North Bay Woman

42 NORTH BAY WOMAN | F A L L 2 0 1 8 For Johnson and her family, the beauty is in learning to live without the multitude of things the vast number of first-world people today take for granted as necessary. "I think of myself as a domestic scientist in the way that I experiment with eliminating waste and getting down to basics," Johnson says. Here are just a few of the hundreds of ways she avoids creating waste: She makes all her own makeup from activated charcoal, beeswax, coconut butter, beetroot, kohl, even cacao powder as a bronzer and eyebrow filler — all natural products that are essentially vegan. "It would cost me way more to buy any of this, from Sephora," Johnson, a former fine art painter who trained in fashion school, says. "It lasts me up to a year. And no packaging." The family uses cut-up washable towels, washcloths or rags instead of paper towels. ("Men are addicted to paper towels. It takes time to get them to use rags instead," she laughs.) They use no plastic bags or containers, only glass containers that are washable and re-usable. Instead of tissues, they use handkerchiefs. Everything in the home, from cereals to flours to nuts to washing detergent to liquid soap, is bought in bulk. All commercial cleaning products have been traded in for white vinegar and water, sometimes baking soda. When it comes to the kitchen, there are no processed foods. Fresh bread is carried home from bakeries in clean pillowcases. Leftovers are stored in glass containers. Instead of paper napkins, the family uses cloth. They've eliminated sandwich bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap and freezer bags. "We rarely freeze leftovers because I reinvent them right away; I am on top of Johnson creates her own makeup, uses washable rags instead of paper towels and main- tains a wardrobe of 15 pieces of multi-functional clothing. For their food needs, most items are bought in bulk and nothing is processed. – Photos courtesy of Zero Waste Home

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