Our story It began in a foreign country in Western Europe. It was the summer of 2018. We made a move and later, another decision that would change our lives f o r e v e r. The city was Berlin. The year was 2017, in the … Read more...
Articles on reducing your carbon footprint by living a low-impact,low- waste lifestyle that reduces harm to the environment.
Baking soda – the household wonder helper
I have known that baking soda is good, but I never realized how good it is for the environment, my wallet and my everyday life!
Be warned that this is going to be a mammoth post, but it has do be done, as EVERYBODY should know the tens and tens of wonderful purposes of SODA. The best part about baking soda is that it is CHEAP and comes oftentimes in a carton box – a real treat to those, who want to save money and save planet earth!
Baking soda or washing soda?
There are two kinds out there – baking soda and washing soda. I have mainly used baking soda. If you want to know what the difference is between the two, then it is water and carbon dioxide.
Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules).
Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Some of that school knowledge must have floated in, right? 🙂 If you want to read more about them both, please kindly visit this website for more information Science Struck.
How to use baking soda?
For your health
1. Use soda as a deodorant, rubbing it into the underarm – you can do it like that, but rather, mix it with coconut oil, some starch and add a little bit of essential oil, whichever is to your liking (ie. lavender or tea-tree). Your own natural deodorant is done!
Eve says: “When I first made natural deodorant, I felt my life and social life had changed because I had no odor! Sadly, the excitement was short-lived and my armpits started to burn. I had used too much soda and it burned my armpits! What we do know is to keep a jar of coconut oil and an open jar of baking soda. Ideally each morning, I take a tiny bit of coconut oil with my first two fingers and rub it gently under my arms, I then I dip my fingers into the jar of soda and then apply them to my underarms.
I can’t help but think that it may be unsanitary – so it’s probably safer to dip into the oil and rub it till it melts some, then dip into the soda then apply to your pits or just make the recipe Kerly provided above. I’m shutting up now! 🙂
2. Mix half a teaspoon of soda with a peroxide paste and use it to wash your teeth – would love to try that, but have to find peroxide paste first! (It sounds a bit dangerous, so before you try it, research it and be careful.
3. Add a cup of soda bath to make your skin softer.
4. Reduce pain caused by sunburn, while applying soda on it.
5. To remove strong smells from hands, rub them with baking soda and water.
6. Apply soda to rashes, insect bites and irritated skin of poisonous plants.
7. Add soda to bathwater to relieve skin irritation or to heal diaper rash, while washing infants.
8. Does heartburn afflict? Drink half a glass of water with a tablespoon of baking soda stirred in.
10. Freshen your breath by gargling a cup of water, mix half a tablespoon of baking soda and the same goes to heal any cuts in the mouth.
11. Use soda to heal bee stings.
12. Use a baking soda to reduce the pain caused by a medusa touch.
Home use
13. You can keep your vase flowers fresher longer if to add a tablespoon of soda to the water.
14. It is possible to get rid of unpleasant smells from the fridge if an open box of baking soda is placed in it.
15. Sprinkle the soda to the ashtray to reduce the smell of smoke and the smell of butts and use to clean the trays with soda as well.
16. Sprinkle soda to remove unpleasant odors in your wooden homeware, boots, shoes, and socks.
17. Removing the food smell, wipe baby’s chin and chest after eating with a wet cloth sprinkled with baking soda.
18. Rub the car’s windshield with soda to counteract rain.
19. The smell of a washing sponge can be improved if the sponge has been soaked in soda water.
20. Suck soda into the vacuum cleaner to ease the unpleasant smell coming from inside of the machine.
Eve says: ”This one made me laugh out loud!”
21. You can mix soda with some scented bath salts to refresh the air and put the mixture into small bags.
22. Soften rigid brushes by cooking them in a solution consisting of two liters of water, three tablespoons of vinegar and a bowl of baking soda.
23. Keep the soda near sink and basement windows to control cockroaches and ants.
24. Sprinkle baking soda on flower beds to prevent rabbits from eating your prized vegetables.
Eve says: ”I have a vision of Bugs bunny eating your carrots if you don’t try this.”
25. Improve the taste of tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda in the soil surrounding the tomato plant.
26. Sprinkle the soda in your cat’s sandbox to lose that unpleasant odor.
27. Sprinkle the soda on your pet’s ridge or comb to make the sheath smell more pleasant.
Cooking
28. Use soda as a substitute for baking powder by mixing soda with tartar or vinegar.
29. Wash with soda fruit and vegetables to remove the greasy residue.
30. Soaking the dried beans in a soda and water solution makes the beans easier to digest.
31. Make your own sports drink by mixing baking soda with boiled water, salt, and juice powder.
32. Reduce the acidic content of tomato-based dishes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
33. Use soda to reduce acidity – I made a large pot of leek-mushroom risotto and added a tad too much of lemon juice. Thought that it is all ruined, but found out after short research, that a half teaspoon of baking soda would save my dinner. It sure did!
Eve says: ”It was so delicious, and I was in awe of the magic of that stuff.”
For cleaning up
34. Pour a cup of a soda into the toilet bowl, allow it to stand for an hour and then flush it down. Soda cleans the inside of the toilet bowl and absorbs bad smells.
35. Use sodas for scouring sinks, shower cubicles, plastic surfaces, and porcelain baths. Works like a miracle on white coffee and teacups! Removes all lines!
36. Use soda for cleaning the walls, mirrors, and kitchen counters.
37. Add a spoonful of soda to the dishwasher to simplify the cleaning of the dish.
38. Remove grease stains from pots and pans with soda.
39. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture – sprinkle baking soda on the items and scatter it gently with a cloth. Leave the soda to stand there for a few hours or overnight and then clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner.
40. Increase the cleansing power of your washer, sprinkling a handful of soda on dirty clothes.
41. Stainless steel and chrome surfaces can be polished with water-soda paste.
42. Scratches can be removed from the linoleum floors and walls with soda.
43. You can clean waste bins with soda.
44. Hairbrushes and combs soaked in the water-soda mixture will get rid of the grout. You have no idea how useful this tip came to me not long ago – read more in the future post of our site!
45. Use a damp cloth to absorb soda and then clean with the cloth laminated surfaces.
46. Use soda to remove stinking odor from coolers and thermoses.
47. Heat the soda in the coffee machine and then rinse with it the contents of the machine.
48. Sprinkle the soda on the dirty garage floors, rub the floor and rinse it with clean water.
49. Remove easily burned food from the pan, soaking it before washing for 10 minutes in a soda solution.
50. Clean the drain pipes by pouring in them every week four tablespoons of baking soda and then flush it down with hot water.
51. Clean the shower curtains by soaking them in soda water.
52. Use soda to clean your dentures.
53. Make a thick paste from baking soda and water and use it for scouring your baking oven.
54. Use soda to scrub clean your kitchen cupboard doors. Matte or shiny works on both!
55. Baking soda doesn’t make you poor!
Thank you for making it to the end.
Translated from an Estonian site.
All in all once more
The most amazing thing about baking soda is its cheap price. All of the above points can be made at a very low cost. Baking soda is a real miracle product, whether it is used in cooking or elsewhere. These 55 listed points here are not all the good uses of soda, there is plenty of more and I am sure the readers can add their own recommendations, which would make a great addition to this list here!
My praises of baking soda are not done yet!
Berlin Clothing Swap – time to swap!
“Here We Swap Again” was the witty name of the latest Berlin Clothing Swap which took place on September 22, 2019. We encourage you to swap with us!
Berlin Clothing Swap is a non-profit organization that organizes a clothing swap for all every season. The next swap proudly takes place at the Museum of European Cultures on November 24th, 2019.
Berlin Clothing Swap is invaluable and has grown monumentally. Founder Jenna Stein is a natural at running well thought out and seamless events. Recent events have been buzzing with limited space, packed with busy swappers who couldn’t believe their luck in getting through the doors, with a long cue outside the entrance.
This community event has reached over 49 000 people. Hundreds of whom filled the space on that exciting Sunday afternoon.
Recent swaps have been noticeably the busiest events yet!
What you need to know to attend the next Berlin Clothing Swap!
Follow Berlin Clothing Swap on:
Share the events on all your socials
Share the event on your socials and tell your friends and family to join the thrifty fun! You can keep such a generous event to yourself, there’s plenty of clothing, shoes, accessories and even household items waiting to find new homes.
Declutter and bring what you don’t need to the next swap
Marie Kondo all your belongings starting with your clothes. Put all your clothes on your clean floor, carpet, or bed and go through each item one by one and ask, “Does this spark joy?”. If the answer is no, put it in a pile to swap!
Do this with your shoes, household item, and electronics.
Now, look through all that does not spark joy for you, would you take it home if you saw it at the Berlin Clothing Swap?
Quality check guide
- The item has been washed and is clean.
- The item is tear-free (unless it’s the manufacturer’s intended style). Open seams can be fixed.
- The electronic wires are all provided with the item and are free from tears and frays.
- The free-from pilling (tiny balls on the clothing).
- The item is not so old that it’s completely faded.
- The jeans are free from stretched out and fragile crotch. If this is the reason you are getting rid of them, add to the discard pile.
- Refrain from taking size tags off to help swappers choose quickly without trying on.
- Lingerie (undergarments like bras) are clean and new or lightly used.
- Jewelry is not green or rusted/ corroded.
Now ask yourself this…
Would I take this item home or gift it to someone I care about?
The value of swapping
Swapping is the anti-culture solution to shopping. Our society is consumerism, fast fashion is a sick norm that has damaging effects on the environment, financial independence and most importantly the space labor it takes to produce quickly and cheaply in run-down and collapsing buildings. The other end of our consumption habits is ugly.
Make a change
Watch the documentary on fast fashion, The True Cost to learn the shocking truth behind where your clothes come from! It may give you the shock you need to swap till you drop!
Also recommended: Fashion Factories Undercover
Visit the upcoming Berlin Clothing Swap!
Attend the upcoming swap on November 24th, 2019 at the Museum of European Cultures from 1-4 pm. It’s free! Take advantage of this free offer, engrave is normally 2€.
What about organic waste?
As you probably noticed, I didn’t tackle the organic waste subject in my previous post. From several ways how to manage your biowaste, with our little tips below, you can easily find yours!
In a short period of time, we got used to collecting organic waste. When we’re doing the first garbage disposal after moving in, we couldn’t find a bin for, what I like to call – alive trash. As it seems, our property managers haven’t invested in disposing of green waste. Therefore we are left to our own devices – to throw all alive waste in the same bin as garbage or? Yeah, what else is there really?
There are basically two options, to compost or scatter the scraps back to nature. If you throw your organic waste in the garbage, it will travel to the landfill. From there, it will start to create methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which harms our environment.
Once you create compost with the help of the earthworms and some soil, you need to use the final product or take it where it is needed. But what if you do not have a garden, plants or a green thumb friend to give it to? I guess the only option is to take it back to nature, which is not so bad, right?
Taking your organic waste back to nature
This is far from the ideal option, but if you happen to have some wild nature area where you live, then why not? Do so in moderate amounts. Of course, it is not the best to take banana peels, avocado seeds and orange peels to your European forests. This is because such fruits do not grow here and therefore it conflicts with the local flora.
Maybe you’re wondering how I came across the idea to scatter food scraps in nature?
The story
We were staying in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria in the summer of 2017 hosted by a wonderful soul Andrei (name changed for privacy). Our Bulgarian friend is also vegan and into saving the planet. He has a big heart. Because he didn’t ask for money from us during our month stay at his humble abode. He is quite awake, knowledgeable and works out daily, trying to prove that when vegan, you can be as fit as an omnivore.
On garbage disposal day at his place, he asked me to take the green waste while he threw out the garbage near his home. I was left to carry the green bag quite far from his house. We were talking while walking to his training spot in the wild huge park in the middle of Sofia. I really didn’t want to interrupt, but when we were quite deep in there, I asked, “So where is the green recycling bin?”. He replied: “Just scatter the content of the bag wherever you want and trash the plastic bag in the bin”. I was, probably like you are now reading these lines – very surprised! Yes, all the green waste back to nature to do its natural thing there – decompose.
This is exactly what we are doing now in our small building without a green waste disposal unit; we gather the little waste we create in a glass jar with a lid. The jar came home from the store with pickles and now has another use and when it is full, we scatter it in a nearby large nature spot. Don’t worry, it is not a park or anything, just a woman-made dirt path, otherwise, completely wild!
Give your organic waste a chance!
The only reason we are able to do this is that we happen to live not far from nature. Also, we only create plant scraps. We do not recommend taking your meat scraps and wasted prepared food to nature! We only scatter peeled potatoes, carrots, onion skins, apple hearts, and occasional banana peels. If once in a blue moon some food that we saved happens to go to waste, it will find its final resting place there as well, but only in small quantities.
The other reason why we get away with doing this is that we are most likely the only people in this area who are doing it. Even so, I must say I have noticed that some people, who have their little summer houses in the area, have created a huge pile of garden waste, which is honestly huge and always there.
We create so little waste that it withers in just a few weeks with no harm done. It is nothing like putting your waste in Central Park, no, we would never do that or recommend you doing it!
Look outside of the box
If you like the idea of taking nature back to nature but happen to live away from natural areas or wilderness, then there is still hope. Just bring the jar of food scraps with you in your basket and scatter at a suitable place. In bigger cities, there are always opportunities around. It is important to choose areas away from human traffic. Also, it is wise to use different spots to avoid accumulation, as the gardeners in our area have created.
We are proud to save green waste going to the garbage bin. It makes us really happy contributing to the wellbeing of our planet. This is great that we were able to solve the problem of not having a green waste collection point.
We’ll see how the winter goes while doing this. At least the bin can be bigger and kept outside on the balcony in cool temperatures. I definitely will keep you updated.
… A note from Eve:
Be creative when green bins are not part of your living situation. This is another great lesson we learned on our travels in Bulgaria, from two different people on opposite sides of the country. First, discarding green matter by the Black Sea (in the wild there), and smack in the middle of the bricky capital city, Sofia.
Learning that it is okay to bring organic waste to nature was so important. We have been made to feel that it would be considered littering, but then again – look at our world. There are millions who live on human waste in landfills, trying to survive.
To return nature back to itself seems obvious. Still, it will take some time to get used to it. We have been heavily indoctrinated to follow rules and to do things are you are instructed to do even if it makes no moral sense. I would rather the food be poked at by animals than to join our discarded goods in landfills. These food scraps would otherwise sit in landfills, creating greenhouse gases with other materials that will never be part of the earth anyway.
Think outside of the box that modern humans create since they are often at odds with the wisdom of nature.
Want to learn to compost at home easily?
The Beginner’s Guide to Composting at Home
*UPDATE 2019
Since spring we also have organic waste bin, so we have been happy users of that. First, it took some time educating some of the people in our building, but now it finally works. People have started to use it more eagerly, which only makes us happier. As more waste is put to good use and fewer ends to a landfill.
Sorting garbage in the kitchen
With little space in a small household, it is smart to come up with creative ways how to sort garbage. Read below, what option we came up with?
With a new home usually comes emptiness, also in the garbage and in the recycling section. With a limited place and a buy less mindset, we decided that we need really a little section for the waste. Moreover, if we are looking more into a zero-waste and plastic-free household.
We would need three containers for the garbage: paper/cardboard, waste, and packages. Yep, just three sections, as this is what the rules are in our building. Usually, there should be also a fourth section for organic waste. We were used to collecting it. I guess we have to come up with something if we want to keep the garbage container emptier.
Working out a simple solution
The other day I was doing grocery shopping and I put my purchase in a cardboard box. I found a suitable one in the middle of the aisle, laying on the floor. The stores are oftentimes giving these away by the cash checkouts, some can be found by the bins and at the end of aisles. In bigger stores, you can find workers constantly stocking up the shelves, just like I got ours. Luck was at my side, as the box I had brought home was just enough to fit all three small plastic bags for our sorting purposes.
We are trying to become plastic-free step by step. But we do not believe in trashing bags and containers that we already have just to be free of them. Instead, we are using up all the suitable plastic we have somehow brought home with purchased food. We are getting the weekly specials of many stores weekly. I find the idea of such bundles great, but the papers come in a plastic sleeve. For some time it was fun to go through the offers, recycling them and using the sleeve for the garbage collecting.
We do not really like the weekly bundles, so I guess we will put out a sign not to receive any advertising, as this is just too much. So we will start receiving less garbage in the mail.
A small box is all you need!
The little cardboard box has enough room to fit three little bags. We really do not fill them much, as we really do not have much garbage or packaging. Cardboard or paper is something we gather the most. Good thing is that it all gets nicely recycled. When the plastic bag is full, we do not throw it away but reuse the plastic as long as possible. With waste and packaging, we can’t always practice it, due to messy contents. If there is an option we will do that, so we can reuse plastic more times.
The ideal would be to fold three boxes out of the newspaper and keep the garbage area organized that way. I guess something to try out in the future!
*UPDATE: before going to our summer holidays we taped a sign outside of the box saying: “No ads!”. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
* Fall UPDATE: we added to the sign: “and no free newspapers!” As many free papers come with ads in between. It worked this time. This little hand-made sign of cut-out letters from the store booklets saves paper and more plastic coming into our home.
… A note from Eve:
I am proud of our garbage system! It’s encouraging to see how little garbage we make as a family of 2. When we walk on our street home, we are baffled by the bags and bags on trash sitting out. We are glad that we know is a better way, and we are living proof of this! By not buying much processed and packaged food, we have cut our garbage down considerably.
Homemade laundry detergent, a bang for your money
Various experiments in the all-natural laundry detergent field. What works and what doesn’t. Mother Earth to rescue!
While there are of course many things to think of, when on such a new path, as we are in our new home and it all may be a bit overwhelming. The situations you have to tackle, just come living your everyday life. Like was I thinking of the laundry detergent as we got the keys of the apartment? No. But when the laundry basket was getting quite full for our large and energy-efficient washing machine.
Getting to know the world of all-natural cleaners
Now, when the laundry asked to be cleaned I was on research to find the best washing detergent for the laundry machine. My key wishes were that it had to be all-natural and can be self-made. I didn’t know that, when I opened the chest to this wonderful DIY home cleaning products, that it will be quite a ride.
Many people have been sharing their recipes, using many different ingredients resulting different looks of the detergents and therefore different results. No wonder that my own Word document of “The ultimate guide to homemade all-natural cleaning recipes” became a whopping 30 pages of research. I just kept finding new stuff, which I should consider and which would cover not only laundry but also cleaning the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and the rest of the house, including windows.
The road finding what really works the best was a bit bumpy in the beginning as there were tips to try and detergents to mix. Often times it didn’t give the needed results. But after a while, I found recipes, which worked for me and which I am happy to share with you as well.
Liquid laundry detergent – fail
I am not sure why I decided that the laundry detergent has to be liquid. Though I have been using a powder one all my life. Anyway, most likely it seemed the best and the easiest option to make. I used it a couple of times, but I wasn’t sure how long such liquid would last in a jar. Also how much to really use, as I didn’t use Borax in my recipe.
This is a tricky ingredient, as in many countries it is forbidden or just not available. I was trying to find new ones, which wouldn’t have any ingredients I had no way of getting my hands to, such as Borax, Dawn dish soap or any of Dr. Bronner’s products. These all are luckily available to those living in North America. The liquid detergent did do its job. But I think I just over-used it and it wasn’t so cost-saving, as it should have been.
I am not sharing any recipes, as it was still a lot of work and didn’t give the results. Also, this recipe created a little but took quite a lot of ingredients. Hence there is nothing to share, as this didn’t work out. So I realized, that the best would be powder, as there is nothing to go bad. The powder detergent can sit in a jar and is ready to use in an instant.
Dry laundry detergent – win
Finally, I came across this really simple laundry detergent recipe, which I have been using ever since.
Mix 2 cups of washing soda with the gratings from one 5-ounce/140 g bar of castile soap.
Use 1 tbsp for light loads; 2 tbsp for heavy loads.
I ended up using half of the recipe. Instead of castile soap, I used the Almawin curd soap, which I found for 0.90 cents from a health store. As I experimented later, any other soap will do. I used the kitchen grater to ground the soap. I mixed it with baking soda on a jar, which was home of pickles before.
Does it really work?
How do I know it really works? Unfortunately, I have no photos as proof, but I can tell a little story of a garment, which became clean after using this detergent.
In 2017 summer we worked literally as slaves for pennies at a hotel by the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Since the premises weren’t used for a few years it meant that after the renovations the place was really dirty. We had our own personal outfits we were wearing while working. The shorts I wore, were made of polyester and while wearing those I pushed, knelt, rubbed, sat and whatever there is to do when wearing pants.
I started noticing that the ends of the pants had some grey lines, which referred to heavy-duty wear and they didn’t fade or turned any lighter after many washes. When the whole nightmare was finally done and we were safely back at home and I was finally able to do a nice machine wash to all of our items I noticed for my sadness that the pants didn’t clean after all. I took it as a reality and understood that they have been just damaged until I washed them with my own made detergent described above and after the first wash – the lines were gone. I am a believer!
The best thing is yet to come – chestnuts!
I wasn’t done with it, as I knew that there had to be another way how to wash your laundry. Without spending any money at all. I remembered that somebody mentioned once, that you can use as a laundry detergent chestnuts. Cool! They are free when the season is in. Totally worthy of looking more into.
I found a few good pages, which were really helpful. One stood out though. The site described the whole process very thoroughly. Plus there were photos of every step on the way. So it was easy like bliss to follow.
Since it was October last year, when I found out that I can use chestnuts as laundry detergent, I went out to pick them. I followed the steps of the website to create a completely free all-natural product. I have been using chestnut laundry detergent for a year and I am very happy with the results. Especially with the savings 😉
Before I will write my own article about how to make chestnut laundry please read below a list of things…
…to keep in mind while using chestnut detergent
- Preparing chestnuts for the detergent is a bit of a job.
- Chestnuts need to be soaked overnight in a cup of hot water to make detergent for the next day. Takes a little planning.
- It is not a powerful stain remover. It doesn’t remove blood stains (they get lighter after few washes).
- Don’t stuff your machine too full, as it will leave some dark lines on your laundry. But this happens with commercial detergents as well.
- But it is environmentally friendly, totally free and all-natural!
Please read the ever so wonderful article by Wasteland Rebel. Believe me, it makes you want to go and collect those chestnuts now! It is not too late!
Also, please check our article on baking soda, which may come handy at home. Hint, it is also all-natural and very cheap.
Cleaning your mattress is easy as baking soda
Now we are happy owners of a free bed plus many other items of furniture. How to clean the mattress and what keep to mind, when caring for new old things?
The five items we got were free, but for the van rental, we had to pay – 50€. Divided by the items, each item cost us 10€. Not bad, not bad at all. Plus on top of it, we got a mirror and two floor/doormats!
Anyway, one thing you definitely have to keep in mind, when getting things for free, is their condition. They may come from a neat household, well-taken care of and tidy. Or from a smoker’s home, with stains, smells, and signs of wear. If you have never brought free furniture into your home, it may be a bit scary, as the items may need some work. In our case, the mattress needed the most care.
You may be thinking, why talk about about a bed (or you may wonder why to save one from a landfill), as this is what we just use when sleeping. That’s it, this is the reason we need to talk about it and take care of it. I hope this post will help people like myself. I had to do thorough research on the internet to complete my cleaning task.
Get to know your mattress
Our mattress came with a cover and an extra cover. These were both dirty. Had stains and everything smelled of cigar smoke. Pretty gross – for many a garbage, but for us a treasure, which needed a little TLC. I wasn’t sure if the cleaning was going to work out. Really, how was I supposed to get rid of the smoking smell??? Google to rescue. After my many unfruitful searches, finally, a treasure revealed itself – Clean My Space. I really enjoyed their video and the “leading actress” does a great role, talking about cleaning and maintenance.
What to keep in mind while cleaning the mattress and maintaining it:
*cleaning mattress is not only necessary, when getting a used mattress, but it has to be carried out with every one you are owning and using to sleep on, even if they are brand new and once came from the store, like brand new;
*mattresses become extremely dirty, as we sweat every night a lot, which all will be stored in the mattress, therefore the airing of mattress and your bedclothes is very important;
*turn and flip your mattress every season;
*no water/liquids on your mattress, especially on memory foam mattresses, use a fan to try any wet spots;
*get the protector to protect your mattress, wash it and clean often;
*most mattresses are not cleanable, as they do not come with a cover, you can zip off
Cleaning a mattress without a zip-off cover
If the cover can’t be zipped off, then you should follow these steps:
*vacuum the mattress, to get rid of whatever may be there; do that at least once a season;
*deodorize your mattress, while shifting baking soda on your mattress and letting it sit for a little and then vacuuming it off, adding few drops of essential oils, will add a nice aroma to the cleaning;
*spot cleaning and stains, better tune in the video to get a complete overview of the stain types and how to handle them, but the main thing to know is, tackle the stains ASAP.
Take a look at the video HERE.
Clean My Space is an awesome outlet for all cleaning related questions you may ever have, check them definitely out!
The place where we are living at the moment is not our permanent home. So, therefore, all these mishaps are easier to handle. As we really do not want to bury so much money into something we are not going to use in the long run. Remember you can use these tips in your permanent home. Don’t be afraid of trying.
Read more on how we managed to get the cigarette smells out of our old new mattress in our future posts!
Empty home? eBay to the rescue!
How easy it is to fill your empty apartment? Which one of these comes the most help – malls, friends or eBay? I guess you are about to find out!
Most likely the first thing you want to do when moving to a new place is to get your furniture game on ASAP! For us, it didn’t work out quite like this. We really wanted to get the best deal there is and as cheap as possible. Moreover, if we know we are going to stay here temporarily. Hence we are not looking to invest at all. (Pssst! Have you heard of eBay?). Being frugal doesn’t mean that you are cheap, you are just smart. Luckily we had three chairs and a round balcony table, which we were offered from the last tenant. But other than that the apartment was completely empty.
Let the search begin!
Somebody referred us to a local eBay, where people oftentimes give things away for free. Things offered may be cable ties, t-shirts or furniture. I love that people actually do that, giving away their things without asking any compensation for it. Wherever you are, check the options in your area. If you do not speak the language of the country you are in, then translate the ad using google translate. You can reply to them using the same tool.
Competing with hordes!
I had no idea that this was going to be so time-consuming. But at the same time so energizing and actually made me pumped with adrenaline. The ads just flew in, so you may think that there are many options for you to choose. – stop there! As much as there are ads, there is triple of those who want to reply to those ads and who are looking to nail the same thing you are! eBay got some traffic!
I refreshed the page every possible second I could and constantly was google translating different ads and writing my replies. We were looking for a bed, closet, futon and some dressers, which meant that the replies had to be written for five different ads. I wrote and I translated. I wrote and I translated. Many of my letters never got a reply or I got back replies: “Sorry, it is no longer available” or “It’s gone”. Anyway, you get the idea.
Finally, luck is on our side!
It took many visits to a local library to check the ever-active eBay web site. We didn’t have the internet at home at that time, but I finally came across a wonderful ad. I remember that Saturday very well, as we were sitting on the parking lot of a closed library! I got my message out to a kind girl called Lara. She had to offer her Ikea bed, closet, two dressers, and a side table. I mean.. what?!!! Really?!?!?! It seemed like all was set. Now we finally have furniture after sleeping on two temporary Ikea mattresses. BUT how to get ALL THAT to HERE, our home in the middle of nowhere???? Obviously, we are car-free and with a bike, you can transport just a little, sooooo….
When the need is the strongest, the friends are the closest!
I contacted my friend who had a car, but too small anyway to help us with the stuff, to ask him if he has any options for us getting all this at one go to our apartment. Luckily, he had a suggestion for us – he would rent a van, drive to the location, where the furniture is and help us carry the stuff to the van and drive to our home. We would have to pay for the rent of the van. This Idea sounded more than beautiful to us, as who would offer their time to help us anyway?
The only thing with the van was that it was charging per minute and had limited drop-off spots. I mean these were way closer to the inner city than where we are living. If you are ever going to do such endeavour, find an option where you are not charged by the minute, rather by flat rate or hourly instead.
Kind people do exist!
Lara was super nice to help us in getting the stuff closer to the van. Also, her friend was there, who had some muscle, so she was a great bonus to all this. We even got a small mirror, mattress cover, and doormats from her on top of it all. Thankfully all the stuff was located on the first floor, so we didn’t have to do so much carrying.
Just a little remark here, know the size of your van when getting big items like beds and closets. Rather than risk large furniture like the bed not fitting in the van, dismantle it and be sure to save those valuable van renting minutes. Luckily Lara had the necessary tools. So most of the time we had while waiting for our friend Zack to pick us up with the rental van, went to dismantle the bed! So many screws, hooks, nooks, and a whole lot of strength was needed! Luckily Lara’s friend had it! So blessed!
Even better if your friends are fast!
When Zack arrived it all went quite fast. In 15 minutes, the things were in the van. Shortly after we were on our 15-minute drive and then offloading for another 15 minutes. Then Zack took off and dropped the van at the closest location, as he wanted to save our money! How wonderful is that? How many people would really do that?
So we finally have a bed, closet, side table, dresser and another dresser for bathroom, plus a small mirror and two doormats. Not too shabby, right? Most importantly, it all came to us for free, via a wonderful community webpage eBay!
That still leaves us the futon and the kitchen table to find…what it is going to be this time: friends or eBay?
How to appreciate the environment?
As I wrote in my earlier post, I became vegan mostly for animals. I didn’t want to participate in their killing, but while as a vegetarian I was seemingly okay with the trauma, misfortunes, and death happening to fish, cows, chickens. I still consumed seafood and the bodily fluids and products made from them. Also, I wasn’t thinking so much about the environment.
Vegan for all
More than 10 years, I didn’t think of the environment, just the pain of animals. However, as a vegan, I became really awake, environmental protection really came to my mind. I am not an avid user of social media, but Instagram has been a really great tool for me on educating myself. At first, I following Peta, James Aspey and Animal Liberation Front and later many vegan individuals all around the world.
On this day, I am vegan for all – for animals, for the planet, and for health. I really love the way I feel without eating any animal products. I am not in a haze, nor do I feel overstuffed after rich meals and I am definitely a smarter shopper, as I make wiser decisions, taking into consideration planet Earth.
Since there are more vegans, actually the number of vegans has increased 160% over the past 10 years. Because of that, there is a higher demand and shops are responding to the changing needs. Many big supermarket chains all over the world have created special vegan range of foods and also free-from items such as in Tesco’s in the UK. If you haven’t noticed them, then I guess you really haven’t been looking for them in your home store.
Support local products
A great place to start is looking more closely at where most fresh produce and many packaged foods come from. When entering supermarkets to get our fresh produce, we oftentimes do not think from where these items have traveled from. But we should consider the environmental impact, and what we are supporting while buying these items. The foods that travel from the other side of the world, are not so environmentally-friendly as the produce coming near where you live.
Our eating habits can affect other countries’ economics and well-being. Exporting is good for any country’s well-being, but of course only to an extent. If we exploit a country and its resources, the people who live there cannot eat the products we demand from them. Then, this is a problem caused by us, for instance, quinoa and avocados are known to cause such problems in their country of origin. Kenya, for example, has banned the exporting of avocados, because the country’s supply is at risk. There is little room to think about what this means for the environment. More forests are cut down, oftentimes illegally, so more avocado trees can be planted.
Being vegan is definitely a better choice for the planet. Balance is the key to everything and also educating yourself. The long-haul produce traveling is not disappearing, but perhaps we do not have to eat quinoa and avocados every day. Maybe there are other people who do the same. I haven’t been a follower of popular food items. I have had quinoa, every now and then, but I haven’t bought it for years myself. What we should keep in mind is that there are products we can buy and therefore support small country economics. So the idea is not to boycott everything that comes from far away.
Choices and needs?
It all comes down to our choices and needs. We do not have to eat products shipped from far away when we could eat the locally grown food variety instead. Not only eat, but we should grow more of the nutrient-rich foods, like beans, millet, peas, and hemp. What is good about pulses, is that they do not require nitrogen inputs and carbon emissions. Also, they are insect-pollinated thus boosting wildlife and biodiversity.
We basically have to grow more food locally for us, not to grab the food from other countries half the world away. Growing plant food is better for the land as well, because of the increased diversity, a grower doesn’t have to control so much the diseases, as usually happens when growing wheat from year to year.
Writing this article was heavily inspired by the Independent article, which you can read here.
A change introduced itself
Whether we want to or not, a change may just happen. It may creep in secretly or it may come on full force. Read here, how a most likely change may appear and what to expect.
Are you ready for a change?
Locating to a new country is never easy. Even more, if it is the country, which language you do not speak or find extremely difficult. I am not going to write about the paperwork and filling in the forms. Also getting notifications on things that I have no idea about. This is pure madness! I rather would love to write shortly about the change. It all started when we were finally so lucky to land a place of our own. A change introduced itself!
A completely empty apartment, except a kitchen corner, can make the figurative juices flow like a river. Now it is the time to start painting that empty canvas with the most beautiful colours and creative ideas. It offered us a chance to jump into the unknown and realize that living without a fridge is definitely a doable thing!
This is exactly how I felt – so many possibilities, so many great ideas, so many things for us to learn. I felt a surge of inspiration flowing into me. I was walking around our empty space and was thinking that now it is the time to do it our way. A better way, a safer way. But how do I set up all that? What do I need in my new home? How to get all of it in the cheapest way there is? Also how to do all of this in the right way. Well, sometimes the emptiness is the answer, sometimes you need a little help from your friends, read: internet and friends.
A change would do you good!
In the beginning, it was just me with my thoughts. I was trying to figure out what would work and whatnot. I started putting these things into practice and some of those ideas worked. Some I had to alternate a bit and for some, I needed to do a thorough internet search and ask my friends for help.
If you are not locating to a new country or getting a new apartment, then perhaps reading these lines, wherever you are may help you start any kind of change. As one of my favorite singers Sheryl Crow sings in her song Change Would Do You Good: ” A change would do you good, I think a change would do you good“.
Let the adventure begin!
…A note from Eve:
I am the kind of person that craves change, but I have trouble getting my head around it. It makes me feel anxious when things change, even if it’s for the better.
Moving to a new country, especially when you have already got work takes away one of the biggest stressors of relocating, money. Still, life found another way to create another big stressor- housing. Working while being homeless is very difficult. I am an introvert, and I need time to gather my thoughts, emotions through reflection at the end of the day, especially when I am in a brand new work environment in a foreign country.
Imagine having a 49 plus hour week, and staying with 5 different people, going to work from 5 different locations and going home from work to 5 different places. It doesn’t help me at all when I know that I am on top of it all, also directionally challenged.
The change was welcomed, in fact, it came rushing in all at once. Newly married, new country, new job, new people, homeless. When change is called, it comes rushing in, in all directions. Change is important to our nature, life always moving because of its all energy. When energy is confined and unmoving, it becomes stagnant. It creates a blockage.
I believe I can speak for both of us when I say that the impact of the changes have been more than we could ever imagine. Its made us more resilient, creative, and more purposeful than ever before.