No Impact

Is that possible to lower our impact on the environment so much so that we could almost say we have no impact?

Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man tried to live with as little environmental impact as possible for one full year. He and his family bought nothing except locally grown food, travelled by foot or bike, unplugged from electricity and made no trash. The interesting part of it is that in the end, they discovered that not only they were doing something good for the planet but they were also living happier, healthier and richer.

He launched the No Impact Project to promote behavioral change, enable the public to experience their own No Impact Experiment and to engage people who are not already tree-hugging, bicycle-riding, canvas-bag-toting, eco-warriors.

I'm already doing quite a lot to live minimalistically and eco-consciously. The No Impact Project is something that is really calling me so I just signed up and am presently preparing to try the one-week carbon cleanse. I also made a list of steps I would like to take in the next weeks/months to lower my impact as much as possible. I'm not done yet but here's my list for now:

- Stop using:

• plastic bags - completely, including packaging bags (bread, etc.) That implies making my own bread, etc.;
• paper towels (rarely use them anyway), napkins (even in restaurant - will use a cloth that I take with me everywhere), tissues (I already sewed some nice little hankerchiefs) and toilet paper;
• disposable dishes, cups, pens and other things that I don't think about right now but that are made for single use;
• feminine hygiene disposable products;
• shampoo (make my own)
• toothpaste (make my own)
• House cleaning products (make my own)
• Dryer
• Car, if I can use my bike (if distance permits and I don't need a car trunk!)

- Stop buying as much as possible anything that has packaging (biggest challenge I think)

- Buy second-hand clothing, bags, shoes, etc. unless I need an item impossible to find in second hand store.

- Stop going shopping when I get bored.

- Stop buying stuff that comes from more than 250 miles away from my town.

That's a bunch of stops, I know. But I see it as more freedom than more limits. A stop here means more money, more time, more consciousness and I believe more happiness somewhere else.

Would you like to join me, so we could share our experience? I'm sure it would be very motivating to create a No Impact team! So? Are you in?

At war

Candida Albicans by AJC1

Those of you who know me personnally are aware that I've been suffering from intestinal problems for over 12 years. Since then, I received different diagnosis, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Still, any of those diagnosis seemed to be right, as I was not having all the symptoms and didn't need to take medication. It was just a permanent discomfort, accompanied by various and seemingly unrelated problems: chronic fatigue, rash, allergies, different food intolerances, depression, runny nose, fragile throat, unusual frequent need to go to the WC, articular and muscle pain, excessively dry skin, etc.

Well, can you believe I think I just found out a culpable? For all of these symptoms? Thanks to a dear friend of mine (merci Marie, je ne te le dirai jamais assez!), Candida Albicans is now unmasked. She sent me a bunch of articles and links about Candida and I immediately realized my health problems were almost certainly related to it. This nice fungus present in every human body has taken over my own and my only hope to gain it back and regain health is to fight. To kill the unwanted guy, I need to starve it to death. It's not going to be easy: Candida likes sugar, gluten, yeast, processed food, dairies, cereals, fruits... Well, all the food I love, too.

But I don't mind. I'm at war. I'll have to eat rice cakes and salad for a while but it is worth it. If I can stop suffering, then I don't mind. Just to think about living a pain-less life is giving me all the motivation I need to fight.

Minimalism will spread over to my diet, too...

Forbidden

Photo credit Klaus De Buysser

Aaaaah. You know the feeling. The one you get when you finish cleaning up and everything is in its place. Didn't think I would feel the same by cleaning up my email inbox!

And I'm not talking about just deleting messages and emptying the trash. I'm talking about serious unsubscription campaign! I think I put up to 30 names on my blocked ID list (you know those people/institutions that send mass emails and don't give any unsubscription options? Even if you write personnnally to them?). I also unsubscibe myself from, I would say about 20 newsletters and other mailing list. I never realized I was getting so much stuff, because on a daily basis I get like 1 or 2 junk mails. But when I went through my trash bin (with Mac Mail I was able to see all the trash of the last month), I was chocked! And for most of them, I never asked to get the newsletter and the like.

So now... feels fresh and clean and light and I expect incoming messages will be wanted. Until more institutions track me down!

Clean and minimal

How do you like it? I think that new look really suits this blog.

I'm in a minimalist mood since a couple of weeks and decluttering is my watchword. Everything of no particular and unnecessary use is being donate/discarded/thrown away. Objects, files and all kind of tangible and virtual clutter is either gone or about to. Bare computer desktop. Unsubscription to many emails and newsletter that I never read anyway. Giving away baby stuff, furniture (don't worry I kept the refrigerator and a table!), useless (to me) items.

Have more decluttering work to do but I'm happy now my blog is also done. Fresh and clean. Ah, now you (and I) can breathe!

Wonderful. New. Life.

My new me suits me very well. Changes are effective and I feel reaaaly good. I'm taking small steps to be freer, happier, lighter.

I have a list of things I would like to either change/improve/stop/start in the coming weeks/months. I'm taking one or two things at the time, so I dont become overwhelmed. It includes

- Waking up early: done - the habit is taken and I really enjoy it. I'm usually up at around 5 am

- Sleeping early: done - didn't sleep later than 10:00 - 10:30 pm for a whole month which is very unusual :). I guess it goes with the previous point!

- Exercise: partly done - I started a yoga course and am walking 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon to get/take my son to school. Would like to do some more.

- Eating well: I mean very well. For myself and for the planet. No meat, less dairies, no process food, etc. Ramadan was very helpful so I was able to "reset" my body and I am ready to take the eat-well challenge.

- Put an end to consumerism. I'm really motivated, especially after spending hours decluttering and realizing that I owe enough (read: too much). My motto these days: I will no longer find pleasure in buying and having material things. Told you I'm a new person! One really nice tip I could share with you is if you want to buy something, put it on a 30-days list (with the date next to it). If after 30 days you still want the item than you can consider buying it - if you really need it and think you cannot do without.

- Get rid of my credit card. Seriously.

- Turn off computer after 3 pm. Should be the hardest habit to change.

Everything will go through the 21-days test.

Life is wonderful when you take care of yourself.