As a long time fan of brushing my teeth, I was hesitant to adopt this popular zero waste lifestyle change. I love making things and I love trying new things, but most natural toothpaste recipes I researched called for simple yet not super appetizing ingredients. Baking soda? Bentonite clay? The skepticism was high even though most recipes called for a sweetening or flavour agent like essential oil or stevia. But then I looked closer at the ingredients in typical tooth paste and did a 'lil internet research. This is what I found: Triclosan : So this chemical is actually classified as a bioaccumulative, non-biodegradable pesticide! It is bad for the environment and our waster systems as it is very toxic to aquatic organisms. But it also isn't great for you, as it is linked to hormone interference and contributes to antibiotic resistant bacteria. Propylene Glycol : This chemical is often contaminated with known carcinogenic ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane during the manu...

In lieu of Jon’s recent blog on turning  wooden pallets into furniture , I decided to write my own blog on sustainable student living. Mostly because I have found myself since I started university to be very anti-Ikea. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure the Swedes have a lot of unique, mass produced, and cheap furniture to adorn your apartment with (you may sense some sarcasm and contradictions, I apologize Ikea lovers) but maybe I am just too crafty or cheap to commit to buying things. Thus, I have upcycled many a thing since I’ve moved to Ottawa. My tips : Find friends that are moving, or strangers, around the end of the month and pester them for shit they don’t feel like carrying to a new place, or scour the streets on the night before garbage day .This is how I have acquired the majority of my stuff; whether coming across it randomly when walking home or through friends that had no interest in packing it away and transporting it. Once you have found some stuff, customi...

I recently moved into a new condo, a very easy decision for me to make as an environmentalist. Condos use less resources per capita than houses do and my condo is seeking a LEED Silver certification. There was only one sticking point... I wanted access to a backyard, which is tough for a condo. But I was lucky and bought a place with a big enough balcony that there are planters. So there I am, got my condo, got my sort of backyard, all I needed was some patio furniture. Here is where things get complicated, basically because of my brother. His advice was simple "What are you stupid? Don't buy your furniture now... wait until the end of the season and get a high quality patio set for a quarter of the price." And since I am broke now, this kind of made sense to me. But what do I do for the rest of the summer, sit on milk crates? Luckily Brigitte came to my rescue and shared a couple of sites with me about pallet furniture. This site is a pretty good representation o...