Starting a blog is as much about sharing YOU as it is about sharing what you love. For someone so protective of their “self” this is a journey that I find at times straining and at others liberating. There is often this confusion around sharing what you feel you should be rather than who you really ARE. Truth is a powerful thing, but recognising your own truth and being able to communicate it to a potentially critical audience is something I sometimes struggle with.
Cleaning is what actually sparked all this philosophical thinking about who I am, and what I share. I hate cleaning, but I treasure my surroundings being clean, and clear. It gives me peace of mind. When I moved into my own space a few weeks ago, Julian and I spent a lot of time painting, scrubbing, and cleaning. A week after we moved in the tiles under the bed exploded and the whole place had to be retiled. DUST SHEETS people!! Never retile without them. We did, and so we found ourselves sweeping and mopping and dusting, all over again.
So - and I am getting to the point - all this cleaning, and all my hatred for cleaning, meant that I reached for the toughest, baddest looking cleaners on the supermarket shelf. And after the couple of weeks of bleach and disinfectant and drain unblocker, and limescale remover I stopped and realised I wasn’t being true to myself. Pushing these hardcore chemicals down the drain just didn’t sit right with me, it doesn’t reflect my value system or what I want to share through the Conscience Collective. It was madness brought on by my need for my new space to be perfect immediately, but part of that is being perfectly me within that space.
Last Sunday saw our first collaborative effort with Stephanie Rydle for Creative25*. We shot the initial images for our Eco Friendly Sh*t from Your Cupboard series, a series of posts about how to clean your home, and your body, without harsh chemicals using sh*t you gots lying around. Ok so you may have to go shopping, and maybe we should have called it Eco Friendly Sh*t from the Grocery, but it’s all simple stuff that’s kinda fun to make and feels really good to use.
First experiment, environmentally friendly bleach made with only three ingredients; fresh lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide (6%) and filtered water. I’m not one for measurement, so pour the hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice into a spray bottle, add water and use! It works best on stains and when whites start turning grey if you spray it directly onto the affected area and leave for 24 hours before washing. I’ve tried adding the mixture to my wash and it wasn’t as effective. Whilst regular household bleach is great for killing everything it touches as well as stripping colour, it is terrible for us and the environment. Hydrogen peroxide actually breaks down into water and oxygen and is therefore a much less harmful alternative. It is also antibacterial and definitely strips colour from fabric so be careful when using it! Ideally you should make this mixture as you need it because hydrogen peroxide starts to break down when mixed or not stored correctly and will become ineffective.
Styling, Photography & Graphic Design by Stephanie Rydle for Creative25. *Stephanie has the most beautiful aesthetic and the keenest eye for detail and perfection, we are so excited to begin this journey of revealing truth and thoughtful living together.
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