Zero Waste Home

Fill a spray bottle with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar.
Note: For added scent, you can infuse the vinegar with citrus peels in a jar for a couple of weeks, prior to diluting it.

Relocating presented an opportunity to rethink our ways. With the adoption of voluntary simplicity, we came to ask ourselves: What do we want from life? Are we living it fully? We have one life to live and only so many hours in a day. Downsizing answered our questions. It gave us a chance to shift our lives from spending our free time maintaining our investments to doing things that we truly enjoy, such as spending time with our loved ones, indulging in a few hobbies, creating, and learning. After all, these are activities that I want to fully explore before I die . . . rather than spending my life cleaning those extra rooms, mowing an ever-growing lawn, or spending the fruits of my professional work to hire people to do those tasks for me.

In my opinion, eco-friendly products will be a good alternative only when we have exhausted and worn out those already manufactured.

DIRECTIONS
1. In a skillet, combine 1/2 cup honey, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of a strong herbal tea. You can use thyme, sage, peppermint, eucalyptus, or ginger (I use foraged yerba santa, a local plant with great expectorant properties).
2. Boil on high 3 to 4 minutes or until the mixture turns an amber color.
3. Turn off the heat and let cool until it can be handled.
4. Roll into small balls

It’s important to keep in mind that beauty cannot be bought; you cannot find in a bottle what comes from within.

Everywhere, the media blinds us with touched-up photographs of flawless faces and toned bodies; every season, advertisers dream up must-have new eye-shadow palettes and high-tech skin care. All of this makes it hard to feel beautiful, and it shows in our bathroom cabinets. Our insecurities clutter our lives.

PANCAKES
Many people buy pancake mixes, but making them from scratch is easy and much more delicious!
INGREDIENTS
11/2 cups flour
31/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
11/4 cups milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter or oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Pour 1/4 cup batter into a lightly oiled pan and brown both sides.

PIZZA DOUGH
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Incorporate the butter into the mixture and mix with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add the water and combine until a soft dough forms.
4. Separate into 12 small balls.
5. Roll out each ball as thinly as possible and cook in a pan over medium heat for 20 seconds on each side.

FLOUR TORTILLAS
INGREDIENTS
4 cups flour
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup warm water