Manners for the Earth

Lick your plate clean. Food (life) that nourishes you is sacred, honor it by taking the “Clean Plate Club” to the next step. Clean-up then uses less water and stresses septic or sewage systems less.

Don’t pee and poo in drinking water. Compost poop. Pee on plants.

Leave your garden “messy” in the fall, for the insects and birds through the winter.

Eat weeds.

Love spiders. Leave them be. They prey on the bugs that prey on you.

Play in the woods/mud

Bathe in water, only, only when needed. You are cared for by the ecosystem on your skin. (a little essential lavender oil in a bath is nice.)

Wash your hands with non-toxic, natural soap.
Don’t use anti-biotic type soaps. You are biotic.

Please, please do not plug in, burn, or spray something that will fill your room with a poison artificial fragrance. Febreeze, scented candles and incense, glade, perfumes.. They are usually toxic and you are affecting your ability to detect real scents well.

Consider downsizing your products and stuff you may not need: Shampoo, deodorant, bras, lotions, make-up, sunscreen (use hats and long sleeve cotton), dryer sheets (super toxic!), bug spray, tampons and pads (try a sea sponge and/or cut up towel pads), hairspray, shaving, perfumes …many products are toxic and insufficiently regulated

Buy things used rather than new. Often better quality and keeps things from ending up at the dump.

Give gifts of things you already have. That way it will have your memories and energies that something new would not. Also keeps stuff flowing.

Dilute. Dilute. Just as Dr. Bronner said. Water is the best beverage. Flavor it with a little lemon, juice, milk, soda etc. Tea, herbal teas are great!

Toilet paper used for pee can go into the compost instead of the sewer system.
Better yet use cloth pieces that can be washed. Wash cloths..

Go barefoot. Feel your connection with the earth. Build up foot callouses, don’t wear out shoes. Bare feet are at least as clean as the bottom of shoes, and those are allowed in restaurants.

Don’t kill insects. Most of them are beneficial help us more than hurt and they are having a hard time. Live and let live. Share habitat with kin.

Eat when you get hungry. You don’t have to gorge at meals.

Eat less meat.

Learn to swim. You will be safe in any depth water.

Leave leaves in your garden. It makes good mulch and habitat. Bare dirt is not natural.

Mulch with weeds.

Try living without a refrigerator. Many foods will last in a cooler place longer than you think.
Be able to discern when food is spoiled or unhealthy. Smell, taste and look at all your food. You can eat fermented foods but not spoiled foods. Rancidity is a spectrum, you can decide what’s too much for you. You need fresher foods if you are not well. Things that can go for awhile without refrigeration are eggs, cheese, yogurt, mayonnaise (I know, right? In Mexico they store it on the shelf…”con limon”)

Heat only the rooms you use in winter. Have a cozy warm well insulated room to spend most of your indoor awake time. Sleep in a cool room with lots of blankets.

Live near family that you want to visit.

Don’t fly in planes. Vacation locally.

Use trains, busses, sailboats, and bicycles for transport.

Talk to strangers.

Wear flat shoes. It is better for your back. Don’t use running shoes with the heal higher than the front.

Compost.

Share big things: cars, washing machines, tools

Single car occupancy only in emergencies. Carpool. Bring back hitchhiking.

Use toothpicks. They have natural cleansing help. Wood cutting boards are cleaner than plastic ones.

Strive for balanced ecosystems on and in your body, not sterility.

Avoid sunscreen, most are toxic. Wear big hats and long sleeved cotton.

Use essential oils instead of toxic bug sprays.

You can only see the stars, if you look up.

Be aware of white noises. They can cause hearing damage over time.

Cook and eat the pumpkin seeds.

Don’t peel organic veggies, that’s where the nutrients are: potatoes, carrots, beets, tomatoes, apples for applesauce..

Don’t pick up people at the airport. There is public transit for that. Show your love by not burning more fossil fuel.

Travel with your own sleeping bag and sheet.

Carry a water bottle and/or cup and bring your own plate, utensils and to-go containers.

Don’t heat a full pot of water for tea, only what you will use.

Cooperate instead of competing.

Let us know if you have more ideas for this list… : )