Shampoo: Washing away the natural oils in our hair, causing the body to produce them in higher volume, causing our hair to get greasy, creating a need for shampoo.
Recycling: Only about 10% of plastic is actually recycled, the rest is sold to countries without environmental laws, and they are dumped irresponsibly. Composting is simple, effective, and would reduce landfill use by about 30%, not to mention creating a useful end product. Yet it is rarely promoted.
Mattresses and box springs: They are worse on our spines and end up causing neck and back issues. Sleeping on a firmer surface, even a thin mattress or pad on the ground, alleviates these issues.
Lawns: Turning a useful piece of land on which we can grow food into a barren wasteland and making it into a chore that requires expensive equipment and encourages chemical use.
Sales tax on food: Some countries and US states have them. It’s a tax on existence. Also, taxes on gym memberships and personal protective equipment. The government simultaneously claims it wants healthy, safe citizens, and charges them when they try to be healthy and safe.
The only purpose of lawns was originally to flaunt wealth: “see how much land I can waste and how many people I can employ maintaining it for no purpose whatsoever”.
Why this continues and is even encouraged in places, to this day, is a mystery to me.
I stopped using shampoo years ago because I’m allergic to a lot of the stuff that goes in them. I use baking soda and apple cider vinegar (you rinse in between so you don’t make a volcano). My hair has always been brittle and frizzy, but now the texture is really nice.
And for the record, no my hair doesn’t stink. You can use vitamin E oil after with essential oils if you really want your hair to smell pretty.
Everyday. You can put the baking soda on dry or mix it into a paste. Make sure you massage it into your scalp (not too hard). Then you rinse that out and put on a rinse of vinegar water. I comb my hair out at this point and then rinse out the vinegar then apply a little vitamin E oil after I towel dry it.
As far as lawns go, thanks to lead paint and leaded gasoline from the mid-20th century, that land isn’t even one you’d consider suitable for growing food unless your house was built after the 1980s. At least, as long as you’re trying to avoid getting lead in your produce.
Really feels like our grandparents’ generation did a lot to fuck over our current generation. So many of these issues trace back to when even the Boomers were children.
About mattresses. I hike and backpack and I can attest that sleeping on the ground (meaning earth and grass) with a tent and a pad is fantastic. But you can’t really do that in your house. I’d love to, cheaper, less noise, less hassle, but the floor is hard. Even with a big air mattress I find it extremely uncomfortable. I’d love to try a hammock, but without an expensive stand you can’t comfortably set it up in a house.
Advice?
We all have different body dimensions so there’s definitely not a single solution that works for everyone. My optimal setup is some of those interlocking foam exercise mats, with a thin mattress on top of it. One important thing is to flip the mattress and let it air out once a week or so. Sweat and moisture can’t evaporate from underneath like it would with a traditional setup.
I tried a hammock a few years ago but wound up with worse sleeping posture because of the way my back curled. But I also have a friend who loves hammock sleeping.
Shampoo: Washing away the natural oils in our hair, causing the body to produce them in higher volume, causing our hair to get greasy, creating a need for shampoo.
Recycling: Only about 10% of plastic is actually recycled, the rest is sold to countries without environmental laws, and they are dumped irresponsibly. Composting is simple, effective, and would reduce landfill use by about 30%, not to mention creating a useful end product. Yet it is rarely promoted.
Mattresses and box springs: They are worse on our spines and end up causing neck and back issues. Sleeping on a firmer surface, even a thin mattress or pad on the ground, alleviates these issues.
Lawns: Turning a useful piece of land on which we can grow food into a barren wasteland and making it into a chore that requires expensive equipment and encourages chemical use.
Sales tax on food: Some countries and US states have them. It’s a tax on existence. Also, taxes on gym memberships and personal protective equipment. The government simultaneously claims it wants healthy, safe citizens, and charges them when they try to be healthy and safe.
The only purpose of lawns was originally to flaunt wealth: “see how much land I can waste and how many people I can employ maintaining it for no purpose whatsoever”.
Why this continues and is even encouraged in places, to this day, is a mystery to me.
I think it’s because it gives people a feeling of being in control of something.
I stopped using shampoo years ago because I’m allergic to a lot of the stuff that goes in them. I use baking soda and apple cider vinegar (you rinse in between so you don’t make a volcano). My hair has always been brittle and frizzy, but now the texture is really nice.
And for the record, no my hair doesn’t stink. You can use vitamin E oil after with essential oils if you really want your hair to smell pretty.
I’ll give baking soda and vinegar a try. How often do you do that?
Everyday. You can put the baking soda on dry or mix it into a paste. Make sure you massage it into your scalp (not too hard). Then you rinse that out and put on a rinse of vinegar water. I comb my hair out at this point and then rinse out the vinegar then apply a little vitamin E oil after I towel dry it.
“For here or to go?”
They ask this because the tax is different. Yep. You get taxed more if you eat it there. Why? Fuck if I know.
As far as lawns go, thanks to lead paint and leaded gasoline from the mid-20th century, that land isn’t even one you’d consider suitable for growing food unless your house was built after the 1980s. At least, as long as you’re trying to avoid getting lead in your produce.
Really feels like our grandparents’ generation did a lot to fuck over our current generation. So many of these issues trace back to when even the Boomers were children.
I’ve never heard of this before. Do you happen to have a source on that?
Eh, I learned it primarily by word of mouth from gardening enthusiasts who are buying homes. But here’s one article about the phenomenon: https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/planting-and-maintenance/when-to-test-garden-soil-for-lead-contamination-and-how-to-garde
I don’t have a lot of statistics to back it up except that it seems worse on the East Coast and Rust Belt
Ok thanks for the info. I’m actually in the process of buying a house built in 1955. I’ll definitely be sure to test the soil just to be safe.
About mattresses. I hike and backpack and I can attest that sleeping on the ground (meaning earth and grass) with a tent and a pad is fantastic. But you can’t really do that in your house. I’d love to, cheaper, less noise, less hassle, but the floor is hard. Even with a big air mattress I find it extremely uncomfortable. I’d love to try a hammock, but without an expensive stand you can’t comfortably set it up in a house. Advice?
We all have different body dimensions so there’s definitely not a single solution that works for everyone. My optimal setup is some of those interlocking foam exercise mats, with a thin mattress on top of it. One important thing is to flip the mattress and let it air out once a week or so. Sweat and moisture can’t evaporate from underneath like it would with a traditional setup.
I tried a hammock a few years ago but wound up with worse sleeping posture because of the way my back curled. But I also have a friend who loves hammock sleeping.