A CHALLENGE FOR ME (and maybe for you ...)

I'm proposing a challenge - for myself and for anyone who wants to join me. I am going 14 days straight of bonafide vegan. That's right my darlings, this girl is on a mission (for the next fourteen days). It has technically already kicked off for me so I'll be finishing up on Wednesday 28th May but I didn't get mah butt into gear to launch this post yesterday!

What the bleep is 'vegan'? Well I think this hippy little picture explains it best ...

Found here

For me, veganism is about conscious and kind consumption. It's about knowing and appreciating where our food and clothing has come from, and being able to celebrate that no harm was inflicted on earthlings to allow us these gifts. It also reflects a respect for the connectedness of all living things and allows us to fully enjoy the incredible blessings that we're given from the earth. Everyone may have a slightly different definition or interpretation of 'vegan' and may incorporate other philosophies or other dietary practices into their integration of a vegan lifestyle - I am all for that. I cheer on bioindividuality and appreciate that we are all so juicily different and attract different experiences along the way. But, strictly speaking, vegan is a term used to reflect the absense of any animal products within that person's diet and/or lifestyle. And yes, that means no leather or fur for the next fourteen days. I'm not a huge leather or fur fan anyway but I do have a beautiful leather handbag that was gifted to me - for the next fourteen days, that's being swapped for ultra chic calico.

Over the next few weeks - I will keep y'all posted on my triumphs and tribulations, my highs and lows, my tofu and my facon (fake bacon). I will also be running with the whole 'vegan' theme to bring you delicious recipe posts, resources to learn more about vegetarian and/or vegan lifestyles, information regarding the impacts of industrial agriculture and cattle rearing, my personal reasons for the challenge and a whole lot more. I will also be Vlogging (video bloggin') a little more over the coming weeks to have some 'one-on-one' time with you lovelies.

Don't forget to sign up for the Bless this Mess newsletter which will feature bonus information, recipes and links over the next few weeks! If you're keen to join me for the full fourteen days, or even for one meal (!), pledge your commitment in the comments below or shoot me an email!

Blessings and bucket loads of vegan chilli x  

Kind Homes and Kind Cleaning - Let's Get a Little Dirty First

Found here

Ok, so you’ve made a promise to yourself and the earth that you’re going to invest in more kind and natural products for your beautiful home. Great! Well done. You’re feeling fabulous. You throw on an eco chic cardie, grab a big eco tote babe, order a grande cappuccino to go and hit the shops. You walk past the confectionary aisle like a mother flippin’ boss and you shoot those chip packets a look that says ‘uh uh hunny, I’m eco friendly shoppin’ today’. You strut past the magazines and hold your head high as you approach the cleaning aisle – ready to fill your tote with safe suds and kind cleaners. You pick up your first candidate – a bottle of detergent in a green and brown bottle (those bland tones mean natural right?), smiling at your choice as the word ‘natural’ is written is kickass font on its label and you flip over the bottle without a care in the world just wanting to confirm the ingredients are ones that you’re familiar with. You stop dead in your tracks.

“CAUTION” 

“Avoid contact with skin and eyes”

“Seek medical advice if consumed” 

and what the fudge is ‘diaphhhkhnbvtd5iwnsganacetoxide’?

You put down the bottle, defeated, and walk over to your old faithful (but insanely scary chemically composed) bottle of regular cleaner. Choosing kind products is too hard - you think. I hear ya. I hear ya loud and clear. Thanks to poor regulations and monitoring of various marketing campaigns we are being ‘greenwashed’ on a daily basis and being encouraged to purchase falsely described eco friendly products.

What do we actually need to look for?

Firstly – be wary of health disclaimers such as ‘caution’ ‘danger’ ‘warning’ etc. These labels are indicative of the products’ toxicity. Always look for (and abide by) care instructions such as ‘wear masks and gloves’. How often do we nuddy up to clean the shower – when really we should be donning a Breaking Bad style outfit with half the products that are out there! Next thing to keep your eco eyes peeled for is products that are ‘plant based’ versus ‘petroleum based’. The more products we use that are petroleum based – the faster the depletion of this non renewable resource and the greater our nations’ demand on its importation from other countries. Lastly opt for environmentally friendly packaging. Look for recycled plastic//paper or better yet check out Method’s range of packaged goods using Ocean Plastic!

BTM's Little Black Book of Dirty Bitches (not the kinky kind).

+ Diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA) – sudsing agents that react to nitrates and form nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are carcinogens that penetrate the skin.

+ Butyl Cellosolve (ethylene glycol monobutyl ether) – a nerve damaging chemical that’s easily absorbed by the skin.

+ Ammonia fumes – Can cause respiratory irritation.

+ Sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) – There are uber caustic (cause living tissue to burn) and if these are mixed with any products that contain ammonia or acids – their reaction will create a toxic and lingering fume.

+ Sulphates – These little buggers can trigger respiratory distress in mah fellow asthmatic homies (breathing problems represent!).

+ Phosphoric Acid – This can irritate the lungs as well as burn the eyes, skin and internal organs if ingested. Not fun.

+ Mixing toilet cleaners that contain acids with those containing chlorine (and c’mon people – we have all been there) will form a lung damaging chlorine gas. Eep!

+ Lye and sodium hydroxide – Corrosive agents that can burn skin and eyes.

+ Aerosol sprays – These are easily inhaled into lung tissue.

+ Silica powder – Can be dangerous if inhaled.

+ Chlorine bleach – This can irritate the skin and airways.

+ Petroleum dissolates – Flammable and dangerous if swallowed.

+ Dyes – These can be contaminated by heavy metals (such as arsenic and lead) which can then penetrate the skin and leave residue on all surfaces.

+ Phosphates – These pesky little devils overnutrify rivers and streams. This leads to excessive algae growth, which deprives fish of oxygen.

+ Chlorine (found in dishwasher tablets) – When the chlorinated chemicals mix with the steam of the dishwasher it creates a very dangerous vapour when steam is released by opening the door at the end of a cycle.

+ Alkylephenal Ethoxylates (APEs) – These disrupt our body’s natural hormone regulation.

+ Perchloroethylene – Exposure leads to liver and kidney damage.

So this is what I have been researching, reading and discovering this week. There is just SO much to learn and new research findings being released everyday. The shortlist above is simply a reflection of where I am at in my decision making when choosing products that are safe for me and safe for my darling mother earth.

Our favourite product to use in our house is quite simply boiled water and lemon and some good ole fashioned elbow grease. Add a little vinegar and bicarb soda for those trickier spots and stains. Homemade products are a great economical and environmental alternative to hitting up the shops.

What are some of your favourite Earth friendly home and cleaning tips?

Found here

Blessings and lemon stained hands x

OUR GYRE-NORMOUS PROBLEM - The Follow up Post

Found here.

So my last post about the current state of our Ocean Gyres definitely got the conversation going and served to highlight the fact that our system is not working. We are consuming at an unfathomable rate and as primarily using permanent materials to produce one-time use items. Say what? Why would we manufacture disposable items with a non perishable material such as plastic? It makes no sense at all. So, as promised, here is a list of suggestions and tips for how YOU can get plastic and litter savvy -

1. Use eco friendly shopping bags. It's so so so frightening to think of just how many plastic bags are used and inappropriaetly disposed of every single day. Remember the creepy guy from American Beauty that captured the beautiful footage of the 'floating bag' ... brother should have snatched that bag from the wind and reused or recycled it. 

2. Be plastic bag savvy in general. Health food stores and SOME supermarkets are now stocking biodegradable plastic bags for bin liners, puppy poop and nappy bags. These are a great, earth friendly alternative to regular plastic bags. If you are using standard plastic bags - try and reduce your rate of powering through the pack. Use the same bin liner and empty your rubbish directly into your green rubbish bin. Or don't use a line and give your household bins a hose out every week. Think outside the square and be uber plastic aware.

3. Opt for loose fruits and vegetables. Don't go for the pre packaged options every time, try to stock up on loose fruit and vege every now and again to reduce your plastic consumption. Use the mushroom bags (the brown paper bags) if you feel like you need bags to separate your produce or get some of these great reusable produce bags by Onya. I use these little babies and they're amazingly handy. Not only can you use them to collect all of your yummy produce - but when you get home you can use them to contain your fruits//veges while you wash them. Too easy!

4. Wear your 'plastic glasses' at the shops and choose paper based packaging alternatives. For example does your regular washing powder come in plastic tub AND boxed varieties? Choose 'le box'. Toilet paper wrapped in a choice of plastic OR paper? Choose 'le paper in le paper'. Same goes for juices and milks - opt for cartons instead of plastic bottles. Same product but a little more friendly to our planet.

5. Choose cloth based toys and materials for your kids (fur babies and real children alike!). There are some great earth friendly toys and products available for bubs and pets if you look around. Since I am not a real mama just yet, my toy purchases are solely for my big drooly rotty baby (and my fur nephew) and I always opt for eco friendly alternatives that use natural products that won't hurt my pup when she happens to play with (subtext - eat) her new toys.

6. Use scented candles or burn essential oils rather than purchasing plastic encased air fresheners. Less chemicals, less toxins AND reusable//recyclable. That's a sweet smelling win for errybody!

7. Be a coffee babe. If you drink macchiatos, cappucinos and espressos on the reg - be conscious of just how many cups and, more importantly, plastic lids, that you're consuming every month. It gets pretty hectic! Opt for a reusable alternative, such as the Keep Cup, that looks brilliant, is kind to the earth and can also offer a lower priced coffee incentive! If your local coffee spot doesn't offer cheaper rates for reusable coffee cup users then get pushy. Bring in some info about the improtance of encouraging reuasable alternatives and suggest that they charge custimers that make the switch 50c less per cup of coffee ordered. Get political and lobby for your latte. Check out this Great Forest article or more information and inspiration. 

What are some of the ways that you ensure you're not leaving a plastic Hansel & Gretal style trail? Share your tips below!

Hehe this gave me morning lols.

Found here.

Blessings and a giant, yet belated, Earth Day cuddle x 

PS. Want more info you knowledge hungry beautiful beings? Have a read on the Sustainable Coastlines and Method websites - these are the two organisations that I volunteered with for the clean up morning in Hawaii. Incredibly passionate and inspiring people and they have a LOT of info to share. Got a little longer to spare? Click here to watch 'Plasticised' - an incredible documentary about our plastic little planet.

THE GYRE-NORMOUS IMPACT OF OUR OCEANIC GYRES

The shoreline of Kahuki beach, Oahu. 

Today I’m talking gyres. This is a little bit of an overdue post and one that has been brewing at the forefront of my mind since my recent holiday to Hawaii. It was there that I saw, firsthand, the effects that our consumption of plastic is having on our environment. The postcard pristine white sandy beaches of the infamous North Shore are just that. Limited to a postcard. The reality of these beaches are extensively littered and polluted coastlines stretching for kilometres. During the Wanderlust festival, my beautiful girlfriend and I offered our morning sesh to take part in an initiative by Sustainable Coastlines for an ocean clean up. The group met early, drove to Kahuku beach and had our minds blown when we arrived. This wasn’t Hawaii. This wasn’t a beach. This wasn’t how our planet is supposed to look. The shoreline resembled a tip, with debris, microplastic, rope and all sorts of rubbish scattered along the once beautiful Hawaiian sands. It broke our heart. For those people who believe that the way we live, the way we consume and the way that we treat our planet isn’t wreaking havok on Earth’s delicate ecosystem (i.e. mister Prime Minister) – I challenge you to sift through these sands and then look me in the eye to tell me our current system is working. It just aint.

The five major oceanic gyres. 

Found here

So what the bleep is an ocean gyre? A gyre is basically a large, swirling, rotating ocean current. There are five major oceanic gyres within the Indian, North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans. These have been swirling and gettin’ their groove on independently for millions of years. Cue humans. We silly little humans have been using the ocean as a wee bit of a giant waste paper basket. Rubbish is thrown overboard, collected at beaches and ignorantly dumped at sea. So where does all this yummy stuff collect and congregate? Just like a beach side rip dictating where we end up during a playful little swim – the ocean currents give this rubbish a free ride (from ALL over the world) where, naturally, it meets at one of these Gyres. The most prominently polluted oceanic gyre was discovered in 1997, and aptly named the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and it’s mate (a little close to home for us Aussies) the Indian Ocean Garbage Patch, was discovered in 2010.

These patches are essentially floating rubbish tips. But if there are blobs of trash floating around in one spot in the ocean surely we can just head out with our nets and scoop it all up right? Wrong. These plastic remnants degrade and break down (but never completely) into small, and very dangerous, microplastic. These are then ingested by marine life and leak nasty chemicals into our beautiful oceans. Oh well poor fish – they get little bits of plastic in their tums – big whoop. Firstly it’s painful, nasty and eventually kills thousands of different species because, news flash, earthlings weren’t designed to consume plastics//toxins//pollutants. And if you can’t empathise with a fish or whale or occy – then think about your fellow man. We then consume the seafood so are indirectly consuming all sorts of ocean nasties, including that plastic that we initially turned a blind eye too. Another factor that makes collection of this rubbish really difficult is the sheer size (and neverending build up) of these rubbish collections. The size estimates of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is between 700, 000 square kilometres to as gargantuous as 15, 000, 000 square kilometres. Scary shit.

The remains of an Albatross found in 1997 - full of plastic.

 Found here

But there is hope. Like anything in this world, we humans are blessed with the power of choice and the prospect of change. Witnessing the drastic state of our oceans scared the pants off me and has inspired me to change my ways. I will be doing a post later on this week with more of a focus on how we make the change and how we make simple choices that will drastically improve the state of our beautiful planet.

Blessings and swirling, rotating, twisting gyre love x