Do we use too many products?

http://almostbohemian.com/shampoo/#comment-1071

I have just read this blog by David on going shampooless (link above).

It gave me a great deal to think about.  I tend not to wash my hair too much because it goes very unmanageable but this week I read two magazine articles about grey/white hair (which I have) saying that you need to shampoo and condition every day to keep it clean as it shows the dirt more than coloured hair. Like a sheep that is what I started doing until I read David's blog today.  It made me suddenly realise how susceptible we are to stuff that we read in newspapers etc. without even doing any research.
Straight away I started to use MORE products than I usually do just BECAUSE of these two articles! 
I am on a reduced budget yet I was still taken in by this nonsense.

What about all the room fragrances we use because we are persuaded that our houses smell?  Have you seen the ad on TV about people giving someone's toilet marks out of ten for freshness?  (My mother-in-law always lit a match!) What is this obsession with unnatural smells?  And yet it is so invasive that it took a blog by a bloke to suddenly make me see sense.

I had already started using less cleaning products - micro-cloths for instance that need no cleanser.  I use Ecover toilet cleaner and Ecover washing-up liquid but I also use this for washing the floor, a damp micro-cloth for dusting and wiping windows and a steamer for my carpets ( I have a dog that is a bit incontinent).

Now I am going to address my personal hygiene.  I am going to wash my hair with hot water, use less deodorant until I think I might be able to go without (we'll see!),  use much less make-up and use up the little perfume I have left and then buy no more (can't afford it anyway).

Just think of how clear the bathroom and dressing table are going to look without all those unnecessary bottles.  I will keep you posted on how I am managing and if my hair looks nicer.

I don't know where the time goes!

I always wanted to write this journal everyday, not that it is very interesting for others but so that I could look back and see what I have been up to.  I am not very good at keeping a paper diary, I do find this one easier to do but today I realised that I haven't been on it for a while and I am not really sure what I have been doing!
I am still doing one day a week volunteering at a local graveyard which is very interesting as we are surveying not only the graves but the flora and fauna - the whole project will take years to complete.
I am still clutter-clearing my house which is a never-ending job but I do manage to chuck one thing per day.  Today it was a steamer that I never use and yesterday a skirt I never wear.
The garden has been neglected because it has been raining and very windy.  I hope we get a summer this year but at the moment looks pretty unlikely.  It is quite sunny today but a bit chilly so I may go into the garden this afternoon.
I have made two loaves of bread this morning and am in the middle of clearing out my basement so I haven't been idle.
Finally got over my tonsillitis and am making sure I look after my throat better.
Yesterday I did a bit of computer work for a friend and that took all afternoon and I would like to source more of that sort of work.  I don't want a fulltime job anymore but just want to earn a bit of money to keep things ticking over nicely.  Being frugal is good but just sometimes I want to splash out on something without having to think about where the money is coming from. (But after the household bills are paid I am managing on £50 a week which is for food and sundries [for two of us that is] so I think I am doing pretty well).
Today is the first of June - halfway through the year already and as the heading says "I don't know where the time goes!"

Tonsilitis

I have been dying upwards for nearly two weeks now with a horrible septic throat.  Every time it seems to get better that same evening something worse happens.  I even went to the doctors to get antibiotics (which I do not like taking) and she said that because the swelling was going down I didn't need them!
I have had to cancel my weekly volunteering as it is quite strenuous, physical work so am fed up with not being able to do much. 
Can't even garden as the weather has taken a turn for the worse.

Hopefully, will be fully recovered by next week.  I have bought a DVD though about Qi Gong,after reading Myle's web-site and as soon as I am able I will start practising.  I used to do Tai Chi years ago but having moved to a much smaller house there just isn't enough room and gradually over the years I have forgotten how to do it so Qi Gong will be  a good substitute as lots of the exercises I am used to doing already.

I need a recipe for a good tonic, have been mixing frozen blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants with honey, garlic, juice and milk and have found it very refreshing.  I am constantly getting ear, throat and nose ailments and am determined to detoxify my body (if it's not too late!)

The garden in the spring.

After quite a long, dry season it has been raining all week, quite heavily.  It is wonderful to go into the garden in the morning and see all the plants sprouting up by leaps and bounds and the seedlings appear.  Spring is the most magical season in the year and I am very lucky to live in a climate that has enough rain and enough sun.
My garden is in complete contrast to my house which is minimalist.  The garden can contain all the colours you want and all the drifts of flowers overflowing pathways which would be so annoying inside.  I have things dangling from trees making noises, and crystals and shells in amongst the rockery.
I also place pots and ornaments that I no longer want cluttering up the house, in the garden.
At the very bottom of my garden I have a new arbour built by a friend's husband with (hopefully later in the year) roses either side and opposite, where  I can see it when I am sitting in the arbour, I have placed a wooden sculpture of a meditating man.
It is such a calm and relaxing place to sit and ponder even with the many different plants and flowers and the noises from the busy road below.  (My house is set up quite high).
A garden definitely is an oasis: on weekends my neighbours mow their lawns, power-wash their patios, use drills and other noisy tools, have barbecues, talk loudly on their mobiles but it is as though I am in a bubble and nothing can touch me.
We all have differing uses for our gardens but we are so lucky to have them as many new-built houses have the merest little yard as though in these busy times a garden plot is of no importance.

Put your feet up and relax!

It's a lovely day but my throat is sore and my glands are swollen so I feel a bit iffy. I  have lots to do in the garden but have a busy day tomorrow and wonder if I should just rest and get better.  The trouble is I feel a lot of guilt because I am not working if I don't have something to show for the day.  I know it is  good to do nothing but it is also a very difficult thing. 

We have been brought up with the 'work ethic' and 'the devil makes work for idle hands' etc.  I don't even really feel well enough to write this blog but haven't done it for a couple of days so feel guilty about that!
And I only have one follower (thanks Birdie) so who on earth will know?

I must be going mad, after all, this is like talking to yourself.  Oh well, I am going to make a cappucino and put my feet up (then I will make myself a birthday cake to celebrate tomorrow).

Multiple belongings?

Why do we need to have more than one or two items of the same sort? Yes, it is a good idea to have a spare - for instance I ALWAYS keep a spare iron because if the one being used breaks down and you are on the way to a job interview it becomes necessary.  I know some people would say that I haven't enough faith in the Universe to provide but perhaps the Universe expects me to use a little common-sense?
However multiple pens, (as Birdie said), pencils, other stationery items, spoons, underwear, coats, shoes etc. etc. are the sort of things that you might have found in my house before I clutter-cleared it.
I do have  a lot of bowls and side plates but I am very clumsy and a bit afraid to throw them away however when I get down to two of each (two people in my house) then I will be content just to buy another when breakages occur.

(I have just counted my bowls and I am ashamed to say I have sixteen! But they are all nice so which ones shall I get rid of?  I think I am a bit of a hypocrite!)  Ok, I need help.

Blind Spots

I have been clutter-clearing for years now but it is surprising what your eyes don't see.  For instance - I no longer buy Christmas decorations and gave my tree and ornaments away years ago (I don't see the point of storing lots of stuff that only gets used once a year for a couple of weeks.) Instead, every year I buy dried twigs and seed pods that have been sprayed silver or gold.  As they are not especially Christmassy I leave them in their vases all year round. This is just one of my blind-spots as looking for something to clear out last week I suddenly realised that I had three tall vases of dead stuff that I never looked at and didn't especially like!  So into the dustbin went all the grotty, dusty stuff (no-one seemed to want my old, dead flowers!)  My mantelpieces look so much nicer free of clutter.
When you have cleared a lot of stuff away what is left is either essentials or complete rubbish which you haven't yet identified as such and that needs a long hard look at and perhaps a bit of lateral thinking.
I am now looking around for my next blind-spot (I hope it doesn't turn out to be the dog or cats!!)