CELEBRATE YOUR MISMATCHED TABLE LINEN

Like most folks, for years, I believed that the best way to set a table was with matching sets of linen and china. But times have changed. I now find it a bit boring to set an entire table with all the exact same elements. Also, over the years, I’ve lost several of my prior uniform-looking plates and linens. And I’m not willing to toss the things I’ve had for a quite a while. So, for the recent past, as often as not, I've ended up with mismatched table settings. And why not celebrate it?

Maybe you consider this kind of mismatching to be rustic, bohemian, whimsical or just crazy. But I think the mismatched table is totally suitable for most any occasion and, most of all, practical.

So, here’s the reasoning for this post. I had four red place mats that I bought for my Christmas three years ago and continue to use for casual table setting. They were a bit faded from washing and worn around the edges. Nothing wrong with them but I was bored with their appearance. I had also gotten tired of the coordinating red cloth table napkins that I’d bought for the Christmas table. Being a Bluebird, red-on-red - mats and napkins - was not my favorite look, so I gave them away.

But I still had three black napkins and two dark blue ones, parts of sets that I had acquired  over the past few years. They were all in fairly good shape and in colors that I liked. With my anti-consumerism banner held high, I wasn’t about to give into an impulse to go out and buy more table things.  I decided that I’d go with what I had.

I remembered reading somewhere that there were a couple of effective ways to approach your table setting mismatches.

Basically, these ways involved color and pattern. When you choose table elements that  are part of the same color scheme, they don’t seem to be so much mismatched, Your eyes read them as  coordinating because they’re all similar shades. In the same way, similar pattern, even with different colors also helps to bring together a nice mismatched look.

Here's how I pulled together my mismatched table linen using my skills in crochet.

Similar crocheted stitched bring together my mismatched look.

My plan was to  create a similar element that would bring together the red mats and the black and dark blue napkins.

I did that with one skein of bright blue sock-weight worsted yarn, thus playing down the Christmas red look.

I crocheted around the edges of the red mats with the blue yarn using a simple shell pattern and a double thickness of the yarn. Each mat took me about two hours to crochet.

Using the  same yarn, with a single thickness, I worked on the napkins. First, I took an embroidery needle and sewed a blanket stitch around the edges. Then, I was able to add a simple crochet edge. Because the blanket stitching was a bit slow, I took as long finishing each napkin as I had for each mat.

You can see the results in the pic. And I think it’s quite nice for my all occasion table.

Maybe you’ll want to try to do just what I did. Or you might like to experiment with another kind of mismatched table setting. Whatever you do, be confident that you’re decorating instincts are going to help you carry off mismatching with pizazz. So be bold and play with with colors, patterns and shapes. You can be sure that you’re setting a one-of-a-kind table that others will notice (and, more than likely, appreciate).

TWO COOKBOOKS ARE ENOUGH FOR ME.

Well, for those of you who haven’t heard from me in months, I’ve been busy changing my home space and continuing – with only occasional stumbles - on my minimalist journey. The change was radical. We bought an old RV. And for the past four months we – my husband and I – have lived in a 30-foot RV along with our one gray, outdoor cat. Our RV is parked in a rather large, tree-lined mobile park. Here, we have all the services and Internet for our general creature comfort. 
 
On the basis of our recent experiences, I can say that  life can improve by living with less - all that depending, of course, on what sort of person you are. For us, the minimalist life is challenging, empowering and fun. Saying no to consumer overkill is a tough skill to acquire, but once we had it, we easily gave up a bunch of things that other people still cling to and started to live life on your own terms. 

As we were to become RV full-timers, we prepared to rid ourselves of virtually everything that we deemed unnecessary. And, for us, holding on to just the essentials is a great satisfaction.
 
What fits, in the way of furniture, are only the original RV built-ins. So, all our old furniture had to go. Other personal possessions needed to be weeded out. For example, my wardrobe is now a third of what it was 12 months ago. My husband's held on to about half of the clothes he had. As for household items, we started downsizing a while back when we still lived in regular housing. We took an audit of our bedding, towels, toiletries, kitchen items, electronics. We kept only the best and what we truly used. We got rid of one of our cars 12 months ago. Now we have only one small car and a motorcycle that gets my husband to work. That seems just right for our life in a small town where almost everything is less than a half-hour drive. 

Despite our efforts to prepare for life in the RV, we had to face the fact that the living space is extremely limited – beyond what we could have imagined. So, for the first two months in the RV, we rented a storage unit for the overflow. We also gave a lot away to friends and to the thrift store. We were still cramped for space. There was a real lack of space for my kitchen stuff. And I thought I didn’t have so much. Well, as I’ve found out, I had way much more than I needed. At first, I had kitchen stuff hidden in every sort of place well beyond the tiny kitchen - into the living area and under the bed. I realized that I would have to sort through and keep just what was the most necessary. And that I’ve done and probably will continue to do over the next few months. 

Also, when we moved in, I knew that we wouldn’t have space for a formal book shelf. Our books had to be tucked away in a couple of overhead compartments. That meant that the total - for me - couldn’t be more than a couple of dozen books. And, as in other areas of my material life, I thought about why I was holding onto treasured things and what would happen if I let them go. I spent a whole morning sorting through and donated about thirty books to a community library. And, now, I am the proud owner of 20 books – 6 non-fiction, 12 yoga and self-help books, and just two cookbooks. (Because of their usefulness, cutting back on cookbooks was something that I found especially difficult.)

Finally, settling down to just two cookbooks.

Anyway, that’s the introduction to what I’m talking about today – the downsizing of my cookbook collection. Just a year ago, I had - maybe - twelve cookbooks of all sizes, shapes, age and content. I had believed - erroneously, I imagine - that twelve was a small number. Twelve seemed to be only a few when compared to some friends who report having as many as fifty cookbooks. (What they do with all of them I really don’t know.) It seems if you love to cook, you probably have been collecting a lot of cookbooks. So, this must be a particularly challenging area for library downsizing. 

Of the dozen that I had in the apartment, I'd kept three cookbooks for the RV kitchen. They were: Better Home and Gardens - classic loose-leaf, 5-ringed edition, Frugal Gourmet, and a really old, paperback Joy of Cooking that I'd been carrying around for decades. I felt rather proud of myself for having eliminated well over half of my collection. Still, after a while, I realized that I didn’t need all three and decided to do something about it. Going only e-recipe cooking wasn't a good option for me. While I do sometimes look up recipes on the Internet, most of the time I prefer the tried and true meals from traditional cookbooks. The recipes that I use tend to be easily made as given or simply modified accorded to my whim or, more often, after the lack of one or another ingredients that are included in the write-up. I also had a collection made up of recipe clips from magazines, Internet print-outs and fully hand-written pages. 

For most of the dishes that I like to make, I choose recipes from cookbooks with traditional American recipes. But then, again, I occasionally want to do some ethnic dishes – mostly Indian, Italian and Mexican. I really don't care much about the photos. Also, fortunately, I had no sentimental cookbook inherits from my mom or grandmas.

What I finally did was keep the Better Homes and Gardens. That was the most useful as it was – minus the meat, fish, and poultry sections that I removed. As a vegetarian, I was 99+% sure that I wouldn't be using anything in those sections. I held onto about forty separate pages of ethnic cooking recipes from the Frugal Gourmet book. It was an old paperback and falling apart, anyway. So, I didn't have to feel so bad about that. I put the Frugal Gourmet pages in the Better Homes and Gardens book, punching holes and separating them into the same food divisions already there.   My diverse recipe clips were transferred to hand-written pages in a special binder that I found on sale at the bookstore. The twenty or so Joy of Cooking pages that I saved were small and fit into plastic page covers in the binder. To tell the truth, a good part of the things in the binder are still in the form of printed pages, computer printouts or magazine clips, awaiting the day, if it ever comes, when I get around to transferring them into nicely hand-written pages.

For those of you who like the idea of cutting back to only a few cookbooks, I urge you to do so. Just start slow and enjoy the activity. Look at one book at a time. Take time to pull the book off the shelf and consider if it's really worth it according to your time and skills. Honor your emotions. Send all those that don't make the cut to someone else, so they'll have a new home. Other books that aren't so valuable  can be donated to the thrift store. You should be happy with the remaining cookbooks. Any other recipe that you might need for some special occasion can easily be found on Internet cooking blogs.

NATURAL HOMEMADE DEODORANT

Some months ago, I read about how bad regular deodorant is for us. It seems that the popular anti-perspirant deodorants contain aluminum chlorhydrate, a toxic compound linked to brain disorders and cancer. Some other new aluminum free anti-perspirants have appeared on the market. But whatever they have in them, if they work at all, stop up the sweat glands and that is also really bad for the immune system.
 

On the basis of this information, I refused to use any toxic deodorant ever again. I had two choices: go without or find a natural deodorant. I’d noticed that sometimes, in colder weather, I could go without using deodorant and not have any noticeable under-arm odor. But in summer and with heavy exercising, I needed some help to avoid a strong odor. I searched out the commercial natural products. It turned out that the natural deodorants that are commercially available are expensive.

There had to be a better way. I decided to make my own. So, I began to read the DIY blogs on the Internet. I tried a few of their recommendations. Some results of this initial experiments smelled strange or included essential oils that were expensive. Others just didn’t work and I ended up stinking. I didn’t give up. I kept on until I made something that was right for me. Eventually I succeeded.

And I’m sharing this effective (for me, at least) deodorant with you. I’ve never experienced any stains on my clothing. I’ve been using it once a day for a year now, and I swear by it. It’s easy to make, there are just a handful of natural ingredients, and it works.

Personal deodorant made from natural oils and cloves.

Clove and Oil Deodorant Recipe

One of those items in this easy homemade deodorant is clove. Cloves are very healthful. They have powerful antifungal, anitibacterial and antiviral properties.  The oils moisturize the skin. What's more, coconut oil is the 12-carbon Lauric Acid. When digested, it forms a monoglyceride called monolaurin. Both of these acids kill harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Ingredients

1/8 cup organic coconut oil

1/8 cup organic olive oil

5 whole organic cloves

You may use a bit of essential clove oil, if you don't want the whole cloves in the jar. Also they may be removed after a couple of days. The nice clove odor will stay on.

Put the ingredients in a small glass jar. (I use old pimiento jars.) Seal with a lid and keep in your bathroom. The process should take you about 5 minutes.

Use your fingers to spread a pea-sized amount under each arm and rub in for a few seconds. On hot summer days it’s totally melted and in winter it somewhat thicker. It still works well, despite temperature fluctuations. 

Your underarms may go through a short detox period when you’re getting used to your new, chemical-free deodorant. Give the deodorant at least 2-3 weeks to decide if it’s working for you. If you sweat a lot throughout the day or during workouts, you may want to reapply the deodorant another time during the day or use a little after-bath talco or organic cornstarch in addition to this product.

I recommend that you try making your own natural deodorant. Look around for some recipes. I believe that you’ll find one you like. It may well be the simple one described here. Beyond that, you’ll feel much better knowing that you are using a deodorant that is healthy for you and not costly to make.

JOYS OF AN EDITED & ORGANIZED CLOSET

I remember a time - not so long ago - when shopping for clothes meant going downtown or to the mall with any excuse of "needing" some clothing item, or having no excuse at all. It involved hours of endeavor - all morning or afternoon - going in and out of stores, trying on clothes. And often as not leaving the stores with several items, even though I’d gone there looking for something in particular.

 

Ah, and those were also the days when our credit cards had room for a few more purchases – not minding the ever-growing balance of debt that accumulated. Shopping was supposed to be sheer pleasure. On that basis, we bought a lot of stuff. Our closets overflowed.

Today, things have changed for many of us. Shopping for clothes isn’t at all what it was.  We’ve rejected crass consumerism. We'd feel embarrassed to flaunt our exit from the stores carrying so many bags. We also know that we should carry a personal, reusable shopping bag, or at the very least, leave the stores with as few disposable bags - paper over plastic - as possible. 

 

Also, of late we’ve embraced the concept of minimalism – for the home and for the closet. We no longer like to see our closets spilling over with outfits. We’ve found that some well chosen clothes – maybe just 20 or 30 items often work very well. And we allow ourselves something new only when we’re willing to give away a corresponding item. 

My winter wardrobe of 25 ítems

 

Closet minimalism is a good way to go. I recommend it. And why worry about limited closet space when what you really need takes up just a small space? If you like the idea, start editing your closet right away. It’s easier than you might think.

 

Start editing

Take all your clothes out of the closet and inventory them. You'll see that you have more clothes than you thought. There are probably several items that you used to love, but have gotten shoved to the back of the clothes rack. Some clothes no longer fit, others show wear, and some need zippers or buttons.

To begin your inventory, make five piles of clothes on the bed or floor.

The first pile is for “keepers” - those that fit and that you absolutely love and wear at least once a month.  

The second pile is for those things that fit but require dry cleaning or some minor repair. If you plan to keep them, take care of these needs right away.

The third pile is separated out for donation, selling or giving away. It includes clothes that no longer fit, are out-dated, or those you just don’t like anymore.

Pile four is made up of torn or stained clothes that nobody is likely to want. (I never recommend throwing out clothes. You can wear them around the house or to bed, or cut them into rags (for cleaning or craft projects.)

Pile five is for seasonal clothes or exceptionally good special occasion outfits. Store them in a box or clothing bag elsewhere in the house. You’ll get them out when you need them.



 All the shoes in my winter closet. (Boots are in boxes.)

Hang the "keeper" clothes back in your closet by groups of items -- such as coats, outer wear, dresses, skirts, blouses, dress pants, exercise wear -- or in some other order that makes sense to you. You may also need to sort through and edit the rest of your clothes - underwear, shoes, and accessories - before returning them to their places. 

Then, if you think that you still have too many "keeper" clothes, here are some further editing options.

Extreme wardrobe reductionism.  

You can further reduce your need for closet space and stop wasting time wondering what to wear. Do this by simplifying your clothing needs to 6, 8, or 10 well-coordinated outfits. Keep clothes that are simple in design and of the same color scheme, so you can mix and match.  Since you are going to have fewer items, you want to choose totally comfortable items.  Get rid of the rest. You never again have to dig deep in your closet to see if there’s stuff in there that you want to wear.

You won’t need many items at all, if you adopt a personal uniform style – everything is usable, by definition. Your uniform should be one of your choosing – a look that represents your inner self or, at least, that part of yourself you want to share with the outside world. Eliminate absolutely everything else. For example, there are women who always wear a suit to work. They have 4 or 5 suits that are simple in style and neutral in color. The individual pieces of the suits can be mixed and matched to create their entire professional wardrobe. Another sort of uniform, for women who are homemakers or casual-dress workers, would be 3 pairs of khaki pants (or nice jeans) and 5 blouses or shirts in similar style but varying colors. This kind of uniform can be worn year-round. 

Don't accumulate useless stuff again
Regardless of your editing criteria, once you've reduced your wardrobe, don’t allow yourself to accumulate a lot of stuff again. Remember, your best wardrobe is one that is full of clothes that you love and wear often.

When you decide that you really need to shop, don't buy several items, when you only need one. Also, think about alternatives to going downtown or to the mall. You don’t have to buy new clothes. Nice, gently used clothes are easily found. Visit yard sales. Go to thrift shops or vintage stores. You’ll probably find something that you like at a great price.

 
Check your closets and drawers every few weeks to see if they are still in the best possible order. You’ll find that your edited and organized closet will be a long-term source of personal satisfaction and confidence.

Note
Due to "popular request" and to my compulsive need to document most everything, here is a list of the 25 clothing items and shoes in my winter wardrobe. Gym/yoga clothes and at home grunges are not included.

2 black skirts/different textures
1 blue jean skirt
1 dress pants/black
2 blue jeans
1 "dressy" dress - LBD
2 cardigans/black & grey
2 pullovers/grey & black
3 jackets/black zip-up, black snap-up & blue jean
1 blazer (still need to buy)
1 parka/black
1 trench coat/medium blue
1 hooded sweat shirt/dark grey
4 short sleeve shirts/assorted colors
3-3/4 sleeve shirts/assorted colors

2 tennis/walking and running
2 heels/ closed with tie and closed with strap
2 boots/hiking and snow
flats with straps
chunky pull-on flats (still need to buy)

Related posts. http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2012/09/things-to-downsize-right-away-case-1.html http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-consumerism-still-tries-to-fool-us.html

DEPLASTICIZE MY LIFE – BEGIN IN THE KITCHEN, PLEASE!

Plastic is a petroleum product that's part of oil extraction industries. It's everywhere and it's long-term effects are incalculably bad. If you've been reading almost anything current, you’ve heard that our continuous exposure to plastic lowers our immune defenses setting us up for infections and even cancers. And it’s not just in our homes.  Plastics from litter and landfills have fouled up our water where they act as carcinogens and artificial estrogens.  Leached plastic is killing all forms of life in our lakes and oceans. And when marine animals are being poisoned, so are we when we eat any of it.

The plastics industry spends a lot of effort telling us that plastics are OK - that they're recyclable. But that’s a theoretical statement. The reality is that only a fraction of them are recyclable. And most of those that could be reused don't make it to the right place. Also, plastic recycling is energy intensive and, therefore expensive. Beyond that, even after you use the recyclable stuff as a car bumper or a lumber substitute, when it's over, it's over. The next step is the landfill or directly into some river, lake or ocean bottom.

Luckily there are some ways to reduce plastic use – beginning in the home.  And that’s the main reason for my impassioned plea – “DEPLASTICIZE MY LIFE!” Obviously, no one is going to do it for me. I have to do it myself. And it’s not easy and is taking me many weeks. Summing up the deplasticizing strategy: * STOP THE PLASTIC PLAGUE BY REFUSING TO BUY THE STUFF.*  

So, here’s a bit more about my progress, and I’m sharing this to raise awareness (and anger, why not?) about plastic exposure in the home and point out some practical ways that we can reduce that exposure.

There’s even a blog about a woman who spent a whole year without using plastic.  Maybe you and I aren't ready for that yet. But we can minimize our plastic use – beginning today - and redoubling our efforts ASAP.

Beginning my kitchen deplasticizing saga

A year or so ago, I began my deplasticizing saga on a small scale. My new campaign redoublea my efforts. I've begun with the easiest steps and am tackling the harder ones as the days go by. As of now, absolutely, no more plastic shopping bags are brought in. I take my cloth shopping bags with me with a small one where I put all the produce items, together. They have to sort them out at the market check-out counter. But that’s their problem. If they provided small paper bags for those things, they wouldn’t have to do the extra work. I also don't buy products that are wrapped in plastic whenever there is an alternative. Farmers’ markets usually sell their products plastic free, so I do a lot of my shopping, there.

Currently, my kitchen is 80% plastic free. Of course, I may never reach  an absolute of 100% free because there are plastics lids on a lot of things – like, for example, my stainless steel pans and the lid and base of my blender. I wouldn't know where to begin to replace them right now. And, of course, I'm not ready yet to get rid of all electric kitchen items – although I've thought about it – at least for the foreseeable future. I've got an electric refrigerator and stove, all of which have plastic components. 

While I’m almost sure that it doesn't make sense to try to eliminate plastics entirely – even in the kitchen - I'm doing what I can to reduce our food’s exposure to plastic.  It’s a question of a redo organization in the kitchen!  I've read that the most healthy and safest canisters and refrigerator containers for food are glass or stainless steel. So, there’s where I began. All my storage containers now have a glass base. Some still have plastic tops, for now.

New steps on my deplasticizing campaign

After the initial efforts that I just outlined, I began to look around in my kitchen cabinets, drawers and on the counters. Some plastic could be found in all those places. What to do? The first thing I decided to do was to buy absolutely *NO NEW PLASTIC ITEMS*. The heaviest weight stuff  – melamine plates and bowls – the ones that I use frequently, I’m keeping right now. They are still useful for cold lunch items and salads. All the hot stuff and food to be stored is always placed in glass containers.

I also have recently changed out my cooking utensils and the salt, pepper, and spice shakers for stainless steel and glass. It didn't cost me a fortune to do. I shopped around and came up with low-cost substitute items, all for less than five dollars, each.

As for more expensive purchases, I've had to take my time – only one per month. Just last month, I changed out my non-stick (plastic) rice cooker for a stainless steel one. The non-stick pizza maker is next on my list for removal – probably by buying a new countertop oven that accommodates 12-inch pizzas. I need a new one, anyway, and that way I’ll be able to use just one electric product instead of two.

Well, soon, my kitchen may be deplasticized to my satisfaction. But, I'll not stop there and be looking around at other areas of the house that also need a redo. I've already got a start on that. I’ve done away with most plastic containers in other areas of the house – all but, for now, the large storage boxes in the closet. I’m not sure what I could be using – except for, maybe, metal trunks. That would be expensive. So, I'll have to pause on that issue – at least, for now. Finding substitutes for my laundry basket and the waste cans shouldn't be very difficult.

Trade out plastic for stainless steel items.

At the present time, I’ve given up on plastic throwaway pens, pencils, and feminine razors. I use the refillable metal ones and an electric razor. What’s more, all my personal and cleaning products are made from coconut oil, sea salt, vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, and borax. The dry stuff comes in cardboard boxes and the other usually can be found in glass. If I can’t find something I need except in plastic and it’s in sufficient bulk and not expensive, I may choose it.  With these products, what I'm more concerned with is the use of non-toxic substances. Still, I transfer as much of these as I can to smaller glass containers. I currently buy a non-toxic bath soap bar, but I’d like to make my own soap bars sometime soon.

As you can see, deplasticizing is an adventure. It took us (people on this planet) less than 70 years – post 1950 – to get to this terrible state of affairs. But, I've challenged myself that before this year is out, my home will be 90% plastic free. Will you join me in this campaign?

THE SEARCH FOR A BETTER TABLE SPREAD

I'm always looking for ways to prepare and eat REAL FOOD - or, at least, as close to it as we can get these days when so much of the readily available stuff is full of empty calories and toxins. For my own health and that of my family members, I've learned over the years to make most food from scratch. Among other things, it was important to me to have a healthy and tasty spread for my toast and to put on the veggies.

Store-bought margarine was out because it was made from what I consider non-food contents and loaded with chemicals. Of course, I also wanted to keep within a budget - since my household income hasn't increased more than a smidgeon in five years while food costs have doubled - or it seems that way to me. Am I wrong on this?

Obviously, I wanted to use only "natural foods" in my table spread. That pretty well ruled out industrially processed vegetable oils. There are a lot of problems with those oils. One hundred years ago, most people didn't consume any vegetable based oils. Today, US people consume mostly vegetable oils such as canola, corn, cotton seed and soy. The soaring increase in vegetable oils occurred after the 1950s. That's when the government launched a campaign to convince people to eat industrial oils and margarine and thus, avoid butter and other "artery-clogging saturated fats." According to the theory, then promoted, saturated fats were the cause of so many heart attacks and that dietary change was going to change all that. Well, butter and lard in the diet decreased substantially over the years but the use of cheap industrial oils went through the roof - to a current average of 70 pounds per year per person. (For sure, a lot of this has to do with the meteoric rise of the fast food industry where processed foods and cooking grease and oil are the basis of most of what's served.)

Our collective health, as we are well-aware, has not improved over the sixty or more years since that campaign. Instead, as a nation, half or more of us are overweight and have chronic (diet-related) diseases. Part of the reason that we have so much illness comes from the unnatural oils we are consuming. Vegetable oils contain very high levels of polyunsaturated fats, something human bodies can't use well - leaving us fat but not well-fed. Nutritional science knows that saturated- and monounsaturated fats, in modest quantities - is what we need. Another problem is that polyunsaturated fats are unstable and oxidize easily - during processing, by light exposure while sitting on shelves or, later on, in our very own bodies. Oxidized fats cause cell mutation. These mutations cause cellular inflammation and clog arteries. Is it any wonder that we have so much cardio-vascular disease and cancer?

Well, my answer to this dilemma is to make my own tubs of buttery spread. When I first started making this spread I just used olive oil and butter. Later, I added coconut oil to the mix. That gives it a bit more consistency and a lighter flavor.  I like the combo of flavors. My husband doesn't - says he doesn't need butter at all. So, I continue to use my combo for cooking and he uses only olive oil on bread and baked potatoes. Someday I'd like to follow his guidance - less use of dairy products - but haven't done so yet.

In the meantime, I have my own table spread - one that doesn't have a list of ingredients a mile long and is free of potentially toxic additives. It's super easy to make.


A healthy table spread that's easy to make.

Grandma's Own Not-Margarine Spread  (makes about a pound)


Ingredients (organic and extra virgin varieties are recommended)

1/2 pound butter (two sticks)
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup coconut oil
dash sea salt (or more if you like it salty)

Directions
Put out all ingredients close to the stove to get warm. When all are soft, take a small spatula and whip them together. You could use a blender or food processor to do this but I find it unnecessary. When there are no more important lumps, you've got your spread.

Press your spread into a clean glass jar. Store it in the fridge. The color of course, will tend to be a bit greenish rather than bright yellow. Once, I put some turmeric in the spread thinking that it would look more yellow but that didn't turn out so good. It looked an even brighter green! Also worth noting - not all olive oils are light tasting so plan to try out a couple of different brands until you find what's best. Beyond that, this otherwise good table spread but may not be the best substitute in baking. You'll probably have to experiment with that to find the fats that work for you.

Closing thoughts
With this recipe you can get along without the use of vegetable oils for your table spread. It is also advisable to stop using them for cooking and baking. I use butter, olive and coconut oil for all kitchen uses. On the other hand, a huge challenge still comes from processed foods. If you look on the label of most processed foods, you'll see "partially hydrogenated corn/soybean/etc. oil" or "may contain soybean, canola, or other vegetable oil". These products are not good for you. Stop buying them.  If you're pressed for time during the week, cook up several healthy meals on the weekend and freeze the portions that your family needs. That way you won't be so inclined to buy quick-cook dinners or stop by fast food places.

YOU DON'T NEED A TOXIC BOMB TO STOP UNDERARM ODOR

Underarm odor. Now, that's a touchy subject.  And one that we've been taught to deal with by using the "right product."

Most of us women were told to begin using a store-bought deodorant when we reached puberty. It was a rite of passage, just like the introduction to sanitary pads (back-in-the-day) or tampons, more recently.

Times have changed.

Of course, we’re still concerned - most of us, anyway - with the possibility of offending someone with our potentially strong underarm odor. But, great news has been withheld from us for too long. We don't need a toxic bomb to stop the stench, and that’s what most commercially sold deodorants are. While the industrial DEO situation is grim, we can fight back by tackling our underarm odor naturally.

We don't need those commercial personal products that have so many harmful chemicals in them. We have the right to choose what we put on our skin. And it's about time we exercised that right. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't do much about the safety of personal care products and cosmetics. In the European Union, there are well over a thousand banned chemicals in personal products while in the USA, there are ten or so.

While most conventional antiperspirants work well, they are really a chemical overkill with numerous harsh and cancer causing substances - beginning with aluminum, parabens and chemical fragrances. Just read the scary ingredients printed on the labels of the store-bought deodorants. Those DEOs are bad news because whatever we put on our skin - anywhere on our beautiful bods - ends up in the bloodstream and then moves into our organs.

We can start our healthy - and sweet smelling - hygiene by eating a good diet,  drinking enough filtered water and taking a daily shower. That definitely cuts down on body odor. But, sadly, for many, it's not enough.  Luckily, for those of us who long for natural options, there is a way. We can make our own healthy deodorant.

Natural DEO is easy to make.

I demanded healthy armpits and found a recipe that absolutely beats B.O. And I have been using it for about as long as I can remember - with no major slip-ups - even during hot, stressed out and sweaty days.

This DEO offers a lot. It’s effective, non-toxic, costs only a few pennies, and has no wasteful packaging. (And, in my opinion, it’s awesome to have happy armpits and, at the same time, wield a blow to harmful consumerism.)

The best part is that it's made up of things that probably are already in your kitchen. These things go into your food. And, if it's found in good, healthy food, it's got to be the same when spread out over your skin.

Healthy Homemade DEO
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil - organic is best

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch - organic is best

Essential Oils (optional)

Small glass jar - recycled is best.

Just stir up everything in a bowl with a fork or spatula and transfer it into the jar. Then, take a small amount on your fingers and apply it to your underarms. It dries right away. And, like most commercial DEO's, it's best used once or twice daily, according to your needs.

This DEO works. The baking soda stops odor, the cornstarch absorbs moisture, and the coconut oil makes it stick together and offers antiseptic properties. Essential oils help it smell nice. You’ll be ever so pleased with this made-healthy-at-home DEO.

And, hey, just a few decades ago it was common to apply a deodorant cream. We can do that again, if that's what it takes to avoid harmful chemicals.

There are only two warnings that I can think of for your natural DEO. First one - try it first on a small area of your skin - to test for some kind of (highly unlikely) allergy. Second one - it's probably best to use up each batch within a calendar month.

Keep your homemade DEO at room temperature for easy application. If it gets too gooey (something that can happen in hot weather), leave it in the refrigerator between uses. You'll find that it won't be shockingly cold by the time you put it on your fingers. Another way to tackle the summertime goo problem is to add a bit more cornstarch - or small amount of beeswax - to the mixture.

MY (ALMOST ALL) HOMEMADE LIQUID DISH SOAP

Making your own household cleaning products isn't really such a big deal – but it may seem that way at first. The truth is that it’s actually easier than you may think. It’s all a matter of routines. That’s what I told myself when I began this adventure with homemade laundry detergent. And on my very first try, happily, it that turned out to be an excellent product - far superior and much cheaper than anything I could buy at the big box store.  .

After that, I felt that I could also make my own homemade liquid dish soap - something that I use a lot of  because I totally lack a dish wash machine. (And that's a condition that I've had most of my adult life, making me a more-than-experienced dishwasher by hand.) It turned out that all my early tries at making a homemade dish soap failed – for months. And all those trials were in contrast to my homemade laundry detergent that was a success from the very first.

The recipes for homemade dish soap – and there are many of them online - kept falling short of my needs. Most weren’t soap-like at all. Some were slippery and thin and others just didn’t suit me at all because they left a nasty oily scum on the dishes. After many tries, I finally came up with something that works for me.  The recipe that I’m following now leaves squeaky-clean dishes and glassware and rinses off without any residue. And I don’t hesitate to share with others.  It takes only a few minutes to make – in my case, that’s 5 minutes about twice a week. That's pretty good return for my time considering that I've lowered my dish soap bill to about 15% of what it was just a few months ago.

The best part of it is that this homemade dish soap is earth-friendly. We all know that most commercial dish soaps are loaded with toxins, and even some of the "green" cleaners contain harsh chemicals. Beyond that, the second ingredient in many popular store brands is sodium lauryl sulfate, something that is considered to be a health-hazard and a carcinogen. So, why continue using products that we know are bad for us and for the environment? And that, especially, when we come across a recipe for an eco-friendly liquid dish soap that is non-toxic and does a great job.

This dish soap is non-toxic, cheap and works! 

Ingredients
-1 and 1/2 cups of boiling hot water (with some lemon, orange and/or grapefruit peels thrown in, if you like a bit of pleasant odor).

- 3 heaping tablespoons of grated laundry soap

-1 teaspoons of super washing soda

- 1 teaspoons of borax

Using your homemade dish soap
I use a funnel to put all the dry ingredients in a glass 2-quart, recycled fruit juice bottle. Next, I dump in the almost boiling water - having removed the fruit peels - in the bottle and stir vigorously with a chopstick. Then, I add a quart of plain cool water and shake it all up.

So, as you  see, this recipe is super easy. You just make up the batch right in the bottle. It’s initially somewhat liquid but it thickens up after it cools. If it’s too thick later on, just shake it up,  add a little warm water, and give it a good shake. It'll do fine.

As to the dishwashing method, this may take a bit of a variation over what you usually do with commercial products. I transfer a quarter cup or so of the liquid to a plastic bowl and wash my dishes with the dish rag, separately – meaning that I don’t let the dishes soak together and rinse them, one-by-one. The soap suds up only the slightest bit on the rag and it's better not to add more water to the rag while washing a dish (or a few dishes at a time, depending on the amount of grease to be eliminated).

NOTES: The amount of thickeners needed - washing soda and borax - may vary some, depending on your water supply, so adjust accordingly. Although I wouldn’t want everyone to quote me on this, you may still have to throw in a couple of squirts of a commercial dish soap (the most natural one you can find) to be sure that you get great results. Sure, that’s an added expense but it may be the best way to go with very hard water - like I have.  I only have to buy one small bottle of commercial soap every three months. For me, it's well worth the extra few cents.

The homemade dish soap that I make doesn't hurt my hands. But, it may bother yours - washing soda and borax are fairly strong chemicals. So, be prepared to use gloves for dish washing if you notice any skin redness or itching.

Related post
HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT IS A NO-BRAINER

COOKING OIL SPRAYS: ANOTHER THING TO THROW AWAY - FOR GOOD.

A lot of foodie-consumer-products are touted to be natural-like and more convenient for you. And some of them are supposed to help you cut calories. The reality is that most of that is just BIG-FOOD manufacturers' hype. Less costly natural ingredients are almost always more healthy and don't have to seriously add to food preparation time. The case in point, here, concerns commercial cooking sprays in aerosol cans. They contain oils, an emulsifier and a propellant to create a fine mist of oil onto a surface making it nonstick for cooking. The sprays are expensive relative to regular cooking oils. They also use many more natural resources - particularly, the aluminum cans.

This post urges you to toss out the oil spray can and get cooking in a healthier way. And, if you still need convincing, here is some more bad news about aerosol cooking sprays.

Unhealthy additives.
The aerosols in use in these sprays tend to be toxic chemicals and, even in tiny amounts, can't be good for your health. Just one glance at the ingredients and you'll know that it isn't pure or natural. Yeah. Ugly things like soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, dimethylpolysiloxane, dimethyl silicone, and artificial flavors. The long-term effects of eating these chemicals on a regular basis are not well known but can't be good. As to lawful half-truths in advertising, some have simply listed a "propellant" as ingredient. Needless to say, they don't want to have to spell out what substances are in there. But word has it that the usual propellants are petroleum gas, propane, and butane. (Anyone in their right mind would want to avoid propellants.)

Genetically modified foods (GMO’s)
Most of the soy, corn, or rapeseed/canola commercialized in the US is GMO. (And that's as much as 90 percent according to some sources.) For years, scientific studies have shown that GMOs create health risks such as infertility, auto-immune disorders, diabetes, and changes in the gastrointestinal system. GMO foods also contain higher levels of pesticides than conventional crops.

Damage to the lungs
Because the aerosol particles are so tiny, you just can't stand back far enough to get away from them when you spray. So the cook - and any one else nearby in the kitchen - is always breathing in some part of the spray when they are in use. Over time, that kind of chemical exposure is a serious risk for respiratory disease.

Bad for the environment
Most cooking sprays contain propellants, all of which are greenhouse gases. That can't be good for the earth.  And the nitrous oxide, used in some, is particularly bad in that it doesn’t break down easily. That means they create environmental damage for many decades.

Unnecessary packaging
The manufacture of aluminum cans represents huge amounts of resources. Then, after use, most of the spray cans end up in landfills. Only a small fraction get recycled. But those also require a recycling, a process that involves a great deal of heat and electricity.

Help solve the oil spray can problem by not participating in it.
Don’t look to BIG-FOOD manufacturers to do you favors. Now that you know more about them, do you actually want to use cooking sprays? And the same can be said for many other foodie-consumer-products. Real food, in the form of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, and good grade oils, bought as fresh as possible and prepared in the kitchen is what's best for you.

You can always do just what has been done for centuries by carefully using the right amount of oil for each type of food preparation. I remember that as a young girl, we used measuring spoons to add the oil. We also spread out the oil with our fingers onto the baking sheets. But, now-a-days, we tend to do our best to avoid such direct contact with the gooey oils. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of good ways to do spread out the oil without skin contact.

Solutions to the cooking spray can dilemma.
If you think you can't live without cooking sprays, there are some really good options to the commercial ones. And these alternative are less costly in the long run, more earth-friendly, and healthier.

First, you can always buy a hand-pump mister bottle at a big box store and fill it with your favorite cooking oil. But these misters tend to clog up and need a lot of unstopping. (I tried them a while back and decided it just wasn't worth all the fuss.) 

 

Second, you can do what I do now to avoid the use of commercial sprays. I dispense my regular cooking oils - sunflower, coconut and olive oil - with a drip pour spout. I drizzle a few drops of oil into the pan or skillet. If I need a more uniform way of spreading it out - like for baking tins - I use a small silicon spatula to baste the oil onto the cooking surface. I use two bottles - one for regular cooking oil and another for olive oil. The color-coded caps keep me from grabbing the wrong one in a rush.

The little bottles with drip spouts are recycled soy sauce containers. I bought the spatula at a big box store. They work well and clean up perfectly with warm water and regular dish washing suds.
 

TOP SHEETS BEGONE: A ZERO-ENERGY WIN/WIN

You know you really don't need them. And, despite the fact that your mom and grandma used them... and even though sets come with them, that doesn’t mean you have to use them. It's a European custom that's time has come. SO, OUT WITH THE TOP SHEETS. You can sleep just as well or better without them. And it can save on energy, too.

Beds in several European countries - if not all - have a duvet, a bottom sheet, but no top sheet. While the European duvet, is a bit thicker and warmer than a top sheet, it’s still usable most of the year. And, it's about the same as making a bed with a spread, light blanket or comforter. So, unless the bedroom is around 90 degrees in summer, a spread or light blanket - preferably cotton or bamboo - or a lightweight comforter is what's called for, anyway.

I know I always need a light blanket because my husband insists on air conditioning in the night. He sweats a lot, even in a room that I find comfortably cool - or cool enough - and says the sweat wakes him up. Anyway, the top sheet almost always could be found kicked down to the very bottom of the mattress or slid totally off the bed - all this making for more clutter and confusion in the early morning.

 

Beyond that, my husband is an above-the-sheets and on-top-of-covers sleeper. He’s that way both summer and winter. As for me, I do my best to stay covered up all night but often find myself half awake, tugging to get back some control of my bed real estate. That’s because my husband, free from all bedclothes restrictions and sleeping soundly, usually traps me in a small space on my side of the bed and with almost all the bed linen pulled under his body. So, sans top sheet, I may still have to contend energetically for bed space and cover but, at least, there’s one thing less to fight over.



Beds without top sheets look just as good.

My awakening to this brighter future happened – in a flash - this past week when I ripped off the top sheet and made the bed without it.  Before, it was a real chore and I did it grudgingly.  I find it easier to make the bed and it looks just as good in less than half the time. Now, I've sworn to always make the bed this way.

So, I've just revived this clutter-busting custom that I did years ago when I lived alone. That leaves me with one less chore in the morning. It's ever so much easier to throw a light comforter or spread over the bed than to actually make it - top sheet and all.

And having less total sheets means more room in my closet. And I do appreciate the extra space. That, since I don't actually have a linen closet but make do with a couple of plastic bins in the master closet. So, I’ve cheerfully given my top sheets to the thrift store to be recycled by someone – who still likes top sheets or even better yet wants to make bottom, fitted sheets out of them or convert them into curtains.

Also, without the added top sheet, more dirty clothes fit into the washer along with the coverlet and pillowcases. And that means water and detergent savings. It also means that you have one item less to fold up before storing it somewhere.

The top-sheet disappearance is a part of my zero-energy campaign – that being, both using less outside energy and also less housekeeping energy. So, to me, at least, living without top sheets is a definite win/win.

 

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD: TOWELS FOR EXAMPLE.

Only yesterday I had proof that my husband doesn’t follow all my blog posts. Or if he reads them, he sometimes glosses over them or misses the message. Just something less than two years ago, I wrote about the need to downsize on bathroom towels. At the time, I gave a lot of - what I thought were - good reasons for doing it. You can read it (link below) and decide for yourself just how good the reasons were. And they still are good reasons as far as I’m concerned.

But, back to my first comment, it all happened when my husband came home for lunch and saw me crocheting the edge of a towel. You’ve undoubtedly seen those towels. They are rather small and made of thin cotton. That’s just the point. Since my decision two years ago to downsize on towels, I’ve had to purchase a couple of thin towels for myself. I found them at the dollar store. My husband continues to use the old “regular” ones that we bought ten years ago and, by some miracle, continue to tolerate frequent machine washing. He wouldn’t let me get rid of his plush treasures when I did my first post on towel downsizing. So, I’m the one who uses thin ones.

On seeing me crochet yesterday, he asked what I was doing. I said: “ I’m crocheting an edge on these cheap, dollar store towels because if I don’t, they ravel out and look terrible. With this edging, they hold up just fine.”

Dollar store towels look pretty good with crocheted edging.

His reply was: “ We can afford to buy good bath towels.” Roughly translated, I suppose he meant that I was AGAIN wasting my time on a rather useless project. I answered him, saying: “I like these towels and do this to keep them serviceable for a long time.” That was enough to quiet him, especially since I got up right then and got busy serving lunch.

But some hours later, I thought that - maybe - I should post more about my decision to use thin, cotton towels rather than the usual fluffy ones. Like my husband, maybe my readers missed that post – so far back in time. Or perhaps I didn’t explain myself as well as I should have. So, here I am with another post the subject of bath towels.  The theme for this one is: JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN (afford to buy fluffy towels), DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD (buy them).

It has everything to do with the harmful effects of the cotton industry

Cotton is a natural product. “Natural” sounds like, maybe, ecological. Unfortunately, cotton growing is not earth-friendly. Being “natural” doesn’t mean that it’s something sustainable.

The sad truth is this.  Cotton growing involves the most intensive pesticides use of any agricultural product in the world. The annual cotton crop accounts for 22.5 percent of all insecticides, herbicides and defoliants used at the global level. And all those toxins end up harming wildlife and contaminating other foods that we eat.

Water use is another concern. Growing enough cotton for one T-shirt requires 257 gallons of water. Think about how much water goes into producing the plush towel that seems like such an good buy for $6 to $10. The polluted wastewater emissions from cotton fields and textile industry also weigh heavy on the environment. What’s more, due to the intensity of cotton farming, cotton in many poor countries makes up for a large percentage of agricultural land - so much so that the local population can’t even cultivate their own food.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s the question of genetically modified cotton. GM cotton hasn’t got much world attention because cotton is falsely considered to be a non-food crop. But food is also an issue here. Cottonseed oil is used for cooking and in animal feed. 
 

We all can make better choices.

So, that’s why I choose thin towels over plush ones and the reason that I want my towels to last for a very long time. And besides all that, the shell-crocheted edge makes my simple towels more attractive – something that I like. After all, it takes me only about three relaxing hours to finish crocheting the edges of a towel, and the cotton yarn I'm using is left over from an earlier project.
 

Fluffy bath towels are among the things you can easily acquire but that, most likely, you shouldn’t (now that you know some of the problems involved.) But, of course, the same can be said of a huge number of other “convenient” consumer products that - thinking more clearly about it – seem to be motivated more by personal vanity than by need. Other examples (and even bigger ones) that come to mind are brand new cars, wide-screen TVs, smart phones, all-round sound systems, etc. But those are subjects of future posts, if I ever get around to them.

Earlier posts

THINGS TO DOWNSIZE RIGHT AWAY: CASE #1 – LARGE, FLUFFY BATH TOWELS
HOW CONSUMERISM (STILL) TRIES TO FOOL US