Wednesday, October 28, 2015

How to Help Save the Rain Forest at Home for Free


Have you seen this footage of the devastating effects of paper use on the rain forest?

I did. It got to me... this is what I'm doing to help stop it.




Ditch These Disposable 
Paper Products for Reusable Ones

Cut Down More Trees   Cut Down Less Trees                                                            
Paper coffee cup                                  Reusable mug
Paper plates                                          Real plates
Disposable diaper's                             Cloth diaper's
Throw away wipes                              Cloth and soap
Wrapping paper                                  Cloth gift bag/newspaper  
Gift cards                                              Email/call/visit                
Paper decorations                               Newspaper
Meat paper (at  the butcher/meat counter)            Reusable containers
Cupcake liners                                     Butter/Oil
Kleenex                                                  Hanky






Buy Recycled Products


Can't live without the disposable versions? Buy the 'Eco' version. Look for 100% post consumer content. If we don't buy products made out of recycled content we have no recycling system. Here is some common things that have 'made from recycled' options (less rain forest killy effects)


Toilette Paper
Paper Towels
Kleenex
Copy Paper
Paper Plates





Go Paperless

Here are some things you can do on-line instead of in print...


Bills Most companies have paperless billing available. You can go paperless with your CKL tax bill and Hydro One here

Magazines Read them on-line, typically an on-line subscription is cheaper too.

411 Do you ever use the print version any more? Cancel your Yellow Pages phone book delivery here




Use Scrap Paper/ Print on Both Sides


Pretty self explanatory!



Recycle Paper (properly)

Make sure what you recycle is actually getting recycled by making sure you are doing it properly. Check your municipal website for details. In CKL? click here






If you are thinking that just you doing this stuff will not make a difference- YOU ARE WRONG! You are that one person, that change that the whole world needs, 
your efforts do count!


Thanks for reading my blog!
Julia Taylor

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

It's Easy Being Green- unedited; Don't Feed The Ducks

My whole life I have enjoyed the lakes


The old L dock at the Fenelon beach, boating, and wakeboarding, fishing, and kayaking. Snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter, soaking in the breeze and cooling off in the summer. 


Never did I feel a responsibility to take care of the lake...until one sunny day a few years ago.

*Cue violin dream music*
It was a Sunday afternoon, and my husband and I were out fishing on our old tin boat in the south end of Sturgeon Lake near the floating cottages. On this day a family of ducks came to say hello and as we watched the baby ducks we noticed one scoop up a cigarette but into his mouth. Oh no, what will happen to that baby duck after eating a butt? Will he die? Then the baby spit the butt out- phew.
I wondered- why is there a cigarette butt floating in our lake?
Then it dawned on me.
Me- that's how!
I have been an on and off smoker since I was a teenager, a terribly hard habit to kick, and even though I would never litter and cared about the environment I threw my butts out the window of my truck. Maybe because my truck didn’t come with an ashtray? Maybe because the butt is so small that I didn’t think it was litter? I don’t know why.
At that moment I visualized the butt landing on the shoulder, eventually making its way to the ditch, that then flowing into the lake that I love so much.
From that day on I had an ashtray in my truck and if I was out and there was no ashtray I put it out and put it in my pocket- from that day on it was my garbage and my responsibility.

1 cigarette butt contaminates 1 litre of water- our lake water, and one cigarette butt is enough to poison an animal. 
Our Kawartha lakes give so much to us- let's give back by taking care of them and keeping litter out of them.

Did you know terracycle.ca recycles cigarette butts and gives a charity of your choice money for them? agreenerfuture.ca also gives out pocket ashtray's for free to help you keep your butts off the ground and out of our lake. Check them out!


Pocket ashtray


Thanks for reading my blog!
Julia Taylor


Wednesday, October 7, 2015

My 'No Poo' Experience

Blow dried curly, brushed out, and then curled with wand
Lot's of people are asking about it- let me tell you it is one of the biggest changes I have made on my green journey. It is weird, it is completely different, and it gets lots of compliments.











I have not shampoo'd my hair in a 5 months and it looks beautiful. In the years since I switched to natural/organic body care I have searched for the best shampoo and conditioner for my hair, never realizing that the packaging of these products effects the health of the environment and in turn my health- so I set out to reduce my packaging waste and the 'no poo' method fit in perfectly (and did not require me to start up a shampoo lab in my house.)


http://www.nopoomethod.com/

Frequently asked questions...

Do you need exlax?
No, not that kind of poo,

Does it stink?
No, actually the baking soda has a nice fresh smell.

How did you do it?
I started washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar every other day. 1/4 cup of baking soda to a 1 cup of water. 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of water.

How long did it take before worked?
Solidly- 2 months. The transition period is a bit painful but once you get used to it (if it works for you) it has great results. I had to mess around with the solution a bit to get it right.
Washed and blown out straight, touched with straitner 

Is you hair greasy?
When it gets greasy it needs to be washed.

Con's

  • Your hair literally feels like grease all the way to the tips when it is wet- it is a very different washing and brushing experience and it completely transforms the texture of your hair.
  • You will have to get used to the way it holds different styles.
  • Your brush is pretty much disgusting, washing it doesn't help.
  • Have you ever pet a dog and have a dirty hand after, that is almost what happens when you brush dry hair daily.
  • It is not sudsy washing so you just have to put the mixture in and smush it around.


Pro's (in my experience)

  • No split ends..
  • Looks amazing.
  • Does eventually get soft.
  • Holds styles very well.
  • Eventually you only need to wash it once a week.
  • Saves money not having to buy products. (ps I still use hair spray if I need to- just leave it in there after)
  • Saves the lakes (no toxic by products from shampoos going down the drain)
  • Did I say it looks amazing??


Conclusion
This is not for the faint of heart and does not work for everybody. It is something you have to see through and it is a big change to adjust to. If you commit to this process and it works for your hair type you will love it.


washed and air dried

Tips and tricks

  • Use apple cider vinegar every other wash (my hairdresser warned me it could dry out my hair, also she want grossed out or put off by me doing this- she had heard of it)
  • Brush your hair everyday
  • Make sure you ad warm water or add the water in the shower when you mix your solution- or you could be cold shocked!
  • When you tell people don't just tell them you have "no poo for 6 weeks" like I did- give them some pre context or you will get some funny looks



Side note-
I do not colour my hair, results could be different for regular colourers.






Thanks for reading my blog! I would love to hear your experiences with 'no poo'!
Julia Taylor
Washed, air dried, hot rollers- on day 2
@sogreenithurts
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