Dematerialization: Buy Smarter Part 2 The Bathroom

People don't realize how much of their money and space and time and life is thrown away in the bathroom. By people I mean generally women and by bathroom I mean the whole scope of beauty, toiletries, makeup, haircare, (half the drugstore)

I recently started dematerializing the crap that accumulated in my bathroom/makeup area: you should too.

Shampoo/Conditioner

• Unwanted mini samples can be brought to women's shelters
• Only buy one set at a time, (one shampoo and one conditioner) you never know when you may want to switch brands
• There are many EXCELLENT brands which do not test on animals, and many that are also inexpensive. My favorite is Down Under Naturals which unfortunately is not sold in the US. How to tell: ANY PRODUCT NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS WILL SAY NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS otherwise it is. Down Under Naturals is also biodegradeable!
• A solid shampoo and conditioner will avoid the need of ancillary products (i.e. leave in conditioner)

Makeup

• I'll start off by saying I personally don't wear makeup (I do own some) but I encourage you to own as little as possible and where you do, again try to buy products that are not animal tested
• Some replacements:
• Lip balm/gloss will bring out the natural color in your lips minus the lipstick (which men find gross and also women eat 1 lb of each year or something like that)
• Vaseline can substitute for mascara (naturally lengthens your lashes)
• Sunscreen will keep your skin nice so you don't have to put on so much makeup when you're older

Other

• My favorite toner is Burt's Bee's Garden Tomato toner (non-animal tested + kind of wakes you up)
• Anti-perspirant has lots of aluminum in it but the spray has less than the bar (7-8% v. 22%)
• Don't be fooled by advertising, you are beautiful and the key to beauty is preservation which is generally found in a bottle of sunscreen, a good diet including lots of fruits and veggies, and water.
• Shaving cream is an unnecessary advertising gimmick (especially if you're not shaving your face) soap + loofah do fine beforehand
• A loofah, unlike a sponge is biodegradeable, also a cotton cloth is better than a sponge but not made of an animal like a loofah (plastic sponges are evil)
• Skip the blowdryer. Especially if you have curly hair you want to keep curly.
• Resist the temptation to throw away money on little makeup bits when you go to the drugstore. Have you noticed how large the makeup/beauty isle is growing? Stop making those impulse purchases!

Try to minimize your toiletries to the barest essentials (here are mine)

• Soft & Dri Spray Anti Perspirant (8% aluminum and I will be graduating to a non-aluminum brand asap this container is done)
• My favorite perfume
• My gentle cleanser
• My daily facial moisturizer with SPF 15
• Burt's Bee's Milk and Honey Lotion
• Burt's Bee's Garden Tomato Toner
• Burt's Bee's Beeswax Lipbalm (even the boys own these)
• Shampoo and Conditioner (down under naturals)
• Non-animal tested Aussie brand hair gel

Dematerialization: Buy Smarter Part 1

A prequel to dematerialization is not having to get rid of junk in the first place.
How do you do this? Well it simply involves buying smarter.

• Buying smarter means that you consider and research a product before making a purchase
• Several factors should be considered in trying to buy smarter including but not limited to: Price, Brand, Reviews, Need and Resale Value
• Price: It's better to buy something that costs a little more but will perform better in the long run. (Ex. Instead of going to Payless for cheap shoes that are meant only to last for one season, pay slightly more for something that is timeless and well made that will last for a long time)
• Brand: Certain brands carry certain reputations. They offer better warranties, performance or quality. Just because you recognize the brand, doesn't mean it's a good brand. You must do your research. Certain expensive brands perform well but are created to break after a certain amount of years so that you have to buy another!
• Reviews: There is no excuse not to research what you buy! My favorite site is Epinions because it offers opinions from consumers like you on an incredible range of products. Beware of people touting products in forums! Some of them are paid to say how great brand X is. Also ask people you know about their experiences with certain products (ex. digital camera: what do you like about it, what don't you like about it, has it broken, what is tech support like?) People love to give their opinions.
• Resale Value: If you get bored of something can you resell it and get some money back? Products that are highly rated with good brands generally have excellent resale value.

Important Tip: Skip a technology! Yeah it will be a bummer not having a DVD player: but guess what? It took VCR's about 20 years to become obsolete, and DVD's will be obsolete in less than 10 so your DVD collection will be very worthless very soon. It's all going to move to a digital format (just like MP3's).

Don't believe me? Check out CinemaNow to buy and rent movies right now without a DVD player or waiting for the rental to arrive by mail.

Buying Smarter: 1
Buying Stupider: 0

RePlace: Make the Sun your B*tch

You know, the sun just sits there shining, essentially doing nothing. Does the heat and light drive you crazy? Get revenge. Make the sun your new employee, no forms or salaries required.

There are a variety of ways to harness solar energy

Including:

• A solar powered jacket to charge your devices
• (Some general information on the effect, and charge you get from solar panels)
• A solar powered vibrator
• A ton of various solar powered products including radios, flashlights, battery chargers, landscape lights and even tons more solar powered gear
• Solar powered vehicles
• Solar powered backpack for tech nerds that need that extra boost of power
• Wallpaper that is powered by the sun
• Solar web-hosting (damn! Even this one surprised me)
• Solar powered trash compactors
• How much solar power do I need? Making calculations
• Solar powered outhouse and Solar powered birdbath fountain

Solar power: 1
Other non-enviro power sources: 0

RePlace: Goodbye Styrafoam, Plastic and Wax

We won't miss these a**holes. As I'm sure you know, styrafoam, plastic and wax do not deteriorate. Well they do but it takes forever and they don't help the earth in any way.

There are options for us forward-thinkers. Spread the word, it makes a difference.

Now you can buy and find:

• Colorado Spring Water in Biodegradeable Bottles (compostable)
• Biodegradeable Plates/Dishes (Compostable Corn)
• More Biodegradeable Plates (Sugarcane)
• Biodegradeable Cutlery
• Edible Dishes and Edi-Bowls
• Make your own edible cookie bowl
• Biodegradeable cups/lids
• Biodegradeable Food Service Packaging (Franchisers take note)

Please, consider these options when having a party or a wedding.
Also if you know organizations/people who have a habit of overusing paper and plastic, send a link their way. People are generally unaware that these options exist. INFORM THEM! and yourself.

Dixie Cups: 0
Compostable/Sustainable/Biodegradeable: 1