By Natalie “Lee” Arneson
The following is the second half of an interview that was published in our January issue, which you can find here.
What first started you with sustainable living–why’d you first decide to start that kind of lifestyle?
When I moved to Seattle, I moved into an intentional living community–a cooperative house–and we shared the house and we bought stuff in bulk. We would say ‘leave behind handprints, not footprints.’ So that, meaning your handprints can create art and grow vegetables and touch people, and do nice things like that; while your footprint is your carbon footprint, and is the idea of stomping around and ruining the earth. We did a lot of research on where to grocery shop and had a lot of discussion about buying food locally versus organic, because we could buy food locally that wasn’t grown organically, but then the organic food is coming in on an airplane or a ship and that’s wasting a lot of fuel. We had gathered rainwater and we would use that to flush the toilets. It just made a lot of sense to me. We started growing some vegetables, and yeah. I just really like all of that and sharing space, and I think we had one or two cars that we all would share–it just made a lot of sense. It kind of opened my eyes, like why do people have so many cars parked in their driveway that they’re not using? Why do just two people live in a giant house when you can be sharing space and energy? That whole ‘it takes a village’–it really does, especially living sustainably because there’s a lot of stuff to do. It’s really nice to have community. And then I started at Evergreen and started taking sustainability classes.
I’m interested in talking about local versus organic when buying groceries, because I know for myself–as someone who wants to live sustainably–food has been one of the struggles I’ve always been on the fence about. What’s the difference between local and organic? And which one do you buy when you don’t have a very large grocery budget, because organic can usually be pricier.
Where I land on that is I’ll definitely go local over organic. It costs a farm a lot of money to get certified as organic, it’s really expensive for them to pay the FDA or whoever gives them that little stamp that says ‘organic’ on it. Then that cuts out a lot of farms that actually are farming in an organic way, but they just don’t get that stamp because they’re not a huge corporation that can afford to pay for it. Also, buying local helps save on gas, it helps support our smaller farms, and it’s good for our bodies. As far as I’ve learned from nutritionists, it’s good for our bodies to eat what is growing around us just to be more symbiotic with nature and the earth.
Also, I’m re-realizing this year–I recently found out I have a lot of dietary restrictions and one of the things I can eat that’s really good for me is spinach, so I’ve been buying those big containers of organic spinach and they just go bad right away because they’ve been shipped here from so far away and it’s just such a waste. So I’ve been trying to buy frozen vegetables, ideally local frozen vegetables, if I want something that’s not in season. Then I can use it at my leisure and I don’t have to use it in one day.
What would be a good first few steps if somebody wants to live more sustainably, but they feel like they don’t have the money or the capability to do it? Since a lot of people are trying to sell you stuff in advertising for sustainable living, and it’s $30 grocery bags that are organically made and it’s trying to buy into an aesthetic without actually talking about livable ways of sustainably living in our capitalist society.
The internet is super helpful, and watching YouTube videos. Another way I started at the co-op I lived in, is just making your own products. At the house, we started making our own bath bombs and lotions, and it’s actually pretty easy. There’s not very many ingredients in your own body lotion and it works super good. Bath bombs, and toilet bombs to put in there and clean that, laundry detergent, is super easy to make. I made my own eye cream and my own toothpaste. It’s really fun and it’s awesome to experiment–it’s a good idea to write down what you do so if it works out you have that recipe. Also, it is important to [know] if there’s a lot of food products in something to keep it in the fridge. I’ve definitely had mold grow on eye cream before. If it’s gonna be something you put around your eyes or ingesting, gotta be more careful about that. It doesn’t have to be expensive to live sustainably, like most of the things they show you that you can buy, you can make. And it’s fun, because once you get in that groove of ‘okay, this is the thing I want’ you can even just google DIY “blank” and there’s usually tons of ways people have already done it.
A phrase I’ve heard a lot during this adventure has been “don’t reinvent the wheel”, which is a thing I kept trying to do. I was like ‘oh, I’ll just figure everything out’ and it’s like, don’t waste time figuring out how to do a thing that people have already figured out ways to do. You can spend time perfecting it, y’know, but it makes more sense to go see what other people have already figured out. There’s like a do-it-yourself way to do most things, it’s really cool.
Oh! There’s this thing with laundry that I’m obsessed with–they’re called soap nuts. They’re actually a berry, and the ones I get–they’re so cool– they’re grown in the Himalayas, and then they’re harvested only once a year, the specific ones I get, and then it gives jobs to a bunch of women that normally don’t have jobs. Then it goes straight from there to Blaine, Washington. So, the soap nuts, you just take like five or six of them and you put them in this little mesh bag, and you toss it in with your laundry, and they have this natural–they smell kind of soapy, but kind of a sweet soapy, almost like a maple syrup kind of soapy–and they get your laundry clean. It smells so good, and you can use them for like five loads. After you use them for five loads, you can then put them in a pot and boil them with water, and then that becomes a cleaning liquid and you can use that to wash stuff, and you can use it as a spray on your plants to keep bugs away. And then what you’ve got left is these crunchy pieces of natural nuts, and you can toss them outside. They’re so cool! I don’t know why more people don’t use them, and they last forever! I bought two boxes of them–I’m not even a quarter, that was in July I bought two boxes, and I’m not even close to a quarter of the way in on one box and I use them everytime. They’re pretty inexpensive for what they are, too. So, I highly recommend soap nuts.
What would be the best places to buy the food that is the most sustainable locally? Like would you say food banks, farmers markets, local grocery stores? Where do you normally shop where you think you get the best price for some pretty good food, that is also sustainable for the community?
That’s a great question, especially since it’s shifted since I moved out to the middle of nowhere. Yes, food banks like you said, and then if you do have the food stamps card, you can take it to the farmers market and they will give you double what it’s worth for you to spend on fruits and vegetables–and maybe meat–but only food items.
And this is at the Olympia farmers market?
Yeah, it’s really cool. Like nobody knows about it, and they’re trying to encourage people to eat healthier and come and interact with the farmers market. Then, one of the cheapest ways monetarily wise, you’d be using your time and energy, would be to go volunteer at a farm that does CSA’s, which is Community Supported Agriculture. You can volunteer there, and everytime you work like a four hour shift or whatever they have, you get to leave with a box full of whatever fruits and vegetables and whatever they have there that you want. It’s really cool because then you get to learn about farming and meet like-minded people. If you don’t have the time or energy or physical ability, or interest in volunteering there, you can just pay for a CSA and then they bring you–it depends on how frequently you want it–like weekly or monthly, and generally they’ll have a pick-up spot. The issue with that is it’s kind of double sided. You can get a lot of one thing if it’s a certain season or whatever’s growing really well for them, you might end up with six different kinds of lettuce. So sometimes it’s not very varied, but you can check in with the people there and find out what it’s gonna be like.
Where I live right now, the grocery stores around there are super crappy, but a really cool thing they do is that all the farmer’s–I don’t know what the range is–they put on this website what they have available and you go through and click what you want, and how much of it, and then you submit it Sunday night. Then by Wednesday, this person in a van drives by all the farms, and picks up all the stuff, and then puts your name on it. Then, because of COVID, they’ve just been doing it in the parking lot of the community rec center to pick up. I would say look for stuff like that, and you’re supporting super local farmers, and it’s really good, close-to-home food.
Oh! And Grocery Outlet! They have tons of organic stuff. They’re not as much local, but a lot of it’s organic and really cheap. Like, super discounted, half-off what it would be at the regular grocery store. They have a lot of really good, frozen organic vegetables. You can’t count on them having anything because it switches all the time, but I would go there before I would go to a regular grocery store.
Also, by school, there’s that Jay’s Farm Stand. It’s really close to school, easily biking distance, and they have super cheap vegetables and fruits. They have some stuff that’s not super cheap, like they have eggs there sometimes, but they always have lots of fruits and vegetables, and they’re always super cheap. They’re mostly local–it’ll say on the thing if they’re local or not–but yeah, that place is dope also. And right near school!
Awwwww SNAP! Body care on welfare by Forest Ember
Recipes:
**With all of these recipes, spot test for sensitivity before fully using.
(I have personally used all of these recipes at least once, most of them are my regular routine).
Shampoo-
Baking soda and water mixed together (ratio of about 1 part baking soda to 5 parts water to start and adjust the ratios as needed for you) mix ahead of time in a bottle/jar/bowl/hand or apply baking soda directly to wet scalp and massage into scalp. Baking soda scrubs your head clean and neutralizes odors. Rinse out with water completely. Warning: can dry out scalp, suggested use once a week at most, ideally every 2-4 weeks as desired.
Conditioner-
Apple cider vinegar and water combine together at about 1 part vinegar 10 parts water and 20 parts water, apply to scalp and let sit for three minutes, rinse completely (add cinnamon and or vanilla extract for fun smells) ACV helps to soften the hair and also works as a dandruff shampoo.
Leave in conditioner-
Olive or coconut oil, rub into scalp, can use on tips and all of hair, warning it can weigh hair down and make it look and feel heavy and greasy, start with small amount (just a bit on the tips of fingers) and add more as desired. (Can also add vanilla with or after the oil, and for a smoky scent, liquid smoke works as well).
Body lotion-
Olive or coconut oil, massage on until absorbed or until you feel its good. Can also add vanilla to the oil.
Dry shampoo-
Cocoa powder or carob powder applied at scalp and massaged in and shaken around. Smells wonderful and absorbs oils can make hair less greasy and more full. For lighter hair colors, cornstarch and arrowroot work. And can blend for a more specific color to match your hair.
Deodorant-
Coconut oil and baking soda, about 1 to 1 ratios. Blend in hand then apply or apply oil 1st then baking soda (for scented, add vanilla and/or cinnamon after the baking soda).
Toothpaste-
Baking soda and water, blend in hand or apply baking soda to wet toothbrush or finger. Haven’t tried it but it just crossed my mind-i imagine crushing up mint and/or lavender leaves and adding it or clove or cinnamon spices would likely taste better than the baking soda alone.
Body wash-
Baking soda and water, (or baking soda with coconut oil) apply baking soda to wet skin, massage, rinse with water. Can use pre-mixed baking soda and water as well. Baking soda helps to get clean, scrubbing off tough skin and the coconut oil helps to soften it. I have not tried adding anything scented to this but I imagine you could.
Face wash-
Baking soda with coconut oil, about 1-1 ratios, blend in hand, scrub in circles on on face for a count of 60 seconds, avoiding the eyes. Can let sit on face another min or 2 for extra cleaning and moisturizing. Warning:coconut oil can cause breakouts, baking soda can dry skin. Ideally the two together balance that out, but please spot test first.
Face toner-
Apple cider vinegar, pour a small amount into palm or wet finger tips and splash on face, can rub in or let soak in, no need to rinse.
