30 Day Zero Waste Challenge

Andrea from Be Zero and myself from here will be brining you our top 30 ideas to help you reduce your waste!

THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN UPDATED!

Each post is written with summer in mind, but they go beyond just zero waste. They're focused on all aspects of sustainability. Take our tips and delve into this 30 day challenge. Some may stick and some may not. That's alright - that's why it's a challenge! It's a perfect introduction for you, your friends, and family. Anyone can participate! 

We want you to explore new things, and bring awareness to your daily actions. You CAN make a difference! Small minor changes add up and influence deeper than you know. 

Use our hashtag on insta and twitter so we can all share in the journey! 

#ZeroWasteChallenge

insta: @going.zero.waste & @bezerowastegirl  twitter: @goingzerowaste & @bezerowastegirl

Zero Waste Kitchen Essentials

The bare necessities, the simple bare necessities forget about your worries and your strife. Some things stick with you throughout life. I remember little me watching "The Jungle Book" indian style in front of our very 80's armoire/entertainment center. That catchy song that still gets stuck in my head, and it has never rung truer. 

The more we reduce, the less we have. And the less we have, the less we have to worry about, clean, and repair. Living with less is so freeing. I feel like I've done a pretty good job minimizing my kitchen. The kitchen is one of those areas that just accumulates junk, and I've done my best to streamline. Here's the ultimate list of what I'm hiding in my drawers. 

click on the pictures to see more about the items I own: 

This post contains affiliate linking. For more information please see my disclosure page. 

That's a sneak peek at what I'm hiding in my drawers. They're fairly empty. I can accomplish almost any task with these tools. Most of my appliances I got second hand. Search for refurbished options!

What are some of your favorite kitchen tools? 

Zero Waste Eyeliner and Mascara

The hunt has been on for quite some time. I could write a book on all my failed make-up experiments. I'm still a fan of my lip to cheek, but it doesn't have a very long shelf life. Which does not fit with my rules of personal sustainability. So, I'm looking for shelf stable options.

I've been so close to breaking down and buying mascara. There's a brand that sells it in stainless steel refills, but at $48 + shipping - I can't; I could buy 2 dozen organic cupcakes for $48! I just cannot see myself spending that much on organic mascara that needs to be replaced every 3 months. 

Mascara or 2 dozen cupcakes? Mascara or 2 dozen cupcakes? Cupcakes win every time. Thankfully my homemade mascara costs less than a dollar; which means, cupcakes and mascara! 

Makeup free and ready to get dressed up! 

I think I've tried every homemade mascara on the interwebs.

I am a huge fan of the soap mascara. It is the most amazing homemade mascara ever, until you try and remove it. You will unleash hells eternal fury upon your eyeballs. I really, really want this one to work; so, I'm going to experiment with a different type of soap. And, I will keep you updated. If this didn't burn, it's the all time champion. But, until I figure it out - here's my recipe. 

simple mascara and eyeliner 

• 1 Tablespoon Activated Charcoal: bought in bulk at Rainbow
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Shae Butter: bought in bulk at a local boutique 
• 1 Teaspoon of Bentonite Clay:  bought in bulk at Rainbow  
•  2-3 Drops of Oil:  like sweet almond or olive oil bought in glass bottles

Activated charcoal is very fine and very free. The bottle at Rainbow is even labeled with warning. You open it and a mushroom cloud arises. The other ingredients are used to weigh the powder down and give it sticking power.  

A NOTE ON ACTIVATED CHARCOAL: If you can't buy activated charcoal in bulk. You can make it. There are tutorials here and here. Or you can buy it in capsules at your local drug store. Or you can buy it loose. It's shelf stable, so buy a large qty to reduce packaging. I use it in a lot of beauty recipes like this face mask and my whitening toothpowder.

Mix all of the ingredients together. I used a mortar and pestle to really work the oils into the fine powder. If you use metal you will deactivate the clay. Mine, being in a metal tin, is deactivated, which means it won't pull toxins out of my skin. The clay is used as a binder, so it doesn't matter if it has been deactivated in this recipe. 

how to:

Dip a line brush into water.

Dip it into the powder.

Give it a good tap. ​

Draw on your eyelids. Remember this is not a make-up tutorial. There are WAY better bloggers out there for that! 

Run your mascara wand under a slow stream of running water.

Dip it into your eyeliner mix, tap, and apply. My lashes are normally light brown, so this makes a huge difference. I like to do a second coat. Wait about five minutes. This time don't run the lash brush under water, dip into the mixture, and reapply. 

Always apply your eye makeup before the rest of your makeup. You may get some specs on your face, it is after all powder. Just wipe them away.  

Finished at 3pm

Turning in for bed at 11:30. After an afternoon/evening of BBQing with friends, how does my eye make up look?  

This will not lengthen your lashes or make them stand up. It will significantly darken your lashes and help thicken them. It will take a couple of minutes for it to dry, but when it dries there's no flaking, no running, and most importantly no burning.  You can curl your lashes after they have dried to help them stand. 

I know it sounds like blasphemy to curl your lashes after, but if you curled them before and applied a damp mascara brush, they would go limp. So, instead curl when dry. 

I made this recipe as an eyeliner first. Discovering it darkened my lashes was a happy accident.  

I've been wearing this in our house and around the office without AC, it's 85 degrees + and it has held up wonderfully. My lashes are still very dark at the end of the day.  

Do you have a favorite homemade make-up recipe? What about failures?