old enough to be sensible . . and choose not to be

Clockwise from top left: Fino passport case (faux leather), Ninja book a friend gave to me today, Echostore turmeric tabs (3X a day on ayuverdic advice), US$10 shades I bought from a Soho New York sidewalk vendor, tap water (avoiding bottled water!), generic SM nylon bag with tons of pockets, trusty Nokia N7 that won’t die, Moleskine (United Nations edition-love!), pre-vegan days lizard clutch (for when I don’t need all of these), well worn cam case for my Ricoh R10 (not shown as I was using it to take this pic) and generic silver purse (money, cards, receipts, trash).   

1. No shopping except for food.

2. If you must shop, shop green.

3. Consider making your own toiletries. 

4. For clothing, find alternatives to brand new: your own closet, ukay or asking a friend for old clothes.

5. When things break, try getting it fixed.

6. Don’t buy. Borrow.

7. Don’t use tissue or baby wipes. Bring a hanky, cloth diaper or towel instead.

8. At the ATM, don’t ask for a print-out of your transaction anymore.

9. Don’t print. Scan and email documents instead.

10. Bring a glass jar and cutlery to use instead of disposable plastic.

11. Do not use paper towels in restaurants.

12. Instead of napkins or tampons, use the Divacup or The Keeper. (this one is rather hard to do)

13. Use baking soda for toothpaste. I try to alternate with herbal toothpaste without chemicals. This is hard.

14. Use alternative non-chemical deodorants. 

15. Carry everything in reusable bags. Carry these whenever you shop.

16. No to delivery.

17. Hello potluck.

18. Consider gifts that are not wrapped up. Give the gift of experiences.

19. Use a straight razor instead of plastic, one-use, disposable razors. Using a Mach 3 counts, right?

20. Stop printing.

21. Print double-sided or reuse print outs.

22. Reuse old envelopes. I made new ones by inverting old ones or making some out of old magazine pages.

23. Bike instead of drive.

23. Take public transportation instead of a car.

24. If you must use a car, batch your errands so you can do them while using the car for the day.

25. Car pool or car share.

26. Support a cause: for proper water usage, climate change or making Manila biker-friendly.

27. Buy locally the food grown or produced within 150 miles from you.

28. Eat less meat. I don’t even eat meat at all anymore.

21. Turn off the aircon.

22. Unplug as much as you can.

23. Turn off tap while brushing your teeth.

24. Set a plastic bottle with water inside a toilet’s water tank to reduce water use for every flush.

25. Order only tap water in restaurants.

26.  Volunteer.

27. Contribute  cash to a cause.

28. Have a day where you don’t use electricity, motorized transport or money,

29. Bike instead of drive. Walk instead of ride. 

30. Stop taking elevators or escalators as much as possible.