Where Am I Now?

Wow, what a rush the last month has been. Fiance took the bar exam at the end of July, and ten days later he became Husband. Four days after that, I started law school, and I've barely had time to look up from my books to even think about blogging. But it's Labor Day weekend, and since I've got one extra day to get stuff done (not to mention one less day of school this week!) I'm taking some time to do some serious updates.

Back in January, I sketched out a rough schedule of where I should be in general minimalism/life improvement projects. In the intervening months, so much has happened that not everything has gone according to plan. Here's an update:

January: I did indeed detox all of my cleaning products, and experimented with some new recipes for dish soap and laundry soap. Those didn't go so well, but since moving into the apartment I've stuck with only eco-friendly, basic cleaners.

February: Veganism hasn't been working out as well as I'd have liked. Husband is quite happy to eat vegetarian (he scarfed down 3 Boca Burgers for dinner) but he draws the line at vegan (by smothering them in cheese). I've been doing what I can to keep animal products at a minimum, particularly in my own diet, and I figure if I can stealthily transition to vegan, perhaps he won't notice.

March: Before moving back to Florida, I took the opportunity to seriously de-clutter the kitchen, getting rid of all the crappy plastic stuff and all the things that never get used. In their place, we received as wedding gifts some really nice cookware and flatware, that will last a lifetime. Our kitchen now is somewhat bigger than at the last apartment, but somehow has even less storage, so I'm grateful for the uncluttering efforts.

April: I've made minimal efforts in the area of decluttering my workspace. As a natural consequence of moving, I had to remove everything from my desk, and my new setup is pretty clear at the moment. We'll see if this stays. As for the email sorting system, I really need to get on that. My school email gets 20 to 30 messages a day, and the capacity isn't great.

May: The only real homemade beauty product I use is my baking soda exfoliant. I have recently redoubled my efforts to wean myself off of daily shampooing, after discovering that the Trader Joe's citrus shampoo and conditioner have parabens in them (stupid me for not reading labels). I'll keep an update on how that's going.

June: Raw foods? Yeah, not so much. Though I'm planning on joining a CSA, and I've recently started window box herb and spinach gardens, so I'm making more of an effort to incorporate fresh stuff into my diet. It's easier to do when you're living in a place with such a bounty of locally-grown produce.

July: That would be a negatory on the spirituality. There's a local Buddhist meditation group that I'd really like to visit, but for some reason I'm kinda scared? I don't know. I'll have to do some thinking on this one.

August: I've made a few friends in school, but to be honest most of them are so young, and from such a different background that I haven't found much in common with anybody. Most days I'm happy to come straight home after class and spend quality time alone with my husband.

And now we're into September. I'm supposed to be working on productivity hacks, which I have been incorporating into my studying routine (mostly in the form of to-do lists), but I'm going to explore this more in-depth in a post very soon.

I'm going to be updating this blog as frequently as law school allows. In the meantime, stay well and enjoy some free time for me.

I'm Back

A lot has happened in the last few months to distract me from blogging. Without any further ado or navel gazing, here's a brief rundown:

• We decided to move back to Florida. After a disappointing job search up north for Fiance, plus an extremely generous scholarship for me back in the Sunshine State, we weighed the options and decided we were better back here for now. Time will only tell what will happen to us in the future, and we don't really want to spend the rest of our lives here, but this works for now and we'll re-evaluate in three years when I graduate.
• My grandmother moved out of her house and into an assisted living facility, and she's adjusting very poorly. Originally the move back to Florida was planned for the end of July, but it got pushed up to mid-March when she moved. I'm staying with my parents for the time being.
• I started a job down here in Florida. It's only for the summer, but it pays pretty well and gives me lots of overtime. The work I'm doing will also look great on my resume and has also given me another direction to look in for a field of law.
• We moved the wedding up. And no, there aren't any little minimalists on the way anytime soon. Originally we were planning to do it in December, but after realizing that I just wouldn't have the time to plan an out-of-town wedding during my first semester of law school, we said screw it, let's do it in August.

All of these life events have conspired to keep me away from blogging and other optional pursuits. But this, along with my journaling (which I also recently restarted) are really necessary to keep me centered and on the right path. In my next post tomorrow, I'm going to re-evaluate where I am and where I want to be. Hasta luego...

Life Keeps Going

Life has a funny way of getting the best of us. I didn't realize it had been nearly five months since my last post, but I'm going to put something up later today with some updates. A lot has changed in my life (for the better I think) and I'm going to take some time to write about it properly. In the meantime, check out the awesome tofu truck! It almost makes me want to move to Japan.

Choked by Consumerism

Earlier this week I happened upon (ht: Becoming Minimalist) this wonderfully produced series of short videos about material goods and their stifling effect on the average middle-class American family. If you have six minutes, it's definitely worth a look.





It really got me to thinking about how most people live, and it's shocking that we take for granted having junk piled up everywhere. I don't think a lot of people even realize how much stuff they have because they're so used to it. Even if your house is more organized than the ones in the video, you probably have a lot more crap than you think. Never is this fact more obvious than on moving day, which unfortunately is far too infrequently for most people. This is exactly what I'm avoiding -- inflexibility, suffocation, entrapment. Look at the people and things in the video and ask yourself honestly: who owns whom?

Homemade Dish Soap: Lessons Learned

I'm on my third batch of homemade dish soap now. I'm still tweaking it, but I've learned a lot so far. The first thing I've learned is that most of the people who make up recipes for soap are full of crap. Rather than putting my chemistry degree to good use and coming up with my own recipe, I relied on the advice of others. Here, then, are the consequences of my trusting nature.

After the first batch, which was way too goopy and didn't want to come out of the bottle, I looked for other recipes. All of them suggested adding lemon juice or vinegar, because the acid "helps cut grease." With batch number two, the consistency was much better. I basically did the same thing, 1/4 cup of soap flakes and 2 cups water, only this time I added several teaspoons of lemon juice. After doing a load of dishes, I noticed that all of my glasses were covered in this greasy film, and no matter how much I scrubbed, it was still there.

It soon clicked in my brain: the lemon juice did it. Very simply, the soap I'm using is made by adding a strong base to vegetable oil. So, the equation goes something like this:

oil + base -> soap

Simple enough. But adding the acid sends the reaction in the reverse direction:

soap + acid -> oil

Duh! The oily film left behind was actually oil. The solution in the bottle even separated into two phases. So, lesson learned, don't add acid to soap. My four years behind a lab bench finally paid off!

My current batch is made from 1/2 cup of soap flakes, 2 cups water, and the zest from one tangerine. It smells absolutely lovely and leaves my dishes sparkling. The tangerine does add a bit more cost, but it's still far cheaper than a commercial dish soap. I'll continue experimenting, and post some results when I come up with an optimized recipe. 

February's Project: Gone Vegan

I've been vegetarian for the majority of my life now. I quit eating meat at the age of ten for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I just never liked it, so it's never been a big temptation. My decision to quit eating meat came in the mid '90s, at the height of the mad cow disease panic, and being a sensitive and thoughtful kid, I was worried about this and other food-borne diseases. On top of all that, I've always had a soft spot for animals, and the thought of something dying for my dinner just ruined my appetite.

Despite 17 years of vegetarianism, however, I've never been able to completely make the transition to vegan. Growing up in the deep south, it was tough enough eschewing meat, let alone dairy as well, and my already thin teenage self probably would have starved in that environment. Ever since then, it's been more an issue of convenience -- college cafeterias and boyfriends expecting "manly" meals are just not conducive to a vegan diet. I've managed to keep it up for several months at a time, but I've always returned to dairy. On top of all that, cheese is too damn tasty.

But years of reading about the consequences of the dairy industry have taken their toll, and I'm finally fed up. I've gone vegan, and this blog is my witness, the change is permanent. If it means going hungry sometimes, particularly when I go back home, so be it. Convincing the fiance to eat what I cook will be a challenge, but if I give him the option of eating this food or going hungry, I think he'll start to see things my way.

Making meals is going to require a bit more planning for the next few weeks while I adjust to this new routine, though not nearly as much as if I had been a meat-eater. Here are some meals I'm planning on making.

Breakfast

I've never been a big breakfast person, mostly because I'm not a morning person, and it's just not worth it to get up that much earlier. I know that breakfast is important, though, so I'm going to try and make something. I bought some oatmeal at the store today. I have some overripe bananas to eat with it, along with almond milk. As cold as it's been lately, it'll be nice to leave the house with something warm in my stomach. I'll also start making thermoses of green tea to take with me -- a cheaper and healthier alternative to my usual giant cup o' Dunkin.

Lunch

I had a tasty vegan lunch today that came from, of all places, 7-11. Because it's a store on a college campus, they have a much better selection of quality foods than the average convenience store. This particular one has a variety of vegan wraps and sandwiches, and I chose an "egg salad" sandwich. It never occurred to me before that tofu and boiled egg have almost the same consistency, and it was really convincing -- maybe even better than the real stuff. I'm going to look for a recipe to make my own, because at $4 apiece, these sandwiches would be much cheaper to make at home.

Dinner

This is where the big challenge is, because I have to cook something that will entice both of us. I picked up some Boca ground burger at the discount supermarket. I'm going to make a batch of chili that will hopefully satisfy the fiance. I usually make it in pretty big batches, so this should last most of the week.

Snacks

I've got several kinds of dried and fresh fruit in the pantry, and I bought a big bag of almonds. I also need to remember that I have about 5 bags of edamame in the freezer -- a vastly healthier alternative to chips when I want something salty and munchy.

For the purposes of motivation, I watched the documentary Vegucated on Netflix. It's really given me some encouragement, even when the going gets tough, to stick with it. I'll try to get the fiance to watch it too -- maybe it'll get him more on board with this lifestyle. As the weeks go by, I'll keep making updates with my progress, and any interesting meal ideas or recipes I stumble across. That's it for now. Go veg!

The Beauty of Transience

It snowed yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice how intricate the snowflakes were. It takes really specific conditions to make them into perfect little hexagonal crystals. The accumulating snow on the sidewalks sparkled like glitter. I captured these snowflakes on the sleeve of my coat, because they melt instantaneously upon coming in contact with skin. The snow is largely gone after a sunny day, and the impermanence of the otherworldly scene only further heightens its beauty.

January's Project: Simplifying my Cleaning Routine

Keeping the house clean takes longer than it should, even though I don't have that much stuff and it's only a two bedroom apartment. Being busy gets the better of me, and I put off chores until the house is a wreck. I then spend my entire day off cleaning, which is no fun for anybody. Some people genuinely enjoy housework. I am not one of them. So, in order to make more room in my life for living, I am going to minimalize my housework.

I'm already working on my cleaning products, so it's time to tackle the chores themselves. Regularity is the key to simplicity in this case, and so I will try and come up with a regular schedule for each chore so it doesn't consume my rare day off.

Weekly Chore Schedule:

Monday: Dusting sucks, but somebody has to do it. Lucky me!

Tuesday: I usually have half of the day free on Tuesdays, so this large block of time is devoted to my least favorite task: laundry. While the clothes are going, I will work on general tidying up and and hopefully gathering up more stuff to give away.

Wednesday: Thursday is garbage day, so I will gather up all of the trash and recycling to take out on Wednesday night.

Thursday: I also usually have half days on Thursdays, so I will use this time to clean the bathroom, as well as any residual laundry left over from Tuesday.

Friday: I have a bad habit of forgetting to use food that I buy, and I don't want this to happen. On Fridays I will take an inventory of the fridge, clean out anything that's gone bad, and plan meals for the next week. I will also do a general tidying up of the kitchen. This is a good day for it, since we usually go out for dinner, and I won't be dealing with cooking on top of the rest of it.

Saturday: I will get the grocery shopping done on Saturday. It has to happen fairly early in the morning because the supermarkets around here are a madhouse on the weekends.

Sunday: On Sundays I will attend to the floors. I love my hardwood floors but they show dirt and dust so easily. I guess it keeps me honest, but it requires regular maintenance. Once a week should work well.

A few other general habits:

• I once heard somebody say that you should never leave a room empty-handed, which I've found to be extremely true. There's always something that isn't where it belongs, and this helps to combat the chaos. I don't do this as often as I should, but I will make an effort to tidy up as I go about my daily life.
• My mother absolutely refuses to go to bed with dishes in the sink. I try to do this, but it's much easier when you own a dishwasher like she does. From now on, the dishes will be clean before I go to sleep, no exceptions.
• I will look for ways to make chores more fun, whether it's listening to music while I clean, or trying to get my fiance in on the action.

The goal here is to keep chores from overwhelming my life. As it is, whenever I'm not cleaning something, I feel guilty that I'm letting my house be messy. With the schedule, I know that everything will be done in a timely fashion. Once my chore of the day is complete, the guilt will be gone and I can enjoy a walk in the park, a good book, or a long phone conversation with an old friend. I'll report back after my first week of the chore schedule to see how it's going.

Synchronicity

After a couple of days of meditation and some casual reading about Buddhism, I had a chance encounter in a parking lot this afternoon. A woman who arrived at the same time I did asked for help using the pay kiosk, and we got into a conversation. Long story short, she handed me this card:

It's for Sokka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization that has a meeting group in my city. I'm not the type to believe that something is "fate" or whatever, but I really think this came to me now because it's a time in my life when I'm truly receptive to it. Their next "Intro to Buddhism" meeting that doesn't conflict with my work is in a couple of weeks, and I'm definitely going. In the meantime I'm going to keep meditating, and read some of the stuff on their website to familiarize myself with their specific branch of Buddhism. I'm pretty excited!

Detoxing Cleaning Products and Homemade Dish Soap

January's project of detoxing my household products is underway! The first thing I did is take everything from under the kitchen sink and sort through it. Apologies in advance for the picture quality; my camera is AWOL at the moment so I'm using my phone.

I've been pretty serious about keeping cleaning products nontoxic for a few years now. Most of this stuff was here when I moved in, and I just hadn't gotten around to getting rid of it. I used the Household Products Database which is run by the National Institutes of Health to sort through everything. I got rid of everything that was scary and/or I don't use, and here's what's left.

It's a lot less, and I'm glad to have some of that junk out of my house.

Although the things I actually use are fairly nontoxic, you can see that most of it is still commercially made products. I like them, but they're expensive and come with too much packaging. As stuff runs out, I'm going to try making my own cleaners. Conveniently today I ran out of dish soap, so it's time to cook up a batch.

I used this recipe from Hillbilly Housewife (the second one). I went to Target first, where I found an olive oil dispenser bottle for about $3.

I looked for a bar of simple, cheap glycerin soap but everything that wasn't full of fragrances was stupidly expensive. So I went onto Whole Foods and picked up a bar of their unscented store-brand glycerin soap for $1.99.

The next step is to grate or slice the soap. After contemplating the godawful pain it would be to clean soap flakes out of my cheese grater (and the sad prospect of soapy-tasting cheese) I decided to slice thin slices of it with a knife instead.

I sliced 1/4 cup of soap flakes, as thin as I could. I added them to 2 cups of water in a pan and heated it on medium heat, stirring until the flakes dissolved. It took longer than I expected -- almost 10 minutes -- probably because my slices weren't as efficient as grating it, but it eventually dissolved. I let the mixture cool for awhile, then added 1 teaspoon of bottled lemon juice (the acidity from which supposedly helps cut grease). After cooling it completely I poured the mixture into my bottle. 

Et voila, the finished product! One batch of soap (minus the bit I spilled) completely fills the bottle. It seems to work pretty well so far, though I haven't used it on any seriously dirty dishes yet. The recipe says you can add some essential oil for smell, but it has a fairly neutral, vaguely lemony scent that I really like. It is more watery than commercial dish soap, so that may take some getting used to. This recipe used 1/4 of a bar of soap; the rest of the ingredients were of negligible cost, so one bottle of homemade dish soap was $0.50.

If this were etsy and I were some sort of creative dork, I'd put a cutesy label on it and decorate the bottle. But this isn't, and I'm not, so there it is -- dish soap. It looks like laundry detergent may be the next thing to run out, so I'll probably be making that next. Until then, adios.

UPDATE: After sitting overnight, the soap thickened considerably. I had to give it a good stir in the bottle to break it up a bit, and now it works great. I also used it on a sink of dirty pots and pans, and it cut the grease like a champ. Looks like this will be my go-to soap recipe from now on.

UPDATE #2 (1/19/2013): I just made my second batch. This time I used my microplane grater to shred the soap. It dissolved really quickly and it was actually very easy to clean the grater afterwards. I also added more lemon juice this time, maybe a full tablespoon, and this made the consistency similar to commercial dish soap and thus much easier to work with.

New Years and New Ideas

I realize that the new year is almost a week old now, but I've been avoiding posting anything because I was trying to coalesce my thoughts about what it means to me. This is going to be a big year - the beginning of law school and my wedding loom large, and I'm open to any other adventures that may lie on the horizon.

Rather than set a series of vague goals that will go unaccomplished and abandoned by February, I've decided instead to make a list of actions and projects that I intend to undertake, along with dates for implementing each. Without any further delay, then, are my projects for 2013:

January: Before the end of the month, I will detoxify and simplify my cleaning products, similar to what I did with my beauty products. I will sort through everything and dispose of all but the best ones. For now I'll stick with commercial products as necessary, but I will investigate homemade alternatives later in the year. I'll also make a regular schedule for housecleaning so I don't waste another whole Saturday on it.

February: I have been putting it off for far too long, and I'm getting serious about going completely vegan starting February 1. I will experiment with all kinds of recipes, and post pictures and assessments periodically.

March: I should be well into the swing of veganism by now, and it should be the perfect time to tackle a simplified kitchen.

April: My desk and work materials are perpetually in disarray. I need to come up with a new record-keeping and email sorting system. I will investigate various productivity systems and hacks, and implement some kind of system with periodic updates on how it's going.

May: As an update to my beauty products project, I will evaluate where I am, and consider some homemade beauty regimens. I will post my experiments and results.

June: Raw foods! It'll be summer, and I'll be hot, and no longer craving soups and other warm yummy things like I am now. I'll give the raw diet a good month and of course some updates.

July: My last full free month before starting law school, and I plan to spend it being more spiritual. I'll have to devote some more thought as to what exactly this means to me, but it's an undertaking I've been delaying for some time.

August: Sociability! I'm looking forward to being in law school and having an easy way to make friends. I've always been kind of a wallflower, but I will make an active effort to get to know

September: Productivity, part deux. As an addendum to April's productivity project, I'll tackle school work, and staying on top of things, to see how the tools I found apply to students.

October: I should be well into the swing of wedding planning by now, so I'll take some time to explore the true meaning of marriage and the theme of a simple wedding.

November: With the change of the seasons brings a re-sorting of the wardrobe, and the perfect opportunity to pare down mine. I try to do this periodically anyway, but I will make a concerted effort to really pare down things and clear out stuff I don't like or doesn't fit.

December: I know that simple holidays is a kind of trite theme in the blogosphere, but it's one I really need to undertake for myself. Even though I've tried to do things as locally sourced or handmade as much as possible, people are really damn hard to shop for, and they all seem to want expensive stuff from the mall. My Christmas bills are just now coming in, and it's a nightmare. For the 2013 holidays, I will undertake simplifying in earnest.


So that's the monthly breakdown of projects. I also have a few actionable steps I'm going to take in 2013:

• I will read a book a week, at least until law school begins. Hopefully this will pare down my shelves from the influx of books I received as Christmas gifts.
• I will meditate every day, even if it's just for a few minutes. I need to center myself and this seems like the best way to do it.
• I will go to the gym every day unless I have a good reason not to. Laziness, bad weather and something good on TV are not good reasons.

So that's the outlook for me. Be on the lookout for my cleaning products detox in the next week or so.