Can you cut 1 Tonne of carbon pollution out of your life?
Take the challengeWorking at 1 Million Women has had a profound effect on my lifestyle. I'd always thought of myself as "relatively green"; I recycled, loved being outdoors, and carried a reusable water bottle with me everywhere I went. But when I look at myself a year ago I was talking the talk a lot more than I walked the walk.
We're continually having conversations in the office about how we can reduce the waste, and ultimately, the carbon emissions that are released as a byproduct of our daily actions.
So as a result, a few months ago I ditched commercially made deodorant and started making my own. I was skeptical at first, but now I'm a total convert and even have my partner using it. I've also started making my own toothpaste - I'll be honest here - the taste and texture have been a challenge for me, but I'm choosing to persevere.
My latest DIY is natural antibiotic mouthwash. I'm forever getting ulcers so I often use mouthwash but it's expensive and comes packaged in plastic. I know that some people also have concerns about the connection between the prolonged use of alcohol in mouthwash and oral cancer, I haven't looked into this though so I can't comment. It's purely a cash and waste concern on my end!
Ingredients:
- A container or jar to store it in
- 1/2 a cup of filtered or distilled water
- 2 tsp of bicarb soda
- 2 drops of tea tree essential oil
- 2 drops of peppermint essential oil
A note on bicarb soda. I love it and have found that it can be used for almost anything, it's also the main ingredient in my toothpaste and deodorant recipe.
Method:
Mix all ingredients together in your jar and give it a good shake up! It's good to go, just swish around your mouth as you would any other mouth wash.
Both the peppermint and tea tree oils have antibacterial properties; while the peppermint works to keep you feeling cool and fresh! The baking soda will help break down the build up of acid from leftover food which can cause bad breath.
I usually just make a cup or so at the beginning of the week and use as desired.
All Images: Shutterstock
Read this next: Meet Lauren Singer and her zero-waste lifestyle
1 Million Women is more than our name, it's our goal! We're building a movement of strong, inspirational women acting on climate change by leading low-carbon lives. To make sure that our message has an impact, we need more women adding their voice. We need to be louder. Joining us online means your voice and actions can be counted. We need you.
