For almost seven years, my zero waste skin care routine has been based around using organic cooking oils. My favorite mix is a blend of canola, coconut, and a splash of olive oil. It’s all-natural, in my case organic, simple, and what I’d call “clean” skin care. I use this blend on my face every morning and before I go to bed, and on my body after I get out of the shower. Frankly, I just eyeball the measurements… If I had to guess I’d say it’s 1/4 cup of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. In the winter, I like to add more olive oil to protect my skin from th ..read more

Last year my friend Vany wrote this really cool guest post explaining how to use horse chestnuts as a laundry detergent, how to dry them in order to use them all year long, and also why soap nuts come with social problems and actually aren’t very eco-friendly. We, too, made the switch back then and after a year we still love it! This year we had a tough conkers competition going with the neighborhood kids who were also collecting some for totally boring reasons like playing with them . I posted this on my Instagram and Facebook and got a lot of questions. Come again? How i ..read more

Update: Also make sure to check out the FAQ! May I introduce Vany :). Vany grows her own vegetables and has the cutest dog EVER ! Today she will show you how to use chestnuts instead of store-bought laundry detergent! Depending on your latitude, NOW might be the time for you to go out and collect some free organic, eco-friendly laundry ;)! I was looking for alternatives to normal store-bought laundry detergent, when I found out that the so-called eco-friendly laundry detergents were still full of unpronounceable ingredients that are in fact not too eco-friendly. I also found thos ..read more

Photo by Tobias Tullius It has been eleven years since I sold my car—and I have never looked back. I was in college back then and money was very tight. Getting rid of the car freed up resources I desperately needed to make ends meet. I asked my mom for the red, rusty, ramshackle old bicycle that she used to ride when she was my age and learned how to ride a bike in the city. It was truly empowering! However, I know this is not always an option. You might live in a rural area, in a city where cycling is not a safe option, or where you have very limited access to public transportation. In this ..read more