Short-listed reviews of the best natural deodorant brands: PAPR and byHumankind. (And why these two companies are more sustainable options than Dove, Native, Myro and Ethique.) In most of my other sustainable product reviews, I’ve tested pretty much every plastic-free brand I can find, and written novels about them. But today, let’s keep it simple. […]
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What It Was Really Like Visiting Maui During COVID-19
This is my personal experience of visiting Maui during the COVID-19 pandemic, in December, 2020, including testing options and requirements, mask rules vs. reality, and what we can learn from Hawaii about travel during a pandemic. At the end of a year mostly spent in quarantine in the cold climates of Chicago and Montana, two […]
Bite vs Everyone [All The Plastic-Free Toothpaste Tablets, Reviewed]
Toothpaste tablets are a fairly new, very travel-friendly and eco-friendly alternative to your standard, non-recyclable tubes of toothpaste. I’ve already mentioned my favorite brand of plastic-free toothpaste tablets in my master list of sustainable travel toiletries, but I liked the concept so much that I got a little obsessed: I kept finding more brands with […]
Pasta With Broccoli: A Recipe Stolen from My Italian In-Laws
This is one of my favorite Italian family recipes – Pasta with Broccoli. It’s healthy, easy, meat-free, and can be vegan or vegetarian if you want it to be! When the pandemic started, and everyone started cooking at home for the first time, and realizing they didn’t know how to make anything that was both […]
How Hard Is It to Go to Hawaii Right Now? (And Should You?)
This is a timeline of my experience traveling to Hawaii from the mainland US in December, 2020, plus current COVID-19 restrictions for Hawaii, the pre-travel test I took in the airport, and whether the trip makes sense during a pandemic – ethically or otherwise. A long, long time ago, I wrote a pair of posts […]
Plastic-Free Toiletries: My Travel-Friendly, “Less-Waste” Routine That Works
This is my thoroughly tested, less-waste travel routine: Plastic-free toiletries that are mostly gender-neutral and feel like a treat to use – not a sustainability obligation. I actually prefer these eco-friendly items to the traditional versions, and I’ll never be going back. I’m calling this my “travel” beauty routine because it’s travel-friendly, but really it’s […]
What Makes Cruising THAT Bad for the Environment?
An overview – in plain English – of the biggest sustainability problems with cruise ships, and some solutions for how to fix them. (From interviews with experts!) Among other foiled travel plans this year, I had scheduled a dreamy sounding trip in Mexico with UnCruise, a company that bills itself as a sustainable alternative to […]
LastSwab vs EarthSider Review [How to Avoid Zero-Waste Greenwashing]
What’s your biggest pet peeve? If you know me, you probably know that I can’t stand anything fake. Things, people or companies that claim to be something they’re not drive me insane. And the market for eco-friendly, natural, zero-waste, or any other category of sustainable products is absolutely flooded with fakes. Two brands make a […]
How Do You Actually Move Abroad? (11 Ideas & Personal Experience)
A few weeks ago, I got a text from an American friend asking me one simple question: How can I move abroad? Understandable. Especially this year. So I thought about it. I’ve moved abroad a lot – to Spain, then back to the US, then to China and from there on to Italy and France […]
Update: Why I Moved Home to the Mountains & What’s Next
Where I am now (in Montana!), why I’ve left Chicago, and why you’re suddenly seeing posts about plastic-free products on this blog. Almost every year around the end of summer, I write an update post. Maybe it’s the back-to-school vibes that make me feel like this is the time for taking stock. And putting things […]
12 Life Lessons from Six Years of Travel Blogging
If you’re looking for technical blogging advice, this is not it. This is not about websites; it’s about life, creativity and small businesses, and what I’ve learned from very slowly building a travel blog and a business. 1. If you’re trying to figure out what you want to do for a career, look at the […]
Plastic-Free Laundry & Cleaning Swaps That Are Easy to Stick With (UPDATED)
I didn’t write this because I think cleaning products are fun, I wrote it because they’re easy to give up. Plastic pollution can feel impossible to solve, so start with something easy.
