Going Eco

The last couple of weeks I had managed to be really on top of keeping up with blogging and reading. However, things just got crazy busy this week! Sunday I moved into my new home, or should I say, apartment.

This door mat from Urban Outfitters is adorable! 🙂

Being a college student, I like to think I’m getting professional at this moving business. Or at least, I know better than to just throw stuff in boxes. You would think that it would be common sense, but when you really hate packing you’ll be tempted to do anything to make it easier at the moment. Not only have I moved six times now during my university career, I can only call this new apartment home for a year, and then onward and forward again to a new place! Only, instead of staying in the same town, I will likely be traveling all over the U.S.A. That is, if things go to plan for M and I (fingers crossed). This will prove challenging for me since I am a home-body/ family-oriented person. Every time I leave my family I get an awful queasy feeling in my stomach. Some would call it acute homesickness, but I just call it being really blessed to have so many people that I care about in my life.

But, now that I have downsized from leasing a house to a small, efficient apartment, I have been making some new changes to my lifestyle. As a twenty-two-year-old, it can be extremely tempting to be really wasteful and unhealthy. Frozen meals, buying a bunch of plastic water bottles from the store because the water in this town is a dangerous chemical in it’s own right (It has been rumored by some of my peers that a university biology class tested the water and found boundless nasty things- I’m not a biology major so I don’t remember what exactly- some even saying it can cause gal stones… eek), etc. Because let’s be honest, sometimes being wasteful and unhealthy is just cheaper. In fact, a lot of the times it is cheaper in time spent, and sometimes financially, to just take the easy road. But of course, we all know I don’t like easy. There is no fun in that, nor is there any satisfaction!

So, today, I was quoted saying “I’m so going eco.” I said it jokingly, but I really do want to extend my eco-friendly practices beyond the scattered recycling and occasional WWF donations (because I really just wanted that Panda stuffed animal. I’ve talked about my Panda obsession before).

I found myself gathering my reusable grocery bag totes before heading out the apartment door and I was pretty excited. It was the first time I actually used them on my own since being gifted them for Christmas (thanks Bethany and Casey!). Then, M and I hopped on over to HEB and went crazy in the produce department. We’ve been eating so many fruits and veggies ( I’m still having to adjust to the veggie snacking, it isn’t as easy for me as it is for M because I have insane cravings for sweets). Corn, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, avocados, grapes, bananas, oranges, apples…etc. We went crazy. Normally, I would love to go the farmer’s market, but the hours in my town are really strange and inconvenient, so HEB is the next best thing for us. Then we stocked up on our filtered water- we use the large Primo 5 gallon bottles and refill it at the station.

We are in the process of trying to figure out a container to put our recyclables in (our town does not provide them for us, in fact, we have to drive across town to the recycling center…. I suppose I should be thankful they at least have one!). But, to be honest with you, I am most excited about our new laundry detergent! (Yes I’m excited about laundry detergent, it’s the little things!) I’ve been browsing around a few other blogs to find a natural and organic remedy for laundry detergent since detergent these days is ridiculously expensive and harsh with all the different chemicals. And, viola, I found my solution in the soap nuts from the NaturOli website. Essentially, soap nuts are nuts that, when placed in warm/hot water, the nuts release saponins (soap). In fact, according to their website, these nuts have been used in Eastern countries for centuries to help keep fine fabrics clean. The website gives you plenty of information and credibility for their soap nuts and other natural products before you buy, which I found helpful if you’re on the edge. These little bags of nuts are just magical. It is incredible what Mother Nature provides. You can even buy the seeds to plant the trees. You can grow laundry detergent trees!! Sorry, this really does seem too magical to handle (once again, easily excited!). And, I can tell you it works because I’ve actually washed my clothes with it before, but I’ve never purchased them for myself or really looked into the benefits. Oh, and did I add it’s less expensive over the extent of a year. Win-win. I even purchased a bit of lavender essence because the soap nuts have no smell, and I do like my clothes to have a fresh scent. Plus, the lavender is anti-fungal and smells AMAZING. It’s one of my favorite scents, but you can purchase any scent you’d like and just dab some on the bag of the soap nuts.

Picture taken from Pinterest

But, at the end of the day, I’m doing all of this because I believe that the planet we live on is incredibly beautiful and remarkable, and I want it to stay that way for as long as possible- and I want to enjoy it for as long as possible! Perhaps this makes me sound like a hippy, but I have to be honest, I’ve always liked flowers in my hair 😉

A picture from our recent trip to Big Bend National Park. Unfiltered in all its beauty.

If you have any eco-friendly suggestions or anything of the sort, let me know. And also, if you are interested in finding out about natural beauty products, healthy eating (vegetarian recipes etc), and more, I ran across another Kassie’s blog. Small world! But, I love her blog and hope you do too, she also has an amazing Youtube channel called CloudyApples! I found her helpful and credible.