No poo?

When I first heard about no ’poo, I actually thought they were talking about poo as in… well – faeces. And the idea of people not pooing sounded kinda strange, not to say impossible and very unhealthy. Even if a person set out on a liquid, no fibre diet there had to be some kind of residue, right? And why would people want to do this anyway? Was it some kind of strange yoga routine or a religious discipline of some sort?

Yes, it’s ok to laugh now.

Hilarious isn’t it?



Ok then.

No ‘poo is not about having rather strange health issues/interests, or anxiety related to overconsumption of toilet paper. Luckily. No ‘poo is about shampoo, or rather about not using it. When you stumble upon a forum discussion titled no ‘poo, it’s usually about the use of baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair - as a substitute to the chemical mix-up that most of us use. Basically you rub your scalp and hair with baking soda to remove fat and dirt, and then you rinse in water with some apple cider vinegar added. And then, ideally, you can stop buying the paraben loaded, toxic, and environmentally hazardous, bad-for-you-and-the-planet stuff.

I haven’t tried it yet. And I don’t know if I will. But hair products are a big problem area for me when it comes to bein’ green. I have short hair and I intend to keep it this way. I need to feel clean, and I need some kind of hairspray, paste or something to feel reasonable – at least when I have to get out of the house. So there we have it. I need green haircare products that work.

Washing my hair with baking soda? Uhm… Not convinced. If I cannot manage to find a natural, eco friendly shampoo at the health food store that really does the job – well, then I don’t believe I can manage the bs/vinegar routine and feel fresh and clean. But please prove me wrong!

I’m still hunting for shampoo; my latest find is Dr. Hauschka with Macadamia and Orange. It looks delicious (!), it smells lovely, it feels great, but it’s not the perfect shampoo. It's ok - maybe even great - but not perfect. And it’s expensive. Although I understand that quality vs. quantity is something to take into consideration… My wallet is kind of slim.

The good news is that I have found a hairspray that works! – from Giovanni Organic Haircare. So I’m giving the shampoo and some other products a try as soon as I’ve saved up enough funds…

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."
-- Anonymous

Yes, she's here

She is here – finally. 16 days past my edd, and a birth experience that turned out very different from what I wished for. But that doesn’t matter now. It’s all about getting to know each other, sleeping, carrying, folding and changing diapers, cuddling and nursing.

And hopefully some time to get into blogging again… :)

Did I mention the cuddling?

Quiet

I’m afraid there’s not much going on here at the moment. On the blog that is. Seemingly there is not much going on in “real life” either except for the waiting. Oh, the waiting and longing, the frustration and the expectations. The wondering. I am 11 days past my EDD (estimated delivery date) today. I’m going to the hospital early Monday morning if nothing happens this weekend. And they will probably induce labour. Scary. I was hoping for a VBAC. As natural as possible. Now I’m not so hopeful, and honestly I’m feeling a bit discouraged by the whole situation, all the opposing facts and opinions and research done on VBACs, inducing or not inducing and the whole shebang…

BUT we will meet soon, very soon. And all this wondering and frustration will be gone and forgotten when I can stare into her eyes for the first time and fall in love all over again. How lucky am I?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. I’m going to the flea market tomorrow for some treasure hunting. Yey!



Taken at the hospital when I got my first in 2004. By c section (she was breech) at 39w 3d – 4kg (8.8 lbs)… <3

Wipes

I must admit that this feels kind of strange even to me. Posting a photo of our toilet was not a thing I thought of doing. Ever. But here goes. Let me introduce you to our toilet. It’s the composting kind without water. And the cake tin holds our cloth wipes. Maybe I’ll find something else later; I’m thinking of a box hanging on the wall.


And here they are. The recycled granny curtains from Goodwill. I made them 20 x 20 cm (ca. 8 x 8 inches), but I’m thinking that I want them a little bit larger. This fabric is quite thin, so I’ll have to hunt for some flannel. We’ll use the wipes for nr. 1 only. And that will really reduce the amount of paper in the compost loo – most of what’s left down there is paper. And of course – we can buy less paper altogether.


Since I’m having a baby at any moment now, we have this wetbag ready for cloth diapers and baby wipes anyway, so this is where our “family cloths” ends up as well. Nifty.

Garbage

According to the Norwegian newspaper VG; Norwegians ”produce” more garbage than anyone else in Europe. Statistics from Eurostat (statistics for the European Union) in 2007 shows that every Norwegian throws out 821 kg (1806.2 lbs) of garbage each year. Every European throws away an average of 500 kg each year. The countries in Western/Northern Europe – high income countries – throw out considerably more than countries in the South/East. (More money - more buying) In the Czech Republic for instance, people throw away an average of 294 kg pr. year.

Of course; this is statistics and must be read with that in mind. But 821 kg is an enormous amount of garbage. Try picturing having your very own landfill in your backyard, and let everyone in your family contribute with 821 kg each of garbage each year. What would you do with it? How would you manage it? How much time would you have to spend trying to get it to compost quicker, trying to minimize the health hazard, the environmental hazard and just sorting and piling things to get enough space so you didn’t have to move all together?

It’s so easy to just throw things away. Just toss it in a plastic bag and never see it or think of it again.

And it’s so easy to buy something new. So refreshing - kind of comforting; completely without thinking about how this item will end its life. But it will. Someday.

Buying is so natural. We buy things. That’s what we do. A considerable amount of our time is spent buying, or thinking about and planning on buying things. And many people use almost no time at all thinking about reducing our waste, recycling, reusing, reinventing and refusing more stuff. But some do, and for some people this has become a whole new way of life.

Where do you belong in this?

To our (the Norwegians) defence – we are among the countries that recycle most of our garbage. And that at least, is a good thing.

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I spent this evening sewing up some cloth wipes. I didn’t find any cotton flannel among my ridiculous amount of fabric, but I found some old, soft and flowery curtains from Goodwill. Photos tomorrow. I kept thinking of whoever owned those curtains before. Maybe an old lady – they feel kind of old lady like to me. What would she say if she new that her old curtains now will be reinvented and used as cloth wipes?

The light outside is dull and grey – but the sun peeks out once in a while. Snow fallen off from our roof is still reaching almost up to the window. I’m dreaming of vegetable gardening; tomato plants, chives, parsley, basil, garlic… I’m dreaming of making a vegetable patch just outside my kitchen window. I think I’m done obsessing over having the perfect garden of flowers and a pretty lawn with pretty lines and perfectly weeded beds. Not that I ever wanted one. But I need spring to come now; I need the sun to melt away the snow in my garden and the ice on the road outside. I need energy. I need the sun to give me some energy – both physically and emotionally. Wake me up from winter hibernation!

Another pair of baby booties. These are 80% silk and 20% baby alpaca.

Drawing made by me - based on/looked after an illustration from the book All Year Round by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marije Rowling.

Another drawing based on an illustration in one of our Elsa Beskow books... Don't remember which one at the moment…