For the love of ... apple cider vinegar

My pal Flo (an organic beautician at Roseville Chase in Sydney Australia, 02.9417 7114 – a trusted source of alternative beauty tips) put me onto using a spray of apple cider vinegar as hair rinse to get all the soap out and as a general anti-fungal. It works a treat and leaves my hair looking shiny too.

You can also use it to spray the floor after a shower to kill any bugs, Flo says, and if you have a fungal problem then give your toes a spray. Same goes for pets. Cowboy’s picked up folliculitis, of all things, meaning his fur’s been breaking off and falling out in black clouds everywhere due to the skin infection. So, this weekend, I’ll pop him in the laundry tub, lather him up and rinse the shampoo off with apple cider vinegar and water. He’s going to be really happy about that but he’s a good cat and grins and bears it … for the first 10 minutes, at least.

A dose (two teaspoons) of apple cider vinegar morning and night when you’re travelling and consuming dodgy food and water will deter any nasty bugs you might pick up, according to my Helios homeopathic travel kit (a gem that’s been worth its weight in gold. I’ve used it many times on short trips and long – it has saved me from a massive hangover more than once when I’ve been overindulging in whiskey.) Use organic and unpasteurised and unfiltered for best effect – especially if you’re going to drink it.

AC vinegar is also great to alkalise your system (unlike whiskey) and works similar to lemon juice so you could have two teaspoons with water twice a day or 20 minutes before food to load up on the good bacteria and give the baddies the elbow. Much cheaper than those expensive probiotics! Even though vinegar’s acidic it becomes alkaline in your system, apparently. And that’s a good thing. You might want to add a wee spoonful of honey, though, as it’s a bit lip puckering to my taste. Pauline’s Mum swore by a dose every morning with a drop of lovely New Zealand honey – and she was arthritis-free well into her 80s.

Google apple cider vinegar as there’s so much else you can do with one bottle, it’s gobsmacking. Cheap, effective, with no nasty chemicals and sort of tasty … glug glug glug. -- Sage

A house, a cat and a blanket …

Author, felt artist and award-winning book designer Toyoko Sugiwaka has been creating art pieces for the last 20 years, first of wire and now crystals, beads, feathers and mostly felt she makes herself from sheep’s wool. She lives in a Sydney harbourside suburb with her cat Keats. A minimal consumer (both from necessity and through choice), Toyoko lives well within her weekly grocery budget of $50 (Keats’s food budget is a little higher). Her latest book, on making felt animals, is called Pass Me a Smile (Murdoch Books, $29.95rrp). Sage caught up with Toyoko when she visited gorgeous Bundeena this week.

Best tip for eating well?
Toyoko: Cook for yourself. I have lots of time so can cook slowly and with enjoyment. I eat the traditional Japanese macrobiotic way and try to balance yin and yang foods. Mostly brown rice and vegies, sometimes with seaweed, soybeans and, occasionally, chicken. I prefer to cook at home as food is tastier and healthier (cheaper too) than eating out.

How do you save money?
Toyoko: Before I buy anything, I always ask, “Do I really need this,” and 80 per cent of the time I don’t.

What fun thing do you do for free?
Toyoko: I enjoy having nature around me so I take my lunch and go sit in the park or go to the beach and swim. I can’t do this in Japan and it’s so easy to do this in Sydney.

What’s your way to contentment?
Toyoko: I have learned not to say, “I’m poor”. Now, I say, “Thank you for everything”. I have a house, a cat and a blanket to keep me warm – I have everything I need and I am grateful. And, gradually, my life is changing for the better.

How do you live well with less?
Toyoko: I try to cut the desire for expensive things. It’s hard when I go back to Japan as there are so many nice things. I also see people who have lots of money and are not happy so money’s not the answer.

P.S. More wise words of the week (yes, it’s EF again and he’s on the money as ever) '… consumption is simply a means to human wellbeing, the aim should be to obtain the maximum wellbeing with the minimum of consumption … The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics on the other hand considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity.' E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful.