September School Holiday : Eco-Friendly Activities

August 30, 2017June 5, 2020 | San

September School Holiday : Eco-Friendly Activities // Mono + Co

The school will be closed for 1 week, but there seemed to be enough activities with environmental focus to carry through the entire month that allow one to be inspired and pick up some green habits.

// Catch an eco film
++ Don’t just catch the commerical blockbusters, choose from an array of eco films that will be screened from 1-3 Sep at the annual Eco Film Festival Singapore. Check out the film and programme schedule here. Free event.

// Host an eco-themed film private screening
++ The kind people at Eco Film Festival has obtained private screening license for the following films to choose from:
– The True Cost
– Cowspiracy
– A Plastic Ocean
– Guardians of Raja Ampat
– Disobedience
– Project Wild Thing
– Captain Planet Summit to Save The Planet
Cost : Free, register by 8 Sept here, & host the private screening from 15th-24th Sept.

// BYO Singapore Campaign
++ Ditch the disposables habit and start bringing your own shopping bags, drinking cups and lunch boxes. Details here.

// Take part in energy saving challenge
++ Get the entire family to reduce household electricity use and win some prizes. Details here.

// Volunteer for a coastal clean up
++ Coney Island with Trash Hero Singapore on 3 Sep
++ Lim Chu Kang East with Little Green Men on 9 Sep
++ Mandai Mudflats with Nature Society on 9 Sep. Register here.
++ Ponggol Beach with on 23 Sep. Register here.

// Balik Kampung
++ Enjoy kampung lifestyle? Now that there is a week of school holiday, volunteer on a weekday to help out with “landscape and farm maintenance” at Kampung Kampus. Details here.

// Start a recycling corner at home
++ Watch your trash trail closely and do good by dropping off the recyclables at one of these Tzu-Chi recycling points on 10 Sep.

// Nature Sketching
++ At Botanic Gardens on 16 Sep. Details here.

// Picnic events
While these are not eco-themed events, I love the challenge of having a picnic with no disposables and instead, serving food on proper crockery. Enjoy the events nicely plan out by various organizers, but keep the trash at bay. I listed them according to locations.
++ Safra Ponggol on 3 Sep here
++ Marina Barrage on 3 Sep here
++ Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park on 2 Sep here
++ Concerts at Botanic Gardens always pull a picnic loving crowd, a check on the website shows concert event to be held on 2 Sep, 3 Sep, 9 Sep, 23 Sep, 30 Sep.

// Nature Tour
Guided walks are always popular with families during the school holiday, get the kids in touch with nature.
++ Pasir Ris Magrove Boardwalk Tour on 3 Sep. Sign up here.
++ Learning Forest Tour at Botanic Gardens 30 Sep. Details here.

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Green Monday : DIY Bath/Foot Soak

May 29, 2017May 30, 2017 | San

Green Monday : DIY Bath/Foot Soak // Mono + Co

After a while, the habit of reading food ingredient label will automatically extend to the body care product section. With more beauty trends focusing on naturally derived ingredients, I also started making some for my own use with very basic recipes starting with bath and body products. It’s tempting to stock up on a variety of ingredients to keep up with the huge range of diy bath product recipes available online, but I am determined to stick to what I already have. Apart from a few types of essential oils, sweet almond oil, and castile soap that I bought last year (Yes! All these lasted me that long!), I got the rest from my kitchen pantry: honey, baking soda, raw sugar, sea salt, coconut oil, oatmeal, apple cider vinegar, etc. I am very tempted to buy some bentonite clay, but that will probably have to wait until I finish up my jar of store-bought clay mask.

I always tell my friends that they will get a lot more bang for their buck if they make home spa products at home. Since I am making these products for my own use, chance are I will be super generous with the key ingredients such as honey or olive oil, food grade, no less and sometimes even organic.

I made this “Rosebuds + Himalayan Pink Salt + Epsom Salt” bath soak for a recent vacation and like it so much that I made more back home as a foot soak since I don’t have a bathtub. For this soak, I used a mix of Epsom salt and Himalayan salt, with more of the latter since it is the cheaper of the two. The rose buds from floral tea section were honestly more for aesthetics purpose, to have an entire bathtub of water smell like rose tea, I will need way more than the 30+ buds that I have added here. If you have a favorite essential oil that you like, add a few drops of that instead. The addition of rosebuds is a nice touch if this is put together as a gift.

Green Monday : DIY Bath/Foot Soak // Mono + Co

This 300g bottle of bath/foot soak took me less than 5 minute to diy and cost less me than $2. Make one for your regular home spa treat, or pack this in your luggage to soothe your aching muscles at the end of the day!

Here are some interesting links that I referred to when I decided on the Epsom and Himalayan salt mix, with some common precaution to note when taking bath soak:

// 2-salt combo mentioned here, here and here as a detox bath

// a pretty gift idea

// Epsom salt with baking soda, also for detox

// precautionary notes here state that Epsom salt are not recommended for patients with high blood pressure or severe varicose veins

// benefits of Epsom salt, and Epsom salt baths here

// or detox with just Himalayan salt

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June Holiday Activities + DIY Natural Insect Repellent

May 25, 2017June 5, 2020 | San

June Holiday Activities + DIY Natural Insect Repellent // Mono + Co

The mid-year school holiday will start this weekend and there is no lack of outdoor activities on our sunny island, a great opportunity for the little ones at home to get connected with nature or outdoor sports. I always fully embrace the idea of playing a local tourist at home as a frugal mom, so I have listed some events that have caught my eyes at the end of this post.

Let me first jump the topic to my homemade insect repellent as this is a must-have in my outdoor bag with the entire family being walking mozzie magnets. To start, let’s find a spray bottle.

June Holiday Activities + DIY Natural Insect Repellent // Mono + Co

Remember these handy mosquito repellents that the schools and RCs distributed a few years back? Check the expiry dates, they have probably passed their effective period. But don’t throw them away yet, the spray bottles can be refilled with a homemade Deet-free natural version, recipes and instructions can be easily found online like this, this, this and this.

Most of these recipes require just 2 or 3 of the following ingredients.

++01. Essential Oil

An essential oil or mix that repels mosquitoes and bugs: choose from Citronella, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Lavender, Peppermint, and Neem just to name a few. My favorite combination is 70% citronella + 20% tea tree + 10% eucalyptus. If you are new to essential oils, stick to Citronella and try it out before getting more. Always, always dilute essential oils before use.

++ 02. Witch hazel, or distilled water.

Some recipes use only witch hazel, some mix equal part of witch hazel to water. I choose the cheapest/convenient way, only boiled water that has cooled down.

++ 03. The optional ones:

// Vegetable glycerin as an emulsifier. I happen to have glycerin at home so I add it to my latest batch. For some reason, this works much better than just essential oil diluted with water.
// A carrier oil like sweet almond to bind the repellent better to our skin. I don’t usually a carrier oil, but an oil based repellent’s effectiveness will last longer without regular reapplication. When I need something stronger and don’t have time to reapply the water base repellent every hour, I will make a rub-on repellent instead by adding essential oil directly to the carrier oil and store this a brown bottle, away from light.
// Vodka is sometimes suggested to be added as a preservative. Since I don’t make the repellent spray in bulk, usually just enough for half a day outer activity, I don’t add it as well.

June Holiday Activities + DIY Natural Insect Repellent // Mono + Co

Now that the worry of getting bitten by bugs is out of the way, let’s run through to the outdoor activities for the coming school holiday:

+ Car Free Sunday on 28 May 2017. Wake up early and kick off the school holiday the car-free way!

+ Pesta Ubin 2017: Happening since May 10, but there are still plenty of free activities being organized every weekend.

+ Nparks Concert Series in the Park at Fort Canning on 3 June. It’s retro theme with music from the 60s to 90s this time.

+ DBS Marina Regatta from 1-4 June. Interesting activities such as trying out dragon boating and participating in various fitness sessions are available with pre-registration required.

+ SPH Gift of Music at Singapore Botanic Gardens on 10 June featuring Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

+ Kranji Farmer’s Market on 11 June. While you are there, take a self guided tour to explore the heritage trail that covers 14 historical and agricultural trail markers, such as Kranji War Memorial and Thow Kwang Industry that house the last dragon kiln in Singapore.

+ Gardener’s Day Out on 17 June at Hortpark.

+ Opera in the Park on 17 June at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

+ Weekends in the Park on 17 June at Pasir Ris Park.

+ Ecolife at Coney Island Park on 24 June , a guided tour with pre-registration required.

+ Istana Open House on Hari Raya Day 25 June.

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Staycation Ideas : Dress Up The Soap Bars

November 4, 2014June 5, 2020 | San

My staycation plan starts with the bathroom toiletries, soap bars to be exact. I wrap these with kraft papers and washi tape, then promptly display them on the bathroom counter.