Cheers · Emptying the nest

Yep, I’m Reviving My Dubious Minimalism

Shelley

Having just turned the corner to the rightful old young age of 57, I’m reviving my spirit of freeing myself of the things that don’t matter. In my self-proclaimed Dubious MinimalistTM kind of way. As per the norm for me.

What a noble cause, eh? And news breaking before the new year too!

Somebody has to do it. It’s either me or Mr.

I’m sure he’s not going to do my dirty clean-up work in the areas I’m about to reveal. On a side note, aren’t the cups he bought me for my birthday classy? They’re mega-size (18 oz) so one cup of coffee or tea is plenty. See, we’re off to a good start simplifying life. Don’t ask me if we parted with the old cups. That’s too personal.

Number 1 on my hit list – Emails. Ever since I started my blog, I’ve failed at keeping on top of deleting and reading emails. If you’re new to blogging, I’d advise that you shouldn’t click follow just to follow, to share a comment, or to get followers. Your inbox will love you for not doing so. You’d think I’d enjoy the delete button by now, but nope. Apparently not.

Before you shame me too much, I do delete obvious spam when I take time to read emails. No matter how polite the spammer is, I’m not falling for the scams.

My main issue is that many of the emails were from fellow bloggers I’ve met along the way. I took a deep dive scroll into the emails from 2017 and smiled remembering many of those names that helped me get into the groove of blogging. I’ve done this routine before, and kept them. I did it again today. Sigh. Must be the season, I’m all melancholy about people who matter. Yep, to prove it, I looked back to revive the December 5, 2016 post I wrote. That nobody read. Except me. Comments are obviously closed.

Fellow bloggers of Christmases’ past matter to me, but their old emails not so much. I did a quick click on the link to a sampling of blogs from the emails and 95% of those blogs have not been updated in either years or months. Hmm. I’m guessing they won’t miss me if I unfollow them now? How do I even find out how to do that?

What’s my solution to the overwhelming # of blog emails? Empty the whole lot and start from scratch? Is that possible? Is that doable? Is that pure insanity? I’ll decide tomorrow. Maybe. I remember what it was like trying to get a groove of blogging. I likely contributed to an overwhelming number of emails in someone’s inbox when I was writing every day? Well, sh*t, that’s a bummer. As a heads up, if you see me suddenly unfollowing you, you know how ruthless I may have gone.

My retired coffee cup.
My other retired cup. That I still have and still love.

Number 2 on my rid-it hit list – hair care items that make my hair frizzy and my scalp itchy. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I mistakenly ordered these mega bottles of shampoo and conditioner during the mad rush to buy stuff online instead of going out in public.

I couldn’t return the bottles, due to you know what. I really liked the stuff at first, but then I started to get concerned about how greasy it made my whole body feel when I rinsed the conditioner out. It was an overall slime feeling. Yuck. Turns out it’s because it contains ingredients ending in ‘cone’. So I was essentially coating myself in silicone-like products from head to toe. Again, YUCK!

Here’s a great list of what to avoid.

See the original link to the image below.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/6a/3f/116a3fcb0bbf9e1da6dccbaf4fdbcfc3.png

What am I replacing the old brand with? I’m sure there are other products I could use, but after spending half of the morning reading about products, I settled on this brand. I’m positive it wasn’t the brand my mother used, so I felt confident the product line must be an improvement.

And I’ve used it once, love it so far. Other interesting notes, my scalp has been less itchy and my curls (when not exposed to humidity and polyester hats) have been more manageable. Score, me.

Number 3 on the list – Mr. and I are parting ways with our 2-year-old set of sheets. We normally replace them yearly (they make great pet beds). I always scored good buys during Black Friday shopping. Last year, well, you know, there wasn’t that day. This year, we didn’t go to a store that sold sheets. Enter in online shopping once again when I discovered the shredding sheets that tore while trying to apply them to the bed. I hope these new sheets hold up to their claims. They arrived in the mail yesterday. I won’t wrap them as I’m anxious for a dreamy good night’s sleep.

Yesterday, after shopping for items requested by the adulting children, I wrapped them while I sang off-key Christmas songs. I chuckled to myself as I remembered the conversation with the gal who checked me out at the store. As soon as Mr. walked into the room making sure the cats weren’t howling and that it was just me singing, I recanted some of the conversations I had at the store.

Gal: (talking non-stop to herself into her mask as she scanned the items) “I could just ask you since you were just shopping.”

Me: Speechless. I nodded, Yes. To encourage her to elaborate.

Gal: “Did you go down the Kellogg cereal aisle, was it empty?

Me: “Um, no, I didn’t go there.”

Gal: “Well, a lady who went through my lane months ago predicted that the aisle would be bare by this time of year.”

Me: “There are some empty shelves throughout the store.”

Gal: “No, those are empty because we haven’t had time to restock. We’ve been busy. I’m talking about Kellogg’s cereal. The lady said those employees would be on strike by this time and there wouldn’t be any cereal to buy.”

Me: “I don’t know where she got that intel. But, it is Chex-Mix season.”

Gal: “I’ve seen plenty of the Chex-Mix stuff come through. I guess I know what I’ll do on my hour-long break. I’ll check it out for myself and then I’ll know, won’t I?”

Me: “Yes, I guess so. Good luck with that investigation.”

I left the store thankful that with our keto-friendly lifestyle we don’t need to worry about the cereal aisle.

Well, folks, there you have it – my short ridding myself of it hit list. I can’t part with everything in one day, don’t ya know? I still hold on to decorations that remind me of all the years we’ve spent here together.

I admired them while I waited for the freshly homemade Keto-friendly spaghetti and meatballs to arrive at my spot at the table. Courtesy of Mr., of course. He’s getting the hang of making chicken noodles.

This carb-loaded look-alike meal is delicious. If you’re looking to reveal a new and improved you and get rid of some pounds in the new year, ditching carbs is a great way to do so. IMHO. Plus, the keto-friendly items aren’t out of stock (yet).

Post Inspiration – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “rev.” Use “rev” or find a word that contains it. Have fun!

PS – When do you start thinking of New Year resolutions? What is your best tip for keeping on top of emails? If you wrote a blog post about it, please share it in the comments. What shampoo and conditioner do you use and why does it work for you? Did you know that Walmart employees get hour-long breaks?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

69 thoughts on “Yep, I’m Reviving My Dubious Minimalism”

  1. Whoa! That’s a LOT of emails! How do you get through them all? You may already know this, but you can change the email settings for each blog you follow in the Reader. You can set it to Instantly, Daily or Weekly. You can turn off emails as well, which means you only see their posts in the Reader. The option is at the top of the Reader under “Manage” next to “Followed Sites”.
    BTW, not to guilt you or anything…but I’d be really sad to be cut from your “nice” list & put on the “naughty” list. 😉

    1. LOL – sigh, yeah, it’s a lot of emails. I did some research and found that setting – thanks for the tips. I think the backlog of emails are due to not knowing that setting when I started out on WordPress.
      BTW – Don’t worry, you’ve figured out the key to staying on the nice list. 🙂 I have many blogging friends that do write daily, and I admire their perseverance. They’ll stay on the nice list too. 😍🥰

  2. I routinely apologize to bloggers that I follow, but I limit the amount of time I set aside for reading. If I haven’t gone back in a day or two, I delete them.

    I save emails alerting me to comments and likes. If they are on my site they go in one folder. If they come from others, they go in a separate folder but they are all lumped together. I’ll have to explain some time why I keep those.

    Chex Mix season? I love that time of year 🙂

    2. I need to pin a post at the top that says, “I’m sorry!” I’m like you, I set aside certain slots of time. When I blogged daily, it was easier to keep up, but that’s when all the emails happened too.
      I need to use the delete key daily.
      I’m curious now to hear why you sort those emails as you do.
      Yes, cheers it’s Chex Mix season! I used to love to make quadruple batches of it. I’d much rather grab 5 macadamia nuts and call it good. I do love seeing people enjoy their Chex Mix though.

      1. I wouldn’t bother with the apology. No one expects you to read every post they put up, but there’s no reason to remind us. We all have too many blogs we signed up to read and too little time to read them. I’ve never blogged on a daily basis. The few times I end up posting 5 or 6 days in a row will keep me from ever doing that. It’s a lot of work. Chex Mix is a delightful snack, but buying it always disappoints – homemade is best.

        1. Once again, your wise counsel is so helpful! I think I remember that time you posted so many days in a row. With all the followers you have and comments, I bet that was Corona and lime producing?
          Yes, homemade is best. I hope that Editor makes some for you. I miss the days when my mom would make it in her roaster oven. In her earlier stages of dementia Cheetos and Cheerios made it into the mix. 🤔🤣😳

  3. I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions, or Word o’ the Year or anything like either one.

    I don’t get much email these days, and 90% of it is deleted before I ever read it (mostly politicians begging for money which I don’t have thanks to the same politicians). I try to leave my email inboxes empty where I can. I reply to or take action on the email, then delete it. If it’s something I need to save, there’s Evernote.

    Mary, who gets to wash my hair twice a week because I got tired of listening to her complain about the way I do it, uses Biolage, occasionally Head and Shoulders, sometimes whatever she’s using. All are two-in-one shampoo and conditioner.

    No wonder every time you go into Walmart there are 25 registers and only two people working them…

    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, John. I’ve tried NYRs and WOYs and before January is over, I’m bored with them. LOL.
      You’re lucky to have easy to delete emails. I’m with you on the politician ones, I do the same. The last time I had an email inbox empty was when I set them up. You’re also so organized, I can see you’re able to make decision and act accordingly. I tend to ponder too much.
      That’s nice of Mary to help you look handsome for her! I’ll have to look into Biolage. I have the Head and Shoulders with Zinc and it contains too many of the not good for your hair ingredients. I remember my dad using it all the time. He still has hair, but it is thin and short now.
      LOL – I was shocked when she said they get hour-long breaks. She said they even tell her to leave the store and go somewhere instead of staying onsite. I’m guessing that they simply combine the two 15 minute breaks and the 1/2 hour lunch break for an 8 hour day so that they don’t have to pay for the 15 minute breaks. If you’re not there, there’s no way to be called back to work.

  4. Haha! Your inbox looks like my DH’s. I would be totally stressed looking at that many unopened emails, but he seems unbothered. 🤷‍♀️ To each his own, I guess. LOL. That said, I also separated my email into folders, and there is no doubt I need to purge them again one of these days.

    It took me a long time but I have settled on shampoo and conditioner that don’t make my head itch and don’t make it flat. If I only had curls… 😊

    1. LOL – thanks for sharing Laurel. It’s nice to know DH is a kindred email spirit. I do get stressed when I look at my email or I get a message about exceeding quota. I don’t know if those emails are spam or true, guess some day I’ll find out. I’d much prefer to have an empty inbox. I do have many folders, and originally tried ‘rules’ to transfer them so that I didn’t have to look at them right away. That’s why the numbers grew as they did, out of site, out of mind and into the ever accumulating status. Yikes. I do seriously need to purge. I bet it feels good to be all caught up. That should be motivation for me. 😉
      That’s great that you found shampoo and conditioner that works for you. There are so many options out there. There are days I wished my hair was straight. They are the days when half of my hair is curly and the other half is frizzy. It’s an interesting look that requires the hat that makes it more frizzy. 😆LOL.

  5. Wow Shelley! That’s a lot to digest! Here we go…I delete my blog emails every few days. My personal emails? Not so much. Just a few thousand to clear (not to mention that when I delete them on my phone that doesn’t delete them on my Outlook!). I fell in love with Wen shampoo years ago, helped with itchy scalp! Then I discovered Tweak’d and I think that is my favorite. Super natural and moisturizing. I use both. AND I keep overbuying so I’m set for years! HA!
    And side note: I just moved most of my iPhone photos over to my HUGE back up storage device today. I just saved myself a couple of bucks a month by down grading my iCloud storage! YAY! Now I need to go through all the photos and delete them off my storage device!!

    1. Yes, it is a lot to digest. I’m impressed that you stay on top of your blog emails. I only showed you all my blog email account. I have two other ones in my outlook and um…well, let’s just say they give the blog one a run for the money when it comes to folders and quantity. If you set your accounts to IMAP, it should work to delete in one spot for all of them? Yes? No?
      I’ve heard of Wen before, I’ll have to check it out again when I run out of this stuff. So far, this has been making my head and curls feel better. And Tweak’d…I’ll check that out too, thanks for sharing. Does shampoo and conditioner have a shelf-life or not? My mega jars seemed like they lost life, but maybe that’s because they were opened?
      I’m horrible with my iPhone photos. When I get the storage has exceeded message I have my husband download them to my server, and then I’m supposed to go through them and delete. It’s on my to-do list too. LOL. When it comes to photos, there’s always something about them that is worthy of sharing ;-).
      Wow – speaking of worthy of sharing, the quote you shared and your photos of this little bird are stunning! https://peaceoflife.today/2021/12/05/with-golden-crown-the-sweet-little-verdin/

      1. Thank you, Shelley! I get the hair products from QVC/HSN. They say they last 2 years unopened. I’ve probably had a bottle or two that long! Yes, one of my soon “to-do”s is to go through ALL of the thousands of pictures I cleaned off my iPad. 😱😨

        1. You’re welcome. I always forget about QVC/HSN…! Wow – that’s good to know about how long they last.
          I just got another notice that my storage space has exceeded the limit… I need to get photos cleaned off too. The race is on. 🏃🏻‍♀️😉

  7. I’m really bad with my emails too. Every few weeks, I sort them by sender and do a big delete of older ones. I have a blog culling to do also. I don’t subscribe just to subscribe but sometimes what I thought the blog was about turns out not to be.

    1. Thanks for sharing your email confessions. I like that sort by sender and delete technique too. I was playing around with the settings section and it looks like the date my follow of a blog was chosen. So I’m taking my time to see if I remember why I followed them in the first place. Back when there was the Daily Prompt, I think that’s when I followed a bunch of blogs. Many that are no longer active blogs.
      I wonder if many blogs end up taking twists to their plots over time? I’ve always appreciated your advice on personal blogging and the comments you share. Thank you for making the blogging experience enjoyable!

  8. It IS a lot of emails. I have way too many too. But at least the blogs that have gone dormant aren’t emailing me any more! 🙂 My problem is I can’t delete the dormant ones out of my list of blogs I used to read. Somehow I have emotional connections to some of them. I need to though. And I have my emails broken up into primary, promotions, updates etc…so some categories I just empty periodically without looking at what’s in there. I guess I should go and unsign up for some stuff. I have several thousand emails at any one time that need to be cleaned up.

    1. Oh, Dawn, your techniques resonate with me. Now I don’t feel quite as guilty, but still motivated to do some purging.
      I should’ve, could’ve, would’ve done better had I stayed on top of things. Maybe next year! LOL.
      I’d be curious to hear how you manage your photos – are you ruthless with out-takes or do you save them too like I do?

      1. Photos? Oh I have hundreds, thousands of them. I have the hardest time deleting any of them unless it’s totally awful. Especially of Katie. I even keep the awful ones of her. I have files, with titles, usually the place I was and date. Then within the files I have a file of the edited versions. I hardly ever look at anythng other than the edited ones, yet I keep them all. My husband keeps buying me laptops with bigger and bigger memories. He has stopped telling me I have to toss some images.

        1. You’re my hero!! And Mr. is smiling that he has a fellow ‘stop telling her, just buy more memory’ kind of guy!! 🥰

  9. The e-mails – just wow and I looked at my SPAM folder here at WordPress – it seems to have settled at 350 … something niggles at me to check them, but I just can’t. I get the repetitive comments in my SPAM filter, so no. I sometimes will send a fellow blogger an old post of mine if the subject comes up and I’ll check to ensure they didn’t see it already and like/comment. So in looking at those commenters I see half the people have vanished … no posts by them and no more comments. Do they just have the free WP blogging platform and tire of it? Hmm.

    I’ve been using Nexxus products for a while and love them, especially the smell (Therappe shampoo/Humectress conditioner). I bought a scalp scrub by Nexxus but haven’t used it yet. When I was younger, I used to put mayo on my hair and my mom would have to rinse it at the kitchen sing with pure vinegar – the egg made my hair soft and the vinegar cut the grease and made it shine. The scalp scrub is: NEXXUS SHAMPOO CLEAN AND PURE EXFOLIATING SCALP SCRUB.

    1. Yes – wow on emails and SPAM. I’m glad that my paid for JetPack does a good job of weeding out the spam. Getting into a groove of a blog takes more time than many people think. I didn’t go with a free WP so maybe that would’ve been a deal breaker for me too?
      Thanks for sharing your hair product feedback. I’ll have to check that out too. LOL – I did the mayo thing too. Or maybe it was my mom that did it. It was a mess. My mom even went so far as to have me use mayo to polish the leaves on certain plants in the house. Talk about dust collectors…!

      1. I have a few fellow bloggers, one a UK photographer who is on his third free blog, keeps re-naming them and going on … that would be a hassle I would think. Non-bloggers have no idea how much effort it takes – I know I didn’t have a clue. Yes the may worked wonders – as long as you didn’t get caught in the rain or it was very humid as you smelled like egg salad!

        1. We’ve learned much about blogging by persevering through the changes in WP and just by showing up as often as we do. (you, more than me!!).
          Mayo, the magic potion! 😉 Egg salad smelling hair, not necessarily a pleasant result. LOL!

          1. I say I’ll catch up and it happens once in a blue moon … yes not great and a vinegar chaser to cut the grease, also not nice, but boy did my hair shine in those days. I’ve grown out most of the highlights and I cut six inches off my hair last Saturday. No layers left – my hair looks kind of blah, but it’s hat weather and I wanted to get rid of the highlights/lowlights which I last had done in October 2019.

          2. I think we all have the waiting for a blue moon moments. The shine factor was nice.
            Yay – your hair is 100% all you, as you know, I’d say, “Embrace it! And wear a hat when you can’t!”

  10. Hi Shelley
    I really enjoyed your post and it made me feel a little guilty for not sharing more about some of these topics on my blog! Like seriously – we learned a huge lesson with laundry soap – dishwashing pods, and shampoo this year and I probably need to blog about it because this is how we help others and pay it forward – and okay – I sometimes post about health stuff (and years ago I had some surprise reactions when I talked about how bad sugar was- and how it suppressed the immune system)
    Anyhow – I am now thinking about ways I can share a bit of what we have learned this year – like the chemical brighten ingredients in Costco powered detergent works as a weed killer and is some bad stuff – the slime of it gets on clothes and your story with the silicone in shampoo products reminded me of that!
    It frustrates me that these products have so many chemicals that pull from health!
    —
    And for shampoo – we absolutely love the dr bronner’s soaps for hair and body – and sometimes laundry – ZUM (indigo wild) also has some good items and Purex has a sensitive skin detergent that works (use oxy clean too)
    Anyhow – not to ramble but the cascade brand is some high chemical yuck and so we went back to Palmolive -phosphate free
    —
    And cheers to getting rid of more stuff! It is a great idea to pace the process

    1. Hi Yvette! Great to hear from you. I knew you’d agree with the slime factor and how chemicals are bad. I’m no expert, but am like you in being interested in finding out more about how chemicals are bad for us. I took an interest in the dryer sheets and how bad they are for us. Yet, used and recommended for so many things. My daughters use them to polish baseboards (keeps the dust off them for longer period of time) and for keeping static out of hair. I cringed because I’m doing the opposite. I don’t use them anymore on our sheets or our underclothing or towels. I found an interesting thing about underwear – on the packing it states not to use fabric softener. I wonder why? It actually degrades the elastic. Hmm… So yeah, you should write blogs about it.
      I’ve not heard of Dr. Bronner’s soap either. I’ll have to research that too. I’ve gotten lots of suggestions, it appears to be a hot topic.
      Dang…we use cascade liquid in our dishwasher. But we have Palmolive dish soap and I wear rubber gloves when I wash dishes.
      Thanks for the encouragement and for getting rid of stuff. I must confess, I’m getting excited to do so. At a slow pace!

      1. I like your term “dubious minimalism” and glad you are back at it.

        Dr. Bronners can be used in the laundry too – and I think for years they only had peppermint – like decades – and then expanded – my husband used their “earl gray” soap and has not been able to find it. He mostly uses their plain soap – think it is for infants. I recently posted abut Dr Bronners “Heal Soul” soap, which we tried this year and out of all their soaps – that one had the most ingredients. I like it but don’t love it.
        – and forgot to mention I do have some conditioner from “not your mother’s” – and it is called clean freak. It was on sale and so I decided to try it. I like to change conditioners – but I still have a huge Paul Mitchell peppermint conditioner that is lightweight and nice.
        —
        Wanted to mention all natural borax as it helps with so many things – like dishwasher – we add a small handful to the dishwasher – and then with laundry it helps clean the clothes naturally. I used to do borax scrubs – it was when I was having some skin issues and did not now what was going on – and so the board scrub is awesome – just lightly apply borax to the skin and it lightly massage. Baking soda works too. Anyhow, the biggest lesson I learned that all things skin usually relate to gut health – of course detergents can irritate (and that costco laundry detergent made the clothes feel filmy and was so bad) – but I think that so many skin conditions come from poor gut health – and because the skin is a dumpojgn ground for what is inside, skin health says a lot about gut health.
        —
        enjoyed your comment reply

        1. Thanks for the info, it’s interesting to read how all the stuff ties together. Yes, gut health is extremely important. I have a friend who is a wellness coach and she agrees with your sentiments. Have you heard of oxalates being a problem too with skin issues? I notice within a day if I eat too many items that contain oxalates. Besides skin, if you wake up in the morning with extra crunchy eyes, you’ve eaten too many oxalates. (So I’ve heard/read). I’m no expert, that’s for sure!
          I’ve used baking soda and coconut oil for skin exfoliating. It’s messy, but works. The coconut oil is good for bacteria – even worked well for Copper’s mouth, I’d let him lick it off the spoon and his mouth refreshed (some). I haven’t tried borax?! Hmm…

          1. I have not heard of oxalates- and will look it up later – hmmmm – so curious now –
            and remember I mentioned dr brokers peppermint soap – well a while back – one of my favorite exfoliator was what you mentioned -t he coconut ol and baking soda – but I also added in Dr Bronners mint soap and wow – so effective for what I needed at the time.
            Borax is a mineral and small amounts are added to supplements (boron) and once in a while it is great for the skin. My aunt removed some bumps on her calves with soap and borax – and I know some folks that do a foot soak with it. But the dry borax scrub is nice once in a while because it wakes up the skin and seems to energize.
            🙂

          2. Look up Sally Norton, she’s an expert on oxalates.
            You’ve got me intrigued about the soap mixtures. When winter rolls around, the dry skin appears. It’s fun to do some exfoliating that moisturizes too. Thanks for the great tips.

  11. PS
    The chicken noodles look good
    And
    I turned off email notifications years ago! If I was to connect with bloggers I go to there blog and never use email for that -it helps so much

    1. Thanks – the noodles are so delicious and no carbs, it’s fun to have the pasta experience without the stomach bloat.
      I thought I had turned off the email notifications, I must’ve done it wrong. I, too, use that technique. I’m going to make a spreadsheet update on the blogs I do hear from and the ones I enjoy following. WordPress is definitely not keeping things in order like I prefer. LOL!

      1. I stopped eating most pasta in 2001 because I felt awful after eating it. I really thought it was maybe related to heritage – because they say when we eat for blood type it connects to the food that our ancestors ate – so for example, some people might do well with shellfish because in their genes – their ancestors three generations ago lived coastal and ate a lot of seafood. On my family for both sides they ate a lot of red meat and potatoes – which I do very well with. So I just thought maybe Italian people did better with the kind of pasta we were eating. and with that said, I do think that food can be very cultural and we get used to certain things – or our body does better with certain foods.
        However, after learning more about today’s chemicals, the glue like flour making the noodles or pasta, and how crackers and most carbs are processed like sugar – I realized that my not doing well with pasta in 2001 was just my needing food that offered life and needing food that had nutrients.
        I have cleaned and healed my gut – slowly – over the years and I don’t ever miss any of the old foods – not one bit.
        —
        if we ever try to make the chicken noodles I will let you know,
        One of my favorite products is Cauliflower rice – I try not to by bagged stuff – but this is an exception sometimes – it has no other ingredients and you cook it in a pot – then add various ingredients and it can be rice like or a little soup. Just love this product and I think the one I find on sale is “bird’s eye”
        —

        wishing you a great rest of the week

        1. I do find the ancestory connection interesting. I also think that where you live for a long period of time makes a difference. I live in WI and grew up on venison and fish and local meats and cheeses. That all fits great into the keto lifestyle. We would have a hard time trying to do a vegan diet because of the lack of fresh veggies year round. My brother is carnivore and can’t tolerate any veggie or bread, etc. It’s amazing how that diet has helped keep him from any seasonal allergies he used to have or any illnesses. His gut has healed too. Diets seem to need to be customized to the person. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is devastating to our health.
          Yes, we love cauliflower rice too. During the winter season we end up buying some of the mash products, but I notice they’re not the best ingredients even if they are organic/non-gmo.
          The chicken noodles are a game-changer for us and our missing out on pasta. There’s none of the carb-loading coma or bloating involved. I hope you get to try and make them and let me know what you think.
          You have a great rest of the week too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

          2. Ditto to you! I’m curious to hear what you think of them. And how you feel after eating them. That’s the biggest difference to me, no stomach bloating involved. 😉

  12. 🙂
    I hope to could be called a “in the making”, becoming Dubious MinimalistTM Je banni les emballages plastiques un par un, en ne remplaçant les flacons vides que par des contenants en verre, carton ou par des produits en vrac. Pour la toilette de la tête au pied, j’utilise de l’authentique “Savon d’Alep “. (Reste que peut-être hier la Syrie ou aujourd’hui la Turquie ne livre pas régulièrement aux USA). Mes cheveux gris se portent bien (je recommande de sélectionner ceux avec un bon pourcentage d’huile de laurier).
    Good list but: Why ethanol, candelilla and bee wax are to be avoid? They are products of natural origin.

    1. Yay – glad to have you joining in on the DM movement. 😉 I translated your message so that I could read it. Here’s the translation for anyone else reading, you always share interesting info to consider: I hope to could be called a “in the making”, becoming Dubious MinimalistTM I ban plastic packaging one by one, replacing empty bottles only with glass containers, cardboard or bulk products. For the toilet from head to toe, I use authentic “Aleppo Soap”. (Still, maybe yesterday Syria or today Turkey does not deliver regularly to the US). My gray hair is doing well (I recommend selecting those with a good percentage of laurel oil). Good list but: Why ethanol, candelilla and bee wax are to be avoid? They are products of natural origin.

      Okay, now my response, hmm. You are way ahead of where I am on bans. You’ve given me so many ideas to consider, thank you!
      I’ve used Ivory soap my whole life. It’s what my mom bought. I didn’t realize how long it has been around until I read a few paragraphs about the labels and collectors of such things back in the early 1900s. The Aleppo Soap sounds like a clean option. It looks like you can make it on your own? Have you done that?
      So far I’ve really liked this new shampoo. I’ll use it as a transition to even better shampoo. Interestingly, the new sheets have helped the frizz factor too. They are 100% Giza cotton. Best sleep ever (so far).
      I don’t know about the exclusion of those ingredients. I’m guessing the wax might build up and weigh down curls. I do find it funny that the perfect curl look requires A LOT of products. I only shampoo and condition once every 7-10 days. Other than that, I leave my hair to breathe.
      Again, thanks for your input, I love hearing from you!

      1. Thanks for the information on the sheets, I’ll use it.
        I buy Aleppo soap.
        To dry my mid-length hair and have curls, I only open the windows of the car during my morning commute, even but at the expense of the car’s electricity consumption in the winter.
        Perhaps the failure would be due to a question of ecology or economy: protection of bees or production not eco or human frendly for the plant.

        2. You’re welcome. I wonder if I can find the Aleppo soap here in WI? I shall look around to see.
          That’s an awesome way to dry your hair. I’ve yet to use that technique. I just let mine air dry with some clips to keep some curl volume on the top of my head going on. Wet curls dangling down flatten the curls on the top of my head.
          Perhaps, I don’t know enough about it to say. I’m sure there’s a reason (or more than one).

          2. Aw, I can’t find/see an email address. Have you tweaked your Gravatar info yet? I think that would help me and others find your blog. And your tips.

  13. My green (eco FRIENDLY) recipes:
    – Highly concentrated vinegar or boiling water for weeds in the garden.
    – dilute sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) against mould (becareful).
    – vinegar 1/3 + hot water 2/3 for windows glass.
    – black soap + bicarbonate for laundry and hands.
    – very hot water for dishes.
    – clay stone cleans, degreases, makes shines (= 100g white clay + 60g black soap or (Marseille soap) + 60g bicarbonate + 60g water) for taps, tiles, floor, joints, very dirty dishes… (caution not recommended for teflon or fragile coating, wood: it is an abrasive)…

        1. Found on a gardener blog:( direct reverso traduction)
          Sciarides named soil midges? If they were, according to the specialists:
          “They love heat and humidity of soil and live on green plants’ soil, which they consider strategic places to lay their eggs. These small insects, measuring 1 to 2 millimetres, continue their life cycle all the time if you don’t intervene, and it could go from bad to worse. The flies will lay eggs over and over again, until the soil is completely infested with eggs. When they hatch, the larvae must feed and eat the roots. This can get to the point where the plant no longer has sufficient roots to feed” .
          Kill the larvae and clean up the land:
          “The first trick consists first of killing the larvae of the midges already present in the earth. The first five centimetres of soil must be dried, without watering your plant for a few days. The larvae will wither away because the soil will no longer be warm and moist enough. In addition, the midges will no longer come to lay eggs in this soil, which they will no longer consider suitable for laying, being usually attracted by the moisture of the soil. If you really want to prevent insects from getting close to the pots, it is possible to cover them so that the flies no longer have access to the land. The soil can be covered with clay beads, for example, gravel or sand. Coffee grounds can also be used as repellent. Simply spread coffee grounds on the ground to dissuade them from returning.

          If your pot and soil are really infested with all kinds of larvae, the most radical solution is repotting. Uproot your plants. Remove the soil around the roots and replant the plant in a new pot with fresh new soil. Then take the necessary steps to prevent them from returning.

          The third solution to get rid of midge larvae is the soapy solution. Prepare a solution with dish soap. Spray this solution on the plant and of course on the substrate. Dish soap kills larvae, but it can be repeated several times. To ensure that the larvae are properly raised on the surface, you can attract them by first watering the plant with water and then wait a few minutes before spraying the soapy solution. Be careful not to poison the plant with dishwashing liquid. Dilute the soap well in plenty of water.

          Attract midges to trap or keep them away

          Now that you have made sure that you have eliminated all the larvae and that your substrate is completely free of these parasites, you can take care of the fate of the flies that still fly around the apartment plants. The solution is to trap them. There are different types of traps that are more or less effective, some of which are more like grandma’s tricks.

          The most famous trap, the most classic, but perhaps the least aesthetic is the famous adhesive tape. Have you ever wondered why these sticky stripes were always a dubious yellow? Simply because these insects are attracted by the yellow colour. It must be admitted that they are not aesthetic and that their effectiveness is not always the fastest since we must patiently wait for the flies to pass by to remain stuck to the tape. It may be more effective to attract them beforehand by one of the following tricks to better trap them.

          Apart from the yellow that attracts them, nothing like to attract the midges to use their sense of smell. The sciarides are attracted by the smell of olive oil. You can pour a little olive oil into your sink hole and the flies will come in. Once glued to the viscous walls of the pipes, they will have difficulty coming out. Note that a good cleaning of the pipes with baking soda makes it possible to sanitize your pipes and prevent parasites from being installed, since the pipes can also be a source of appearance of flies. Soda, which is natural and non-hazardous, should be preferred before considering the use of more radical chemicals.

          1. I found your reply in my trash folder…! Ugh. Sorry for not seeing it until now. Thank you so much for sharing. Getting the gnats under control is a top priority for the new year. I look forward to trying some of these ideas. I have gnats in every pot, so I can try multiple things to see what works. Again, thank you so much, I appreciate you sharing this information!

  14. I don’t make resolutions but do spend a couple of weeks before Jan 1st making a list of goals. Both JB and I then exchange our list and our plan for implementing then in June we assess our progress and make a list of accomplishments to date. Chris

    1. Hi Chris – nice to hear from you, welcome to the blogging world. I admire folks who make a list and check it twice. I often wish I’d do that and make things happen. Maybe this year I’ll do just that… I so enjoyed reading about your Julia adventure. Cheers to moments of joy!

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