In the Pink...

Next for my 100 Things Challenge is getting rid of too many beauty items in my drawers. Today I'm going through my nail polish collection. Yes, collection. Is there a reason that I need this many colors? No. I know they're toxic. You can tell immediately as you open the top. And, the polish remover is just as odorific!

Two tasks today:

• #1: get rid of all the toxic nail polish in a responsible, eco-friendly way.

• #2: find a healthy, non-toxic replacement.

#1 OK, so here's what I found out about nail polish:

-Most nail polishes contain toxic formaldehyde that is known as a carcinogen.
-Nail polish ingredients often include toluene and xylene. These are petroleum-based products linked to cancer.
-Nail polish is considered a hazardous waste by some regulatory bodies.
-Chemical solvents like acetates give off chemical fumes, pollute the air, are highly flammable and even explosive.
-When nail polish is applied to your nails, the solvents evaporate into the air and surround you with heavy pollution.
-Unless you hold your breath, you are inhaling toluene, acetates, formaldehyde, alcohol, and phthalates.
-Phthalates have the potential to disrupt hormone levels and potentially cause birth defects.
-Nail polish remover is just as toxic, it contains acetone.

So what to do with these bottles and polishes?
Believe it or not, I found a recycling program for nail polish!

Its a company based in Ohio called Chemwise. They are an award winning chemical recycling and disposal organization, with a mail-in program that you or your community organization can use.


#2 I found environmentally friendly nail polish alternatives:

-Recently, a water-based nail polish has been developed which is based on an acrylic polymer emulsion and the colors (pigments) are similar to those used in water color paints.
-Several companies now make toluene-free and formaldehyde-free nail polishes.
But, these still contain chemical solvents like acetates.
-Several companies are now making water-based nail polish where all the chemical solvents are replaced by water. So, this way, when your nails are drying, it's only water that is evaporating into the air, not toxic chemical fumes.

I plan to do a little more research on this and will post more info later.

Until then, keep those toes and fingers safe. Go natural!

Less Space,Less Things, More Life

The other day I was watching the Oprah show where she was talking with women from Denmark and visiting their homes. Danish people prefer to live simply in small spaces. She took a tour of this one home that was the epitome of simplicity. I loved it. I could live there very easily.

Yet, my house doesn't look like that at all!! (not yet)

During the tour, the woman's husband came in and Oprah mentioned that Danish people are comfortable with less space than Americans.

His comment was perfect: "Less space, less things, more life."

In my search for simplicity, I'm finding that I am very happy with less things, but also, less space. I spend a lot of time outdoors.

Next week, my husband and I are moving to a little bungalow on a small island off the west coast of Florida. Its not furnished. I'm looking forward to having fun living from scratch!
Simple, small, effortless....with lots of ocean, sky, and color......

Here's a video clip of a typical Danish home. If you don't have a lot of "things" then its easy to be neat. Its amazing how little we actually need to live.

Less space, less things, more life."

One for the road.....

My enthusiastic approach to pare my personal belongings down to 100 Things, has permeated our household. My sweet husband, Lex, is tearing through his closet pulling clothes and shoes and bringing bags to the donation center.

All this letting go activity prompted "the discussion"........although, not what you may think.

We discussed why we needed two cars. We're both retired and go about our lives in a leisurely way. We really don't need two cars.

But....I've never not had a car. My car was my freedom. I could go anywhere, anytime with my little car. I didn't have to be beholding to anyone, I could just go................and, I could stay as long as I'd like because no one else needed the car.

Throughout my entire adult life, my car was an extension of my being. It moved me forward, carried all my "stuff", took me to new places, entertained me with music (cd's, radio and 8 track tapes long ago). I kept my "personal" stuff in my car. I laughed and sang and had fun with family and friends in my car. I drove fast. I traveled across country and had romance and adventures.

How could I give up that kind of freedom? I was very resistant to this idea. It's probably the one "thing" that I would never consider leaving off my 100 Things List.

But, in the spirit of "Do I really need this thing?"
I've let it go..............

I have to agree that this was the best move for us. Only one car payment, one insurance, one bill for tune-ups and oil changes.

We ended up selling both of our cars and getting a new one. We've come up with a schedule so we could both maintain a semblance of freedom. We now have a calendar highlighted with times we each need the car. This is actually working out well.

I know there are people with no car at all. And, I'm so grateful that we have a reliable car and that I have a great friend and partner to share it with. I'm a lucky girl......

100 Things Challenge: Hello-Goodbye

Cleaning out my drawers, I found two old cell phones. One was a pay-as-you-go and the other was about five years old. Just sitting there taking up space. So, in my quest for release, I did a search on what to do with old phones. I knew that there were phone collection sites that helped schools earn money by creating collection campaigns and sending in old phones.

If you are connected to a church or school organization, or any group for that matter, then you might want to check into Secure the Call. Its a non profit charity that is dedicated to providing free emergency 911 cell phones to people who need them. Over 250 community-based organizations have joined this group already to help redistribute the phones after reprogramming.

Here's some quick info to answer some questions you might have:
-They accept all makes and models of mobile phones.
-They recycle phones that cannot be used.
-Secure the Call checks for suitability as 911 emergency access phones.
-They clean, wipe out old software and old numbers, reprogram and test each phone.
-You can download a tax receipt and mailing label here- Secure.

Another great program that will enable you to recycle your phones and help others at the same time is Verizon's Hopeline. I heard about this program on the Today Show when Maria Shriver talked about donating her cell phone that she got caught driving and talking with! Anyway, this program at Verizon Wireless assists victims of domestic violence with wireless service and a phone.

Here's information from their site:
The long-running HopeLine program collects no-longer-used wireless phones and equipment in any condition from any service provider. The used phones are either refurbished or recycled. With the funds raised from the sale of the refurbished phones, Verizon Wireless donates wireless phones and airtime to victims, and provides funding and other contributions to non-profit domestic violence shelters and prevention programs across the country.

Verizon also concentrates on protecting the environment by collecting spent rechargeable batteries for recycling. More than 200 tons of batteries have been prevented from entering community landfills. Consider donating your used phones to Hopeline.

Let me know if you donate a phone and if you find other programs for recycling cell phones.

Day 5: Steppin' Out.....

Working on my 100 Things Challenge by clearing out all my old shoes. Still working on what to do with them. Dress shoes can be donated to the local City Mission along with clothes. But, the sneakers and flipflops need to be recycled. My goal is not to throw anything away.

Recycle, reuse, repurpose, reinvent....

I did a little research online and discovered a great program that Nike has developed called Reuse-A-Shoe. Since 1990, they've collected more than 24 million pairs. What they do is grind down old shoes to use the rubber in synthetic sports fields and playing surfaces. There are three grind categories:

Nike Grind Rubber is made from the shoe's outsole. It's used in track surfaces, interlocking gym floors, and playground surfacing.
Nike Grind Foam is from the shoe's midsole. They use this as a cushion for outdoor basketball and tennis courts.
Nike Grind Upper is recycled from the fabric. They use this for cushioning pads on indoor volleyball and basketball courts.

Check out their site and you can see several interesting videos on recycling old shoes and find out how you can participate. They have programs for group collections as well as individual donations.

I found a shoe recycling directory: recycledrunners where you can find local and international drop off facilities.

Have you heard of soles4souls? Their mission is to affect as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes. They've collected more than 1 million pair of shoes for relief efforts such as the Asian Tsunami and hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Runtheplanet has a listing of worldwide shoe donation organizations.

Then, on to the flip-flops.....
Did you know that thousands of flip-flops wash up on the African shoreline every year creating an environmental disaster for the marine eco-system? An organization called UniqEco works with the locals to collect and recycle the rubber and then turn it into jewelry, baskets, rugs, and many more items.

I'm ready to send those flip-flops to Nairobi. How about you? Check out some of these sites and let me know what you think.

Blog Action Day '09

Around the world today, bloggers are uniting to write about one topic: Climate Change. Over 27,000 posts are focused on this important issue. Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 is focused on Climate Change and will be the largest ever social change event on the web.

I've listed quite a few links you can check out if you'd like to see who is participating. Look for the "Recycle-Rethink" list to the right.

At simplelife2day, I am focusing on narrowing down my personal belongings to 100 Things. But, more importantly, I'm trying to recycle, reuse, rethink what I am doing with all my "things" as I get rid of them. I do not want to throw anything out. My goal is to create a simple life that does not impact the environment in a negative way.

So far, I've donated and sold items, but I also plan to post videos of what else can be done with things we no longer need. I've been creating art from recycled items for a long time. I'm looking forward to sharing with you some fun, creative ideas as I repurpose instead of throw out my "stuff."

Its all about choices. As we continue to clutter the earth with all our "stuff", we are damaging our environment. The choices we make for our lifestyle, how we travel, the food we consume, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint.

"This ecological footprint is a monitor of human demand on ecosystems. It shows that humanity is already using nearly 30% more natural resources than the Earth can replenish." (GreenPeace)

If you'd like to learn more about carbon emissions and measure your carbon footprint check out the calculator at the Nature Conservency. It measures how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses your choices create each year.

So, what can we do?

Stop throwing away so much stuff.

Join me in consciously choosing to recycle, rethink, repurpose, reuse all our stuff.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you are doing to reduce your carbon emissions.
thanks....

Day 4: If the Shoe Fits.......

As I filter out all of my belongings in order to create my 100 Things List, I'm starting to realize that it is a layered process. I've discovered that I can't just pick a category, give away, sell, recycle or repurpose everything and then be done with it.

I still have that tape running in my head: "Maybe I can still use this." Or, how about this one: "I haven't worn these at all this year, but I'd better hang on to them because I might need them."

Today, I'm focusing on shoes. I think this category is a little more difficult for women than men. We need different shoes for jeans, and pants and also for dresses, etc. I counted seventeen pair of shoes in my closet. Some are for summer and some for winter, including boots. I've got sandals, and sneakers, and flip-flops, and heels, and flats, and clogs.....

I think I'll approach this by choosing five pair that I absolutely wear now and will continue to wear, like sneakers. My husband and I are retired, and this winter we will be living on a little island off the coast of West Florida. So I really don't need boots, and winter shoes like my dansko clogs. Should I keep these? I'm not sure what to do.

Black heels...short, medium, tall.....pointy, not so pointy, and on and on.

OK, I have to make a decision here. I'm not sure what to keep. Any ideas?
Please leave a comment. I need some guidance.....

Golden Rules

OK...today I'm eliminating more stuff. I was going to focus on getting rid of shoes, but I heard on the news this morning that the price of gold is now more than $1,000.00 an ounce. Its time to "release" in exchange for money....

About a year ago, I took several old pieces of jewelry to a gold exchange shop and ended up with enough money to go on vacation. So, I spent this morning sorting through one of my drawers with gold chains, single earrings who have lost their partners, a couple of rings and my old charm bracelet from high school.

I spent a moment with each piece recalling good memories and then wrapped them all up and took them to the gold guy. If you find a reputable dealer, you'll get a fair price and you will definitely be surprised with how much you get in exchange.

Look for a local business that has been around for a while. And, shop around. There's nothing wrong with bringing your jewelry to several places and have it appraised. It's also OK to tell them you are shopping for a good price. My experience has been very positive and I feel that I was treated fairly.

Don't forget that gold content and quality differs from one piece to another. Most gold is 14 or 18 Karat. Ask them to tell you how they determine the value. Gold is appraised according to that day's value. Also, ask for a price for "insurance replacement" as well as the "sell" price.

If you want to send it away to a gold buyer, just really check it out with the Better Business Bureau, first.

So, my minimalist friends, I now have a very nice sum of money in the bank energizing my account. My drawer is cleaned of excess stuff and I'm on my way to finding the 100 Things I really want to own.

Day 3: Out of the Closet

Whew! Yesterday, for my 100 Things Challenge action, I went through two closets and just started pulling clothes off the hangers throwing them onto the floor. I started with work clothes. I mentioned that I was retired. I was a teacher. So, good-bye teacher clothes. I really don't need these anymore and more importantly, its a good idea to give them away now so that someone else can use them before they go out of style.
(I retired two years ago! What am I waiting for???).

I ended up with two large bags of pretty decent clothes and I drove them over to our local City Mission. They have a program where women who are entering the workforce can shop for work clothes for free. These are women who come from very disadvantaged situations and really need a hand getting started. This is connected to a community training program for work skills development.

Well, that was easy. I think I'll take a pic of the two closets with the empty hangers and post it here. I can't believe I wasted all that space holding onto to those clothes for two years.

I'm not finished "releasing" clothes yet, but this was a good start. Once I get them down to a managable amount, then I'll add the keepers to my 100 Things Challenge list.

What do you do with your unwanted clothes?

Day 2: 100 Things

As I begin this post, I'm looking out my window at the sunrise. I get up everyday around 5 and sit for a long time watching the incredible, gentle beginning of each day. Today, the sky is a milky blue tinted with a pink/orange and a few purple clouds. Its almost 7 and the sun hasn't risen yet, but when it does, I'll take time to honor the day.

So......time to get rid of things. I'm determined to effortlessly release "stuff" until I get my 100 Things list perfected. Today, I plan to start with clothes. I have too many. Don't need 5 black t-shirts, and countless others, and 7 jackets, or 12 pair of shoes.......

I'm retired (yeah!) so I don't need work clothes either.

I have a feeling that getting my wardrobe thinned out will be an ongoing process for a while. Today, I'll focus on work clothes. I'll let you know later how I did.

Take the challenge......you can do it, too.

Here comes the sun.....have to go.