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It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you are on your personal zero waste journey.  Where to start?  How to deal with setbacks?  How to stay motivated?  How to power thru periods of despair?  One pledge to make is to VOTE in every single election.  

I don't want to go down the rabbit hole that is US national politics.  Of course, you should vote Tuesday Nov 8, 2022.   Plus, you should vote in every town, city, municipal and  state election.  This is where change begins.

A couple of years ago my city passed a no plastic bag ordinance.  I remember the public forums- the dire predictions.  As a "little old lady" I especially resented the warnings about how I would suffer carrying a heavy grocery bag instead of a few plastic bags.  It was also going to be very difficult for folks to remember to BYOB- bring your own bags.  How would they ever manage?  And of course, the expensive of purchasing reusable bags was going to be prohibitive.    The plastic bag ban passed, folks adjusted and figured it out.   My city wasn't the only one, there was a ripple effect up and down the coast of bag banning.  Sept 2020 began a state wide ban, with a few Covid detours.  This change happened because folks got out and voted.

Hawaii was the first state to ban plastic bags back in 2012.  According to the Surfrider Foundation, "This was not done by the state legislature, but instead by all four County Councils - a great example of local activists and decision-makers addressing the serious issue of plastic pollution."  

Maine is the first state to ban styrofoam food containers.  This is a huge deal for an ocean dependent state.  Polystyrene, the official name for styrofoam can not be recycled and it breaks down into teeny, tiny bits especially when tossed out the car window as liter.  The teeny tiny bits can be mistaken for food by many sea creatures and those teeny tiny bits end up polluting our water and food supply.  

According to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, "Plastic foam food containers are among the top 10 most commonly littered items in the U.S. and more than 256 million pieces of disposable foam cups, plates, bowls, platters, and trays are used every year in Maine."   Thank you governor Janet Mills for signing this bill back in April 2019. 

Plastic bag and styrofoam bans are big steps towards a healthy planet.  It's vital to make your voice heard and take the time to be a committed voter.    Many states and municipalities are making it easy for busy folks to be heard with online registration and absentee ballots. 

Voting makes your voice heard, makes a difference in the world and moves us towards a more balanced and healthy planet.  Just do it- VOTE!  

There are two ways to vote.  First, in the election booth.  If you want positive environmental and political change then make sure you get out and vote.  The other way to vote is when you spend money think of each dollar as a vote for the world and values you want.  

According to Green America "Where you spend and invest your money is a powerful way of voting each day to support local communities, fair wages, and a healthy planet."  

The first priority is the question- "Do I actually need this?"   You can save money, buy better products and support businesses that value workers, the environment and our planet while sending the message to the world economy that we don't want a bunch of plastic crap.

                                   Do I Need It?  How To Buy It Guide

• Refuse
• Reduce
• Upcycle
• Borrow
• Share
• Repair
• Swap
• Sew or make
• Grow
• Buy second hand
• Buy small, local and indie

You can shop small locally and on line- either way is good.  Locally keeps your community vibrant and supports your neighbors and friends.  Online gives you access to a wide variety of products that might not be available in your hometown. 

Do both- pick local products where it makes sense and shop online for ingredients and goods not easily available.  Either way- you'll feel good by doing good.  Don't forget even if you're not able to make a purchase support small businesses you love by posting, sharing and commenting on social media.  Every small step has a big impact.

Our Island Facial Scrub made with Maine seaweed and roses is good for every skin type.  It's a gentle way to exfoliate and remove dead skin and will leave your face or entire body feeling and looking smooth and silky.

Carly from high school to early thirties struggled with breakout and angry pimples.  We tried everything, dermatologist, medication, diet, you name it we tried it.  Nothing really worked and the breakouts along with the constant search for a cure were exhausting and stressful.  As we were experimenting with seaweed and the benefits of this amazing plant we discovered it was an ingredient that kept Carly's face happy.    One of the reasons we started Dulse & Rugosa was how amazing seaweed is for skin, especially problem skin.

Our seaweed rich scrub is super easy to use.  In general, seaweed works best wet.  Wet your face and place just a dab of seaweed scrub on the palm of your hand.  With seaweed a little goes a long way.  Add just a bit of water to your scrub and it will expand a bit.  Rub your palms together and then in a soft upward motion scrub your face.  Rinse well.  Depending on your skin type, age and the season you might or might not need moisturizer.  

How often you need to exfoliate depends on a variety of factors. If you have younger skin, oily skin or skin prone to breakouts we recommend exfoliating every few days.   Older more mature skin we suggest once a week.  Other factors can influence how often you should exfoliate.  Travel, being sick, being out on the water, wearing extra sunscreen, after a vacation are all times when exfoliating feels real good.  Stressful periods are also a time to do a deep scrub.  We designed our Seaweed and Rose Scrub for the face but an occasional full body scrub is a great way to naturally detox.   Seaweed not only detoxes but can help restock trace minerals and vitamins we loose when we go thru a stressful period.  

While skin benefits from a gentle scrub- there can be too much of a good thing.  It's not recommended to exfoliate every day.  Over exfoliation will leave your skin red, angry, irritated and may cause breakouts.  Pay attention to your skin, it will tell you if you're over exfoliating.

Go for it- treat yourself to pure ocean goodness.

I've been a grinch about holidays in general and Valentine's Day in particular.  I signed the first of my divorce papers on Valentine's Day.  Remembering that cold, winter morning still gives my heart a crack but  lately I've been thinking about heart opening exercises beyond yoga poses.  Traveling and walking the beach has given me lots of time to think.  I remember a small town in Oklahoma that had the coolest building- all deserted except for a pizza joint.  It was sad.  One way to be sure this doesn't happen is to shop small and local.  To vote with your dollars.  I decided to go on a shopping spree for a few Valentine/Galentine/Palentine gifts in downtown Apalachicola, Florida.

I've been on a solo travel, escape the snow road trip.  My temporary home is an Airstream trailer- an Air B n B in a local's backyard.   It's a teeny trailer community where I feel  completely safe.   Populated by women and dogs.  The owner and her big dog Zeek as well as two fellow travelers and their not so big dog, Apunne.  I decided a few small treats from downtown Apalachicola would be a sweet treat.  I also had the goal of shopping as plastic free as possible. 

I set a budget for myself, which was between $20 and $30, which is an important holiday consideration.  Its counter productive to work on opening your heart without paying attention to your budget.  It's not going to feel good if you over spend.  My list was a small treat for each women, a treat for 3 dogs, some cards to mail and a good cup of coffee.   I went with cash because small businesses love cash and it also helps me keep to my budget.  Spending twenty or thirty dollars in a downtown isn't going to keep any business in afloat but ten people spending that amount will.  Where you spend your money matters.  It's a simple way to spread some love.

I started with a cup of coffee- so YUM!  One thing I've been missing is my morning coffee routine and my delicious cuppa.  I'm not a fan of coffee machine coffee or store brand beans.  I had my reusable cup, the service was great and I ended up treating myself to a sandwich. 

I wandered into quite a few different stores with an open mind.  I knew there was a dog shop which made biscuits so that was my first stop.  Oysterbones is part of the Dixie Theatre Company as its one way the theatre raises money.  Talk about keeping it in the community and how your dollars go to support a town- this is about as real as it gets.  I bought 3 biscuits packed in a paper bag.  

I decided chocolates were the best gift for the three gals since I really now very little about them.  Just that they are nice and love dogs.  The coffee store is also a chocolate shop.  I went for dark chocolate with tupelo honey, a speciality honey in the area.  I asked for a little packaging as possible but also each chocolate was for a separate person.  the chocolate maker packed each one in a small cardboard box.  Not zero waste but plastic free.

Cards were the hardest thing to buy plastic free.  I went into quite a few stores, many with lovely selections of card pre packaged in plastic.  I get why this happens, part of the appeal of plastic is how it keeps items "clean and fresh" before purchase.  I still love to buy and mail cards.  It's a treat to get something besides junk mail and I wanted to send some love to special pals.  I finally found not local cards but a company that package plastic free and they were very reasonably priced.  I would have preferred to purchase local cards from area artists but the cards from Positively Green were cute, plastic free and reasonably priced- all factors important to consider. 

Voting with your money sends a message about the world and economies you want.  You still have to make decisions to fit your values, budget and beliefs but it's such an important step in supporting small, local and sustainable businesses that supoort communities and our environment.

When I find myself in times of trouble and general anxiety I turn to yoga.   Last winter, was a rough one.  Ice instead of snow, a couple of falls that make me scared to walk outside and cranky.  To help power through I added some extra yoga classes.  Yoga outside my comfort zone.  The teacher, the studio and all the young (and fit) participants intimidated me.  My first thought was "I'm sooo old" followed by "and fat!" 

It was a great class- restorative yoga with some sharing and guided meditation.  The first, lying in the dark winter night we were guided on a trip up and down a mountain, into a garden and across the way was your future self, sitting on a bench.

"What message does your future self have for you"

Well, my future self was a little old lady and she was a bit grumpy.  "Why are you here?" she asked.

That's when I started thinking and planning a solo trip to some place warm.  My gut had been telling me for awhile that the long northern winters were taking a toll on my spirit and energy.  But I was afraid to make a change.  My future self gave me the courage to make a plan.  

Today while it is snow and icy rain in Maine I walked the beach barefoot with my dog.  I have goals and plans for filling my days plus time to read and rest.  It's helping me feel more positive and energized about life.  It's making me proud.

I did some research about simple steps to help us trust our instincts.  It's hard to trust our gut because it's so intangible.  Really difficult for people who like to have control and be in charge.  I can think back to times when I didn't trust my gut- my divorce for one.  Looking back, I realize my gut was trying to help me, to save me or at least give me more options but I refused to listen.  I could not give up control.  In the end, I believe this made my journey to recovery so much harder and painful. 

The Chopra Center has five tips for learning to trust your gut-  

1. Welcome your intuition
2. Cultivate intuition with silence 
3. Record your intuition
4. Share your intuition
5. Take action based on your intuition