TIME OF YEAR TO PLANT A SALAD GARDEN

It’s the end of February and for many of us in the Deep South and Southwest, the heart turns to love - lovely visions - of beautiful veggies growing right outside our doors. That’s just where I am right now. My house doesn't have a lot of space around it but that doesn’t keep me from dreaming about a garden and pursuing those dreams – on a small scale, of course. Also, I’ll be taking care of the garden myself. So, I want to plant just a few kinds of veggies and those that are hardy enough to have a high probability of success. That’s why, at this time, I’m contenting myself with a salad garden.

As of today, I’ve chosen six veggie items for my salad and salsa garden along with marigolds to go on the perimeter to chase away unwanted insects. This is going to be a four-foot, square garden design. Come May, it’s going to be packed – Hopeful Hazel that I am - with loads of fresh salad goodies. And, when I think of a delicious fresh salad, there are some vegetables that I definitely want on my summer table. Small as it is, the size of this garden is large enough to provide a good amount of ingredients for many green, summer salads and salsas.

Here’s what I’m planting in my garden.

Seeds now but a promise of salad bounty all summer long.

Jalapeno pepper plants
Tomato plants
Mixed lettuce plants
Red radishes
Green onions
Cilantro
Marigold plants

As you can see in the photo, all the seeds are of USDA organic and I’ve bought a huge bag of organic soil to plant them in. I found it all at a BIG-BOX Hardware Store. Is it all I could want in a salad garden? Well, of course, not. I’d love to also have green peppers, squash, cucumbers and more herbs. But for space and time reasons, I’ll settle on what I believe is enough - for now.

The area for my garden is very limited, just a strip of yard on the side of the house. So, it will be only one bed about four feet square. And that’s small enough that I won’t have to lean or crawl very far to work the garden. I’m also being very selective about the kinds of veggies I’ve chosen. These veggies require little space so when they produce, they’ll fit in a compact area. The garden will be beside a high wooden fence that will help shade the plants for part of the day, a plus for our usual high temperatures beginning in May. There won’t be any need of industrial fertilizers either. I’ve purchased plenty of organic soil and I’ve started my compost pile at the end of the back yard.

Don’t just dream. Plant that garden.
I hope the plans for my new salad garden start you daydreaming about the possibility of planting  your own veggies this spring. You don’t have to have so much space in your yard – a small salad garden like mine is a good way to begin. Even if you are an apartment dweller, you can have pots of veggie plants on your patio or in window boxes that get a lot of afternoon sun. Also, for some, it may be possible to go together with family or neighbors and plant a community garden on a larger plot of land.

The research and money for planting and maintaining a small garden are minimal. A bigger challenge will be the hours needed to take care of it. When you have your own garden, you need to take good care of the plants, watering, weeding, and looking out for pests. But, if you start out small, you shouldn’t have any overwhelming problems. The rewards are many. You’ll save a lot of money on food costs and the veggies you harvest will be healthier for your family than what you buy at the store. You’ll feel even prouder of yourself, when you use organic gardening methods, compost for fertilizer, and flowers in the same beds to repel unwanted insects. And there are important social benefits of gardening, too – you’ll be able to share your bounty.

Update March 1, 2015
Seeds are now planted in pots. The wait begins for the little seedlings to appear. I've planted a lot more than I can use - if all come up. so. I'll probably have little seedlings to share with friends and neighbors.

Related posts http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2012/08/bound-to-get-raves-summer-vegetable.html
http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2011/04/collect-rain-water-for-garden-use-and.html
http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2011/05/pickling-treasured-way-to-process.html

CHOOSING TEA OVER COFFEE: ONE HUMBLE EXAMPLE OF VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY.

When, a few months ago, my husband and I began to discuss voluntary simplicity, we knew we had a lot of not-so-comfortable decisions to make. This adventure was one that I had been slowly making over the past few years and it was one that I, personally, wholly embraced.  So, when we recently decided to challenge ourselves in new simple ways, we should have known that it was to be a long, strung out adventure, loaded with starts and fits. Unlearning so many things and relearning others is not for the feint-hearted. And, as many posts in this blog attest to, I've had more than a few stumbling efforts toward a more simple life. Yet, yearning for less stress in our lives and more time to enjoy simple pleasures, we continue to travel the rocky road.

Tea gets us off to a good start in the morning.

Luckily, all is going well – so far - and we don’t, even a bit, regret our dedication to a more simple lifestyle. It's the road that allows us to celebrate the joys of gratefulness and appreciation for the NOW of life. So here’s an example of another one of those "everyday" simple choices: we parted from the commonly held belief that coffee is an essential part of a healthy/enjoyable breakfast. And, yes, we were ardent coffee drinkers in the a.m. On the other hand, we tended to drink tea later in the day. 

Beyond that, concern for our health was nudging us to buy better quality products and organic foods, whenever possible. But, what with high food costs, we didn’t have a budget large enough for both good coffee and good tea. As a result, we had been drinking very regular to poor quality tea and coffee. It finally dawned on us that drinking just one of those beverages and eliminating the other was the answer. A quick review of online reports helped us see that tea was the healthier product. We were also aware that tea was a more earth-friendly option as compared to coffee. For example, one source points out that a mug of coffee takes about four times more water in its production than does a mug of tea. (Of course, plain water is a very healthy choice and, by far, the greenest possible beverage. But water, for most of us, doesn't offer the pick-me-up power that coffee and tea do.) 

So, here I’m sharing what I consider to be some more advantages of tea over coffee and why it's our simple choice. 

First, of all, tea has high levels of potent antioxidants and is helpful in preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Arguably, coffee has some of these benefits but studies conclude that it has much less than tea. And tea is more relaxing and useful in lowering stress levels while coffee tends to speed up the mind, often adding to stress.

Second, regular tea drinking helps reduce cholesterol levels, relaxing blood vessels and impeding the formation of blood clots. Studies show that drinking three or more cups of tea each day reduce the risk of stroke by more than 20%.

Furthermore, tea tends to be more hydrating to the body than coffee. And tea, relative to coffee, is better for your teeth. Coffee is notorious for discoloration in teeth, while tea is to a lesser extent. Tea even helps prevent of cavities as a result of its powerful antioxidants and serves to fight off many kinds of bacterial and fungal infections.

So, to follow this up, I'll make a plea for organic tea over the non-organic type. It turns out that the huge tea plantations, common in Asia and elsewhere, are among the most environmentally devastating crops. That’s because the chemicals – industrial fertilizers and pesticides - applied to these farms damage the local ecosystem and run down the mountains and to pollute other farmland, rivers and finally to faraway oceans.

The choice of organic teas favors small farmers and small farms over agribusiness. Small farms, often have natural grasses and weeds as ground cover, work better in harmony with nature to manage various pests and usually do not grow tea as a monoculture. In the long-term, industrial fertilizers deplete the soil, making it more difficult for the tea plants to grow without stronger chemicals. This kind of chemical dependence becomes a vicious cycle that harms the tea plants, the farm workers, and the environment.

Finally, as you might imagine, organic tea is better for you because there are remnants of all those chemicals that stay in the leaf structure after processing. And those will be ingested - by you and your family - after the tea is boiled up for drinking.  Some of the negative side effects that people feel from drinking too much tea (such as jitters and sleeplessness) may not be a direct result of the caffeine in tea, but from the chemicals used in conventional tea production.

As you have probably read elsewhere, not all teas - - black, white, green, etc. - are created equal. My husband and I choose green tea, almost exclusively as our daily pick-up beverage. We’ve made the choice of green tea, rather than two or three different types of tea, because we believe it's healthier  - and, again, mostly for simplicity reasons. We also buy bulk tea, thus avoiding higher costs than the small individual envelops and, with less packaging, is the greener option. We enjoy a cup of coffee only when we go out. It tends to make coffee-drinking something special, a treat to be savored, rather than a regular habit. 

 

Here's a parting word to the wise - keep your tea drinking cool. Repeatedly drinking of very hot beverages increases the risk of esophageal cancer. So, let your tea cool off for several minutes before sipping.

And, now, all this midmorning writing is making me thirsty. So, I’m off to brew up a batch of the good stuff — and enjoy what, today, will make my third cup of tea.

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

GOING VEGAN - ALL THE WAY OR SOMETHING LESS THAN THAT.

Just a few months ago, I decided to adopt a vegan diet. Now, I’d read quite a bit on the subject and already considered myself a vegetarian – that for many years. But, at the time, I was still eating eggs, dairy, and some fish. So, to motivate myself for change,  I read books and watched documentaries that told me about all the wonderful benefits of the vegan diet. These sources emphasized that I would have more energy, lose some weight, and that my general health and skin tone would be better. All that sounded great. And, important for me, was the moral part – being kind to animals, living sustainably, and eating in an Earth-friendly way.

And so it began, there I was going VEGAN (or trying to go about it) – but still fussing around including a bit of cheese, some eggs and once a week fish in my diet. So, I launched my vegan adventure after that (and now, at this posting) having cut out all dairy and still eating 2 eggs a week and fish, once a week. (See note below.) And, unwilling to eat only at home, I’m not able to rule out occasional small amounts of eggs or dairy in breads and pastries, purchased in the street. On that score, for my general sanity,  I follow the: “Don’t Ask” policy.

Happily, it turns out that vegan meal planning is a lot easier than I thought, and there are quite a few  benefits. And some advantages have appeared that I only hoped to see when I began this challenge. The first was a change for the better in my skin that had been oily with a touch of acne. (Yes, even old ladies like me sometimes have skin problems.) It seems that kicking the dairy habit helped improve my skin. The next benefit I discovered was that I never have indigestion and can sleep for longer amounts of time in the night without waking up. For me, that’s a real plus because I often felt tired in the morning after too many internal wake up calls at night. Also I've lost a few pounds. The weight loss is slow but I have reason to think that it will steadily go down. This turns out to be the answer to a prayer – having been somewhat overweight for a good part of my adult life. And my blood pressure has moved from occasional pre-hypertensive into the solid normal range.

One thing that kept me from trying this sort of diet before was a fear of not getting full. I’m happy to say that's not an issue, as I now eat fairly tasty meals in the same quantity that I ate before.  It turns out that the vegan diet is a culinary adventure. And I get to experiment with meal planning, figuring out how to change over old recipes to conform to the vegan challenge. So, it wasn't so much like giving up something as it was the happy discovery of a new foods and food combinations.

Vegan diet is healthy

So, all  in all, changing to a vegan diet seems to open up a whole new level of health for many people - and now for me. This results from consuming more vitamins and minerals, more fiber, and fewer toxins.  Many of these same benefits are available to vegetarians but the vegan lifestyle seems to be even better – since the dairy and eggs are also often the cause allergies and general inflammation in the body.

Here are some of the improvements that have been documented.
- Mood improvements
 - Symptom relief of psoriasis and other skin ailments
 - Reduced incidence of adult diabetes
 - Lower risk of cataract development
 - Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
 - Lower cholesterol levels
 - Less risk of stroke and obesity

Now, what about eating out?

As I began my vegan quest, I wondered if it was even possible for vegans to go to restaurants. Now, I know from personal experience that it is possible.  That is, of course, if you don’t obsess on the possibility of consuming tiny amounts of animal products that lie hidden away in otherwise vegan appearing menu items.

And you can always ask the chef – via the waiter – to make some changes in the food items so that the end result will be animal and dairy free. And it helps to plan ahead and look up the restaurant menu online or call restaurants for options. If all else fails, ask if they have any vegetarian entrees or get creative with sides.

Sometimes vegetarian menu items can be made vegan quite easily by just replacing the butter for oil and leaving off the cheese. And there are almost always green salads and baked potatoes on the menu. You can ask for olive oil instead of butter.

Above all, don’t sweat it too much. Some restaurants are going to be less than veggie-friendly. So, it’s best to focus on the experience itself – the pleasing ambiance and, hopefully, good flavors. Make your best choices and relax. It’s not going to make a huge difference in the great scheme of things.

So what about a part-time vegan option?

If you’re still not sure that you ready for the total switch, you can become a VEGAN PART-TIMER. That allows for an easy transition that lessens the amount of animal products you eat. And, maybe after that, you'll convince yourself that being a vegan is a worthwhile venture.

Give it a try. Vegan part-timing is something like Meatless Mondays - only you do it more thoughtfully and for more days of the week. That still leaves you with a couple of days  (say, weekends) to eat other things you want.

Anyway, you've got a lot of vegan choices, what with:
Meat alternatives: usually tofu, quinoa, beans, grains in general, and nuts.
Drinks: milk alternatives, veggie/fruit juices, tea, coffee, and water.
Fats: Flax seed oil, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.
Vegetables: most all. Soybeans, black eyed peas, artichokes, potatoes, beets are all high in iron, a mineral that tends to be low in a strict vegan diet.
Fruits: most all.

Try taking a break from your usual meat and dairy over-reliance. Begin by cutting out meat and dairy from your meals a few times a week and see how it goes. You’ll do yourself a favor as you lessen your risk for some dangerous diseases and disabilities. Also, you’ll reduce your fat intake, and that should help you shed a few pounds without the effort and effects of unhealthy crash or fad diets. With the part-time vegan diet, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much better you feel and know that you’re doing a pro-animal protection and Earth-friendly thing.

A day’s menu
Here’s my menu today. I’m quite content eating meals like these. And I don’t feel like I’m dieting at all.

A good tasting and filling vegan lunch.

Breakfast

Small grapefruit, organic raisin bran with  small banana and a handful of walnuts with coconut milk, a thick slice of toasted bread with soy-base cheese substitute and coffee.

Lunch (shown in the picture):

Corn fritters (a little soy flour adds some more protein), nopales and greens salad, boiled potatoes with margarine, and tea.

Dinner
White rice, mixed veggie entree with lentils, a bread slice, and a glass of water.

Snacks

Piece of vegan coffee cake, a few nuts, and cultured coconut yogurt with fruit.

Note: I guess I'm still, at this posting, a vegan wannabee. My downfall is sush/maki - something that I still like to eat once a week. For me, part of the joy of maki involves fish. Also, about once a week, I eat out for breakfast, and, in those moments of weakness, I usually order eggs or waffles.

FOUR EASY THINGS TO DO TO MAKE YOUR WASH DAY MORE EARTH-FRIENDLY

You can lower your wash day energy use and your carbon footprint, beginning today, by doing these four Earth-friendly things. And, the best part is that  you won't have to face any big struggle. I've done all this for months and years with great results. And I'm sure my laundry chores don't take much longer or more sweat than those of other people who follow the philosophy: “ I'm doing-what's-easiest-for me.” 

Stop using small to medium-sized plastic detergent bottles

One of the worst things that we've done to ourselves is to embrace the plastic age as if it were some miracle. It's not a miracle. It's a world-wide nightmare producing destruction of wildlife habitats and slowly poisoning everyone of us. The situation is really grave. Some studies show that there’s more plastic than plankton in parts of our oceans. So, reduction of our use of all kinds of plastic is an absolute necessity for both health and the ecology. And one of the worst plastic items that you can buy for home use is the detergent bottle.

Many people are buying small and medium plastic laundry soap containers several times a month. If plastic bags are a bad idea – which they are, those heavier plastic bottles are even worse. What's more, the liquid detergent in those bottles doesn't wash any better than the dry products and takes up a more space, on a wash-by-wash basis. Changing out from plastic detergent bottles to cardboard boxes or large plastic containers is a good place to start. You'll be doing Mother Nature, your own family, and generations-to-come a favor by refusing to buy small, plastic laundry bottles and keeping those items out of the trash, once and for all. And, if you want to, you can buy good laundry detergents in small or medium cardboard boxes. But, if you do industrial-sized laundry during the month, go ahead and buy the largest container - cardboard boxed or plastic - that you can find at the big box store. 

The plastic detergent bottles that you have right now can be easily recycled at home or given away to someone who'll use them. Recycle those huge plastic buckets  for use as a storage container for non-food items like for garden or barbecue tools. If you have some regular-sized plastic detergent bottles, recycle them as clothes pin holders or put small amounts of dry detergent in them so you won't have to carry about or dip into those larger detergent containers for every wash.

Hang some clothes on a line

Line-dried clothes smell better 

There's a big problem with tumble dryers that use electricity to generate heat. They require a lot of electricity and create a huge carbon footprint. How big are we talking about? More than you would imagine. One source says a tumble-dried load produces more than 5 pounds of CO 2 emissions when washed at 40°C. (That, of course, includes the major part that happened at the electric plant.) And, while gas dryers produce somewhat less carbon, the very best thing that can be done is line drying. And line-drying is doable most anywhere on a line or clothes rack. Not ready to hang up all the laundry? Then, start hanging up some part of it. It is super easy to hang up the towels and bed linen on a clothes line. Just doing this faithfully will eliminate several rounds of machine drying and save a lot on energy bills.

And, of course, with the mild to hot weather these days, the very best place is outdoors where the summer sun will dry them fast and leave them with a heavenly meadow-fresh odor. I hang up just about everything in the summer months, eliminating a lot of energy costs and enjoying the sweet smells of of line-dried laundry. Maybe, for some reason, you can't leave clothes hanging outside now or at other times of the year. Even so, you can hang up some lines, in the basement, in the garage or a breezeway and make good use of them. With a little ingenuity, even apartment dwellers can find space to line dry a part of their laundry.

Years ago, when we were kids and the family lived in an apartment, my Mom hung up the linens and towels all winter long in the kitchen to dry overnight. She had Dad hang the lines in such a way that we could walk around the clothes, if necessary. The small items were hung on a wood dowel drying rack near the gas stove in the living room. Most of the time, the laundry did dry by breakfast time. If not, she left them a few more hours. Slightly damp towels could be rehung in the bathroom, awaiting use there. 

While, these days, I don't need to follow closely the steps my Mom took to dry our laundry, I still swear by line drying. Thankfully, now, I have a nice outdoor area where I can hang up clothes and good drying weather almost year-round.

Wash the clothes with cold water

As you can imagine, the higher the water temperature of the wash, the more electricity you'll use. And, hot water wash is not good for clothes or for the ecology. The U.S. Department of Energy says that, in a conventional washer, more than 80% of the energy used for laundry  goes to heat up the water. So, save yourself some money and lower your carbon emission footprint at the same time. It turns out that cold water works great for regular loads. When you have oily or other stubborn stains, try a pre-soak with stronger detergent or stain remover and then use warm water wash.

There are plenty of special, cold water laundry detergents available that can wash your clothes beautifully without hot water. And most modern detergents, including the cheaper ones, work equally well on regular laundry – even if they don't say they're cold water products.

Run the washing machine to its full capacity

You'll get higher wash day efficiency if you load the machine to capacity rather than with just a few clothes. Fill your machine to its limits. For regular loads, you can use your eye to judge when the machine is full. Heavier weight stuff might need to be weighed – to know for sure. Remember, just one large load takes a lot less energy than washing two loads on a lower setting. If you need socks or underwear or a particular shirt for the next morning, wash it out by hand and hang it up somewhere where the air will get to it. It doesn't take long to do.

When I was a child, it was considered “good hygiene” to wash out your own underwear, socks, and handkerchief in the bathroom sink when you prepared for bed. I routinely did this and left the hand wrung-out clothes on a hanger on the back of my bedroom door. They could stay there as long as necessary to finish drying. Our towels were also hung on a towel bar on the back of our doors. Back then, it was considered unsightly to hang a lot of stuff around in the bath room. Although I don't do all of that, today, with just my husband and me at home, I think those habits were more than justified. When I visit in the homes of other people, I continue to do these simple things. And, if my hosts haven't put up hooks on the bedroom door, I hang up my towel and washed out underwear in the closet space that they've left for me. It keeps down on bathroom clutter and helps save on washing machine loads.

STOP USING THROWAWAY PRODUCTS, RIGHT NOW.

There are some things that we do without thinking because they've become a habit - at home, in the car, in schools, at our work places, even as part of our social life. They are so common that we don’t see them for what they are. We've even been made to believe that throwaway items are part of our "rights" to have an easier life and reduce unwelcome work. Well, think again. Those “disposable” products that you use almost daily have a rather small cost to you - or, at least, it appears at the time. But they have a huge cost for the environment and most will never be recycled, ending up at dumps where they take up space for years or centuries or getting incinerated where they poison the skies over our cities and farms. And some of them, especially the soft plastics, are a real danger to your health.

Say "no" to food-related plastics.*

Plastics are made from toxic substances that contaminate earth, air and water, both in their manufacturing and in their disposal as trash. Once created, plastics are non-biodegradable, and while they can be transformed, but they don’t go away. Only about 5% of plastics ever get recycled. Burning and putting them in landfills only removes them from our immediate vicinity, but their toxic waste will make it back into the environment. The presence of plastic trash around us, or anywhere they get to, continues to poison our air, water systems, rivers, and oceans. For everyone, plastics in the environment mean added risks of cancer and birth defects. For many species of animals and fish, it has already created much illness and is accelerating their extinction.

You'll want to have the least contact with soft plastics as possible. When people use plastic packages for foods, the chemicals tend to filter from the packaging to the foods they contain. It’s worse yet when plastic containers are heated in microwave ovens because that accelerates the migration of toxic substances.

The only way to reduce the damage that is done by plastics is to cut back on their use, and thereby, overtime, slowing their industrial production. You can do your part to overcome this problem by refusing to buy plastic products. That means trying to extend the lifetime of the useful existing plastic items that you already have and refusing to buy new ones, even if that creates some personal inconvenience. Start by saying "no" to throwaway products. You’ll save money, be healthier for it, and do good for the earth -- all at the same time.

- Tell the sales person that you want paper instead of plastic cups at the fast-food window. Stop going to places that only have plastic throwaway cups.

- Buy fresh food products, whenever possible, and carry your own paper or cloth bags to the markets. Ask the man behind the counter that you want your meat or cheese wrapped in paper instead of plastic.

- When you buy processed foods, search for those that come in glass bottles or metal cans. Buy larger-sized products so that the containers can be reused; recycle them when you're finished.

- Make sure your using as few cleaning products as possible. Look for large-size packages or containers for these products. That way you won’t have to buy so much plastic on a regular basis. Reuse or recycle all these containers.

- Don’t buy plastic bags or plastic wrap. Wax paper and butcher paper are excellent products for your temporary food storage and lunch bag needs. If you want neater packaging, you can use a bit of tape to hold the paper together.

- Whenever possible, use paper bags for the kitchen trash. Of course, someone in your family will occasionally come home with plastic bags. When that happens, reuse them for trash or as lunch bags. All extra plastic bags should be carried to the supermarket for recycling. None, except the dirtiest one, should go into the household trash. If you are required to use a large plastic bag for trash removal day, line your largest trash can with it, and make sure that is the only plastic bag you use during the week.

- Don’t buy plastic throwaway drinks. Always carry your own metal drinking container and water when you leave the house. When you have to buy or carry an occasional drink outside the house, look for the aluminum cans. Serve drinks from bulk containers or provide canned drinks at gatherings. Cans have a much better chance of being efficiently recycled than plastics.

- Don’t heat or store fatty or acid foods in plastic containers. You’ll heat and store just as well and avoid risks, using the glass containers that you've recycled

Say: "No." to excess paper use, too.*
Just a few years ago, almost nobody thought about the use of paper products in the home and office. We used a lot and wasted even more. Paper was cheap, and if anyone mentioned all that wood being used for paper, the easy answer was that trees were totally "renewable" resources. We know that that planned re-growth was mostly a fantasy and that our wasting of paper is inexcusable if we hope to save more of our forests. Clearly, it isn’t possible, or reasonable, to eliminate all paper usage in the home – we definitely need some toilet paper and paper for print outs from the computer. On the other hand, with a bit of effort, we can get “greener” on this issue and reduce our paper consumption a lot. Here are some of ways that you can cut back on or recycle paper products.

- At home, use dishes for food and not paper plates. Take your own dishes and utensils to picnics and other large-scale events. (You don't have to ask permission on this, just show up with your own and use them. If others don't understand, explain it to them.)

- Use rags and kitchen towels instead of paper towels. They're free or very cheap and completely re-usable. Kitchen towels don't need to be expensive or you can easily make them at home. Old newspaper is great for cleaning up spills and for cleaning windows glass and mirrors.

- Use cloth napkins and forget about paper napkins. Make your own napkins out of an easily washable fabric or buy small white terry-cloth towels – the kind that can be bought in bulk at the hardware store.

- For computer printing, be sure to print on both sides of your paper. Cut the paper in half if you needed only a small piece of it printed. Use the rest for printing or as note paper.

- Carry home and use scrap paper from work (or any other place where you can get it).

- Pay bills on-line (or by phone). Use email instead of writing letter and notes and get your news from the Internet rather than newspapers or magazines.

- Use washcloths instead of face wipes and cloth handkerchiefs instead of tissues. These last for many years. At home, use cloth diapers and plastic over-wraps. Paper diapers are justifiable only when the child is taken out of the house for several hours at a time. You can carry an extra paper diaper for quick changes.

- Carefully, unwrap gifts and save gift-wrap paper for future reuse. Also save cardboard boxes for storage or shipping containers. When possible, ship in paper envelopes instead of cardboard boxes and recycle crumpled paper as padding for shipping or storing fragile items.

- Save greeting cards and calendar art for craft use by cutting out shapes or pictures. And send e-cards instead of paper cards.

**These sections were adapted from earlier posts to Grandma Susan's Almanac Calendar, Dec. 2010.)

EGGS FROM HEALTHY HENS – WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

Most of us eggs eaters, like to think that eggs are “lifeless” – sort of like eating cheese, or potatoes or spinach. Of course, our conscious minds know the difference. When we eat eggs we are eating what was once a living being - in the fetal stage. The main difference of the egg from other meat-protein sources is that it never was a living, breathing bird. Still, the hen that produced that egg definitely is or was, and her conditions might mean something to you. And, if you have any heart at all, you don’t want to think that you’re eating something that’s a product of endless suffering, injury and disease.

Several huge salmonella outbreaks at egg production factories seemed to capture public attention on the safety of eggs and the conditions that surround the poultry living there. A New York Times article focused on how the U.S. egg industry treats the over 300 million chickens in phases of annual production and marketing. 97 percent of all US eggs live their entire lives with tens of thousands of other birds, crammed  in filthy and inhumane production units. Certainly no compassionate person could watch the videos taken in these places without being physically ill.


Make a chicken's life a little better and eat healthier eggs, too.

Among the horrors of the conventional battery-cages are total darkness – that means blindness and barely able to move in indoor pens as long as football fields. Birds can’t even stretch their wings and routinely injure and kill others just looking for enough space to stand up. They are routinely de-beaked. The waste that's generated on these gigantic farms causes terrible odors for miles around and pollutes local water supplies.

Any male chicks born in the commercial egg  industry get thrown onto conveyor belts where they are suffocated or pushed alive into chicken meal grinding machines. Any hens that survive their egg-laying life – up to about 2 years, are then near death from stress and nutrient starvation. Then, they suffer “forced molting", a grotesque operation that deprives them of food and water for up to 2 weeks, a final stressing that tends to increase their waning egg-laying frequency.At this point they are thrown together one over another in truck cages where they go to the chicken slaughterhouses where further nightmare conditions lead them to a painful death. There they end up on people’s table, unlabeled as to their ordeal, and sold as “regular” farm-raised poultry.

While it seems logical that the battery cages and other abuses of the egg industry should be outlawed, there is no major push to end these conditions by US consumers. News from the European Union shows that there is a grass-roots move to ban this means of production throughout the region, and some countries have already signed on.

Commercial choices aren’t all that good
Given this situation, some people now regularly buy cage-free or free-range eggs. According to the same Times article, 2% of our commercial eggs are from cage-free hens and 1% is from free-range birds. Of course, just being caged-free or free range, by label, does not mean that the birds are actually living out happy, healthy lives. Many of them don't have access to the outdoors, and aren’t fed optimum food and may be medicated on antibiotics. Also the majority of even the so-called “free-range” birds don’t get much time free from their cages because the doors to the outside pens are too small, relative to the total number of birds. Sadly, the same Times article reported that many "cage-free" and "free-range" eggs come from the very same farms that produce battery-cage eggs. It’s simply an industry ploy to capture well-meaning consumers who will pay more money for eggs that come from somewhat better poultry production conditions.

While the real conditions vary considerable, clearly these 3% are better off than their battery-caged cousins. They are, at least, able to scratch and spread their wings and, sometimes, according to their individual luck, be involved in healthy chicken pastimes. And the eggs they produce taste better and are healthier for you from a nutritional standpoint - with more vitamin E and more total omega-3 fatty acids.

For my choice, I'm trying to be a vegetarian. I eat mostly vegetables and grains. Now, I’m not so strict at that, and I also eat a small amount of  fish during any given week. Also, away from home, when served it, I will eat poultry. But, to get some animal protein on a regular basis,  I eat cheese and eggs. I'm just anxious to find the best eggs I can from chickens that haven’t been brutally abused. The options, unfortunately, aren’t so clear. My personal decision has been to buy only cage-free eggs, even though I pay up to 2 dollars more per dozen. I’d rather eat fewer eggs per week than accept the conditions of battery-caged hens. But, I’m poised to take further action….

Raising chickens may be the solution
Unless you’re ready to accept the high price of eggs from (hopefully) more humanely raised hens, you might consider having a few chickens in your yard. Anyone who has ever been around chickens knows they exhibit many complex and entertaining behaviors. They appear to be sensitive and intelligent animals, and it’s a crying shame that so many of them are forced to lead such terrible lives.

The answer may be easier than you think. Hens, it turns out, are easy to care for and, when treated right, each will provide 4-5 good quality eggs per week. That means that, with an investment of a few cents and a little care, as few as 3 hens can give you at least 12-15 eggs a week. That’s quite a savings over commercial prices. Home-raised eggs are indisputably better in flavor, texture and nutritional value. Your hens also keep down the weeds and eat harmful insects. Their needs are simple - a shelter at night, a watering can and a feed trough. They can get sunlight, insects (their favorite meal) and exercise on their own.

If you’re in a place where you could possibly keep some chickens, you should seriously consider this option. While local residential zoning may differ, most cities allow hens to be kept for eggs  for home consumption.

DIY SHAMPOO & SHOWERING SCRUB - GIVE IT A TRY

Years ago, in Mexico, a couple I knew told me that they had given up using soap and were showering only with water. Not only were they soap-free at that time, during a rather arduous 4-day aikido camp, but had been doing it for almost a year. They said that, for them, washing with soap - hands included - caused the skin to lose its natural resistance to germs – and, what’s more, that body odor resulted from frequent use of soap and water.  My husband (wasn't then, is now) and I laughed at that possibility. But we were forced to admit that this couple didn't stink any more than the rest of us – what was more than a bit, I must say, with all due respect to our training group, after  back-to-back two-hour training sessions. Nevertheless, our immediate thought was that the no-soap thing must be some leftover custom from the 60’s, even though the hippie era was over by at least a generation at that time. On the other hand, I have to admit that ditching the soaping-up routine was intriguing to me.

At the time, my husband and I couldn't imagine taking a no-soap shower - something we thought was highly imaginative and possibly unhygienic. But a number of years have gone by and now,  speaking for myself and not necessarily for my husband,  and I have had to question many things that we used to do in an almost robotic way just because somebody told us we should be doing it. Also, I read that a large number of regular people now live soap-free. Deciding to go without commercial soap for bathing and, possibly, for shampooing has finally ended up on my list of things to try. So far, I'm in my second week of no-soap showering, and it's all good, thus far. No shampoo hair care - without passing through a really itchy scalp phase - may still prove to be tricky. Time will tell.

It seemed to me that the most common reason people were using so much soap was because they'd been told – by constant commercial reminding - that they needed it. And, maybe all those harsh chemicals really messed up our bodies' skin oils balance. That might be the reason for so many skin problems that we are seeing at this time. Could it be that our supposed “need” for antibacterial solutions was somehow related? I wasn’t sure but decided that I would continue to hand wash with soap at most of the recommended – before food prep, after toilet - times of the day. (I never carry or use antibacterial products, except when traveling, when I can’t be sure to have sufficient water for hand washing for hours at a time.)

We’ve been programmed as super-consumers to wash our body every day with soap, wash our hair with shampoo most every day, and buy expensive products for all of this. Maybe it’s our over-use of hygiene products that caused us to smell bad in the first place? We've probably hyper-sensitized ourselves to body odor because of all the perfumed stuff that we’ve been using. When you “overkill” on ridding yourself of smells from natural oil, the body compensates by producing more oil, and you often end up with a bigger problem in the long run. Then, we find ourselves needing more specialized products to correct the problems we, ourselves, produced. All this, and not to say anything about the “need” for dermatologists to “fix” whatever skin problems we haven’t been able to solve.

Trying out the no-soap routine

Anyway, as to my initial self-convincing arguments, I’ve always had the idea that we, as sensible people, wanting to live healthy and sustainably, don't need a bunch of commercially marketed products rubbed on our bodies every day of the week. Anyway, two years ago, I stopped shampooing my hair every other day, something that I did faithfully for decades, in favor of once every 10 to 14 days. It seems that shampoo cleanses your hair but, at the same time, strips out all the natural oils. That causes the scalp to produce more oil to replace the natural oils. You end up washing your hair often because it gets greasy right away.

My results with less frequent shampooing have been acceptable, but I’ve also found out that, to cure occasional scalp itchiness, I need to do 100 brush strokes of my shoulder-length hair several times a week. I never could get the habit of brushing 100 strokes every day, as was recommended in the hygiene books in the middle of the 20th century. Later, that kind of rigorous brushing routine was totally lost - disclaimed - as an unnecessary custom when people started washing hair weekly or more often.

By the way, I haven't done any kind of hair dye for almost a decade. And I have gray hair that I’m proud of. My underarm care - without soap - remains the same. I use nothing at all or a bit of talcum powder when it’s really hot outside or when I’m going to be under some kind of foreseeable physical or emotional stress. From my experience, smelly feet, caused by wearing boots and closed tennis shoes, are best overcome by using clean, dry cotton socks and a bit of talcum powder inside the shoes.

Added to all this, I'll share with you some personal history that provides more arguments in favor of the no-soap experiment.

You may have heard or remember that regular people didn't bathe every day until the middle 1950's. Did they stink? Well, some did but not as many as might suppose. In our family, back then, young girls were taught to bathe – no showers at the time – 2 or 3 times a week, when possible, and to wash the hair once every 2 weeks. Liquid castille soap was a usual shampooing item. Women and girls used a rinse of eight-to-one, water to vinegar, solution after washing.  This kept the hair healthy and relatively oil free. Vinegar contains acids and enzymes that kill the bacteria that lead to dry crust conditions causing dandruff and other scalp conditions. The DIY vinegar hair rinse, used at that time, seemed to be an adequate treatment for the usual 2 weeks between shampoos. At least, no one I knew had any major scalp issues.

Anyway, since the first days of this month of October, I’ve not used any soap while showering. Do I stink? No, I definitely don’t. I still shower daily for about 5 minutes, the same time I did when I used soap. Amazingly enough there was no adjustment time. From the first day, I felt squeaky clean. My dry skin is gone, and the hard to exfoliate rough skin on my legs is disappearing. As to the no-shampoo experiment, it’s only now time to wash my hair, and I’ll let you know later about this, later.  

Now, before you think that you can just enter the shower, rinse off and jump out clean, think again! You can’t be lazy and just stand there under the shower. I believe that it's important to rub a soft washcloth with  some kind of DIY non-soap scrub, all over your body, the same as if you were using soap.

Make your own DIY showering scrub

You'll need –

Sea salt

Apple cider vinegar (ACV is best but you can use the vinegar that you have on hand to get started)

Olive oil

Instructions (You can vary the proportions of  the 3 ingredients however you like.))

-          Take a large mixing bowl and pour in 3 tablespoons of 100% sea salt.

-          Mix in 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

-          Stir the paste together until the salt is blended in a consistent texture.

 -          Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  

-          Stir the mixture until uniform. 

-          Pour the scrub mixture into a bottle – plastic is always safer to use in the tub. Fasten the lid tightly. 

-          To use the scrub, stand in the shower stall and shake up the mixture. 

-          Turn on the shower and put a dab of the scrub solution on your washrag. 

-          Use just as you would soap. (I usually end up diluting this mixture, somewhat, with a combination of shower and washrag water.)

-          Rinse yourself thoroughly afterwards to remove any leftover salt and oil.

It’s possible that the same scrub mixture will work OK for hair washing, too. Try it and see how it works for you. That's what I plan to do. Just like shampoo, it’s important to shut or just barely open your eyes to avoid eye irritation. No bubbles are produced but scalp cleansing occurs, nonetheless, according to reports. See notes below.

If you tend to have oily hair, you can prepare a baking soda paste for the scalp instead of using your DIY scrub. (I’ve read this, but not had to resort to it - yet. It certainly seems worth trying.) The somewhat thick scalp-scrub paste is made with baking soda and water, along with a couple of drops of olive oil mixed up in a small bowl just before hari washing. You use this paste just like shampoo.   Rinse hair and scalp twice - once with the vinegar solution, mentioned above, and again, with just water.

Note (added later the same day)
After shampooing with the DIY scrub, my scalp seems to be good and clean. Hair smells good and is soft with the oil acting as a conditioner. I did have to add water to the mix in order to get the "shampoo" feel as I massaged the mixture on my scalp. I rinsed my hair thoroughly under the shower and didn't use a vinegar rinse.

2nd note (added three days after the DIY scrub head wash)
Sadly, it turns out that the DIY scrub, while doing fine as a body wash, hasn't been as successful as a shampooing method. My hair is greasy - back to the drawing board on that question. I think it would be better to use only a couple of drops of olive oil with those proportions of vinegar and sea salt. I'll be trying that out soon...

3rd note (2 and a half months later). Still showering & shampooing with my concoction. Has varied just a bit. I use less olive oil. All that wasn't necessary for my skin type & definitely oiled up my hair too much.

4th note (2014) Now lathering up hair with a healthy (I hope) regular soap bar - the kind that, according to its label, doesn't have sodium laurel sulfate or parabens in it - and thoroughly rinsing with my DIY without any olive oil.

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YOUR NEXT SHOES SHOULD BE CANVAS.

Canvas is a course cloth material made from the hemp plant. It is used in sails, tents, paint boards, and shoes. Shoes made from canvas are casual and constructed very simply with a cloth upper and a rubber sole. Many adults and most children, when allowed to choose, prefer canvas shoes over leather for comfort and looks.

And this post poses a question to you? Do your feet really need those animal skin shoes or would you be happier with a nice pair of canvas shoes? In case you haven’t thought a lot about it, read this and decide for yourself.

GrandmaS wants you to know that she doesn’t sell canvas shoes nor does she, knowingly, have any advertisers that do so. But GrandmaS has been thinking a lot about this topic and, now, is trying to only buy non-animal shoes. She has successfully purchased three pairs of leather-free shoes - the only ones she bought this year. The investment was modest. They were rubber flip-flops - $1, canvas boat shoes -$10, and canvas sneakers - $7.

Canvas shoes are convenient and fun

So, why are canvas shoes highly recommended? First, they're lighter in weight than most other kinds of shoes and mold easier to the shape of the foot. And they're comfortable because they are porous. That means the feet "breathe" better. They also dry out fast, if they get wet.  Looking for more canvas shoe virtues? Here are a few. The rubber soles of canvas shoes don’t tend to stick to the floor and cause missteps on wet surfaces like leather shoes do. They are also casual, versatile, and economical. The cost for a decent pair is usually from ten to twenty dollars - sometimes even less.

You can choose from hundreds of styles of non-leather shoes, clothing, and accessories. And, best of all, no animal needs to be killed to make them. We, humans are causing a major extinction of animals. With the incredible world population of 7 billion with almost standardized customs of animal meat heavy diets and animal skin clothing and shoes, there is a veritable man-made war on animals. We raise millions of animals to kill (in an entirely inhumane manner), skin, and eat them. And we're doing this more and more. Besides that, leather industry is a huge ecological problem. Along with the immense water use and direct pollution of the meat farms, the toxins used in animal hide tanning cause further environmental destruction.

Help save the animals
Animals need human allies who strive to eat no meat or, at least, much less meat and turn away from the wearing of animal based shoes - whenever possible. Of course, having a pair of leather boots for snow and ice is (currently considered) acceptable but, certainly, not the lunacy of many regular people who hoard 20 or more pairs of leather shoes and boots in their closets. It doesn't make any sense at all - except, perhaps, to the industrial shoe makers - who encourage us to indulge in such idiocy through their constant commercial advertising. Their bid is to get all the people with some kind of money, extra or not, to buy a pair of shoes every month of their lives - or more often, if possible.

And, yes, taking a stance against the senseless killing of animals - any animals, horses, wolves, cows or dogs - is being an animal rights activist. But animal right activism is not some kind of terrorist act as is often indicated by the mass media. Concerned people from all political persuasions are trying to lprevent needless animal suffering. Those who are in favor of more humane treatment of animals strive to communicate with everyone on these issues, hoping to expand our moral circle to encompass all kinds of animals - domestic and wild. Wearing canvas shoes is one way to begin your personal animal rights campaign.

We don't need to go on harming so many innocent animals in order to feed and clothe ourselves. And that means we have to be more vigilant in our choice of personal things. Of course, this is best a process instead of an ultimatum, and it’s not necessary to throw out all animal related items for our closets in just one weekend. But a start can be made with that next pair of shoes.

(Now, reducing meat consumption is another matter. Food is something that we can replace fairly quickly. There are not so many acceptable excuses in that area.)

Canvas shoe care

Once you've bought your canvas shoes, you'll want to take care of them. While tough, they’re not indestructible, and you can extend their life by taking some precautions.

- Apply a cloth care spray or starch to the shoes for weather protection. Do this in a ventilated area and wear and wear vinyl protective gloves.

- Wear clean, absorbent socks when you exercise to help keep the insides of your shoes clean and dry.

- Remove your shoes with your hands and not with your other foot, so as not to stretch the canvas and cause the rubber sole to separate from the canvas.

-Remove any loose dirt with a small hard-bristle brush.

- Don’t put them in the washing machine (unless they are really grubby and, if you do, be sure to use the gentle cycle). It’s always best to wash them with dish soap with a clean sponge or toothbrush.

- Wipe away any soap remaining on the shoes with a cloth.

- Dry them by blotting the cloth upper with a hand towel. Put them toe-side up, vertically, against a wall to drain off any water.

- Put them outside in the air overnight or place them in front of a fan.

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