"Natural" Face Washes

I bet a good chunk of society pays a bunch of money each month or two for face wash. Once I looked at the ingredient list on some of them, I was shocked. Some of them, even those claiming themselves "natural", have plastic bits in them.  Yes plastic. That is essentially made just to wash straight down the drain for little fish to eat.  Next time you buy something with an exfoliant in it, look for something without polyethelyne in it–yup plastic. You can get actually natural exfoliation from scrubs that have salt, sugar, baking soda, seed husks, oatmeal and more–anything with a natural coarseness to it. Even, make your own!  I just use baking soda but if you want something a bit more luxurious, have a peek around the internet for recipes–there's so many, almost for any taste! But essentially, something coarse (like the list I had before), a binder like honey or olive/almond oil, and sometimes some lemon juice or tea. Cheap luxury with ingredients you already have!

Reusable Snack Bags/Storage Containers

I bought a few of these organic cotton bags at the Guelph Organic Conference in January, and had purchased the mesh-like larger produce bags at No Frills (I think) or possibly Metro in the past.

They are super handy for buying bulk nuts/dried fruit/pasta/rice etc. The produce bags are great when I remember to bring them to the store (if I don't have them I just annoy my cashier and have 5 loose apples or the equivalent rolling around). The small cotton one is nice for bringing dry snacks with me as I go around. I've tried using them for apples, raw balls etc but they just tend to squish and guck up the fabric.  I stick to small mason jars or small tupperware for moist goods.

I use the tupperware because I have it, I wouldn't buy new plastic tupperware now. If anything, I'd buy tiffin tins:
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/Central/Madhya_Pradesh/Mandu/photo36124.htm
or glass tupperware:
http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageId=14&CatID=380&SubCatID=2237&upc=71160065321
But also, saving glass jars as you use them is greatest (and free-est!). Try to buy products in glass jars when you can (pasta sauce, peanut butter, etc) and save your roommates purchases as well! You'll be needing them now, before you start making all your own preserves and don't need to buy any from the store!

"Independence Days"

I bought a book a few weeks ago at the Canadian Organic Growers Conference called "Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage and Preservation" by Sharon Astyk
http://www.amazon.ca/Independence-Days-Sharon-Astyk/dp/0865716528/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1364535807&sr=8-3-fkmr0

Catching the worst cold I've had in years has confined me to my house for the day so as not to contaminate anyone I come near.  But it has allowed me to read.

A few things in the first few chapters of this book really struck me:
"Do now, do today, with all our hearts, the things we should have been doing "anyway" all along"
I realized that I have been seeing this everywhere. People engaging in direct action; movements like Occupy; small community-based restaurants and stores like Karma Co-op, The Depanneur, Creme Fraiche Market Cafe; the ever expanding list of farmers markets in the city–people are taking up arms and "doing what they should have been doing 'anyway'".
It is in everyones best interest to support local organic food systems that don't put huge emphasis on oil (approx. 35% of our fossil fuels are used in food systems).
It is in everyones best interest to lower their energy consumption because climate change is a thing.
It is in everyones best interest to grow their own food because our soil systems are becoming so degraded they are leaching nutrients like never before.
It is in everyones best interest to waste less food so that there is more for the impoverished (we have no food shortage, we have food wastage–we throw out approximately 1/3 of the fresh produce we buy).
It is in everyones best interest to support local organic food systems instead of major corporations to combat the massive economic and social inequities that our current system has created.
Start growing your own. Start small. Build as you can. It's worth it for all of the above reasons.
And hey, I guess I'm doing this in a way with creating my own social enterprises–creating the jobs that I think are missing, engaging those who need it, working from the ground up instead of waiting for the government to implement curriculums that reflect our current social and economic structure.

"It was a process of unlearning all the things that society had taught me"
I feel like this spoke the words that I've been thinking about the last few months.  So much questioning has been happening, a desire to get rid of all my 'stuff', to grow my own food, to make healthy body products, to cut my consumption.
It is just an unlearning.
I take comfort in that.

Perhaps this is why I got sick. To reflect. To further question. To slow down and remember the important things instead of getting swept away in paperwork and "busy-ness. Who knows.  Whatever the reason, I'm grateful.