DIY: Cloth Bento Bag

DIY: Cloth Bento Bag

Jul 12, 2018 | Create, Sustainable Living

Please welcome the newest addition to my zero waste kit – this 100% cotton cloth bento bag!

I love the florals, the elephants, the colors and the paisley pattern. And it’s so so soft. I’ve been loving my lime green cloth bento bag that I made several months ago as a draft but the seams are messy. I’ll continue to use it as a backup bento bag and for grocery shopping. This new bento bag is extra special to me because the fabric is from an upcycled circle skirt that I bought from a market in India back in 2012. I’ve always loved the soft cotton material and the earthy tones so I kept it over the years even though I almost never wore it.

Cloth bento bags are useful for carrying leftovers in containers, produce from grocery stores (instead of plastic), and I’ve even used it for pizza takeaway (the only time I ever had to wash it). They’re also great as reusable gift wrappers.

STEP 1

Measure 10 inches x 30 inches of fabric and cut with some space for seam allowance. Width to height

STEP 2

From bottom left corner of your rectangle, fold  up so it’s aligned with the top of the fabric, making a triangle.

STEP 3

From top right corner of rectangle, fold down so it’s aligned with the bottom of fabric, making another triangle.

STEP 4

Now from bottom right edge, fold up diagonally so that your folded fabric looks like the photo above.

Finally

Sew up where the edges meet on the front and back so you have this open box shape. Swipe right to see the finished project above.

And voila – you’re done!

To use, simply put your tupperware/ produce/ gift inside and tie a knot. It may not look like much but the knot will hold and you can easily carry it around in your lunch bag or tote.

Thanks to everyone who wrote me about my sustainable living posts!

For more posts like this, click here!

#PlasticFreeJuly – Week 1 Updates & Lessons Learned

#PlasticFreeJuly – Week 1 Updates & Lessons Learned

Jul 9, 2018 | Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

Daily Notes and Efforts

 

1/Sunday

I was so stoked to be part of #PlasticFreeJuly, and started strong! I brought my own cutlery to church (we usually have a big potluck lunch with everyone after church) and after I commented on the paper bowls, my dad said they would only use paper plates/bowls from now on! After church, I got real crafty! Courtney and I got starfruit from a tree outside, made some pretty drinks using our metal straws and put on some tunes, then I made a new batch of natural deodorant and filled a reused mini sunscreen stick (looks like an old glue stick) for my upcoming trip and gave her a reused mini deodorant container for her to try out. Then we got help from our neighbor to make coconut bowls with fallen coconuts in the yard.

2/Monday

Not today, plastic! However it was pointed out to me that l was munching on edamame packaged in plastic, but in my defense, it was already in my pantry from a previous grocery run. Note to self: look for a plastic free alternative in the future!
 

 

3/Tuesday

I made vegan curry and quinoa for Courtney’s birthday (though 100% credit goes to her for hand-squeezing her own coconut cream from Sunday’s coconuts!) and again, the eggplants and quinoa were packaged in plastic. I got these before I decided to try #PlasticFreeJuly. Also, I’ve made peace with the fact that I can’t always go 100% plastic free. What I can do is try my best to make sustainable choices.

 

4/Wednesday

Happy 4th of July! The struggle is real. I worked all afternoon and evening at the Fireworks event and avoided plastic and styrofoam takeaways until the end of the night when I took home a Samoan-style food platter (made of plastic) and drank out of a plastic cup which was handed to me for a toast to my coworker’s birthday.

5/Thursday

Sometimes you try, and sometimes you fail. At a work lunch, I ordered a drink and remembered to ask “no straw please”. A few minutes later, my drink is delivered… with a plastic straw. I took it out of my drink and then realized it was already used and it would go into the trash anyway at this point, so I put it back in my drink and used it. I also went to Turtle & Shark gift lodge and purchased mostly plastic free gifts for friends. It wasn’t until after I paid and I was going through my purchases that I realized a pair of lopā seed earrings were cased in clear plastic and my usual favorite travel-sized Mailelani coconut oil was packaged in a plastic bottle. At first I bummed myself out that I didn’t even realize they came in plastic. But I thought about it, and I’m actually okay with these because I’m supporting local business and handicrafts, plus I can reuse/recycle the plastic bottle!

 6/Friday

I mentioned before that zero waste travel was hard for me. I was on the Hawaiian Air flight and the free meal service came around. I thought about refusing the meal since there was a lot of plastic, but I was so hungry and I have no idea if they’re just going to throw out the food anyways, so I got it. BUT I made sure to use my own utensils, opted for the aluminum juice can instead of a plastic cup, and neatly organized my tray so it was obvious that the cutlery and water were still good to use.

7/Saturday

I love the idea of farmer’s markets but unfortunately barely ever get to go to any, so when my friend Kristine said she was going to one near her house, I jumped at the opportunity. They’ve got such a good vibe to them! I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and it was almost noon so I searched for a sustainable option and set my sights on a “fawaffel” spot with compostable takeaway containers. It was delicious, plant based, and guilt free! I caught my connecting flight to Phoenix and the free meal service came around. Ahhh, I forgot again! It was a 6 hour flight so I cut my losses and devoured my sandwich and sweet Maui onion chips. And the free rum punch. Oops.

LESSON LEARNED

 

Don’t be too hard on yourself.

I felt inspired on my own accord by the #PlasticFreeJuly movement and I used that feeling to motivate and propel my decisions to go plastic free as much as I could throughout my first week. I failed a few times already in the last 7 days, but I won’t let that prevent me from continuing to try. I still take every option and choice as a win as long as I’m learning and making conscious decisions.

 

Life Lately: A busy bee still stings

Life Lately: A busy bee still stings

Jul 6, 2018 | Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

Oh man it’s been a hectic past few weeks! Ever since I got back from my trip in May, all of June has blurred by with non-stop general busy-ness and a crazy lead up to my next trip. Which by the way I’m leaving for tomorrow!! Here are a few updates of my life lately…

Haaaave you met Courtney?

Courtney is a Hollings Scholar and summer intern for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. Ian and I are hosting her for the summer, so we’re doing our best to show her a good time. She’s so young (she just turned 21 two days ago and we woke her up on her birthday with mimosas!) but she’s also basically an old fart like me and Ian so we think she’s the bee’s knees!

#PlasticFreeJuly Challenge Accepted

I learned about this green movement online and never thought I’d try it out. From the start I just thought I would make more conscious choices, but these days I feel like I’m so much more involved and I’m trying to improve my lifestyle by going full fledge sustainable. So when #PlasticFreeJuly came around, I was looking forward to 31 days of saying no to single-use plastic, opting for naturally sourced products, and learning more about how waste affects the environment. I’m also really enjoying being crafty during this challenge… so far I’ve made another batch of deodorant (in a cute little travel size container), cloth napkins, a bento bag, and a coconut bowl! Earlier this week I shared how I prepared for #PlasticFreeJuly, and soon I’ll be doing a round up of lessons learned in my 1st week of this challenge!

Adventures Here and There

It’s trade winds season in American Samoa right now, so my little beach bum has had to chill out topside… usually curled up with a good book in the hammock set up in the treehouse. Other little adventures when weather permitted were hiking up to Mt. Alava with Yodi, kayaking the mangroves with Courtney, SUPing over to Pua Trees to watch Ian surf, a hot buti yoga balcony session, back of the truck cruising around the island, and probably some others that I’m forgetting right now. But the whole point of even mentioning these is that while I’ve been very busy, I’ve also filled my life with a lot of the good stuff too. It’s this stuff of life that makes me happiest.

Work and The Works

In case I didn’t mention this elsewhere in previous blog posts, there was a fire at work a few weeks ago. Fortunately it wasn’t too serious and everyone was safe, but it was just bad enough that we had to evacuate and temporarily relocate our workspace to our technical center, which is already a tight fit. That set my work back by just a bit, but things quickly ramped up again and I found myself working late at least a couple of days out of the week to meet quick deadlines. Plus, we just co-sponsored a big fireworks event in celebration of 4th of July yesterday (an overall success), and I feel like I haven’t slept properly in days. Ugh look at me now, typing up this blog post in bed at 2am. AND I HAVE TO BE AT THE AIRPORT AT 6AM. My priorities are wack.

Travel plans

I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t really made any solid travel plans other than to spend time with family–the main purpose of my trip. I’m so excited to see my nephew and niece again soon, be in the same place as my siblings, and have my parents and us all under one roof again, even if it’s just for a few days. After chaotically packing last minute and making it to the early check in, I’m finally feeling like vacation is here… I’ll probably let out a sigh of relief once I get on the plane.

Till then, I’ll be backing up my laptop and phone, and will try to go to sleep and wake up ON TIME for my flight!

Good night from American Samoa!
xoxo

 

Preparing for #PlasticFreeJuly

Preparing for #PlasticFreeJuly

Jun 28, 2018 | Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

One of my goals for 2018…

was to lessen my waste and strive for a zero waste lifestyle. I’ve made small habit changes over the months that help reduce my footprint but now it’s almost July and I’ve accepted the challenge to action this goal every day for 31 days!

If you haven’t heard about #PlasticFreeJuly,

it’s a social movement (which started in Oz I believe) I found online that encourages people all over the world to try to go plastic free for a whole month. You can sign up to accept the challenge here! What this means is that I’ll be reducing and refusing single-use disposable products such as plastic bags, plastic cutlery, plastic and styrofoam plates, plastic water bottles, etc.

I’ve been doing a pretty okay job at this so far, but there are definitely times when I forget to say no straw please, or forget my grocery totes at home, or drink out of plastic water bottles when I should have just refilled my own Nalgene. So for the next 31 days, I hope to make a low waste/ high quality impact!

But as always,

it’s a work in progress and I’m excited to try my best to go plastic free all month.

The biggest challenge…

I’m anticipating is that I’ll be traveling for most of July, and as I’ve learned in other recent travels–avoiding single use disposable products can be difficult because they’re just so readily available and sometimes seem to be the only option. I’m looking at you plastic wrapped airline food!

In preparation for #PlasticFreeJuly,

here’s a list of changes I’ve made in my life since late last year when I became more acutely aware of my environment and learned about zero waste living:

 

/ I leave all my tote bags by the door so I don’t forget it when I go grocery shopping

/ I’ve switched to bamboo and metal straws and always politely ask for “No straw please” when I’m ordering a bevvy

/ Made my own zero waste kit (carrying my own cutlery). You can check out my

/ Zero Waste Kit for Beginners here! BYO-tupperware whenever we out, because I almost always get takeaway

/ Sewed a cloth bento bag from scrap fabric to carry my said tupperware

/ Also sewed a black cloth trash bag liner so I no longer use plastic trash bags. *This always confused me because I felt like I was making more trash by throwing my trash in plastic trash.

/ I say no to any and all styrofoam

/ Made my own natural deodorant (you can find how I made it here)

/ Switched to homemade cloth napkins using scrap material

 

 

Ok ok ok… is it weird that I’m kind of nervous to start this challenge? Well, I’m excited mostly! But also slightly nervous. Ah!

To keep myself accountable,

I’ll be posting on my instagram stories every day in July and will post weekly updates here on my blog! I hope you follow along in July and I also encourage you to accept the challenge and try #PlasticFreeJuly!

 

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can live more sustainably, check out my post: 20 WAYS TO LIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY

Look What I Made: Zero Waste Bifold Card Wallet

Look What I Made: Zero Waste Bifold Card Wallet

Apr 12, 2018 | Create, Sustainable Living

So it’s currently midnight and I’d normally be in bed already buuuut I felt the urge to craft and make myself a new card wallet!

As you may know, I’m doing a bit of traveling to a few different countries starting next month and I was thinking about how to keep my things as minimal as possible since I’ve only got one carry on bag(!!!! One carry on bag is all Ian’s idea!!). I used to have this envelope shaped card wallet that a friend brought back from Fiji, and I loved it. I used it for about 2 years before the woven button fringed up and came undone.

I have a bunch of other wallets and wristlets—my most recent was the Lalelei fabric wristlet—but they’re all on the larger types of wallets. I’ve also been trying to downsize what I carry around in my bag daily and so wanted to go back to a card wallet.

ENTER: my past-bedtime-10pm-DIY-sewing-adventure card wallet! I love it so much already. I’m swooning over the bright yellow linen-y fabric (which I hand dyed naturally with turmeric). The sturdiness of the canvas fabric. The way my cards fit so perfectly. And mostly because I wasn’t expecting to like it. But I do. I like it a lot!

It’s a super simple design. I could have added more pockets but didn’t want it to get bulky since I’m using canvas, and besides, I can fit probably at least 14 cards in there. Hmm, I should do a test to see how many it can hold.

Anyhow, I just thought I’d share this highlight bit from my day. What do you think of this fabric card wallet? Should I post a tutorial on how I made it?

Leave a comment below and let me know!
Have a wonderful tomorrow

xoxo
Nerelle

CREATE: DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

CREATE: DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

Apr 2, 2018 | Create, Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

My mom always told me, simplicity is beauty. And after all these years, I’m applying that nugget of wisdom to my armpits… you heard right!

Did I ever tell you that I went a whole month *without* deodorant?

Yeah, probably not what my mom meant.

The story goes, that back in December 2017 I ran out of Old Spice Wolfthorn deodorant (which I am unashamed to say I used and shared with my boyfriend lol). And I already had planned that when it ran out, I would switch to a natural product.

At this point I was already taking baby steps to a more sustainable lifestyle, so in the process, I did a full on natural detox.

No deodorant for a month.

I was constantly nervous about my B.O. and the stress sweat struggle is real you guys. I started using lime slices to deodorize naturally (this works wonders!). So if you ever decide to switch to a natural deodorant, the first step is to expel all those harmful chemicals you’ve been soaking in through your pits for a month.

During my detox, I tried looking for natural deodorants to purchase and got a couple of recommendations from friends on different brands to try. But after reading some reviews about baking soda rashes and a double take on the price range of organic options, I turned to a more DIY approach.

DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

– Natural Shea Butter

– Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

– Bees Wax Pellets

– Essential Oils (for fragrance)

– Arrowroot Powder

– Baking Soda

– Glass OR ceramic mixing bowls (or Double Broiler)

– Measuring cups

–  Clean old deodorant container

TO MAKE:

Fill 1 bowl with boiled water and place another bowl on top, to use as a double broiler (If you have a double broiler, you can just use that! Or you can use a glass or ceramic bowl that fits over a small pot. This was my makeshift double broiler).

Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of shea butter – stir and melt.
Add 4 tablespoons of beeswax – stir and melt. I live in a warm tropical climate so if you live in a cooler climate, you can use less beeswax.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda – stir and melt. Baking soda may be an irritant to some people so if you have sensitive skin like I do, only use a teaspoon or less. I would have left it out altogether but baking soda helps act as the deodorizing agent.

Add 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder. This creates a more solid consistency.

Add 10-15 drops of your preferred essential oils for fragrance. I used tea tree oil and lavender oil.
Stir it all up until it’s completely smooth, and you’re almost there! Remove from your double broiler set up and pour into an old deodorant container while still hot. I cleaned out and emptied my Old Spice container to reuse.
And that’s it! Set your brand new natural organic deodorant to cool at room temperature. You can also put it in the freezer for a couple of minutes to speed up the process. You’ll know it’s done when it’s firm.
To customize, try different essential oils to change up the fragrance, and add your own label to make it look legit. I added a sticker from an old surf movie we had laying around.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My own personal and biased review? I love it!

My boyfriend also loves it ~ yes, we still share deodorant lol.

But really though, it works great!

The Pros: it’s made with completely natural organic products. It smells amazing. It doesn’t stain clothes, and it keeps me smelling fresh for the day.

The Cons: the consistency is a little stickier than I had hoped, but a simple solution is to just dab it on and rub it in. A little goes a long way.

An Alternative: I actually really liked using lemon slices on my armpits. I still use it every other day when we have lemons or limes.

The key takeaway here is that switching to a natural deodorant is a brilliant idea and it’s super simple to do yourself and it’s great for your health and the environment!

Thanks for reading!