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DIY Thumb Loops In Sweater Sleeves

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

11.18.2019

0600

So this blog post is a personal life hack of mine. When I work out, I like to wear sweaters. Now, these sweaters are not always athletic sweaters, but simple sweaters that I buy just to wear on a day-to-day basis. I like to go running in these sweaters because they’re comfortable and warm. However, when I go running with these sweaters, the sleeves tend to run up my arm. I prefer the sweaters to cover my wrist and not bunch up when I’m running. I like the running sweaters that are designed with thumb loops, but they tend to be more expensive as well. Since I love my sweaters that I wear day to day, I decided to create my own thumb loops for my sweaters.

It’s a very simple process to create these thumb loops. First, I laid down my sweater where the sleeve lay flat on the table. I located the center line of the sleeve, and then chose to locate my thumb loop on the bottom half of the sleeve, but on the cuff of the sleeve. I found the center line of the bottom half of the sleeve, and I decided to locate my new thumb loop there.

When I wear my sweaters, my hand falls naturally to my side, in which my thumb faces towards the front of my body. This is why I located the thumb loop on the bottom half of the sleeve.

I wanted my thumb loop to be 1 inch in length and about half an inch from the bottom of the sleeve cuff. Using scissors, I cut a small slit that was 1 inch in length.

For my right sleeve, I used the same process as I did with the left sleeve. I located the center line of the right sleeve, and then located the center of the bottom half of the sleeve. I cut a one inch slit that was half an inch away from the bottom of the sleeve cuff.

I removed my extension table in order for the sleeve to fit underneath the presser foot of the machine. I slid the left cuff over the needle plate and started to sew the edge of the thumb loop. I used a tight zigzag stitch, so the fabric would hold up during washes and use. Since I knew that these thumb loops would go through a bit of wear and tear, I used the back stitch lever to create a strong and permanent attachment at the ends of the thumb loops.

The back stitch lever created the heavy and thicker starting points and end points of the outline of the thumb loops.

I flipped my left sleeve inside out, and continued to outline the other side of this thumb loop. I used the zigzag stitch again and used the back stitch lever so both ends of the opening would have an even reinforcement, of the thumb loop.

When I turned my sweater inside out, the thumb loops were finally finished being created. I use this hack on both of my sweaters, so now the sleeves won’t run up my arms when I workout.

This is a really simple hack for an issue that I dealt with on a daily basis. Although I know my thumbs will stick outside of my sleeves, when I run,they don’t get too cold. Sometimes I will run with my running gloves when the weather drops too low, so technically, my hands are still warm. Some people prefer to not have the thumb loops, but I like to keep my wrists covered when I run. This hack took less than 30 minutes to create and finish, so it didn’t take much time out of my day at all. I hope this hack will inspire other hacks that you might be needing in your life.

TerraCycle Programs

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09.16.2019

0600

TerraCycle offers a range of free programs that are funded by conscientious companies, as well as recycling solutions available for purchase for almost every form of waste.

TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Simply choose the programs you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send us your waste to be recycled. You can even earn rewards for your school or favorite non-profit!

TerraCycle reuses, upcycles, and recycles waste instead of incinerating or land filling it. This moves waste from a linear system to a circular one, allowing it to keep cycling in our economy. 

You can collect points, by collecting trash for your specific program and then redeeming your points. You can redeem your points by either receiving a cash value, or you can donate the points to charity. There’s a list of charities that team up with TerraCycle, in which you can choose to donate your points to.

I always donate my points, since I think this program is a great way for charities and companies to get involved with creating less waste, and I really don’t value the cash redemption as much.

Some of the charity organizations I was looking at to donate my points were:

  • 100 points = Help safeguard 1 acre of rain forest for 1 year in the Northwest Gaia Amazon.
  • 1 point = Help http://www.Carbonfund.org to reduce a 2 pounds of emissions from the atmosphere.
  • 1,000 points = Help http://www.Carbonfund.org to reduce a metric tonne or 2,205 pounds of emissions from the atmosphere.
  • 300 points = Have a tree planted in an American forest through Arbor Day Foundation
  • 300 points = You can provide one year’s supply of clean drinking water to a person who otherwise would lack access to this most essential element. 
  • 625 points = You can help the D’Addario Music Foundation give one child a free music lesson.
  • 2500 points = You can help the D’addario Music Foundation provide a child with 4 music lessons for a week. Kids who study music are 5x more likely to stay in school, graduate on time and apply to college.
  • 100 points = For every 100 points, TerraCycle will send $1 to the American Red Cross to provide aid to those affected by natural disasters.

For this round, I decided to split my points between a couple of different charities. I decided to redeem my points with:

  • Providing one year’s supply of clean drinking water to a person who otherwise would lack access to this most essential element
  • Help http://www.Carbonfund.org to reduce emissions from the atmosphere

If you want to participate in the TerraCycle programs, check them out at https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/select-country to see which programs you can join. The participating companies change often, so check back with the website to see updates. There are a lot of programs to choose from and supporting the partnership between TerraCycle and the participating companies creates more awareness to how much trash we produce, and how companies take responsibility for the trash they pass onto us consumers.

Food Waste And Composting

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08.26.2019

0600

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.  

Some facts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations:

  • Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted.
  • Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.
  • Industrialized and developing countries dissipate roughly the same quantities of food — respectively 670 and 630 million tonnes. 
  • Fruits and vegetables, plus roots and tubers have the highest wastage rates of any food.
  • Global quantitative food losses and waste per year are roughly 30% for cereals, 40-50% for root crops, fruits and vegetables, 20% for oil seeds, meat and dairy plus 35% for fish.
  • Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).
  • The amount of food lost or wasted every year is equivalent to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crop (2.3 billion tonnes in 2009/2010).
  • Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-eastern Asia, each throw away only 6-11 kg a year.

Food waste is an issue I pay very much attention to. I don’t like wasting food or my money. Before my city decided to implement a city wide composting program, I used a Lifetime 65 Gallon Tumbler compost. It was really helpful since I always wanted to create my own compost and not add it to my trash.

I also tried a trench compost as well, and honestly, I really enjoyed the trench compost method. I settled on the tumbler compost method because it was easier to roll and turn the compost every other day.

Photo: Good Life Composting

A successful compost will have a ratio of 20 parts brown : 1 part green. The compost pile will need at least 4-12 weeks to create a good batch. I’ll rotate the Lifetime 65 Gallon Tumbler several revolutions weekly and if the composter is mostly filled with grass, it may need to be rotated more frequently to keep the grass from matting together. The compost is done when it becomes dark brown and has an earthy smell. It can be added directly to plants as mulch or worked into soil.

WHAT TO COMPOST:

  • KITCHEN SCRAPS like fruit and vegetable peelings, cores, egg shells, and coffee grounds.
  • LAWN CLIPPINGS can be returned directly to the lawn with a mulching blade or composted
  • as desired, especially if the grass clippings are too long to be left on the lawn.
  • LEAVES can be mowed to reduce their size which will speed up decomposition and
  • increase the amount which will ft in the composter.
  • WOOD such as branches must be chipped or shredded in pieces smaller than1 inch.
  • Saw dust must be resin free i.e. no particle board.
  • PLANTS discarded from the garden, straw and hay.
  • MANURES from herbivores e.g. cows, rabbits, or chickens. Excessive amounts will also increase the salt content of the compost.

WHAT NOT TO COMPOST:

  • Meat, bones, greases, dairy products, or bread which attract pests. Anything treated with pesticides or herbicides.
  • Black Walnut leaves which inhibit plant growth.
  • Oak leaves and pine needles which decompose slowly.
  • Diseased plants or weeds with seeds.
  • Pet or human waste.
  • Plastic, foil, etc.

I usually meal prep throughout the week, so I know how much I want to buy and consume. I rarely buy snacks anymore since I’ve noticed that I tend not to snack. If I’m really hungry, I might have a few nuts, to satisfy my hunger. I prefer to simply eat whole meals, when the time is right.

My weekday meals don’t vary too much, but I’ve also reduced the amount I eat, so I don’t create any extra food waste. There’s usually a day during the week, where I’ll go through my fridge and eat up all the foods that may be expiring soon as well. Most of those foods are perishable, so it’ll end up to be some sort of salad, with a bunch of different vegetables. For the fresh produce that does expire, they go into the compost bucket.

Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day, with people who have healthier diets rich in fruit and vegetables the most wasteful, research has found. The healthiest Americans are the most wasteful, because of their high consumption of fruits and vegetables, which are frequently thrown out. Fruit and vegetables require less land to grow than than other foods, such as meat, but require a large amount of water and pesticides. Because of this sad fact, I pay more attention to what I buy and the quantity I buy. This waste has an environmental toll, with the volume of discarded food equivalent to the yearly use of 30m acres of land, 780m pounds of pesticide and 4.2tn gallons of irrigated water. Rotting food also clogs up landfills and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Composting is a great way to dump the compostable items, and if you don’t have a yard, there are smaller composts, that are also designed for apartment living as well. Composting is a more sustainable way to discard your foods scraps and it’ll will alleviate the amount of trash, taken to the landfill. If your city, or county hasn’t implemented a city wide composting system, maybe it could be an idea that could be brought to your city.

How To Reduce Waste In Your Home

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08.12.2019

0600

Reducing the amount of trash that comes into your home is not as hard as it sounds. It might sound like a daunting task because we as consumers, buy a lot of packaged items that we bring into our home. However, it’s a simple process of elimination.

For instance, if you evaluate your kitchen items and everything you buy weekly, monthly, and yearly- that’s pretty much your entire list. For the yearly items, if you can find reusable alternatives, you can essentially eliminate your yearly inventory shopping.

Then, list all your weekly items that you tend to buy, and find reusable, non-toxic alternatives for those items. Your weekly and daily items are most likely the trash culprits. Half of the time, we don’t realize how many coffee cups we buy every day or even plastic packaged lunch items that we purchase daily. Eliminating the daily trash will help greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters your home. There are a lot of reasonable alternatives when it comes to kitchen items. Using cloth napkins in lieu of paper napkins, and using real dishware instead of paper plates can help eliminate the disposable trash output. You can also use real utensils instead of disposable utensils. You can bring a reusable coffee Tumbler when you go to get tea or coffee, so you don’t end up with a disposable cup.

A lot of people don’t know that the paper containers provided for us at grocery stores, and food establishments are lined with plastic, and those containers do not compost or bio degrade. The plastic layer, prevents it from composting completely. It’s a little bit like green washing because you may think your container is completely made of cardboard but it really isn’t. Using reusable items is a much better alternative, because you are in control of how much trash you are producing.

For your bathroom items, it’s the same process as evaluating your kitchen items. Go through your items and figure out which products you use and purchase, yearly, weekly and daily. Slowly replace the yearly items with reusable and sustainable options, as well as a weekly and daily items.

When it comes to medications or anything medical, I suggest that you consult with a doctor before you decide to eliminate certain products. I purchase sunscreen consistently. I live in California, where the sun is strong, and skin cancer is a real concern. I’m very aware that I am producing plastic trash with my sunscreen bottles. However, I would never want to put my health at risk just so I can proclaim that “My lifestyle is absolutely zero waste!”, and I wouldn’t want you to do that either.

Health concerns are very personal, so you know your own limit. If you can eliminate a plastic contained product and opt for a reusable version, than I think that’s great. Right now, I buy my conditioner, body lotion, bar soap, liquid soap, and tooth powder, in bulk. When it comes to sunscreen, face moisturizer and dental floss, those come in packaging.

You can use this evaluation process for the other rooms in your home. The biggest trash producers are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Some people have other rooms where they tend to buy a lot of items for, and those can be also evaluated in the same fashion.

This process takes time, and it takes self awareness to be consistent. Start slow and just work on an area or room in a certain amount of time. If you give yourself a time limit, staying consistent and motivated, becomes easier.

Mending Items Versus Buying Items

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07.29.2019

0600

If you read about my Fast Fashion post, it relates to this one. If not, please go check it out. Even though I do by thrift store items, I will still mend an item to save it from a donation. Sometimes I will mend my items and then I donate the item. For instance, I found an old shirt at my aunts house. It had a few holes in it but overall, I liked the color and I didn’t mind the cut of the shirt. The color went perfectly with my color palette for my capsule wardrobe, so I really wanted to save it from being donated. I just needed to mend the shirt, so it would be decent to wear.


Now I have an almost new shirt.


Whenever I upcycle clothing, I always keep scraps of the leftover clothing item. In my Reusing Fabric and Thread blog post, I wrote about keeping my fabric scraps in a small bag. I literally have a bag of scraps. I love fabric, and the use of fabric in different products, (depending on the thread count, material, and the way fabric is sewn together,) can be a very durable material.

Some shirts have higher thread counts, which lends them to become excellent candidates to upcycle into grocery bags, or other heavy duty bags. The smaller scraps that I keep, I always try to find a use for them. Whether it’s going to be upcycled into a small project or large project, the one thing I can count on is that I can throw it in the washing machine to clean it. 

If I had a choice to make, with picking and choosing reusable products, I prefer to choose items that I can wash easily. I don’t like to buy items which require a special cleaning method or liquid to clean. I like to sew and mend items, because the product that I’m usually mending, only needs to be washed with soap and water.

If you reflect on the products that you use daily, the majority of them are probably sewn together: your clothes, handbags, wallets, car seats, bedding, upholstery, etc. Knowing how to sew and understanding how to repair fabric products has been a life saver for me. I actually learned how to sew by hand, and didn’t learn how to use a machine until years later.

Learning how to mend items can save you money, time and stress. Even the simple act of sewing on a button is helpful. You can save a simple dress shirt, like I did, from sending it to a donation station.

Cleaning My House

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07.15.2019

0600

I don’t like using a lot of harsh chemicals to clean my house, because of the dangers that chemicals can cause to our physical well being . So I tend to use a combination of natural products. For scrubbing, I like to use a combination of Dr. Bronner’s liquid peppermint soap, as well as baking soda as an abrasive. I like to use a simple brush to scrub services, because those are easy to rinse off.

I’ll use a combination of water and apple cider vinegar to wipe down surfaces as well. I will use old cotton wash clothes and cotton rags to wipe down surfaces.

For cleaning my toilet, I will usually use apple cider vinegar, and a simple toilet brush to scrub the surface. If I need to use an abrasive to scrub my toilet, I’ll use baking soda to do so. I do get nervous about harsh chemicals be in the home because I don’t like the idea of inhaling toxic fumes. I think that now that we know more about toxic chemicals and how harmful they can be, we have the power to make better choices about what we use in our homes.

When it comes to cleaning the hardwood floors, I have a dust mop and also a floor broom and dust pan set. I do have a vacuum that I use, but it’s only once a while that’ll pull that out.

If I need to clean the surface of the floors, I’ll first use a combination of Dr. Bronner’s liquid peppermint soap and water to dilute the concentration of the soap formula. I’ll first wipe down the floors with the soapy liquid, than, I’ll go over the cleaned floors with a clean wet rag, to pick up the soap residue. I just wipe down the surface with rags. I do it by hand because the floor seems to be cleaner with this method.

For the rest of the surfaces, dust is really the only issue when it comes to cleaning my other furniture services. I can wipe down the surfaces easily with a simple rag.

I have a fairly simple cleaning routine, and it really doesn’t take much time to get through it on a weekly basis. It also helps to not own many items and keeping my surfaces clean, also speeds up the process. But I’ve been fairly happy with my cleaning routine, and by using non toxic chemicals, I can sleep better knowing that I’m not creating a toxic indoor air environment for my family.

Plastics In The Bathroom

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07.01.2019

0600

I definitely have plastics in the bathroom. I did try to transition to glass bottles for my bathroom products, but the glass was too slippery and didn’t seem efficient. When it comes to products are used in the bathroom, I do have a set amount of items that I can refill. However, there are items that do come in plastic packaging and plastic bottles, that end up being recycled or go into the landfill.

I have bottles that I refill for my Dr. Bronner’s liquid peppermint soap, my body lotion, and my conditioner. I use bar soaps a lot, so I buy bar soaps that either don’t have packaging at all, or come in recyclable paper packaging.

For the items that do come in plastic packaging, that includes my sunblock, my face moisturizer as well as dental floss.

My bathroom isn’t completely zero waste. I do use plastic containers and refill them as needed. And for specialty items, they come in plastic containers. I wish sunblock didn’t come in plastic containers, but so far, mine do. I think it’s entirely possible to have zero waste bathroom though; mine just isn’t. When it comes to my conditioner, I will transfer some of it into a larger stainless steel water bottle, and add water to dilute the formula. I’ve noticed that my hair responds better when my hair doesn’t have residue left over from the conditioner. For my other items that come in plastic containers such as dental floss, face moisturizer, I haven’t found a good alternative is for my skin yet. I’ll keep looking though, I think the battle is always on going when it comes to striving for a zero waste lifestyle.

My Trash Doesn’t Fit In A Jar

/ Yen-Van Tran / 1 Comment

​06.17.2019

0600

My trash doesn’t fit in a jar anymore. When I started my zero waste journey, my trash did fit in a 16 ounce mason jar. However, int he past few years, I needed to purchase items that had extra packaging in which would not fit in my nice little jar anymore.

A lot of the time, when we shop at bulk bins in grocery stores, although we don’t bring home trash into our homes, products do get shipped to grocery stores in packaging. We as consumers don’t see it, but it doesn’t mean that the packaging doesn’t exist. Now, I’m not saying that every company is wasteful, but truth be told that is how our products are packaged from the manufacturer and then transferred to the distribution companies.

Trash pollution, plastic pollution is hidden in plain sight. We as consumers, do have the choice to not bring trash into our homes, and that’s a privilege. But packaging does exist, it’s not always compostable, and it may not even be sustainable. We as consumers can still vote with our dollar, and we still need to remind manufacturing companies that our trash pollution is at the highest quantity right now. I do think the tide is turning, but with The daily production of trash in the speed at which it is produced, we’re going out to tackle a very, very large problem and that’s with magnified with an unimaginable speed.

I live in the Bay Area, and bulk food items and products are readily available here. There are plenty of other states and areas, which bulk food is not available. If you can fit your trash into a small jar and continue to do so, I think that’s amazing and admirable. If your trash can’t fit into a jar, just keep in mind, the trash you’re producing and keep putting effort towards living a more zero waste lifestyle. I think using the glass jar as a standard is a bit unreasonable, because not all of us are lucky enough to live and afford certain amenities where we are located.

So my trash doesn’t fit in a jar this year, maybe next year it will be less. If not, I’ll keep trying to continue to strive to live a zero waste life.

Car Floor Mat Towel Sleeves

/ Yen-Van Tran / 3 Comments

04.01.2019

0600

Materials:

  • 2 Bath Towels
  • 4 Hand Towels
  • Sewing Kit
  • White Fabric Pencil

Tools:

  • Sewing Kit
  • Sewing Machine

It’s interesting how we pick up habits from our parents or other figures in our lives. When the rain season comes, my  mother has always wrapped an old towel across her car mats to absorb the extra water that would get dragged in by everyday use. To this day, I’ll see her break out the towels around the middle of October.


As for me, I never cared for my floor mats in my car. I honestly never liked my car. The car was bought without my input and I was stuck with it thereafter. But recently I did get new car mats, along with a new car, and since I didn’t want to drag a bunch of water into my car, I too, wrapped my car mats in towels. But I soon realized that the towels would get tugged and moved around from the daily use of them. I had to solve this issue. I didn’t want to constantly re-tuck the towels under my car mats, because sometimes they were already dirty and wet.


The front floor mats were a large size and I knew that bath towels would be a perfect fit. I decided to make some towel sleeves for my car mats. Since my carpet in my car is black, I knew I had to find black towels to create my towel sleeves. With the towels sleeves, it would be easier to catch the dirt and rocks that would be brought into my car, and the towels would be easy to clean, since all I had to do was take off the sleeves and throw them into the washing machine. 

I found two bath towels that were 52″ long by 30″ wide. Since my front floor mats are about 31″ long and 21″ wide, I only needed the width of the floor mat sleeves to be about 22″ wide. the size of these bath towels would give me 26″ width. I didn’t mind if the towel wasn’t long enough to cover the length of my floor mat because the mat could stick out a little bit.

I folded the towel in half, length-wise and pinned the edges together, to prepare for the sewing process.

I wanted to leave one of the shorter edges open, so I could slide my floor mats in and out easily. In one continuous line, I sewed along the yellow arrows (in the picture below). For the corners of the towel, where the material was thicker, I angled the long sew line and continued on. I then went back and hand stitched the corners, so they would stay together better.

As you can see, the folded towel was still large enough to fit over my floor mat, and there was still extra room.

In order for the sleeves to fit to the car mats better, I sewed rough outlines of the shape of each mat on each of the sleeves. First, I flipped the car mats over, onto the back of the car sleeve. Then, using my white fabric pencil, I drew rough outlines of each mat. I did this because I didn’t want the white washable pencil to show, when I fit the sleeve over the car mat.

I only outlined the rough outline of the car mats, because I still needed to remove them easily. I created the outlines about 3/4″ from the actual edge of the car mats. I left a bit of a boarder, for the fact that the towel might shrink in the washing machine and also, I wanted the sleeves to slip off easily, when needed. Towards the closed end of the car sleeve, I tightened the outline a bit, but in general, I kept the outline lines straight in from the open edge.

I placed each of the front floor mats into my car, and folded the edges underneath the floor mats accordingly. You don’t have to fold them under, but I chose to.

For the rear seat floor mats, I found eight hand towels to create the set in my car. My rear seat floor mats are 24″ long, by 16″ wide, so I found hand towels that were 26″ long and 16″ wide. The sewing process for these floor mat sleeves follows the previous steps for the front seat floor mat sleeves.

I stacked two hand towels on top of each other, making sure that the tag was facing inwards for both towels. I then sewed along the yellow arrows around the towels. I left one of the long edges open because I wanted to slide the floor mat in easily. For the corners of the hand towel sleeves, I angled the long, linear sew line to complete the stitch, and then I went back to each corner and stitched them together carefully. My machine doesn’t like it when the material gets too thick, because it can’t pass under the needle easily.

These rear seat floor mats had a lot of extra room around the edges, so I knew that I might have extra floor coverage.

This size hand towel seems to accommodate different car brands and the mats still fit really well within the parameters.

Now, when I need to clean my floors, I’ll just remove the floor mats from the towel sleeves and either wash them or shake them out. I might have to vacuum the edges, but that doesn’t take long at all. These towel sleeves makes my life a bit easier, by allowing me to keep my floor mats clean, and that’s always a good perk.

Reusable Facial Cotton Pads

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

11.19.2018

0600

Materials:

  • 3-4 Cotton Handkerchiefs, pattern or color of your choice (Note: if you tend to use makeup/liquids that are oil or wax based, the substance will leave a slight film on the fabric, over time)

Tools:

  • Sewing machine
  • Sewing Kit
  • Iron
  • Ironing Mat/Board

DSC_0499When I started eliminating single use products out of my life, I really had no need to replace all of the products with reusable ones. But as we all know, life changes, and we adapt to it. Years ago, I had used single use, cotton rounds to remove makeup and nail polish. When I transitioned to a minimalist zero waste lifestyle, I eliminated nail polish from my life and only used vegan makeup. My vegan makeup removal process does not require cotton pads to remove the makeup, just soap and water.

Recently, I was gifted a facial skin care kit and I had no cotton pads to use with it. So now, in order to use the gift, I needed to prepare beforehand, and sew a pack of reusable facial cotton pads.

So for this project, I took a shortcut in which, I used a few handkerchiefs I already had. I knew I only needed rectangular cotton pads about 2″ x 1″, just wide enough to hold across my three fingers when using them.

how-to-draw-open-hand-palms-up-cartoon-easy-steps

I know that the makeup industry standard is to use “cotton rounds”, but when I broke down the division of my handkerchiefs, it was easier to make cotton ‘rectangles’ instead. I took each handkerchief and divided it in half, then divided those pieces in half, and then divided those pieces in half, until I broke down my handkerchief into small squares, about 2″x 2″. These squares will be folded in half and sewed into rectangles. This way, the cotton pads with have two fabric layers.

Technically, the final size of the cotton pads is up to you, because if you end up with a larger square, that only means you get to use a larger rectangle surface to use on a day to day basis.

So I took one of my handkerchiefs and folded it in half and cut it. I then folded the rectangles in half, which resulted in large squares. I folded the large squares in half and then folded those rectangles in half to create the small squares.

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Using my iron and ironing mat, I folded each small square in half, to create the crease for the cotton pads. This crease is where the rectangle shape starts to form, and to save time, I would iron the pieces four at a time. 

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In order for me to iron four cotton pads at the same time, I placed four cotton rectangles in a square formation, in which the edges were placed inward and then I would iron the creases across the mat.

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I used my sewing machine to sew the open edges together and I chose to use the zigzag stitch and a universal needle for this project.

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00- SEW- Straight-Stitch

The most common use of a zigzag stitch is to enclose raw edges as a seam finish. As a seam finish, one edge of the stitch is sewn off the edge of the fabric so that the threads of the fabric are enclosed within the threads of the zigzag stitch and the fabric is unable to fray because of the zigzag stitch.

Be sure to sew in from the edge slightly. Then, trim away the excess beyond the zigzag, making sure not to clip into any of the stitching. You can also use two rows of zigzag for extra “fray-stopping” power.

I started my sew line from one open end of the fabric,  and continued around the open edges. 

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I like to tie off my thread ends, but you can reverse the stitch so that it your sewing machine creates a back stitch. In other words, while you’re sewing the last leg of the fabric edge, slow down the speed of the stitch by backing off of the pedal. Slow to a speed in which you can spot each needle point going into your fabric. If you can learn to anticipate where the needle will land, then you’ll be able to get as close to the end of your sew path and create a tighter back stitch for your projects.  So, as you get closer to the end of your sew path, press the Back Stitch Lever, and hold it down, so that the direction will reverse. When you’re satisfied with the length of the back stitch, let go, and the machine should continue to push your fabric back to the original direction. (Try to get as close as possible to the end of the sew path before reversing the stitch.)

Personally, I would only reverse the direction for about half an inch. Don’t go back too far, since this is such a small piece of fabric. This back stitch will lock in your stitch. Then simply trim the thread, and you’re done.

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I brought home an empty coffee creamer container from work, since I liked the shape. I knew that this project was coming up, so I thought it would be a good container for my reusable facial cotton pads.   

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So there it is, this is how I created my reusable facial cotton pads. I hope that this post may inspire you to eliminate single use personal care accessories in your bathroom. 

Quick T-Shirt Pocket

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

09.07.2018

0600

Materials:

  • One T-shirt (or two, but definitely at least one)

Tools:

  • Sewing machine
  • Sewing Kit

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Living a Zero Waste life means that I create simple solutions for simple problems since I don’t want to go buy anything new or seek  out another possession to take care of.

So I usually carry my phone around with me when I’m doing certain types of household tasks. These tasks don’t require a lot of vigorous movement, but I’m definitely moving around. A lot of the time it’s annoying to remember to carry the phone from one place to another when I’m running around the house and if my hands are dirty, I really don’t want to touch my phone. I needed a quick solution where I could carry the phone along with my keys without much hassle. I didn’t want to go out and buy a separate cell phone holder strap that would wrap around my arm. I have one for workouts, and that strap holds down my cell phone securely since I’m running. But I just needed a quick solution where I could carry around my phone and my keys easily for a few hours.

My quick solution was to see my t-shirt sleeve in half and create a pocket. my t-shirt sleeves are usually longer than I need them to be. This gave me the extra material to work with. I simply folded my sleeve in half and pinned the sleeve all the way around.

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Depending on the width of your cell phone, measure that distance out on the top of the sleeve. Just make sure you divide the width of your phone in half and center the opening on the top of the sleeve.

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For the other sleeve, I made the opening just about the same size since I knew I was going to use the other pocket for keys or my credit card.

Then just sew the sleeve from the front to the back or back to the front, making sure you still leave enough room for your cell phone. Then tie off the open thread ends.

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If you put smaller items in the short pockets, they tend to fall towards the bottom of the sleeve. This can be annoying for some but for me it gives me a sense of security knowing my items won’t fall out. I just need to go fishing for my keys at the end of the day.

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So there you have it. My quick and dirty solution to built in t-shirt pockets. I like to move the pockets towards the front of my body for easier access to my cell phone, but that’s simply more comfortable for me. I also will sometimes secure the t-shirt using a binder clip, that I’ll use to clip my t-shirt to my bra.

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Bathroom Purchases With Packaging

/ Yen-Van Tran / 2 Comments

06.05.18

0600

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I’ve talked about what I don’t buy, but I thought I’d tell you about what I do buy in relation to my daily bathroom routine. When I go grocery shopping, there are items I do keep an eye out for. These items are the items I will use on a daily basis and keep stock of at home. So here it is…

What I stock up on:

  1. Baking Soda
  2. Sunscreen
  3. Toothbrush
  4. Face Moisturizer
  5. Eyeliner (used often)
  6. Mascara (used often)
  7. Eye Shadow (used often)
  8. Lip Balm
  9. Dental Floss
  10. Night Cream
  11. Apple Cider Vinegar
  12. Toilet Paper

Not used often:

  • Essential oils
  • Liquid Foundation (Vegan Makeup)
  • Matte Bronzer (Vegan Makeup)
  • Lipstick (Vegan Makeup)
  • Angled Blush Brush

There are other investments that I bought a while back, which did produce some form of trash, but they were only a one time investment.

One time investments:

  • Cornstarch
  • Cacao Powder
  • Crystal Deodorant
  • Pumice Stone
  • Set of Dental picks
  • Set of stainless steel ear pick tools

Morning: Before Workout Routine: In the morning I will wash my face with soap and brush my teeth with baking soda. I’ll then apply sunscreen before heading out, because skin cancer is real and the exposure to the sun’s rays can be very dangerous, so I take precautions.

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Morning: After Workout Routine: After working out, I’ll wash my face again and apply some dry shampoo (combination of equal parts cornstarch and Hershey’s Cocoa, here is the link to my blog post about DIY Dry Shampoo). I’ll then apply my makeup, and depending on the occasion, it might be more or less. My makeup is cruelty free and not tested on animals, but it does come in packaging that is not recyclable. The good part about my makeup routine is that I don’t use excessive amounts of it so I don’t use up my makeup quickly.

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When I do decide to get more dressed up, my makeup packaging includes all of the following packaging below. All of my makeup will come with the makeup container as well as the makeup packaging as well.

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Evening Routine: My evening routine mimics my morning routine, where I will floss my teeth, brush my teeth, wash my face with soap, and then apply my evening cream.

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Non-Daily Use Items: There are a few “one time purchase” items that I did invest in, which did produce some form of trash that was not recyclable. However, these were one time purchases and they’ve lasted a very long time. These items include my deodorant crystal, pumice stone, dental pick set and my set of stainless steel ear pick tools. (The Visine is rarely used and I doubt I’ll ever purchase it again.)

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For the Bathroom: Products I use to clean my bathroom or need to stock up on, include Apple Cider Vinegar, paper wrapped toilet paper and essential oils. The essential oils does get used, but not often. I always buy toilet paper wrapped in paper so that I don’t produce any extra plastic trash.

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Living a zero waste lifestyle can never truly be completely zero waste. Trash will be produced at one point or another; whether it’s in the beginning of the production line or at the very end where the consumer is left with it. When you purchase products in bulk, a lot of the packaging is left for the distributor to deal with.

This post was a transparent view of the reality of my own bathroom trash. Even though I do still produce a bit of trash, I have significantly reduced the amount of my bathroom trash since I began this zero waste journey. Still, to this day, I know I can reduce it even more, but that means I have to give up using certain products or try to find alternative products.

 

DIY Dry Shampoo

/ Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

02.20.2018

0600

Materials:

  • 1/2 Cup Cacao Powder
  • 1/2 Cup Cornstarch

Tools:

  • Bowl for mixing
  • Spoon to scoop
  • Empty Plastic or glass container for the final mix.

 

 

00- Kingsford Cornstarch00- Hersheys Special Dark 100 Cacao

Hair contains natural oil, called sebum in its follicles which is essential for keeping itself conditioned and healthy. Frequent washing, combined with some of the harsh chemicals in shampoo, strips away those oils leaving your hair in bad shape. You can rid your hair of excess oil buildup by adopting the “No Poo Method”.

The theory of “No Poo” is this: by washing hair with a gentle alternative to shampoo, such as corn starch, baking soda and apple cider vinegar, you’ll achieve clean hair without the damage or dependency on daily shampooing. So, instead of allowing chemicals in shampoo to strip your hair, strip away the chemicals instead and stop using shampoo altogether.

My hairstylist, Carrie Everheardt, highly recommended me to start using dry shampoo. She recommends washing your hair about two times a week and treating your hair with dry shampoo during the rest of the week. If you’re just starting out using dry shampoo, you can practice increasing the increments of days between washes, and work up to a time frame you’re comfortable with; e.g. use dry shampoo twice a week, three times a week, four times a week, etc.

Also, if you’re in the Bay Area, in California, you can find Carrie at The Salon of Woodside. Her instagram is @everheartloveshair . She amazing at recognizing what your hair damages are and knows what it takes to heal your hair and scalp. Go check her out!

WHY USE DRY SHAMPOO…

Washing your hair daily is bad for you. It strips away the natural oils that keep your hair healthy and well moisturized.

A “dry shampoo” is really just an oil-absorbing powder that, when applied to hair, can soak up excess grease and dirt without necessitating getting the hair wet. Dry shampoo absorbs the oil produced by your scalp, and it cannot do its job if there is any water in your hair.

If you’re not planning to shampoo in the morning, apply your dry shampoo the night before. Apply it on before bed and let the product fight excess oil while you sleep. A quick brush of dry shampoo can refresh hair after a workout, saving time in the locker room.

Benefits of using dry shampoo…

1. It replaces a wash.
The dry stuff soaks up grease and leaves a fresh scent, so hair looks and smells just-washed.

2. It volumizes limp strands (even bangs!).
Dry shampoo “fluffs” flat hair, creating instant fullness.

4. It slows color fade.
Since water and shampoo leach dye from hair, washing less means you can go longer between touch-ups. Cash saved!

5. It minimizes damage.
If you’re shampooing less often, you’re also using hot tools less often. The result: healthier hair.

6. You can use it whenever.
Dry shampoo can be applied any time your hair needs a boost, but I like using it before bed: Hair will absorb it as I sleep and I’ll look refreshed in the morning.

MIXING…

Since my hair is a dark brown-black combo (depending on where the sunlight hits), I mix equal amounts of cornstarch and cacao powder in a bowl. For those who have blond hair, mixing cacao powder will not be necessary. Brunettes and redheads can use cacao powder, cinnamon or a combination of both as desired.

Because everyone’s hair tint is different, I suggest testing out the color combo by adding a little bit more to the mix, until desired. If you think you’ve added too much, don’t worry because once you fluff up your hair, the likelihood is that it won’t be detectable.

I store my dry shampoo mix in an old plastic peanut butter container. I wanted my container to be more narrow than wide due to the fact that my application brush was tall.

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APPLICATION…

I part my hair in three sections, a left part, center part and a part on the right side of my head.

00- Hair Parting Directions

Using my large brush, I lightly tap the head of my brush into my mix, and then tap the brush on the edge of the jar to remove the excess powder. I noticed that my brush carried a lot of the mix between the strands and if I didn’t tap off the extra powder, my brush would end up dumping a lot of the power in the first spot selected.

For each part that I created, I simply brushed my hairline with the mix. You really don’t need a lot for the applications, because  you’re also spreading it around with the brush.

After applying my dry shampoo on each parted line, I fluffed up my hair by raking my fingers through my hair and fluffing it upwards and outwards.

That’s literally all I do to apply my dry shampoo. Some people wash their hair with apple cider vinegar after about five days of using dry shampoo to remove the dry shampoo buildup. If you want to try this:

  1. Blend one cup of water with two to four tablespoons of vinegar to make your rinse.
  2. After you have shampooed and thoroughly rinsed your hair, slowly pour or spray the mixture over your entire scalp, allowing it to run down the length of your hair (being careful not to get it in your eyes).
  3. Make sure you let it to sit in the hair for at least three minutes, then rise out completely.

If you’re someone who would like to try this recipe out, I highly recommend it. I was skeptical before using it, but I was amazed at how much healthier my hair looked once I gave it a chance retain its natural oils. Also, with this mix, my hair ends up smelling like  a faint scent of chocolate, and I can’t be mad at that.

P.S.

Since I have very light colored bed sheet sets, I do cover my pillowcase with a set of brown silk pillowcases so that the cacao powder won’t get all over the light sheets. Plus, silk is very good for your hair when you sleep. Some of silk’s hypoallergenic properties include a natural resistance to dust mites, fungus and mold, in addition to many other allergens. Silk can be beneficial for your skin and hair. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase can help your skin stay healthy and smooth and can help reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles

 

 

 

 

Upcycling Fabric Shower Curtains

/ Yen-Van Tran / 2 Comments

12.05.2017

0600

Materials:

  • Two 72″ x 72″ Fabric Shower Curtains

Tools:

  • Sewing Machine
  • Sewing Kit

 

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Fabric Shower curtains are usually  made with polyester fabric. A few years ago, I had ordered extra fabric shower curtains and I really wanted to use up the material. I had previously posted a quick blog post about using fabric shower curtains as temporary screens for doors in Alternative Screen For Doors.

But now I wanted to see if I could upcycle the material again for another purpose.  This upcycling project works well if you have solid color curtains. I wanted to create a sheer curtain layer to hang with each of the three sets of my existing window curtains. I thought it would be interesting to upcycle my extra fabric shower curtains to sheer curtains for my windows. I still like the patterns I choose and with the sheer curtains up against my windows, the patterns would be illuminated as the sun hit them each morning.

So I took down each of my existing window curtains and measured them to see how much fabric I needed from the shower curtains. The width of the window wasn’t a problem since I had 72″ to work with. The only variable was the height of each curtain.

For my multicolored shower curtain, I divided the shower curtain in half length wise and width wise equally. I had planned to use the top half of this curtain to create my first sheer window curtain set. The bottom half would be combined with the top half of the bamboo curtain, to create the third set of window curtains.

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For my bamboo print shower curtain, I measured the height that I initially wanted starting from the bottom of the curtain. I did this because I wanted the second curtain set to be completely covered by the pattern. I left the white void at the top of the bamboo curtain because I knew I was going to use it in the third set of window curtains. I had planned to sew the top half of the bamboo shower curtains to the bottom half of the multicolored shower curtain to create the last set of sheer window curtains.

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I then pinned the edges that had been cut using sewing pins and hemmed them to clean up the trim around the shower curtain.

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Since the width of each shower curtain piece was wider than the individual window curtain pieces, I tucked and folded the shower curtain pieces to fit each window curtain width accordingly. I only sewed about 6″ up the shower curtain piece to hold the folded in piece in place, and across the bottom. You can sew the entire height of the folded piece, but I simple choose not to.

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Since I know I want to keep these curtain designs as is, I decided to sew the new sheer curtain layer to my existing window curtains.  You don’t have to sew them, you can use safety pins as a temporary solution if you’re not sure about keeping the sheer layers, or if you want to change them out. Make sure you decide which side of the sheer curtain you want to face towards the window and which side of your existing window curtain you want to face inwards into your home. I personally don’t care about what my curtain looks like to the outside world so I have the nicer pattern facing inwards. This is why adding a sheer layer helps the presentation of my curtains to the outside world.

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To secure my curtains, I had initially made cord tiebacks with leftover material from an old bed sheet, in order to keep my curtains open. With the new sheer layer, I can tie back the solid color window curtain and leave the sheer layer or I can wrap them both back to let in even more sunlight.