Category: experiments

Furoshiki – waste free wrapping/carrying

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Learning and drooling at the beautiful fabrics, all at the same time

Recently, I went to a free class run in Bern by Live Green, to learn the Japanese art of Furoshiki. I love a good course/class and jumped at the chance to learn about this versatile technique/skill.

Furoshiki is a brilliant, no waste option for wrapping and carrying things. The fabrics come in different sizes, to be used for different purposes. Our teacher, Ye, said most Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Koren) households used to have one or more and they were used for everything. But her husband Mike noted that, unfortunately, this is a tradition of the past and plastic products have taken over. He said in Japan it is currently experiencing a revival with the Zero Waste movement, which is great to hear. Continue reading →

Reusing coffee grounds

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Today, it feels like spring. Check out this beautiful sight outside our home!refusetherefuserefusetherefuse

And with this spring feeling, I felt like cleaning! My face!

I use Aleppo soap for my hair, body and face. I still feel strange writing the word Aleppo, because the Syrian city has gone through so much. I doubt there will be much soap for sale in the foreseeable future, which is the least of our worries.

After summer holidays in Australia, wearing sunscreen every day, my skin felt really clogged, so after reading about it many times, I thought I’d give the used grounds from this morning’s coffee another job.

This is one of those easy and effective treatments where you think ‘why have I never done this before?’ Zero waste face scrub! I just put a dollop of coconut oil and a small amount of coffee grounds in my hands, rubbed them together, then scrubbed my face.

Totally sold on how effective and simple this is! Clogged pores are clear, the bumpy skin around my chin is now soft and my whole face feels fresh. Two ingredients, minimal packaging, no nasty ingredients.

And the leftover grounds went in the compost.

Will be doing this again, for sure. I liked the feeling the coconut oil left on my face (I normally just use it on my body). Here’s a recipe from PETA which uses olive oil, if you fancy trying that.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

No more throwaway utensils

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At the end of 2016, I bought a sewing machine – something I’ve been wanting for ages. When the mood to sew strikes, I now have no excuses! (Before, I borrowed a friend’s.)

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Leo and I are now set for zero waste foodie adventures

For Christmas, I made my family zippered cutlery pouches (men) and wraps (women) to eliminate using plastic utensils when on the go.

The bamboo cutlery, chopsticks, stainless steel straws (the bigger one is for smoothies) and napkins are light enough to keep in your bag all the time.

I really enjoyed doing this! Here’s what some of the others looked like. Mine, above, was the prototype, using The Rogue Ginger’s pattern, here.

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Waiting to be filled with the cutlery and straws

For me this is a really sensible, practical and easy step in reducing waste.

I’m sure they would be available to buy on sites like etsy, by searching “cutlery wrap”. Maybe one day I’ll make them to sell too?!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Doing better in the bathroom

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Over the past few months, I’ve been using up all the plastic containers of lotions, potions and promises floating around the bathroom cupboard. I was reusing the ones with spray nozzles to hold homemade alternatives, then impatience and a chance conversation at the local chemist led me to better alternatives.

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Who knew brown could be so pretty? New brown bottles, old clear jar.

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How much does it cost? Week 2

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That’s not a zucchini … THIS is a zucchini 😉 Homegrown goodness!

Finally I have time to write about week 2 of the “as organic as possible, waste-free grocery shopping” experiment.

As mentioned in week 1, some people are concerned that waste free = expensive. Buying organic also costs more than normal produce, so I’m going to do a little experiment to see how much I spend each week on groceries. This unfortunately not unfortunately will be hindered by the fact we’re on holidays from 21 August, but hey, it’s still worth doing the sums.

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How much does it cost? Week 1

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First haul of the month

Some people have concerns that waste free is expensive. Buying organic also costs more than normal produce, so I’m going to do a little experiment to see how much I spend in August on all groceries. This unfortunately not unfortunately will be hindered by the fact we’re on holidays from the 21st, but hey, it’s still worth doing the sums.

The cost of living in Switzerland is the highest in the world. Isn’t that just peachy?! Although we don’t live in one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world (Zürich and Geneva make that list), it still costs a pretty penny to enjoy the spoils of the country’s capital, Bern. Continue reading →

Washing with water

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We’ve come to the end of Plastic Free July and what an enjoyable, eye-opening time it’s been. I’ve met some lovely business owners and workers who understand the concept of producing less waste and will write about that in another post or two.

In July, I definitely reduced my plastic intake, but of course, no one is perfect so a few things still crept in. But I didn’t touch the top four nasties – bottled water and softdrinks, straws, all unnecessary* plastic bags (as per normal) and takeaway tea or hot chocolate (I don’t drink coffee). These are small but life-affirming wins for me!

I set another self-imposed challenge for the month … to finally do “no poo” – where you don’t wash your hair with shampoo or conditioner. Read more about the whole concept at this website. Some people wash with baking soda and rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar, others use solid soap and/or conditioner bars, some just even use conditioner only, but I wanted to be as minimal as possible.

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What to do with leftover material

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This top used to be a dress, but it was a bit … ahem … clingy around the hips.

I still love the pattern, so rather than donate the dress, I decided to make it into a top. Unfortunately I’m not a seamstress, so I took it to a dressmaker to do a professional job. It cost 20 Swiss Francs to alter.

The material is a very soft jersey, so when she gave me the leftovers, I wondered what I could do? Easy!

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