Going No Poo: 6 Months (Water Only)

In just six short months (okay, they weren't that short), I've finally reached hair nirvana! In Going No Poo: 5 Months, I talked about attempting water only (WO) washes unsuccessfully. Well, I finally figured out the trick: I've been using water from our water filter to combat the hard water!

It struck me one day as I was getting myself a drink of water: we use a water filter on our tap to remove chlorine, fluoride, and other unwanted minerals that affect taste. So why not use it on my hair?

Edit: I recently found out that our Pur water filter doesn't remove fluoride. Bummer!


Well, it worked! I've been very happy with the results over the last month.

How Exactly Do I Do It?

These WO washes were extremely easy! I simply take one of my son's plastic cups, fill it with filtered water from the tap, and take it into the bathroom with me. Next, I lean over the side of the tub and slowly pour the filtered water on my head, making sure to get all of the hair wet. After that, I massage my scalp and run my fingers through the length of my hair. If I'm getting a shower, I turn on the water and get in; otherwise I go about getting ready. I prefer to let my hair air dry or blow dry it on low heat followed by a blast of cool air.

Benefits to WO:

• I don't need to spend any money on my hair, other than the cost of the filter and the water.
• I can go WAY longer in between WO washes. Alternatively, there is no harm in using water everyday if I'd like.  

The highlight of my month was when a friend in my leasing office asked if I was still doing the whole No Poo thing, because she couldn't even tell!

I like to think there is a moral to this story: giving up shampoo is not for the faint of heart. However, if this is something you're considering for any number of reasons (maybe you have scalp problems like I did, or maybe you're worried about the nasty chemicals in commercial shampoos), and you aren't too intimidated by the transition process, then I say go for it!

I managed Going No Poo with things that I had on hand and easily accessible ingredients that you can find in any grocery store. Every scalp and head of hair is unique, though, so everybody's journey won't be the same as mine.



I'm a bit sad to say this will be the last post in the Going No Poo series, but I like to think that I'm leaving it off on a happy note. Even though I won't be writing this monthly series anymore, I will certainly update y'all with a new post if there are any surprises in my journey. I wish anybody who begins this journey for themselves the best of luck!

To read more of the Going No Poo series, click here:

Going No Poo

Going No Poo: 5 Months (Deep Conditioning Mask & Egg Yolk Wash)

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I took the leap into No Poo, and gave up shampoo! I honestly cannot imagine ever using shampoo again!

I gave WO (water only) washes a try these last few weeks, pretty much out of sheer laziness. In my ideal world, I wouldn't need to do anything to my hair other than wet it. Well, it didn't work out so well. I have hard water, and after a while those minerals left my hair feeling stiff and dry. I could tell that my limp and lifeless hair needed some moisture, so I tried a deep conditioning honey/coconut oil mask. I followed my oil treatment with an egg yolk and honey wash to make sure my hair wasn't left feeling greasy. The results were fabulous!

Definitely one of my Top 3 best hair days
since Going No Poo!

Honey & Coconut Oil Deep Conditioning Mask

• 2 Tablespoon Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon  Coconut Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Filtered Water

Mix together all three ingredients in a container with a lid (a mason jar or a condiment dispenser, for example). Apply the lid (plugging the opening, if using a condiment dispenser) and shake, shake, shake! The goal is to combine the ingredients as best you can.

Apply the mixture to moistened hair (not dripping wet), making sure to massage into the scalp and pull it through the length of the hair. You'll definitely need something to contain this sticky, oily mess, like a shower cap. I just use an old long-sleeve shirt to wrap up my hair; the long sleeves wrap around my head nicely, and keep it in place. Leave the deep conditioning mask on for at least 30 minutes, or even longer if you like. I usually leave mine in for a few hours.

When you're ready to remove the deep conditioning mask, you'll need something more than water or diluted ACV (apple cider vinegar) to get the coconut oil out. If you use regular shampoo, you can remove the oil with that. However, if you've given up commercial shampoo already, an egg wash works wonders at removing oil! Read on for the egg yolk/honey wash recipe.

Egg Yolk & Honey "Shampoo"

• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Honey

Mix the egg yolks and honey together thoroughly (use an immersion blender to quicken the job).

Rinse the honey/coconut oil mask from your hair as best you can. Apply the egg yolk/honey mixture to your hair, massaging into the scalp and pulling it through the length of the hair. You may need to double the recipe if you have long hair. Leave the wash in while you finish up your shower routine, or for about 5 minutes, and rinse it thoroughly with lukewarm water (you don't want to cook the egg yolks).

You may follow with a diluted ACV rinse if you wish, but it is not necessary.

Beware:

You can do this deep conditioning treatment without a wash, but be prepared to walk around with oily hair for a day or two. I just recently tried skipping the wash, and it was pretty oily the first day, but my hair eventually absorbed it.

Try not to wash with egg yolks more than once a week, and no more than once a month for the whole egg. They contain a lot of protein, and too much protein can lead to dry, brittle hair that breaks easily. If you suspect protein overload in your hair, moisturizing is the only option.

Bye-Bye BBB

In the last month, I've given up the BBB (boar bristle brush), for the most part. I just can stand how often it needs to be cleaned, and how rough it is on my hair. I just purchased a cheap wooden comb off of eBay (seriously, it was only 80 cents), and so far it's working well. It moves sebum a bit better than a regular old plastic comb, without damaging my hair like the BBB did.

To read about the rest of my journey, click here:

Going No Poo

Minimize the Mess: Simplify Easter

During my journey to Minimize the Mess, I've learned that the only way to get rid of clutter, and keep it gone, is to stop bringing things into the house (obviously, you may need to bring some new things in; the point is not to bring useless/unneeded items into the home). Most years we aimed for a full Easter basket, and that meant getting a lot of useless trinkets that get tossed after a while (or just added to the clutter). We're trying to celebrate differently this year, without all of the candy and toys.

What are we doing differently this year?

Ditching the Traditional Easter Basket

I'm the type of person who saves things. I saved gift bags to reuse them. I even saved Trick or Treat buckets and Easter baskets. No wonder my house ended up so cluttered! I ditched all of the baskets along with all of the other "just in case" items, and never looked back. This year we've opted for a beach pail. Since we live in Florida, I'm sure it will get plenty of use all year long!

Other alternatives to Easter baskets, that can be used all year, include bike baskets, tote bags, and decorative baskets (that can be used as small toy boxes).

Avoiding Sweets

• Fruit - I've never been big on candy and sweets, and I prefer for my son not to expect candy at every holidays, so we've always tried to give him fruit instead. Apples, oranges, and bananas fill out a basket nicely, and the best part is that they get eaten and don't add to the clutter! 
• Books - While they do count as "bringing something in," I am a bit more lenient on books. We'll just have to keep practicing our "one in, one out" rule. 
• Something Needed - Something they need doesn't sound like much fun, but I like to "cute it up" by getting something with one of my son's favorite cartoon characters, such as a pair of socks, a washcloth, or a toothbrush. Other items like this include: a flashlight, some flash cards, or pencils and crayons.
• The Fun Item - I like to throw in at least one fun item, so I got some glow sticks this year. I love that they're one use, and then they go in the trash. Sidewalk chalk is another fun items, as well as bubbles. 

Dying & Hunting Easter  Eggs

I know dying and hunting eggs are usually a given, but we really focus on that aspect of Easter, especially since we're downplaying the Easter basket this year. I also think it's important to focus on the good experiences (fun with friends and family) rather than getting gifts. We always do a prize for the child who gets the most Easter eggs, but maybe this year we'll add a contest for the colored eggs: silliest egg, scariest egg, most colorful, etc.

Tell me about some of your holiday traditions!

Minimize the Mess Part 3

Welcome to the third post in the Minimize the Mess series! Since the last post I've taken two more carloads of things to Goodwill. Now that I've donated about a quarter of our unused and unneeded things, I finally feel ready to start selling some of it! Before purging 25% of the junk, the thought of dealing with eBay, Craigslist, and local buy/sell Facebook groups (as well as having everything just taking up space until it sold) nearly gave me a panic attack! I don't know if you've ever tried to sell things online, but sometimes buyers can just be... well, hostile is the nicest term I can think of.

How/where have I been selling things?

• Resale/Consignment Shops - My first choice when selling things is to take them to local resale shops. My favorite place to sell my son's old clothes, toys, and baby gear (yes, I still have some 5 years later) is a local used children's clothing and toy store. They buy recent styles at a percentage of what they're worth and resell them. I don't get as much as I would selling them online, but it's easier than waiting for someone to come to my house, and change their mind or try to (aggressively) haggle me down. They make an offer, and I accept or don't - it's that simple. 
• Facebook Buy/Sell Groups - I know I didn't make the local buy/sell groups sound like much fun, but it's definitely easier than dealing with eBay. I post pictures with descriptions and prices of the items, and arrange to meet the buyer somewhere locally. However, after a few times of wasting gas because of no-shows, I decided to just have people come to my apartment complex to look at the items. Because it's all local, I don't have to deal with any postage, shipping, or returns and refunds. If they don't like the item after seeing it in person, they just don't buy it. 
• eBay - eBay is my last choice for selling things, because it's tedious. You have to list every detail about the item, there are seller fees, and it's a pain to deal with refunds and returns if the buyer isn't happy. 

How Much have I Made?

Items Sold	$$ Earned
Baby Items & Toys	$96
Clothes	$2
Electronics	$15
Misc. Items	$13
Total	$126

Although we've made more than $100 selling things, my fear that things will be sitting around for a long time until they're sold is coming true! Since the whole point of this is to get rid of things, I've actually started giving things away for free and donating them. Any money we make is really just a bonus.

These piles of things waiting to be sold are about
to turn into things that are getting donated. 

The Decluttering Continues

I mentioned already we've taken 2 more carloads to Goodwill, making 3 in total. My family may not have been completely on board at first, but they've definitely come around now that we're making some money out of it. In fact, here is a picture of my son helping by picking out toys that he doesn't play with anymore!

What a great helper!

Kitchen Items 

I mentioned in Part One of Minimize the Mess that I had donated all but two (per person) of all the plates, cups, and silverware. I've trimmed it down a bit more since then by being rid of all my son's plastic plates and utensils. At five years old, he's already proved that he's responsible enough to eat off of glass plates. You'd be surprised by how much space that has cleared up.

There is still one cabinet that annoys me when I look at it though. The dreaded Tupperware/container cabinet! Those lids are a pain to contain (mind the pun). I'm seriously considering switching to mason jars, since I already have them.

Closets

In the past, our closets have been a place for hiding clutter. Can't find a place for it? Just shove it in the closet. I've actually stumbled across items that I thought were long-lost, or that I'd just completely forgotten about. That got me to thinking: how could I be hanging on to all these things without even remembering what all I had? If everything is important, than is anything really important?

In the process of cleaning out my closet, I found a lot of old baby items and maternity shirts. I remember thinking at the time that I'll need them if I have another baby. Well, 4 years later and still no baby! It wasn't even hard to get rid of these items.

Among the baby things in the closet, I also found some old baby clothes that I'd set aside because I wanted to make a quilt out of them. Again, 4 years have gone by and I'm still no better at sewing than I was when I put these in the closet. I decided to find somebody to make the quilt for me, or just donate or sell the clothes.

Now I have this, rather than a bag of onesies.
Thanks, Quilts By Donna!

There is plenty more to be decluttered, and who knows if I'll ever really be done. As my journey continues, my perspective on what's really important changes; I'm starting to value experiences over items, and I'm okay with that.

Going No Poo - 4 Months

So I've been a bit behind on my blog posts again. I'm not going to beat myself up about it though, because I managed to stay on top of my schoolwork, declutter a ton of stuff, and even start a new hobby (brewing kombucha)!

No Poo Haircut

I finally got another haircut, making it my second one since going no poo. I had the same stylist, and she was still super supportive of my crunchy antics. I was definitely due for one though. You can see in the picture above, it was getting a bit wild.

Experiment, Experiment, Experiment!

One thing I've learned throughout this journey is to experiment! I seriously cannot say it enough. After being acid only (AO) for the last 3 months, I decided to switch it up a bit. I felt like my hair was getting weighed down again (similar to what I was experiencing before switching from honey to AO). I swear my hair just does not want to settle into a routine.

I knew I wanted to try some sort of sebum removing wash, because I suspected my hair was heavy due to buildup (most likely from sebum). It also needed to be something I had on hand, because I refuse to order something special unless I absolutely must. It came down to baking soda and egg. Egg seemed like the gentler and easier option, so I went with that.

Egg Wash

For my egg wash, I simply beat a whole egg with an 1/8 teaspoon of coconut oil. I applied it in the shower, left it on for the rest of my shower routine (about 5 minutes), rinsed with cold water (hot water will cook the egg, and it will be hard to get out), and finally a diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse. The egg wash is the most sebum removing wash I've done since switching from commercial shampoo, so in hindsight a teaspoon of coconut oil probably would've been better. I only left the egg in for five minutes to avoid any smell issues; I also rinsed with ACV for the same reason.

You can see the difference the egg wash made in the picture above. Look at that lift and body! I sort of wish I'd done the egg wash before my haircut, but oh well. In my first ever post about giving up shampoo, Going No Poo - Week 1, I mentioned egg washes as one alternative to shampoo. While egg is great at cleansing and removing sebum, it can lead to protein overload if used more than once a month (the white or the yolk can be used weekly though). I'll probably try doing my egg wash bimonthly and see if I need to increase frequency from there. If I can push it even farther, that's even better!

What's Next?

Since I've been brewing my own kombucha, I plan on trying a kombucha rinse soon! I'll write about it next month and let y'all know how it worked.

To read about the rest of my journey, click here:

Going No Poo

DIY Cinnamon & Clove Mouthwash

I finally cut all of the yucky commercial products out of my oral care routine! I gave up toothpaste 3 months ago and opted to brush with coconut oil instead, because of its awesome benefits (antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial to name a few) (Source: Treatment of Dermal Infections With Topical Coconut Oil). I've also started oil pulling with coconut oil most mornings as well. (For more information about oil pulling, check out this article.)

I haven't used mouthwash in quite some time, but I did miss that squeaky clean feeling it gives me. After receiving a HUGE bottle of vodka for Christmas (to add to the already large bottle sitting on top of my fridge), I decided to search for ways to use it, other than drinking it. Let's face it... I'm not much of a drinker, so it's basically a lifetime supply for me.

After reading a lot of different recipes, I learned about the different herbs and their benefits. There are so many different combinations of herbs that can be used for mouthwash, but I used ingredients that I had on hand and are easily accessible (in my opinion). Easily accessible, to me, means that you can find it at the grocery store, and you don't need to do any running around or special ordering.

My oral care routine:
homemade toothpaste (coconut oil & clove)
& cinnamon/clove mouthwash

DIY Mouthwash Recipe

Directions

1. Add 1 cup of water and the cinnamon stick to a small pot and bring to a boil. As the water heats up, prepare the the rest of the herbs by placing them in a measuring glass or mason jar (it must be a glass container).
2. After the water comes to a rolling boil, pour it and the cinnamon stick into the glass with the herbs and allow it to steep for 5 minutes. 
3. When the herbs are done steeping, strain the miture into a mason jar (or whatever glass container you'll be storing your mouthwash in) using a coffee filter. Add the last 1/2 cup of water and the vodka. Allow to cool completely before using.

The Finished Product

I was pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon/clove flavor, and I thought they complimented each other quite nicely. It even reminded me of a toned-downed version of Crest's cinnamon mouthwash! If you prefer a stronger flavor, simply leave the extra 1/2 cup of water out next time. If you need a sweeter flavor, try adding some honey or stevia. The beauty of this recipe is that there's room to play with it, depending on what herbs you have and the results you desire!

Obviously this mouthwash isn't kid-friendly because of the vodka, but if you wanted to make one for children you could easily leave that out. If you have fresh mint, you could also try using that in place of the cinnamon for a minty flavor. I plan on trying this soon!

Helpful Resources

This mouthwash wasn't adapted from one recipe in particular. I actually put this recipe together myself after a lot of research on the subject of homemade mouthwash. Here are some of the sources that were most helpful:

• How to Make All-Natural Mouthwash (3 Recipes)
• BreathMD: Homemade Mouthwash

Minimize the Mess Part 2

Since the first Minimize the Mess post, I've been doing a lot more purging and decluttering and it feels great! I took a full carload of stuff to Goodwill yesterday, and as soon as it was gone I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.

When I first started this journey, everybody in the family was not completely on board. My 5 year old son was the easiest to convince since his room was so nice and neat after the original purge. I also told him he could keep a percentage of the money from whatever we sold, so I think that helped. My significant other was a little more resistant, but after seeing what's been accomplished he's coming around.

Some of the projects I've been working on since the last post:

Transferring all of the DVDs we own into a CD/DVD  Binder:

Sadly, the DVDs shown are only a fraction of the ones we own. We actually had to buy a special binder that has over 200 slots for CDs/DVDs. The small, black one pictured is now holding my 5 year old son's DVDs. This alone freed up a whole shelf on our bookshelf.

This is all almost all of the cases I threw away.

Creating digital copies of the recipes I use in my cookbooks:

Screenshot of my progress so far.

In my last Minimize the Mess post, I talked about scanning my son's artwork and keeping it digitally, rather than piles of paper sitting around the house. Well, it's the same concept for the cookbooks. I love cooking, so I get a lot of cookbooks as presents. While I greatly appreciate it, and even enjoy some of the recipes I come across, I don't enjoy having to search through 10 different cookbooks to find the recipe I'm looking for. I'm hoping to empty out another shelf on the bookshelf with this project, because I have plans for it after it's empty. I plan on converting these recipes to PDF files so that I can print them out if I wish to. 

Condensing my wardrobe and the laundry in general:

Less clothes = less laundry. Like the dishes in the last Minimalism post, I recently realized I have too many clothes. Do you know how I figured it out? The clean clothes pile became so overwhelming, that I dreaded hanging them up. I'm going by the "60 day rule" on this one, meaning that if I haven't warn it in 60 days it gets donated. We also have too many towels, for some reason. I'd like to get it down to 2 towels per person. 

Transferring the board games into gallon storage bags:

This was perhaps my favorite of the projects I accomplished. I freed up a shelf on the wall, and put a stop to the board game box eyesore! For this project, I simply cut out the cover of the board game and put them in a gallon size storage bags with zip tops, along with the board itself and all of the pieces. Some of the box covers needed to be trimmed down a bit to fit into the bag. All but one of the boards were small enough to fit into the bag, so I'm thinking about just replacing it with a travel-size version.

I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest for this project. Check it out here, if you like.

Decluttering & Purging the Spice Cabinet:

After throwing away what was expired, and giving away the doubles and spices we hadn't used in the last few months, I was left with a better organized and easily accessible spice cabinet. This will probably be something that I do every month.

One item in, one item out

Since we seem to be accumulating so many things without ever getting rid of anything (until recently), I decided to start employing this popular rule in the minimalist community: for every item you bring into the house, one has to leave. For example, if you get a new shirt you have to donate one. This small step should help keep things from getting to cluttered in the future.


This is still an ongoing process, and the apartment is nowhere near how I'd like it to look yet, but every box donated is one step closer!