Happy-Making

Don't you love looking at photos from past holidays?

I hope you have a fabulous weekend. We're spending Saturday painting (natch!) and family BBQ-ing and Sunday cleaning out the garage to have it removed next week.

Brooke x

Top Ten Vinegar Uses - Cleaning

Vinegar Street by Mykal Shaw

Vinegar (white distilled vinegar - available by the bottle at the supermarket) is pretty cool. I use it in all my green cleaning recipes and clean my bathroom most weeks with nothing more than vinegar, water and elbow grease.

There's about 50,000 recipes that use vinegar, but it can be used on its own for so many different things. Try one of these next time the need arises:

1. Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave and let it sit for a few minutes. The steam will soften any baked-on food and the vinegar gets rid of smells. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

2. For stained/smelly plastic food containers, wipe them with a cloth dampened with white distilled vinegar.

3. Discourage ants by spraying straight vinegar outside doorways and windows.

4. To remove a sticky label or price tag, cover with a cloth soaked in vinegar. Leave overnight and the label should easily come away.

5. Clean grout by letting full-strength vinegar sit on it for a few minutes and scrubbing with an old toothbrush.

6. Kill germs around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength vinegar. Rinse and wipe clean with a damp cloth.

7. Remove wallpaper by using a paint roller to wet the surface very thoroughly with a solution of one part vinegar to one part hot water. Or spray on until saturated.

8. Clean hardened paint brushes by simmering them in a saucepan of vinegar. Soak first for an hour or so before bringing it to a simmer. Drain and rinse clean.

9. Clean vinyl baby books or board books by wiping with vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

10. Clean scissors that have become sticky (eg. after cutting tape) with a cloth dipped in undiluted vinegar.


There's obviously many more uses in the laundry, garden and medicine cabinet, and I'll get around to those another time. But truly, vinegar, castile soap, borax and baking soda make up the vast, vast majority of all my cleaning solutions. Sparkly McGee!

Baby Steps.

Fairly unrelated image from my iPhone.

When I first started thinking about the Lavender Experiment I was driven by huge, lofty goals of complete self-sufficiency - a garden overflowing with enough organic fruit and veges to feed my family every week, solar panels, huge rainwater harvesting tanks, organic, fair-trade clothes, chemical-free living. You name it, I wanted it.

But now, things are more complicated. I'm busier than I've ever been and most days I get through the absolute necessities and not much else. I'm all about doing what I can, where I can. Yes, it's incredibly admirable to live an entirely self-sufficient life, completely off the grid, but for me and my family it's not realistic right now.

We all hear about the imminent dangers of climate change. We all hear that we need to act now and act big in order to slow its approach. We see the melting ice, the rising sea, the floods, the droughts, the catastrophic weather events.

Though enthusiastic about the experiment, my soon became, "Well, what difference can I make? What could I possibly do?" I was so overwhelmed by the challenge at hand that I ultimately did nothing.

The way I see it now, it's far better making changes where we can, as opposed to having lofty intentions but doing nothing about them. Baby steps.

So this month I use low-VOC paint, recycle and buy second-hand furniture to restore. Next month we hold a garage sale, plant some native plants in the garden and restart the compost bins. I can buy gifts from local and independent producers. I can green clean. I can use fabric nappies on my kids. I can recycle, lots. I can get some chooks for the backyard.

These aren't big steps. But if I list all the baby steps I take this year, I can see that I may just start to make a difference.

Favourite Natural Beauty Products: Face Care and Make-up

Charcoal Complexion Soap from Inner Earth Soaps

There's approximately 5 million "green", "natural", "plant-based" beauty products on the market now, the majority of which are questionable in their actual green-living credentials (phrases like "with active plant ingredients" or "no nasties" are simply marketing spiel, so beware!)

As I've mentioned previously, I have spent the last twelve months or so trying to find good, genuinely natural alternatives to more commercial beauty products, and I think I'm getting close to having all my bases covered (with the exception of mascara and a beautiful red lipstick). My skin is clear and my super sensitive nose isn't being irritated by any synthetic fragrances any more, plus my bathroom cabinet is much less cluttered than it was a year ago. Actually, this is a lie. My bathroom cabinet would be a lot less cluttered if I were to clean it out. **Note to self: Clean out bathroom cabinet.

So here's a run-down of the products I currently use on my face, pretty much every day:

   Cleanser:      Charcoal Complexion Soap from InnerEarth plus a facewasher to exfoliate. Simple.
   Mask:           Detoxifying Mask from InnerEarth Soaps
   Moisturiser: Organic Rosehip Oil from Trilogy
   Foundation: Nature's Minerals Foundation from The Body Shop
   Blush:          Powder Blush from Orglamix
   Brow Groomer/Cheekbone Highlight: Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment (also an awesome lip balm)

I like to try and keep it simple, and these products work really well for me.

I also use natural body wash, moisturiser etc, but more on that some other time.

And if you know of any good, natural mascara or glam red lipsticks, please do tell!!

Toothpaste - The Wonder Paste!

'Toothpaste' from Audrey421

My good friend Alison from My Red Scooter just emailed me to ask where I get my castile soap (Soap Kitchen - they're awesome!) and mentioned a top green cleaning tip that I thought I'd pass on.

To remove texta (or pencil perhaps?) from hard surfaces like kitchen cupboards, tables, benches etc, just use a dab of toothpaste and a tissue, keep rubbing the mark until it comes out. Presto*!

I know that toothpaste has additional cleaning uses, so I'll do some reading and put together some more uses. I don't think you can find a much greener cleaning solution than something we all happily put in our mouths on a daily basis, so this is definitely worth putting in the green cleaning armory.

*I haven't tried it yet, but seeing as Isy has just scribbled all over her bedside table with black pencil, I now have the perfect reason to try it and will let you know how I go.

K.I.S.S: The New 'Do

Yes, it's a bad photo.
No, I'm not wearing make-up.
Yes, I am tired, thank you very much.
Yes, I do appear to be sitting in a store room.

But I did cut my hair clean off. And it is much simpler. 

A few nervous moments, but I am super happy with the result. Particularly when I take the time to, you know, style it.

I did make one (silly) mistake though. I got carried away by the hairdressers' product spiel and ended up leaving with a chunk of money's worth of salon product under my arm (shampoo, conditioner, treatment, styling paste). Of course, after spending a year trying to find natural body and hair products, this was a complete waste of money. Not only did the rich, synthetic, fragranced products make my eyes itch like crazy, they didn't do anything my previous shampoo and conditioner couldn't do (namely, clean my hair). So it's directly back on the Burt's Bees bandwagon for me, until I can find a better, more natural* alternative. I don't have a reaction to their products and they do a good job, so the search for a GOOD, 100% natural hair care range continues.

*Burt's Bees markets itself as being 98.7% natural. Some of their ingredients, as I understand it, are questionable.

Keeping It Simple, Stupid

In the quest to live a lavender life, or a simpler life, I'm looking for ways to cut the clutter and get rid of the unnecessary complexities in life. It might be doing things like cleaning out the junk drawer in the kitchen or having a garage sale (in March we are having a garage sale - it will be huge and there will be cupcakes and a sausage sizzle).

But to kickstart this semi-regular series, I'm going to simplify part of myself: my hair. It's a bit dramatic, but this weekend I'm going from this:

Taken a few months ago in Fiji. My hair is much longer now. And much tanglier.

To this:

The lovely Michelle Williams.

It will no doubt simplify my morning routine, it'll cut down the amount of shampoo I use, it'll mean less brushing, less drying, less straightening, less product! I'm quite nervous about it but need to do it. Otherwise I'll always wonder. 

Plus, then I get to wear pretty hair accessories like this:

Gorgeousness from ban.do 

I'll be sure to post my own (slightly less glamorous) after shots next week.