54

 Being with my clothes and textiles

Since I still have not invited a washing machine into my space, I hand-wash my clothes and other textiles. It's a humbling, meditative and relaxing process which allows me to honour the objects I live with. To wash my clothes, I prefer using bar soap. In the area where I live, the water is soft, and soap works (and also rinses) really well. In my experience, soap cleans well, and it comes without plastic packaging. Sometimes I also use an unscented, biodegradable laundry detergent. Usually I fill the sink with water, add some detergent or soap, soak my clothes in this solution for 15 or so minutes and then rinse. Large items I rinse in the shower. Spending this time with my clothes lets me appreciate their beautiful ageing process, notice the signs of wear, discolorations, and small holes appearing. 

53

 Everyday zero-waste practices 

Zero-waste practices are intimate and small-scale, but the more I think about the structure vs human agency binary, the more I believe that it doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Such practices are important, transformative, and I find plastic-free objects beautiful. My lifestyle is certainly not zero-waste, but whenever possible, I try to choose alternatives that generate less waste, are locally produced, made by small firms, are long-lasting, or I borrow objects from others. My favourite everyday zero-waste objects include locally produced soap bars, locally produced ointments, and cotton bags. The plate in the picture above was offered to me by a friend. These days I try to choose products that do not have essential oils in them because essential oils are raw material intensive. The soap bars in the picture above are made with salt and are unscented.