I use the baking soda method sarahtar mentioned, at least when my hair is shorter and easier to work with. You can also clean your hair with just conditioner. It's called the "curly-girl" method, as it's supposed to be great for your kind of hair!
Just using straight oil (veggie oil, baby oil, whatever you've decided on) will work to remove eye makeup quite well. If you are going to mix it with water, though, you should either mix up just enough each time, or store it in the refrigerator. Oil mixed with water is a perfect home for bacteria, and you certainly don't want to get those in your eyes.
Whether or not detergent is bad for the environment really depends on what kind of detergent you have. Many/most detergents are derived from petroleum products and aren't biodegradeable. Many also include builders (substances added to increase cleansing power) which tend to be even worse for the environment than the detergents themselves. For example, phosphates are builders that cause algae blooms when released into the waterways. These were used so widely and caused so much of an ecological problem that the EPA banned their use in laundry detergent. Detergent in general is an industrially produced synthetic product, and most detergents contain additional synthetic products like builders, preservatives, colors, fragrances, antibiotics, and so forth that may be toxic to wildlife and may not be filtered out in waste-water treatment processes.
That said, there are also many companies today selling plant-based biodegradeable detergents with fewer additives and a far lesser environmental impact. Ecover, for example, or Seventh Generation.
Like most environmental issues, it's complicated and highly debated. So go ahead and do some research on it, and decide for yourself whether you think it's malarky or not! Just googling "environmental impact of detergents" brings up a ton of results.
Hi, I know this thread is a bit old, but I thought I'd jump in anyway.
I have this! I got mine off ebay for about $80. It's the 2000 edition, and while a lot of it is outdated, a lot are still pretty cool and a lot are still useful.
I haven't used it much, but that is mainly because I am really just an "advanced beginner" in the sewing department. Lutterloh is awesome for the number of patterns you get and the fact that you can use them all as many times as you want for as many people as you want, regardless of their measurements, since you draft them yourself. But it is entirely lacking in direction. If you still need to follow the pattern directions when you sew a garment, it may be better to wait until you've gained some skill. Even with a great reference guide on garment construction (I have plenty!), some of the patterns are hard to figure out. As in what is this piece even for and how on earth do I attach it kind of hard.
And I did want to address nonesuch's comment on the waist measurement. It's true. You will still have to do many of the same kind of adjustments that you would need to do with a commercial pattern. Anything you draft should fit the bust and hips, but the waist and other general fitting adjustments are all up to you. There are brochures that come with the system that have 3 patterns-- a vest, pleated pants, and a camp shirt. These are meant as fitting patterns. You make up each of the three, and then fit them as you would normally. Any adjustments you needed to make to those three garments, you would need to apply to every other lutterloh pattern. The nice part is that you can incorporate that adjustment to the pattern as you are drafting it, and the adjustments will always be consistent. And yes, you have to spend time drawing the pattern out, but in my experience, drawing it out takes a lot less time than preparing a tissue paper pattern. (That stuff drives me NUTS.)
I would only buy it if you were pretty serious about it. I think you can get a copy of the brochure for free, and try it out before committing. It is an expensive purchase, that is only really cost effective if you use it a lot. You're spending a lot, but you get literally hundreds of patterns. If you only end up using one or two, you may as well have bought paper patterns and saved the cash. If you use dozens, then they work out to be pretty cheap.
And the thread on patternreview.com that wifeofbath mentioned is indeed awesome and anyone considering lutterloh should check it out.
Just curious... If you're working full time AND going to school, why are you the one worrying about cooking? It seems like a situation in which sharing or handing over that responsibility would be appropriate.
Also, I second the slow-cooker idea. I don't cook much, but when I use the slow cooker, it's easy (less intimidating for me), fast (and then you let it sit all day), and almost always delicious. Mine only cost 15$. Also, the best slow-cooker cookbook I have tried is Lora Brody's "Slow Cooker Cooking." The caramelized onions are amazing...
Backstitch is my favorite! Good for details, and it looks so smooth. But everyone's tastes are different! I would try a few stitches, just in plain lines on scrap fabric and see what feels best to you.
You could try NearSea Naturals. I've never ordered from them, but they seem to do their best to provide ethically produced fabrics, and they are as close to fair-trade as I have ever been able to find.
In their FAQ they say: "Our fabrics are not certified fair trade or sweatshop free, but the ethical aspects of their production is very important to us and we work with the manufacturers to ensure that they're produced in fair labor conditions. This is facilitated by the fact that most of our fabrics are made in the US, where it is generally fairly difficult to legally run a sweatshop. (We all know, though, that it's far from impossible; that's why we're so careful.)"
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