Uliano - Do it gorgeously : how to make less toxic, less expensive, and more beautiful products

Do It Beautifully

Miraculous Mama

Frugalista

Do It Gorgeously in the Kitchen

DIY Diva

Green Girls Grow!

Thrifty and Nifty

DIY Doggie (Kitty Too)

DIY Mind/Body/Spirit

I am absolutely not your average Do-It-Yourself type of girl. I have to make this disclaimer before we begin, because I suspect that you may be the same way. Ive always secretly wished that I could be one of those really frighteningly capable moms who can turn a group of obnoxious kids into affable angels just by pulling out some old egg cartons and nontoxic paints. I wish I had the time to spend hours in my kitchen making jellies, breads, and cute menu charts for my daughter, Lola. Ive had visions of building, plank by plank, the garden shed that I dream of having in my backyard. In short, I fancy myself as a bit of a homestead typebut substituting the loaf-of-bread shoes with a pair of Manolos.

Having trodden the green path for a few years now, Ive realized that a green way of living has less to do with eco-chic iPhone covers and more to do with plain old common sense. The most important changes I have made in my life are things that my grandmother also did, and she obviously didnt call them green. My grandmother, Belle, was a regular type of girl who, through necessity, had to recycle and reuse just about everything she could. Socks were darned or transformed into baby toys, stale bread was ground into breadcrumbs, and slivers of soap were balled together to make another bar. Of course, back then the reduce part of the dreaded 3R combo (reduce, recycle, reuse) didnt come into the picture, because conspicuous consumption wasnt what it is today.

Many of us are getting a bit fed up with our disposable society. It just doesnt feel that good anymore to be an obsessive shopper. As we become aware of barges of hazardous trash making their way to Brazil, maxed-out landfills, and dwindling natural resources, were starting to think twice before clicking the add to cart button. Do we really want to deal with the packaging and transportation, much less the cost? Can we go without? UghI hear my mother right now: Do you really need it? Much as I fight against itbecause honestly, I want what I want and I want it nowI find myself yearning for something different. Ill always love shopping, but I find an even deeper satisfaction in actually making many of the things that I used to whip out the credit card for.

Over the past couple of years, its astonished me how much I can actually make from scratch, how easy it is, and how much money I can save. Being thrifty is becoming a rather thrilling exercise. Making a beautiful sugar scrub for pennies, instead of buying the exact same item in a department store for the same price as a meal for five, gives me a bit of a high. As with many, my bank balance has seen better days, and environmental concerns aside, it just makes sense to cut corners wherever possible. Each time I nudge myself to get resourcefuldare I say, craftyI realize that Im putting the green back into my wallet as well as my life.

Making things from scratch is pretty much second nature to me. I think it has a lot to do with my mom, who has an amazing work ethic. If I ever needed anything, shed roll up her sleeves and have a go at making it first. Shes taught me how to cook from scratch and how to garden, and those two passions led me to learn how to make skincare products. I spent years in my 20s studying homeopathy, aromatherapy, and botanyalways yearning for a completely natural solution for most any health or beauty problem. Making from scratch what I eat and put on my skin is tremendously empowering. I dont have to interpret complicated ingredients lists and marketing claims, and I get to keep a bunch of packaging out of the landfill.

When it comes to full-on DIY, I must confess, I rather enjoyed playing the ditzy blonde when it came to matters that hitherto seemed beyond my skill level. I depended on the hope that someone would eventually come to the rescue and fix that leaking pipe, jammed window, or crumbling grout. I relied on the kindness of strangers to make sure my car tires were pumped to the correct pressure. Hardware stores were fun if they had cute garden furniture or beautiful plants, but the nuts and bolts aisles left me cold. Dont get me wrong, Ive made all kinds of half-hearted attempts at making and fixing thingsclothes for my daughters American Girl doll to avoid the sweatshop thing, and a ballet skirt because I erroneously thought it would take two minutes to whip up. Both had disastrous results, especially the formermy attempt at a sequined ball gown for the grinning doll had to be swiftly transformed into a fraying bandana (when in doubt, bandanas are the way to go). However, my efforts to live a more earth-friendly life have forced me to be more self-reliant. Ive realized that its no longer cool to be clueless. Its time to step up to the plate and learn the skills that my grandparents had to learn. If I get it wrong the first time, it doesnt mean I need to ditch the entire project and call myself useless. Self-deprecation is fun, but it can also be a cop-out. Its far more satisfying to pick myself up, brush myself off, and make a second and a third attempt. Ive always believed that success is in the trying.

Deep down we all are infinitely resourcefulour latent skills are waiting to be honed. You can do anything you put your mind to. Perhaps its time to experiment and to discover what you may be really good at. If youve found yourself commenting over the past few years that you are either terrible at baking or cant sew to save your life, the time has come to remove that scratched record from the turntable and replace it with a snazzy mental application that will have you believing anything is possible.

What about the cool factor? In your community, is it considered cool or creepy to make a lot of your own stuff? Where I live, the tide is slowly turning. Up until a few years ago, whenever I thought of sewing, I couldnt shake this image of a family that sat in the front pew of the church I went to when I was growing up. The mom was obviously glued to her sewing machine 24/7 and spent every moment of her existence whipping up the most dreadful matching creations for herself and her two daughters. The three of them would arrive looking like pink, fluffy cupcakesthe henpecked husband trailing behind. Recently, however, hip and trendy sewing classes are cropping up all over town. A secondhand Singer sewing machine from eBay is a badge of honorespecially when you can rewind the bobbin while carrying on a juicy conversation with a girlfriend.

Women are hardwired to multitask, but sadly, much of this god-given talent goes into juggling e-mails, IMs, texts, tweets, and phone calls. Do you ever feel burned out at the end of the day just from sitting at your computer? Do you find yourself comparing prices at the grocery store while listening to your girlfriend whine about her husband on your earpiece? Do you sometimes crave silence, and yet youre too afraid to turn the whole blinking, beeping, ringing mess off? If your answers are affirmative, it might be time to wean yourself off the tech addiction.

The problem is that one addiction needs to be replaced with another. I cant turn everything off and then expect to slide into a dreamy, serene state. My mind is still working overtime and I need to be doing. To my joy, I have found that sitting down to sew a few buttons on my daughters shirt or putting aside an afternoon to bake has undreamed-of rewards. I not only get to focus on a single thingwhich is basically meditationbut my breathing becomes deeper, my shoulders ease away from my ears, and I get the intense satisfaction of having gotten something done, when the afternoon might well have been spent dithering around on Facebook or deleting acres of spam e-mails.