Just Use Less!

Kathy Gray wrote:
I am a breast cancer survivor, and I am trying diligently not to add ANY fule to the  fire.
I would love to hear words of wisdom about this from my permies friends♥️

.

Kathy,
Not so much on the fragrances and other chemicals.
I have long been a fan of a saying from Jack LaLanne (I just dated myself)  he famously said " IF MAN MADE IT, DON'T EAT IT." Referring to processed foods, which he attributed to many health problems. The same might be said about household products also, the least processed the better!
Looks like you're getting the handle on that one.

Rich Rayburn wrote:Jennie,
I'm thinking you're probably using a more natural type of dish soap, if not check your brand on the internet and see where it stacks up on the toxic scorecard.
Rick

Yep, I'm scent sensitive and chemical sensitive as well. It's Eco ___? Get it by the gallon at my coop. A gallon lasts us about 6 months and it's used every day.

I suppose that's another "use less" idea right? Buy what you can in bulk!

If you're not scent sensitive and you have to have shampoo, you can buy (or used to be able to) shampoo concentrates at Sally's by the gallon. It's how beauty shops get their shampoo, or was. My scent sensitivity showed up just around the time of "aromatherapy" and every damned one at Sally's was perfumed when I ran out of my old stuff, so I haven't bought any shampoo concentrate in > a decade !

Jennie Little wrote:

Rich Rayburn wrote:Jennie,
I'm thinking you're probably using a more natural type of dish soap, if not check your brand on the internet and see where it stacks up on the toxic scorecard.
Rick

Yep, I'm scent sensitive and chemical sensitive as well. It's Eco ___? Get it by the gallon at my coop. A gallon lasts us about 6 months and it's used every day.

I suppose that's another "use less" idea right? Buy what you can in bulk!

If you're not scent sensitive and you have to have shampoo, you can buy (or used to be able to) shampoo concentrates at Sally's by the gallon. It's how beauty shops get their shampoo, or was. My scent sensitivity showed up just around the time of "aromatherapy" and every damned one at Sally's was perfumed when I ran out of my old stuff, so I haven't bought any shampoo concentrate in > a decade !

I found and unscented shampoo bar that comes in a cardboard paper box

Kathy Gray wrote:

I found and unscented shampoo bar that comes in a cardboard paper box

Kathy,

Every attempt I have made to use a shampoo bar has been vetoed by my partner. He hates them!

Other things I do which I hadn't thought about: use a chamois cloth + steam from a shower to clean bathroom chrome. Use shower steam + squeege and chamois to clean mirrors.

We have hooks in our bath/shower spaced to hold a plastic chain. If we need to, we can drape items or put items to dry on hangers there. When we were "between" water heaters, we installed a hook in the ceiling to hold the camp hot water bag.

We use "automotive" tape + sharpies for food labels. Means we buy fewer rolls of tape (auto tape rolls are longer than the tiny freezer tape rolls). With heavy-duty bags (slow cooker liners, etc.) the tape can often be reused as well. We put used disposable gloves in a tin to be reused. Never used for food prep, but construction, auto maintenance, cat box changing, etc. Old lemons cut in 1/2 can be used to clean/bleach a cutting board. It needs to be oiled afterward.

I've been watching rural cooking videos. Two things: 1) Everybody cooks potatoes. 2) Everyone uses a knife, rather than a peeler to peel them. So...? I wondered, do I really need a potato peeler? Tonight's dinner is roasted potatoes and meatballs (LO from last night). I had 8 small potatoes (all < 3.5 oz, my last 50# bag of potatoes had NO big ones and I weigh them all and sort them to store them).

So 8 potatoes, 2 groups of 4. One peeled with a knife and the other with a peeler:

9.5 oz potatoes after peeling with knife. 2.6 oz peels with a knife.
10.1 oz potatoes after peeling with peeler, 2.1 oz peels with knife.

Now I have a goal to work towards ...  less with a knife. One thing I did was sharpen the knife 1/2 way through. I think I might want to use a different knife too, but it was what I had already grabbed for cutting the potato chunks for roasting.

Math "corrected" above and then removed. This is the type of thing that makes my brain hurt. I'm never sure if I'm dividing it the right way.

If I can learn to do better with the knife peeling, I'll give up my peeler!

denise ward wrote:I have this vision of being in contests where people wash dishes and compete to see who used the least water and still came up with clean dishes.

I spent some time on a reservation. Water, energy, and soap are at a premium, right? In a dish pan, dirty dishes were stacked largest to smallest in a small, stable pyramid. A little soapy hot water was poured into the top dish, the small dish was wiped out before being put aside to be actually rinsed... This continued. The dirty water was fed to the pigs or garden I think? But it used minimal water, got the food remains off the dishes in a way that put all the dirty water in the bottom, largest dish.

Jennie,
I'd never heard of automotive tape. Thanks!
Regarding peeling potatoes, why do it? We eat the skins and all and they're tasty!

Re potato skins? Sometimes we eat them too, not always, depends. I use cooked potatoes as a thickener and the skins aren't an asset...

The idea was to eliminate another "I've been sold on the idea that I need this thing". We also eliminated our sifter (use a strainer) and coffee measure (use a scale) and other things. The fewer pieces I "need" the happier I am.

Even with practice, I still haven't managed to peel potatoes consistently, so I still have and use my peeler. But it's the idea: I'd rather have 1 less tool, when it makes sense!

Jennie Little wrote:Other things I do which I hadn't thought about: use a chamois cloth + steam from a shower to clean bathroom chrome. Use shower steam + squeege and chamois to clean mirrors.

We have 98% humidity today and the display fridges and freezers in the shop are dripping condensation on their glass doors - a chamois leather is ideal for drying them down, just rinse to clean, and it doesn't have to be dry itself to do a good job!

Cara Campbell wrote:
Regarding peeling potatoes, why do it? We eat the skins and all and they're tasty!

Potato skins are actually where most of the minerals vitamins and anti-oxidants are, so eating the skins whenever possible is a good idea.
There is a problem with commercially grown non-organic potatoes in that they have pesticide and other chemical residues and therefore the skins probably contain most of that.
A good reason to buy organic or grow your own!
Eating the skins also means that you'll " use less" potatoes . 😄