Full & Simple

How to Reduce Waste with Minimal Effort

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Welcome to part two in my reducing waste series!  If you haven't read part one, you can visit it here.  In this series, I'm only sharing ways that we have personally been reducing our own waste over the last couple of years.  I have separated each action into "effort" categories....these are based on how much effort I feel that they require in my day and life.

Alright, here we go!

Bring Your Own Bags

While bringing your own bags takes VERY little effort, it does require you to develop the habit of remembering them.  I try to keep one or two in my van and then keep the majority in my market basket that hangs on a hook by the door so I can grab them all and go as I head out the door.

I love the cotton canvas totes from Grove Collaborative.  Throughout the entire month of June, when you sign up for Grove you can get a set of FREE wool dryer balls!  Dryer balls was one of my super easy steps in part one!

Buy a Bread Maker and Use It!

I'll be the first to admit that I thought a bread make was one of those appliances that just took up too much room and would never get used.  It wasn't until I decided that I wanted to start making homemade bread and realized that I was having the hardest time making soft sandwich that I even considered owning one.  When my grandma offered us hers, I accepted and we haven't bought a loaf of store bread since.

In less time than it takes to watch a football game, I have fresh homemade bread.  All I have to do is add the ingredients and turn it on.  No kneading on my part.  Now, I do still make homemade French baguettes and things by hand, but it is SO NICE to be able to have homemade bread even during busy weeks when I can't stand around and time and knead.

You can even apply the buy secondhand principle from my first post here.  I see bread makers at secondhand stores ALL. THE. TIME!

Make Your Own

One of the very first places I started reducing waste was by making our own spice mixes.  Now I don't buy taco seasoning packets or chili seasoning packets.  I just mix my own.

These are my favorites:

The reason this works is because spices can easily be bought in glass instead of plastic.  Glass is infinitely recyclable whereas plastic is not.  Or you can take your own containers to the nearest store with a bulk section.

We also make our our mayonnaise, coffee creamer, chocolate syrup, and sour cream.  I hope to share more of our recipes for these soon!

Making your own does take a bit of time, but its also nice because you don't have to run to the store as often.  As long as you keep your base ingredients stocked in your pantry, you can easily make whatever you need!

Say No to Plastic Straws

Plastic straws are a real problem for our oceans and marine life.  You can learn more from the Ocean Conservancy.   The great news is that there are SO MANY alternatives!

You can:

We have small silicone straws at home for the kids and I use stainless steel.  I even have this stainless steel straw carrying kit from Marley's Monsters that I keep in my bag for when we're out and about.

Pay Attention to the Fabric

When buying clothes pay attention to the fabric material.  Microfibers from synthetic materials end up breaking off of our clothes when we wash them and make their way to our oceans, so even when buying secondhand, you want to make sure to avoid synthetics.

What are some of these fibers?

  • Polyester
  • Nylon
  • Lycra
  • Viscose Rayon

And while cotton is a natural fiber, regular cotton requires A LOT of pesticides and water.  Try to choose organic cotton if possible or look for clothes made with flax linen or bamboo, which are much more eco-friendly.

If you already have a few favorite items made with synthetics, there is a product to help when washing.  The Guppyfriend washing bag keeps the fibers from entering the water.  I personally, do not have one of these so I can't say how well it works.

Plan The Night Before

So many times, if I don't plan for a trip out the night before, we forget most of our reusables or I don't end up having time to pack them.  (hashtag life with three kids)

I try to prepare and pack our drinks, napkins, straws, utensils and reusable bags the night before so that I can easily grab them in the rush out the door.  This makes saying "no, thank you," to single-use disposable items MUCH easier when we're out.

 

Like my market basket? Click on the pic and use code ERIKA20 for 20% until July!

 

Well, that's it for part two.  What do you think?  Anything from part one or this post that you're excited to try?  What ways are you reducing waste that I haven't mentioned?  I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below!

Erika

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Virtually Effortless Ways to Reduce Your Waste

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A week or so ago I placed a poll on my Facebook page asking what you all would like to see next here on Full & Simple and you overwhelmingly choose "how to reduce your waste."

As I started thinking of all of the ways we've been working towards reducing our plastic use and waste, I found that this post will be the first in a series of at least three.  I'm categorizing the habits and swaps we're using currently into different effort categories.  All of the suggestions in this post are things that I think you can start today and maintain with as little as 5-10 minutes a day of effort.

But before we get started, here is my disclaimer: I AM NOT PERFECT.  We still have plastic in our house.  We are not zero waste by any means.  There are days when my desire for a gas station fountain pop outweighs my desire for zero waste (but then its usually followed with guilt).  I truly believe that any move in the direction of less waste is better than saying, "I can't do zero waste perfectly, so I won't do it at all."

Ok, with that out there, here we go!

Just Say No to Produce Bags

While I'm guilty as the next person to think that I need super cute "bring your own" produce bags like these, really all you need to do is skip the bag.  You don't HAVE to bring your own.  Yes, people may look at you strangely when you put four loose lemons on the checkout belt, but I got over those looks long ago when we started using the Dave Ramsey envelope system.  And I've never had a cashier tell me that I had to get a bag before she'd sell me the lemons.

Pay Attention to Packaging

So you need some more (insert product here)?  Pay attention to the packaging.  When you are shopping try to avoid plastic packaging as much as possible.  I used to be the person that said, "It's ok.  I recycle," but as I've started this waste reduction journey, I've found that recycling isn't good enough anymore.

Why?  Plastic can only be recycled so many times before it can no longer be recycled, at which point it just becomes trash.  Plus, with China's ban on taking recycling from the U.S. and other countries, many stateside recycling companies are no longer taking plastics, OR they're taking them but then shipping them to a landfill anyway.  Here is a great article from the NY Times on the problem we're facing.

For the purposes of this post and for when you first start your waste reduction journey, remember that when buying the grocery items you need, choose the product in metal or glass packaging--which can be recycled infinitely--over the same item in plastic.  I'll talk more about avoiding plastic while shopping later in this post series.

Shop Secondhand

Confession: while I aspire to minimalism and zero waste I still LOVE to shop!  Life seems so much more exciting when I know I have a package on the way...even if it's just mundane household items.  I get giddy placing a new item in its place in my home.  Now when I get the shopping bug, I usually try to look for secondhand first (again, I'm not perfect).

Shopping secondhand not only allows you to save financial resources, but it also allows you to save natural resources which have already been expended to make said item.  And with online sites like ThredUP, eBay, and all of the Facebook selling groups, shopping secondhand first is easier than ever.

Use this link to get a $10 coupon on your first ThredUP order and give me a $10 coupon for referring you!

I love Goodwill baskets!

Cloth Napkins

Buy and use cloth napkins.  They are not as hard to maintain as many of us believe.  Here are a few tips that I have found to make them virtually effortless.

  1. Buy them in a dark color to hide stains.
  2. Use one napkin for the whole day (unless you get it super messy) and just drape it over the back of your chair between meals.
  3. Kids get wash cloths because they can be wetted down easily and kids are messy.  My kids have color-coded wash rags so they know which one is theirs to use all day.
  4. Hang them to dry to avoid most wrinkles, but we're not a five-star restaurant so some wrinkles are OK!  Don't mess with ironing.
  5. Throw them in with clothes you're already washing.  You do not need to do a separate load.

Beeswax Wraps

Use beeswax wraps to replace plastic wrap.  They really only need a good rinse between uses unless you get them very dirty.  I've even sealed a bowl with the beeswax wraps while baking bread and the dough rose just as well as if I'd sealed it with plastic wrap.

You can make your own, buy them online or see if any local beekeepers have made some with their own beeswax.

Bar Soap Over Body Wash

I get that bar soap can seem gross to some. Heck, I used to be one of the some and still sort of am.  I don't use bar soap for everyone to use while washing their hands...partly because of the sharing germs thing that I'm still mentally not able to get passed and partly because I'm not sure a three year old won't be dropping it all over the place.  However, I have replaced my plastic bottle of body wash with bar soap.  Don't want to share bar soap with others?  Give everyone their own bar and you'll still be reducing plastic and waste!  You get extra points if you find a local soap-maker!

I have these bamboo holders, which are compostable, to keep my bar soap from just sitting in a pool of water in the shower.

Buy Compostable

When replacing items like loofahs, tooth brushes, and dish brushes, replace them with compostable items.  Brushes made with natural fibers and wooden handles can easily be composted.

Now here is another disclaimer: We don't compost.

I tried creating a compost pile, but my chickens and cats eat all of the scraps and spread it out to the point of things not actually composting.  So until I can build some sort of containment system, the chickens and cats take care of our food waste...which is still a good system in my opinion.

HOWEVER, we have a woods near us that I can toss that wooden handle into along with all of the other fallen trees and sticks and it will eventually break down.  Whereas packing it into a landfill will not allow it to break down.  So if you are going to buy compostable items figure out a way to get it back to nature when it's served its purpose and don't throw it in your regular trash.

My favorite sources for wooden cleaning tools are:

Get a Reusable Coffee Filter

Yes, we still use a coffee maker.  No, we aren't cool hipsters that have a French press or Chemex.

Buying a reusable filter really added no extra time for us.  We were already hand-washing the pot and insert anyway.  Cleaning the filter literally takes less than 2 minutes.  The grounds usually get added to the food scraps or I'll dump them by a plant or bush, like our blueberries, that like acidic soil.

Reusable Nursing Pads

Reusable nursing pads are probably one of my favorite changes so far to reducing our waste.  I wish I had known about them three kids ago!  I would have saved at least $80-$100!

I purchased my pack of 10 from Marley's Monsters on Etsy and customized them to be mostly white.  Now I just toss them in a lingerie bag and wash them any time I'm doing a load of towels or light colored clothes.  There is no extra worrying because I'm already doing the laundry anyway.  And I found a really cute basket at Goodwill to store them in.

Wool Dryer Balls

Stop using fabric softener sheets and get some wool dryer balls.  A clothesline would be best, but the weather doesn't always permit outside drying and a lot of the time we still use our dryer.

Wool dryer balls do speed up drying time which saves energy plus they reduce the waste of the dryer sheet...which contain nasty chemicals.  I leave mine in the dryer so I don't even have to think about adding them in each time.  If you still want to have a fresh scent when your clothes are done, experiment with adding drops of essential oils to your dryer balls.  I personally love lavender on mine.

And for the month of June you can get a FREE set of dryer balls when you sign up for Grove Collaborative!!!  Just use this link to find out more about this offer!  And if you want to hear why I love Grove, visit this post.

Slow Down

My last piece of advice in this post is to simply slow down.

Do less.  Be less busy.  Commit to less.

Living a busy and frantic lifestyle makes it much easier to choose the disposable items over reusable or the prepackaged, processed food over whole foods.

Do all of your errands on one day instead of constantly running out of the house to do this or that.  Resign from clubs, committees or roles that don't fulfill you or that no longer align with your life goals.  People grow and change, it is okay to move on to make room for who you are now or want to become.

Well, that's it for today.  I hope that you can find one or two options here that you want to start implementing today or this week.  The next post in this series will include habits and suggestions that may take slightly more effort to implement, but that are still easily doable for anyone trying to live more eco-conscious.  I hope you'll come back and read that post as well!

Find Post Two Here!

 

Disclaimer:  The above post does contain referral and affiliate links.  This means that I may be compensated if you purchase using this link at no additional cost to your self.  This compensation allows me to pay for the maintenance of running Full & Simple. 

Erika Bault is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Erika

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Farmer’s Dandelion Salve

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As I've read more and more about homesteading and reducing waste, foraging has become a topic of interest, mostly because you're getting something for nothing.  Great for the budget!  The plant that has caught my attention most this year is the dandelion.  And while I still don't know if I love them all over my yard, I do know we don't want to spray them because of the honeybees.  So why not make lemonade out of lemons...or salve out of dandelions?

The other day, after spending the afternoon working on my raised beds, my hands were rough.  That's what happens after they spend all winter inside.  And I had to keep reapplying lotion to make them feel moist again.  I had heard of salves for farmers, and I knew that people were in love with dandelions for stuff like this, and so the Farmer's Dandelion Salve was concocted!

Dandelions are used in salves like this because of their analgesic properties.  They can help reduce inflammation and ease muscle fatigue.  Who knew that a "weed" that we work so hard to get rid of, can actually ease the pain of all that work?!

I added a few additional ingredients to this salve for varying reasons.

  • Unrefined coconut oil: Coconut oil is a great moisturizer for skin because it penetrates deep.  This will help with the excessive dryness that can occur after a day of working in the dirt.
  • Beeswax pellets: Beeswax creates a barrier on skin to help lock in the moisture.  Plus, it helps the salve harden!
  • Raw Shea Butter: Raw shea butter is extremely moisturizing and can provide immediate relief to dry hands.  It also does not liquefy at room temperature helping to harden the salve a bit.
  • Lavender essential oil: Lavender oil contains antimicrobial properties which can help to speed up the healing of cuts and burns.
  • Helichrysum essential oil: Helichrysum has been shown to contain anti-inflammation properties and is also used in many anti-aging products to help with the appearance and heath of skin.  It is easy for a farmer's or gardener's hands to look "old" because of the hard work those hands endure.
  • Roman Chamomile essential oil: Chamomile also had anti-inflammatory properties to help your tired hands or neck muscles.  The anti-inflammatory properties, along with the anti-bacterial properties, found in chamomile also make it a great oil for skin health.

The first thing you want is to go in the morning or early afternoon on a sunny day to pick the dandelions.  You want the dew to be dried up, and the flowers to be fresh and open.  This is a great job for little hands to help with!

Once you have a good amount of flower heads, pluck out the petals and lay them out on a towel or drying basket.  Allow them to dry overnight or close to 24 hours.  Dandelions have a lot of moisture, and many people cautioned that adding the flowers without drying them first will cause your lotions, oils and salves to mold or mildew.

You want to make sure to melt your coconut oil.  This does two things: First, it allows you to pour it and mix the flowers in.  Second, the heat helps to allow the oils from the dandelions to infuse into the coconut oil.  Keeping the oil in the sun allows the oil to stay warm and liquid, helping the infusion process.  Your oil should be a golden yellow when you are done.

I used beeswax pellets because of how easily they melt and how simple they are to work with and measure.  However, if I had access to our own beeswax, I would definitely use that instead.

Glass jars are perfect for storing this salve.  Plastic has been reported to leach chemicals into products.  Plus, essential oils will penetrate the plastic so that it will forever smell like whatever oils you have used.  Filling  small glass Ball Canning Jars, like I did, would make a great gift for the farmer, gardener or homesteader in your life!

I personally use doTERRA essential oils and love visiting Dr. Axe's website for essential oil information, but I am NOT a medical professional and you should always do your own research before starting to use essential oils.

Disclaimers: Erika Bault is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

I am a doTERRA wellness advocate and do make a commission if you purchase any of the oils via the website link provided.

Farmer's Dandelion Salve
A great salve to help hands heal after a day working on the farm
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup dried dandelion petals
  2. 1 cup refined coconut oil*
  3. 1/4 cup beeswax pellets
  4. 1 TBSP unrefined shea butter
  5. 7 drops helichrysum oil
  6. 7 drops roman chamomile oil
  7. 10 drops lavender oil
Instructions
  1. Collect several dandelion flowers. Pluck the petals from the flowers. It's ok if some of the green gets mixed in. Let the petals dry overnight.
  2. Heat the coconut oil until it is melted.
  3. Place the dandelion petals in a glass jar and pour the warm coconut oil over the petals. Place a lid on the jar and place it in a sunny spot for several hours while the dandelions infuse the oil.**
  4. Pour the oil through a fine mesh strainer and squeeze the oil out of the flower petals into a small saucepan.
  5. Add the beeswax pellets and shea butter to the dandelion infusion. Heat until all are melted.
  6. Remove from heat and add the other essential oils. Stir.
  7. Pour the salve into your jars and let them cool, making sure not to bump them and disturb the salve or it won't harden as pretty.
  8. Store in a cool place and use as needed after a hard day working with your hands.
Notes
  1. *Do not use fractionated coconut oil since it remains liquid. You want your salve to harden back up.
  2. **I let mine infuse for 6.5 hours, but you can do it even longer. I was just too excited to wait anymore.
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Erika

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How To Build a Raised Bed Garden

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Last year we (meaning I) decided that we (again, I) needed a raised bed garden for some of my perennials like herbs and strawberries along with space for my root vegetables and lettuces.  So I did what I always do and I went to Pinterest for some inspiration.  And then I did what I always do again, and I combined a few different ideas to work for my needs.

We built four of these beds for under $200 total!  I love being able to step off of our back deck and snip some herbs for dinner or pull up a carrot or two.  Just last night I was able to cut some chives for baked potatoes, and I can't wait until we can go gather strawberries for breakfast!

Now, I want to again say that we built these last year, so the prices are from 2017, but I don't see how they could have increased too much.

Supplies

We started by purchasing six 1"x6"x8' cedar fencing boards at Menards for each bed we wanted to make.  This will give you a 4 ft by 8 ft raised bed.  Then we bought 2x4's to use in the corners to screw it all together.  I wanted to be able to add row cover or plastic to create a greenhouse. To do this, we bought 3/4" PVC pipe and the fittings to attach them to the boards and 1/2" PVC pipe to use as the hoops.

Since these beds are frames without a bottom, you will also need to start saving all of those shipping boxes from Amazon and decide where you will get your soil from.  I'll describe what we did for this a little later.

Build the Frames

Start by cutting your 2x4's.  If you want yours flush with the top, then they would be about 12 inches.  You need four 12 inch boards per bed you're making.

The next thing my husband did was to cut off the "dog ear" on our boards.  You can totally leave them if it won't bother you, but I just wanted a really clean square look.  This does technically make my beds slightly less than 4ftx8ft, but what are a few inches?

Now cut two of the cedar planks in half.  These will become the four boards you need for the short ends of the bed.

Once you've made all of your cuts, you can screw it all together.  Place two of the long boards flush together and screw the 2x4 pieces to the top and bottom, but make sure you leave space for the side boards, about an inch. Repeat with the other two long boards.  Now screw the side boards to the 2x4.  And you should have at rectangular frame.

Adding Hoops

If you want to have the ability for the row cover or plastic,  now is the time to add your 3/4" pipe.  Using a pipe cutter, you will cut 12" sections.  For each bed, you'll want eight 12" pieces- four per side.  Screw the pipes in place equally down the long sides of your bed.

Prepping the Bed for Soil

Find a level area to place your bed frames and arrange them however you like.  I moved and moved mine until they were equidistant  and seemed straight with the house!  It is worth taking your time because hopefully they won't be going anywhere anytime soon!

Take all of those boxes you've been saving and remove any tape or labels the best you can.  You want to line the bottom of each bed with this cardboard to kill the grass underneath.  The cardboard will eventually compost into the soil, but tape and labels may not depending on what they're made of.

Another thing to do before adding soil is to use tape to cover the holes of your PVC pipe.  You don't want them filling up with soil so that you can't easily slip your hoop pipes down in them!

Adding Soil

Once you have lined the bottom with cardboard, you will want to add soil.  Now many of you know that our mini farm is actually attached to my family's larger farm.  We simply bought 10 acres of the family farm and then the 20 acre plot next to it and rounded things out.

Our family no longer raises cattle, but they do lease the land to a cattle farmer and he feeds hay in various sections of the pasture.  These areas are frequented by the cows, so there is quite a bit of manure that gets mixed into the dirt near these areas.  We lovingly refer to this as "poop dirt."  Fancy, I know. LOL!  Anyway, my dad filled up the front loader on the tractor a few times and we filled our beds with the "poop dirt" and some left over dirt that was piled up from when we built our chicken coop.

And to just make things even better for our plants, I went to the local gas station and picked up some nightcrawlers.  For those of you that aren't from the country, nightcrawlers are REALLY big worms that are used for fishing.  I bought one container for each bed and added the worms to the beds so they could help mix and aerate the soil.

Plant

You're now ready to plant!

I loved the idea of these beds for my perennial plants like strawberries, horseradish, lavender, thyme, chives, etc. because this gave them an area that would be safe from my husband "accidentally" mowing them down.  And it also contains them from spreading too much.

These beds are also FANTASTIC for root veggies.  We have a lot of clay in our soil in the main garden, and even though we are working on adding organic matter to the area to loosen it up, we always ended up with short carrots and and shallots never grew.  The looseness of the soil in these beds allowed for long carrots and my shallots did wonderfully!

Add straw, mulch and fertilizer as needed to keep weeds at bay and harvests plentiful.

Greenhouse or Row Cover

After you've planted, you can add the hoops and row cover or plastic.  I placed the 1/2" PVC pipes down into the 3/4" pieces on the sides.  My 1/2" PVC was 8ft long.  Honestly, this is probably too long.  I'm thinking of cutting some of the length off so that the plastic and row cover is closer to the dirt.

I used metal clips to keep my plastic attached to the hoops.  I think they were 99 cents each at our local hardware store.  Just make sure to allow for some air movement or you'll cook your seeds instead of getting them to grow!

Well, that's it!  If you have any questions, please comment below and ask!  I hope you enjoy your raised beds as much I have enjoy having mine!

Erika

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Stop Allowing Clutter Into Your Life

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Full-and-simple-stop-allowing-clutter-in-your-life

Two months into the new year and I still haven't completely settled on my Word of the Year.  I kept thinking about the word "less," but I don't really feel like it is much different than "simple" for 2016 or "contentment" for 2017.  I still find myself immersed on this journey of simplifying our life and home and trying to learn to be content in the everyday...before all of my "simple" projects can be complete.

Clutter is an antagonist to all three of those words and I'm constantly in a battle against it.  But no matter how hard I fight, it seems to find its way to my countertops, closet, van, etc.  Why?!  Why, when I have given so much away and simplified so many aspects of our life, do I still have to battle clutter everyday?

And then it hit me.  I'm losing the fight because I'm fighting the war on the wrong battleground!  I try to fight clutter once its inside my home, but the battle needs to begin before it gets here!  I need to stop ALLOWING clutter to infiltrate my life.

That's right, ALLOWING.  There is so much clutter and noise that we are allowing and even INVITING into our lives and homes!  And most of the time, we don't realize its happening or that we have the option to say, "no, thank you!"

While this will take some effort in the beginning, like all good habits do, the following things can help us have simpler, less cluttered spaces and minds.

Unfollow and Unfriend

Unfollow Instagram accounts or businesses that no longer appeal to you, especially if you only followed them as part of a giveaway.  Unfriend that person you added on Facebook because you had one class project together five years ago in college.

I've been going through my friends lists and editing frequently.  Basically on Instagram, I want to see pretty pictures and be inspired.  I rarely follow a close friend on both Instagram and Facebook because I realized that many were posting the same picture on both sites.  I don't need to see it twice.  My personal Facebook is reserved for mostly close friends.  If I'm not comfortable with the idea of you seeing pictures of my kids in underwear, then I'm not adding you.

If you aren't seeing posts and announcements from pages and people you like hearing from the most then make sure to use the "See First" option on Facebook.  You can find this under the "Follow" option on their page.  Interact with posts by people you enjoy seeing and hearing from on Facebook and Instagram.  The way that these two sites set up their algorithms, posts with a lot of interaction are more likely to be seen by you and others.  Interacting includes liking, commenting and/or sharing that post.

As we allow social media to take up more and more of our lives, let's make sure that we are at least seeing the content we want to and stop wasting time scrolling past things we don't care about.

Unsubscribe

Either subscribe to a business's email list or follow them on social media.  There really is no reason to do both.  Most of their sales are listed in both places so a follow AND an email subscription is redundant.  I only have a few businesses that I make an exception for because they offer different content on each platform.

You can find the "unsubscribe" button on the bottom of most emails where you have joined a list.   But to make this and my inbox even simpler, a friend told me about a free service call Unroll.Me.  I literally just signed up about 5 minutes ago.  It appears to be a service to help you unsubscribe to emails you no longer want to receive, but also allows you to "roll up" marketing emails that you still want to receive into ONE email.  You no longer have to read separate emails for Nellie Taft, Pottery Barn, The Laundress, etc.  Get all of their emails in one quick easy to read email.  It sounds amazing, and I'm hoping that this will clear up my inbox anxiety!

Opt Out of Catalogs

I have started to use Catalog Choice to unsubscribe to catalogs that I no longer want to receive in my mailbox...which is basically all of them.  With daily emails from companies that I shop at, I no longer need to waste trees and time on catalogs.

Catalog Choice does not have the means to unsubscribe you from all catalogs, so for those I go to the company's website and use the contact form to email and ask to be removed from their mailing list.  I'm already seeing a big difference in the amount of catalogs we receive.

Full-and-simple-stop-allowing-clutter-in-your-life

Current view of the mess in our office. So. Much. Paper!

Opt Out of Junk Mail

There are two ways that I know of to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive every day.  The first is DirectMail.com's National Do Not Mail list.  This is a free service similar to the Do Not Call List, but is not sponsored by the government.  It is a private company that actually creates "junk mail" for companies.  Their thought is that it is a waste of company money to send you something you won't respond to.

The other is OptOutPrescreen.com.  This is provided by Experian, the credit reporting agency.  You can opt out of prescreened offers for 5 years online or permanently by mail.

I personally have signed up for both of these, but make sure that you do your research on these (and the Unroll.Me) and make your own decision.

Accept Email Receipts

I love this option from CVS and other stores.  I created a receipt file in my email inbox and now I don't have the paper clutter of receipts, but I still have access to the receipt if I need it for a return.  The Walmart app is great way to save any receipts I get from there and to use their Savings Catcher option.

Full-and-simple-stop-allowing-clutter-in-your-life

Another view of our office. This room is a catchall for clutter.

Say No to the Toy in the Kids' Meal

Everywhere we go, someone is offering our kids a cheap toy, whether its the dentist, fast food restaurant or even church.  You can say no.  I have done this with kids' meals frequently.  My kids don't even realize that all fast food is "supposed" to come with a toy now!

The same goes with free samples.  I buy a lot of my hair products from Sephora online.  I used to ALWAYS get my three free samples. No. Matter. What.  But then I ended up with a box of stuff I never tried or had a desire to try.  Now, I only get the samples of stuff I already use daily so that I have "travel size" options or the samples of products I really do want to try.

I realized that getting freebies, just because they're free, is really wasteful and isn't free.  These things cost space in my home and peace of mind when I'm trying to get things organized!

Don't Accept Things You Won't Use

I have someone in my life that loves to thrift and discount shop.  And they are constantly on the lookout for gifts and things that they can give to us and others.  However, there have been several times that we have been on the receiving end of something that we already had, wasn't useful to us, or that we simply didn't like.  A few people told me to just accept these things and take them to Goodwill later, and for a while I did.  But then I realized that this did a disservice to the giver and to me.

They were wasting their money on something they thought I liked, and by accepting it, they could then go on to waste more money in the future on similar items, thinking that they were helping.  And I had to take time out of my schedule to deal with the item...moving it from place to place until I finally dropped it off at the thrift store.

Now, I don't suggest being rude.  Kindly tell the person that the item isn't needed or your style and that perhaps they could get better use out of it themselves.  Or suggest they consider someone else who may need it.  The most recent thing we turned away was a baby swaddler.  We already had plenty because we've already had two other babies, but a cousin was having a new baby.  She might actually need the new swaddler when we didn't.  It worked out for everyone.

I will say that I only do this when it is a gift without occasion.  I wouldn't do this with a Christmas or Birthday gift as I feel that more thought goes into those than these "I saw this and thought of you" type of gifts.

Be Conscious of Packaging

While I've always felt that by recycling, I'm not really wasting resources, I recently learned that isn't true.  China has stopped accepting most of our plastics for recycle so they are ending up in the landfill anyway.  You can read more about it here.

But even if avoiding plastic and excess packaging for the sake of the planet doesn't entice you, think about the time and money we spend dealing with recycling and trash.  You open a box from a recent online order.  How long does that box and packaging sit on your counter before you put it in the garbage bins?  Then you have to empty your bins in your home to the larger bins in the garage.  Then, if you're like us with no trash or recycle pick up, you have to drive your waste to the recycling center.  That's a lot of time and effort.  Buying veggies and other items in bulk (without the provided plastic bags) can save time and the planet.  Win-Win!

Keep a Donation Box Near the Door

For all of the clutter we didn't fight before it arrived in our homes, make sure to keep a donation box.  This way you have one place to put items that you find in your home that are no longer serving you.  DO NOT put an item back in it's original spot if you've decided that you no longer need/want it!  It should got straight into the box.

OK, this was a really long post.  If you made it to the end, you are a true warrior against clutter and waste.  I hope that you found at least one or two new things you can implement today in your own battle to lead a simpler, less cluttered life!

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Erika

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Get Ready for Spring with Mrs. Meyers

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Spring is in the air here on the Farm even if the Indiana weather has dipped back down into winter temps.  We're getting the garden ready for planting, planning raised beds, and taking care of our new baby chicks.  But one of my favorite things about spring is all of my perennial flowers coming up and blooming.

Last week my grandma passed away and most of my perennials came from her.  I think that will make these spring blooms even more special.  Two of my favorite spring flowers that my grandma gave me starts of are lilacs and peonies.  My lilacs are even starting to bud already!

And while I may have to wait a little bit longer to see these blooms, I don't have to wait to fill my home with their scent and neither do you!  I've teamed up with The Grove Collaborative once again to offer you an amazing deal.

I found The Grove Collaborative about a year ago when I got my very own Mrs. Meyers spring cleaning kit.  I love this company!  They are a monthly delivery service of earth-friendly home and personal products.  But more than that, they are a certified B corporation and have an amazing mission.  This means that I can shop their site knowing that anything I pick, is a sound environmental choice.

And their customer service is THE BEST!  Once I received my package with a broken candle, and they not only shipped me a new candle free of charge, but they also gave me a store credit for the next month!  These guys and gals go above and beyond to make sure you are completely satisfied.

The Grove Collaborative is offering Full & Simple readers everything above when they make their first $20 purchase.  Some of my other favorite products include Seventh Generation toilet paper, Mrs. Meyers Dishwasher Tabs, and the Mrs. Meyers Vinegar Gel Cleaner (this stuff is awesome for sinks!).  Those three items come to a total of $21.97 and with Grove's special pricing, you save $8.00 off of other stores!

Are you already a Grove Collaborative customer?  Don't worry, Grove never leaves anyone out!  You can get one of the Grove Collaborative glass spray bottles for half off during this special offer.

But you need to hurry, because this deal is only good while supplies last or until Sunday, March 19, 6pm PST.  If you're ready to go green this spring, just click below to get started!

Disclaimer:  I am a Grove Collaborative customer, but I am also a Grove Influencer.  I receive a commission for all purchases made using the above links.  Thank you for supporting Full & Simple and helping me stay as ad free as possible!

Erika

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Hand-Picked Peach: Wine Glass Writer (& Giveaway!)

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As you all probably know, I'm still working on my Contentment Challenge.  During the challenge I've noticed just how much less trash we have now that I'm not buying things beyond groceries, and I've started to even try to avoid the standard waste from grocery shopping.  This has lead to a lot of homemade condiments and glass containers.

The problem?  Trying to remember what is in all those glass jars and when I made them!

I tried writing on the jars with a dry erase marker, but every time I touched the lettering, the writing would wipe right off.

Then I heard about Wine Glass Writer!

Wine Glass Writer is a washable, non-toxic marker that writes on glass and glazed ceramics.  The ink dries in 1-2 minutes and does not smudge, but easily washes off with soap and water.  It has been a perfect solution to my refrigerator dilemma.

So perfect in fact that I've started to use it around the house for other things like labeling my cleaner bottles and writing scripture on my mirror.

The only thing I haven't tried yet is using Wine Glass Writer to write on wine glasses! LOL!  But never fear, the next book club night I'll be letting the girls have fun decorating their glasses so we can all keep track of whose is whose.

Wine Glass Writer offers two flagship products, the Metallic trio in gold, emerald green and silver and a Bold Matte trio in brilliant blue, purple and green.  The best part about the Bold Matte trio is that it is 100% made in the USA!  Wine Glass Writer was also recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 5 Wine Accessories of the Year, the first year the product debuted as well.

Now the fun part.  The gals over at Wine Glass Writer want to give one lucky reader a trio of her very own!  Just fill in the information below!

Disclaimer: I was given a free sample of Wine Glass Writer in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions and usage ideas are my own.

Giveaway Guidelines:  Eligible winners must reside within USA and Canada. By entering, entrants confirm they are 18+ years of age. The logos shown in the photo belong to the respective brands and no copyright infringement is intended. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Friends/family/colleagues of sponsors are not eligible. WGW will be responsible for shipping costs. Recent giveaway winners (hosted by this group or others) within 30 days of this giveaway are not eligible to enter. Fake or Giveaway-Only accounts will be disqualified. Product boxes may have been opened for giveaway photo purposes. 

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Erika

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Tips for Waste Less Grocery Shopping When You Don’t Live Near a Bulk Food Store

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One thing that I've noticed while working on this Contentment Challenge is how much less trash and recycling we have.  I'm actually kind of shocked at how much less...  This has led me to wonder how we could reduce even more of our waste.  While we will probably never become wasteless, I do want to become a family that wastes less. (See what I did there? LOL!)

The Biggest Hurdle

One of the biggest hurdles for us to become wasteless is the fact that we do not live near a grocery with a bulk food section like Kroger or Whole Foods.  The nearest is probably 45 minutes away.  The time and gas for that drive are not feasible for us on a weekly basis.  So, I will still shop my regular grocery and the closer Walmart most of the time, only going to a bulk section once or twice a month to stock up on pantry essentials like flour, grains, beans and spices.

The Solutions

Even with most of my shopping being done at a regular grocery, I have come up with a few ideas to help us transition to a lifestyle where we are wasting less on packaging.

Make it Homemade

I've started to make a lot of items from scratch.  I make baguettes, noodles, mayonnaise, fries, and whipped cream from scratch always now.  But there is so much more that I would like to try.  Why not make a cake from scratch instead of using a box mix?  Making homemade pasta could be a fun family or date night.  I love making homemade pizza with my canned pizza sauce on Friday nights too.  Making homemade can take longer, but if you start small and choose one thing to master at a time, you could make a big difference in your grocery bill and your waste.

Grow Your Own

I realize that not everyone has a yard where they can grow most of their own food.  However, everyone can grow something.  Even if you live in a tiny apartment you can grow your own herbs.  A lot of herbs at the grocery come in those little plastic containers, so growing your own would prevent that waste.  You don't even have to start your own seeds if you don't want.  Buy a plant that is already started!  Tomatoes and peppers are some other plants that do well in containers.  I love this idea below from Better Homes & Gardens for growing your own lettuces or spinach!

Shop Your Farmers Market

Buy what you can from your local farmers market.  Not only will this give you better quality food in most cases and help your local economy, there is less waste from most farmers market vendors.  However, some still use those plastic produce bags.  Which leads me to my next solution.

Buy Reusable Produce Bags (Or Don't Use Any)

Because I'm working on the Contentment Challenge and can't buy anything new right now, I've been just forgoing produce bags all together.  Cashiers don't really love me when I'm checking out with oranges all over the conveyor belt, but so what.  For some veggies, like celery, not having bags doesn't really matter, but because I do buy things like loose apples and oranges, I plan on buying a few reusable produce bags once the challenge is over.  I really like these from Amazon.  They're even biodegradable!

Bring Your Bag (Or Basket)

Our local grocery doesn't provide bags, actually.  You either bring your own or you can buy some at checkout for ten cents each.  We always take our own, most of which were free from various fairs or events.  However, I do love my market basket from Freckled Hen Farmhouse for shopping, and I can't wait to use it at the farmers market this coming season.  If you want something a little cuter than a free bag with advertising on it, take a look at Etsy.  I really love this bag from Magnolia Roots.  Or the one below that from The Oysters Pearl.

Shop the Outer Perimeter

We've all been told to shop the perimeter because that is where the majority of the real, whole foods can be found.  But the perimeter is also where you can find less packaging (mostly) as well.  A lot of your processed foods come in boxes with even more wrappers and plastic on the inside.  Not only will you have less trash shopping this way, but your waistline will probably thank you too.

Replace Disposable Items with Reusable

A few disposable things that I'm contemplating replacing with reusable items are:

  • Coffee filters:  I could get a reusable one on Amazon for less than $4.
  • Plastic Wrap:  We've already started replacing some of the plastic wrap we use with these reusable Bee's Wraps and I love them!  Hopefully I can make some of our own when we harvest our beeswax.
  • Napkins: During the Contentment Challenge I've really tried to "elevate" dinner.  I think its important to make the everyday special too, and not doing so can sometimes lead to discontent.  I've started putting food into serving dishes (normally saved for company) instead of just the pans.  We listen to records on my record player.  I think that cloth napkins would be great to continue the mood that I want to set, which is that dinner with my family is important.  Plus, we already switched color-coded was rags for the kids instead of paper towels.  Just doing that has significantly decreased the amount of paper towel we use.

Do you have any other tips or tricks that you use around the house to decrease your waste?  I'd love to know!  Just leave me a note in the comments below!

Disclaimer:  Erika Bault is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Erika

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Homemade Garlic Parmesan Fries with Garlic Mayo

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There are a few pretty hipster restaurants near us.  And a few years ago when we went to one they served their fries with a truffle mayo.  I had thought that the concept of fries dipped in mayo was disgusting, but I also hate ketchup (my husband still thinks this is cause for believing I'm a sleeper agent for another country. LOL!)  However, I was so wrong!  Their mayo was so light and delicious.  It made for a great dipping sauce.

After FINALLY learning how to make mayonnaise from scratch, I decided to give gourmet fries and mayo a go myself.  And now, I will never go back to frozen, bagged french fries.

These homemade garlic Parmesan fries are so easy and do still have a crisp to them even though they aren't fried.  And while I give you the recipe for garlic Parmesan fries, the concept is so versatile.  I've made paprika fries and some with Gruyere instead of Parmesan.  You could add some smoked paprika to your mayo as well to change up the flavors.

So the next time you are in the mood for fries, try this healthier alternative to the drive-thru and those pre-packaged fries.  I promise that you will never go back.  Plus, these are a great crowd pleaser with a little wow factor if you're entertaining friends!

Homemade Garlic Parmesan Fries with Garlic Mayo
Serves 4
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 medium potatoes
  2. 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  3. 1 tsp garlic powder
  4. 1 tsp parsley flakes
  5. 1 tsp coarse salt
  6. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  7. 1 farm fresh egg
  8. 1 TBSP lemon juice
  9. 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  10. 1/4 tsp white pepper
  11. 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  12. 1 finely minced garlic clove
  13. 1 cup grapeseed oil
Instructions
  1. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Peel your potatoes. Cut each into potato into 1/4-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1/4-inch spears.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil.
  4. Add the garlic powder, parsley flakes, salt and Parmesan.
  5. Using your hands, toss the fries to make sure they are coated evenly with the the spices and oil.
  6. Place the fries in a single layer on your baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
  7. After 15 minutes, remove the fries and flip them. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
  8. While the fries are baking make your mayo.
  9. Add the egg, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, salt, garlic and oil to a small container (in that order)
  10. Using a hand blender, mix until emulsion occurs.*
  11. After the second 15 minutes of the fries baking, turn the oven to broil.
  12. Broil for approximately 5 minutes or until the fries start to crisp and turn brown. Pay VERY close attention while broiling as the fries can burn quickly at this point.
  13. Remove from oven and serve with garlic mayo for dipping.
Notes
  1. *For more tips and a video on making mayonnaise, visit this post here.
Full & Simple https://fullandsimple.com/

Erika

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The Easy Trick to Perfect Homemade Mayonnaise

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Ever since we got our chickens, there are all kinds of recipes that I've wanted to start trying and making: Hollandaise, poached eggs, my Grandma's noodles and homemade mayonnaise.

I found a recipe on online for homemade mayonnaise and I tried it....with no luck.  So I found another...again, no luck.  I tried the food processor, a hand beater and a blender (all of which were used in various recipes).  None of them worked either.  I'm sure that I wasted two or three dozen eggs before I finally figured out how to make mayo right the first time.

Finally, I asked my grandma for this Cuisinart hand blender for my birthday since a hand blender was mentioned in a few recipes.  I chose this one because it was a best seller on Amazon, relatively inexpensive and it came with a dishwasher-safe beaker to make mixing easier.  This is when things started to happen!  I would get a good batch every three or four attempts, but I still wanted to know how to make homemade mayo right on the first time...EVERY time.

So do you want in on the secret?

Lean in a little closer.....

Use a small container for blending and then hold the blender all the way down until the mayo starts to form.  That's it!  I would always start moving the blender up too soon!  This allows too much oil to get to the eggs while the emulsification process happens.

Emulsification is when water and oil are equally distributed with the use of an emulsifier, which in this case is the egg yolk.

Because this recipe calls for raw eggs, I DO NOT recommend using eggs from the grocery store or a source that you have never used before.  Make sure you trust the source and have never had any problems with your egg supplier.  I feel comfortable using our own eggs because I know the health of my chickens, the cleanliness of our coop and how the eggs have been handled after collection.

Most sources will tell you that homemade mayonnaise is good for only three or four days, but we've been able to keep ours for up to ten days.  If I don't think we'll get it eaten in time, I share with family.  I never have a shortage of guinea pigs for my homemade creations. LOL!  But just use your best judgement and what you're comfortable with. 

We also like to store our mayonnaise in these Weck tulip jars.  I think that they're so pretty and very functional as well!

 

Homemade Mayonnaise
A recipe for easy homemade mayonnaise.
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Prep Time
2 min
Cook Time
3 min
Total Time
5 min
Prep Time
2 min
Cook Time
3 min
Total Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 egg (temperature doesn't matter)
  2. 1 TBSP lemon juice
  3. 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
  4. 1/4 tsp white pepper
  5. 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  6. 1 cup grapeseed oil
Instructions
  1. Add the ingredients into your narrow container in the order listed.
  2. Wait about 20-30 seconds for things to settle after you add the oil. You want the egg and all to end up completely on bottom with the oil on top.
  3. Lower the hand mixer so that it is setting on the bottom of your container. Using low speed, mix until the emulsion takes place and the mayonnaise starts to rise up to the top.
  4. When the mayonnaise starts to rise, VERY slowly start bringing the hand mixer up as well to mix the remaining oil with the mayonnaise.
  5. Transfer to your storage jar and enjoy!
Notes
  1. Feel free to add other flavors for more variety. We really love to add a clove of finely chopped garlic. Just add these adjustments after the mustard and before the oil.
  2. The longer you mix the thicker the mayo.
Full & Simple https://fullandsimple.com/

Erika

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