their water, of kids who have to walk to a river. I think of people swimming in plastic waste in small islands such as the Philippines and Tuvalu, because of the prevalence of single use containers.

And I thought to myself, yeah, I’ll post it. These bars of soap are indulgences. They don’t come cheaply, and their value (and ethics) is worth way more to me than choosing a brand name, or smelling a particular way. All I ask is for you to consider it. Please.

Other things I consider when purchasing GOOD soap:

–Palm oil free: I first learned about palm oil when we went to New Zealand, last year. We were at the zoo, listening to the talk about orangutans when the topic came up. At the time, both New Zealand and Australia’s governments were trying to pass a law requiring the labeling of all products with palm oil, so that Kiwis could decide which products not to buy. A country very invested in issues surrounding sustainability and conservation of species and habitat, they were very aware of the illegal deforestation resulting from the growth of palm oil for product use. The deforestation is affecting many species, orangutans included, by depleting them of their habitats. I try to look for soaps that are palm oil free, but unfortunately, most aren’t labeled appropriately, so you just never know. I am particularly fond of GOOD soap, which can be found at Whole Foods, and which uses only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil.

–Ethically made and sustainability: A majority of the soaps I purchase advocate Fair Trade principles in order to get the ingredients for the soap. Additionally, I tend to prefer brands with sustainability in mind. All of this takes extra work and care to produce. This is part of the reason why the prices of these products are higher. Since we always revert back to buying GOOD soap when we run out of holiday gifted soaps, here is a list of ingredients used to make their soap.

Primary, Active Ingredients:
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter (Certified Fair Trade)
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil (Certified Fair Trade)
Sodium Palmate (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil)
Sodium Palm Kernelate (Certified Sustainable Palm
Kernel Oil)
Water (Aqua)
Glycerin (Vegetable Source)
Goat Milk Powder
Minor Ingredients (less than 0.5% by weight)
Lavandula Hybrida Grosso (Lavender) Oil (Lavender Only)
Sodium Citrate (helps with lather in hard water)
Titanium Dioxide (natural color)
Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex (Fresh Mint only, natural color)
Iron Oxides (natural color)
Natural Fragrance (non-synthetic scent from plant oils and extracts, added in Sunshine, Prairie
Rose, Fresh Mint and Coconut bars)

– Societal Impact: There are an increasing number of products being released that have efforts to give back to less privileged communities. Good Soap sales fund Alaffia community empowerment projects in West Africa. Alaffia aims to empower individuals and their communities through long-term, effective projects with the end goal of
poverty alleviation, gender equality and human rights for all. Alaffia’s community projects include:

Alaffia Bicycles for Education: Since 2006, Alaffia has distributed over 6,300 bicycles to rural, poor students in Togo. With emphasis on girls, the goal is to reduce the high dropout rate (91%) by providing a means of transportation to and from school.
Alaffia Maternal Health: In sub-Saharan Africa, 400 women die each day due to pregnancy or childbirth related causes. Alaffia provides pre-natal and delivery care to 1,000 disadvantaged women each year in rural Togo, saving mothers and babies for strong families and sustainable futures for our communities.
Alaffia Reforestation: Alaffia has planted over 42,600 trees in an effort to help our Togolese communities better withstand effects of climate change, to slow desertification and to increase food security for families.

Travel: With Eco-Friendly Attempts

Growing up, my family never did get around to much traveling. After all, traveling the world is a very costly thing to experience. However, it seems as if we’ve grown accustomed to a traveling lifestyle in our more recent years. In the last six months, my sister went to Alaska in June, Mike and I went to Mexico in July, followed by a family trip to Hawaii in that same month. My parents went to Palm Springs in August, Mike and I left for Germany in October, my sister left for Japan in November, my parents left for Florida in December, and next week, my brother leaves for Costa Rica. Hello January! It seems as if we are hardly in the same state for any given month. In retrospect, my siblings and I DID move around plenty in our early childhood years. By the time I got to my freshman year in high school, I had moved a total of ten times. I guess the nomad life chose us, and eventually, it permanently took hold.

Sadly, traveling comes with something more than a monetary cost, specifically when we are talking about air travel. It’s safe to say that air travel results in a significant environmental impact, and though a majority of the negative effects of travel comes from this one thing alone, I deny that nothing we do is negligible. I continue to believe that there are other ways in which we could attempt to minimize the harm we do to the environment, when traveling.

With my brother’s upcoming trip in mind, and with the recent posting of our Mexico travels [here], I feel the urge to share some of my more eco-friendly travel practices, while featuring some favorite products along the way.

+ Carry around a reusable bottle. We all need water to hydrate us during our explorations, whether it’s a city scape or the country side. It’s easy (read: convenient) to buy water bottles as needed. But most water comes packaged in plastic! So to reduce that, why not carry around a reusable bottle? In countries that are more developed, such as Germany and New Zealand, tap water is considered drinkable water. I was constantly filling my water bottle with water from bathroom sinks in Germany, not to be advised when you travel to other countries such as Mexico. So what of these other countries? I refill my water every chance I get, be it at a restaurant, or at the airport, or in the hotel room. There are many places to get safe water, and if you are not sure, then ask a local! We got the tap water tip from a German hostess at one of our earlier hotel stays. Additionally, this saves the airplane hostess from filling up a million of those disposable plastic cups for water alone. I make a note to fill up my water bottle from the airport’s water fountain right before boarding a flight. If I run out, as I do on extremely long flights, I simply ask the hostess to fill me right up. I got my Miir water bottle here, made entirely out of stainless steel. You can get a similar product here. Additional impact: MiiR partners with non-profits and other organizations to provide clean water in Honduras, Southeast Asia, and throughout Africa with a portion of their profits. Tracking your impact allows you to know where exactly the impact is happening, and an individual tracking code is sent with each bottle. MiiR is also a B-corporation ensuring good environmental, social, and transparent practices in the making of MiiR products.

+ Have a re-usable coffee mug handy, at all times. Okay, so this is a bit too similar to the above, I know. However, since a major travel activity of me and Mike’s is to drink different specialty coffees from all around the world, you can bet that we carry our reusable Keep Cup’s with us. Especially useful when one needs an energizing drink to sip on whilst roaming around the city streets, or to grab a quick dose of the liquid stuff before catching a shuttle to the mountainside. Whatever your travel agenda, if you drink coffee, this is worth packing. The specific mug we own can be found here. Additional impact: here.

+ Tote around your own utensils. I actually traipse around every day with the following utensils in my purse at all times: a fork, a spoon, a knife, a metal straw, and a pair of wooden chopsticks. For who knows when one is going to need utensils? If a friend asks you to eat take-out (see next note on take-out), then you could easily whip out your handy dandy utensils to avoid icky plastic versions. I carry them around in one of these from Ambatalia, for the sake of cleanliness, but any pouch works well. Additional impact: These utensil rolls are made out of mostly scraps- the denim is always reclaimed and intended to inspire using your own, or thrifted utensils. They don’t use any plastic in the shipping of our products and they use at least 80% post-consumer paper in any promotional and shipping materials. Thoughtfully designed and ethically manufactured in California. And don’t worry, I don’t carry around my own plates and bowls too! But, speaking of such things…

+ Choose to dine-in at restaurants. Dining in, while a bit costlier than their take-out counterparts, reduces the need for carrying around your own plate and bowl. Mike and I try our best to dine-in both while traveling, and while at home. Part of the draw for me includes the absorption of the local’s cultures and behaviors. People-watching at a restaurant is considered an activity in itself, at least for introverts likes me. Especially over ice cream.

+ Exercise, exercise, exercise. Opt outside. Exploring all the natural wonders New Zealand had to offer was one of my favorite parts of the trip. For me, vacations include escaping city sounds and city lights and just enveloping myself in sights that I don’t get to see every day. Like a bird building its nest, or how a mountain meets a lake. Take note of everything Mother Nature has to offer. If you are anything like Mike, then what you crave is the city life in another country. Even so, get outside and walk, walk, walk. And when you can no longer walk…

+ Ride public transportation. There are some times when public transportation is just not feasible for visiting vast expanses of land in such a short amount of time. But whenever possible, let’s try to get to know the Metro, or the Subway, or the train! In New York, we solely used public transportation, despite the rain. Same with other large cities such as Munich, Auckland, and Queenstown. You see so much more of the city in that way. You notice the advertisements and billboards, and learn what’s popular at the time. You notice recycle bins, and maybe learn a thing or two about their recycling rules. As always, people-watching optional.

+ Support local stores. I already try to support local stores locally, but I like to carry this habit to other countries as well. Some of my favorite stores in New Zealand are local hole-in-the-wall, self-owned shops that carry ethically made products that are also ecofriendly. My favorite purchases from there include my every day grocery bag, and fruit and veggie mesh bags. Since then, I have never packaged produce in plastic. Additionally, it helps to always carry a backpack, just in case you want to purchase something while you’re out and about. My favorite backpack is this. Additional impact: here.

+ Leave behind travel size toiletries. Equally as important, say no to free hotel toiletries packaged in plastic. Resolution: Pack soap, shampoo, and conditioner, in bar form. If you just can’t learn to dig bar forms for everything, choose a reusable bottle option, and buy the stuff in bulk, to reduce plastic waste.

+ Pack a snack bag, pre-filled with your fave munchies. Lastly, because food is pretty important while traveling, I prefer to pack a snack. For flights especially. To avoid receiving those individually packaged peanuts and cookies. Even the meals, which I love, are packaged in plastic! On the way to Germany, Mike and I sat I the last row and denied water and food from the poor flight attendant, every time. The flight attendant felt she wasn’t doing her job well enough and kept asking, “Are you sure?” On the way out, we passed her and thanked her for her hospitality, and she joked, “Gosh you two were the most demanding passengers!” Well, maybe she wasn’t joking, I couldn’t be sure. But either way, we left an impression and made it a point to deny one-time use plastic. Which gets people thinking, and I’d rather leave that behind than a trail of travel evidence.

Zero Waste: Consumable Christmas Gifts

Nothing makes me more happy than receiving a thoughtful gift that procured zero waste in the process of its making and of its giving. Recently, I have preferred consumable gifts over material gifts. This could be something as literal as food or drink, and as metaphoric as a e-book or experience. The idea is that the gift can be enjoyed by the receiver, but does not linger after the enjoyment has concluded. It doesn’t require additional storage, and does not call for de-cluttering at the end of the experience.

If you are interested in such a gift idea, may I recommend homemade Christmas treats? My best friend from high school and her family make homemade treats every year, namely chocolate covered toffee, peanut brittle, and candied almonds. When I asked her what started this tradition, she says that every year, her family makes peanut brittle to ship to her grandpa in Pennsylvania. She just started to make more treats in additionto ship to their friends and family as a Christmas present. The positive outcomes are two-fold. First, it requires a bit of spending time together (gasp!) and gathering as a family to create something for other people. In the spirit of giving, it gives the gift of time, hard work, and personal touch. Second, it creates what I would consider a zero waste present, that is enjoyed and then, well, digested. It may be argued that she does use a shipping box and paper to package the thing and ship to the home, an easily skipped process if one would like to deliver in person. But personally, I love opening my mail box and finding the surprise every year. If you can stomach the small price to pay in order to surprise someone, then wonderful! If not, wrap furoshiki style and deliver at the next gathering, which I hope are many during this time of year. In either case, here’s a little how-to, for some last-minute gift wrangling, minus the excessive spending.

Candied Almonds

Ingredients:

¹⁄₂cup water
1 ¹⁄₂cups sugar
1teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste)
1lb almonds, with skins

Directions:

Bring water, sugar and cinnamon to a boil;stirring constantly.
Add almonds and toss to coat.
Remove almonds with slotted spoon.
Arrange on greased baking pan.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, basting twice with reserved syrup.
Cool.
Store airtight.

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14×12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.