Progress with STEP 1: Notice ... Are you?

STEP 1:  NOTICE

Fragrance Free in 23 the blog and the mission, was birthed in time for Earth Day 2011 and our very first outing and educational table at the Bayview Earth Day, So. Whidbey Island.  The first two posts to "FF23" lay the groundwork for us and those two 'stories' remain the bones upon which we flesh our venture forward. 

TAKE FIVE is the simple to remember ditty we began and continue to sing ... a way to change the momentum in our old beliefs and thinking about being human and being humans who don't harm.   So, this is a check-in point.  Covering ground again, we look at:

STEP 1

NOTICE what you do with what you have, and why you do it.


This is all about you:  what you do; what you have, and why.  Everybody has stuff and that's where we had to start when life as we'd known it washed away like drawings in the sand. Our lessons have been tough, but they have honed us good and plenty, over and over again. 

This is THE step to FREED-UPness.  Take whatever time you need, but do make time to NOTICE and record what you discover.  Our experience has been ... don't act on what you find at this point.  Just notice.  It's very much  like the process of effective change-making found in wise traditions across the Earth:  AWARE, ACCEPT then ACT. 

What DO YOU DO?
God, I do a lot of things.  Answering that question would take ... well, more time than I have.

Just take 5 minutes.  What do you do with any 5 minutes in your day; the first 5 minutes of your day.


What DO YOU HAVE?
Geez, whaddaya mean, what do I have?

Just that! 

Like I said already ...

Just take 5 minutes, maybe those same 5 minutes of noticing what you do ... notice what you're doing with WHAT YOU HAVE.


Why DO YOU DO IT?
I'm starting to get the picture. 

The TAKE FIVE approach to Fragrance Free in 23(Two Thousand Twenty Three) begins with slowing down long enough to NOTICE what we do.  Hawaiians have an exquisite word for that, KULEANA.  Roughly translated it means "responsibility".  Seems to us, as we continue to live one Freed-up Day on this glorious Planet Earth:  our KULEANA starts with knowing the answers to those three questions. 

What if you started or spent 5 minutes (or more) to SHAMPOO YOUR HAIR ...

Here's an article written a few years ago by Bill Bunn from Calgary, Alberta.  He asked the question "What's really in your shampoo?" 

The article starts this way:

"There are two types of ingredients in shampoo. One type cleans your hair. The other type strokes your emotions. I'm holding a bottle of Pantene Pro V, one of the world's most popular shampoos. Of the 22 ingredients in this bottle of shampoo, three clean hair. The rest are in the bottle not for the hair, but for the psychology of the person using the shampoo. At least two-thirds of this bottle, by volume, was put there just to make me feel good..."

Link to the entire article: http://www.salon.com/news/environment/good_life/2009/08/13/shampoo/

To find out what INGREDIENTS ARE IN WHAT YOU USE click

It's something to think about the next time you shampoo your hair, and then there's this

Take 5 FREED-UP PRACTICES at a Time

The simplicity of 5 ... let's take the steps to '23'

5 at a time

We'll leave 5  ideas, experiences and practices that work for us or work for others who we know.  These Freed-up Practices will give you things to consider, chew on and implement or adapt to meet your current vibe ...  that place where sense and well-being match.  Take what you like, leave the rest or leave it for another day.  Some of these Freed-up Practices (most of 'em really) will ask to be patiently tried, lived with and amended before it and you are a match.  Ho'omanawanui 

Follow us here and add your comments along the way.

1.  NOTICE what you do with what you have, and why you do it.


This is all about you:  what you do; what you have, and why.  Everybody has stuff and that's where we had to start when life as we'd known it washed away like drawings in the sand. Our lessons have been tough, but they have honed us good and plenty, over and over again. 

This is THE step to FREED-UPness.  Take whatever time you need, but do make time to NOTICE and record what you discover.  Our experience has been ... don't act on what you find at this point.  Just notice.  It's very much  like the process of effective change-making found in wise traditions across the Earth:  AWARE, ACCEPT then ACT. 

2.  TWO SIMPLE & CHEAP Cleaners:  BAKING SODA &  VINEGAR


While you're noticing what you do, why you do it, and what you do it with ... here are two simple, non-toxic, scent free cleaners that work for the Earth and Earth's beings.  Baking Soda & Vinegar, the awesome duo we use for almost everything.

Baking Soda
Here's a link to a VERY COOL article  about " BAKING SODA" printed at Blogher.com.  Blogger Beth Terry starts with this: (Read the whole article, it's worth it!)

"What's so great about baking soda?

1) It's cheap. On Safeway.com, a 1 lb box is $1.40. But I save money and packaging by buying it from the bulk bin at my local natural foods store, filling up my own reusable cloth bag. That way, it's only 89¢/lb!
2) It's simple. One of the ways I try to protect my health and that of the planet is to buy products that contain the lowest number of different ingredients possible. Baking soda is just about as simple as you can get. 

3) It's non-toxic. Need I say more?

4) The packaging is plastic-free. With my method, there's no plastic at all. Otherwise, it comes in a biodegradable/recyclable cardboard box.
5) It's versatile. Baking soda has over a hundred uses and can substitute for many other more expensive products.

Vinegar

A few Simple Need to Knows About Vinegar:

There are Two (Basic) Types & Many, MANY uses for each. 

1.  White Distilled Vinegar can be used for cleaning, scrubbing, washing nearly everything and your body as well. 

Here are just a few of the things you can do with white distilled vinegar (link above for a whole website of vinegar stuff)

To shine chrome sink fixtures that have a lime buildup, use a paste made of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar.

Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.

Clean counter tops and make them smell sweet again with a cloth soaked in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain.

Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

NOTICE THIS:  when you are buying white distilled vinegar READ THE LABEL.  Some brands include petrochemicals in the processing ... it's not every bottle, but they're out there.  Buyer we educated!

2.  Apple Cider Vinegar

We use apple cider vinegar just the way we'd use white vinegar WITH THESE ADDED considerations:

• Buy organic, because we use it on the food we eat
• Use apple cider vinegar diluted for washing food/fruit/veggies
• If you wash windows with apple cider vinegar it will streak more than white

Two Fingers is all Paul McCartney needed to play this tune WHILE he WHISTLED (I love this man!) when his baby was born ...

 

 3.  WATER, we ain't much without it

We've been in a lot of places in America and the Hawaiian Islands.  The water in the taps are a toxic zone. Don't drink it, wash with it, play in it.  Plastic bottled water is only a dit away from tap, so try this instead:

INVEST if you can afford it, in a portable or whole system WATER FILTRATION system.  We've packed up our portable filters and taken them where ever we'd been.  When there was more money, we NOTICED what we did, why we did it, and with what we did those things.  We NOTICED filtered water was important to maintaining well-being. 

4.  PRODUCTS you might not need anymore

If you're NOTICING, you have probably come to the place where at least one product could go.  This is a place where AWARENESS leads to ACCEPTING.  It's a big step between Awareness and Accepting, and there's room for celebration here.  Recognize the movement and say YEAH!  OR Yeah?




5.  RE:-using, -ducing, -cycling in new ways

Now you're ready to ACT. 

Re-use those food jars, fill 'em with bulk nut butter, seeds, nuts, grains
Re-duce the packaged stuff you usually buy
Re-cycle as a last ACT rather than a first reaction ... it does take a lot of energy to turn a recyled jelly jar into a new jelly jar.  Why do it?

There you go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  Take 5 at a time and you're one your  way to a FREED-UP Life. 

Over time the sidebar of this blog will include links and resources for more information and experiences.  If you know there's something/some information that's worked for you give us a shout, email us and we'll be happy to share the wealth.



Aloha,
Mokihana Calizar and Pete Little