August 27, 2023: Clean yourself with water only. No more sunglasses and no more batteries.
August 27, 2023 At breakfast with Mum, Dasha and Tobi, I told them that I no longer used toilet paper. The three of them were very surprised and thought it was another one of my crazy ideas.
"Isn't it disgusting to clean your anus by hand?" asked Tobi at the table.
"At first it was unusual and felt disgusting," I replied. "But now I find it more disgusting to wipe the poop away with toilet paper," I explained, thinking of the library toilet where I was still forced to use toilet paper.
"Saschul, you'll never find a wife like that," commented mom.
"Oh definitely. She'll probably be just as crazy as me," I replied.
"What hand are you washing yourself with down there?" asked Dasha.
I stood up and pantomimed the situation.
"With my left hand," I replied and sat back down at the table. "But Tobi, a counter question!"
Tobi looked at me. "Yes?"
"Isn't it just as disgusting to pick your nose with your hand? Or cleaning your private parts with your hands?" I asked him.
"Or holding his penis in his hand while peeing," Dasha added and laughed.
"Yes, you're right. It's probably a matter of habit," Tobi agreed, although I could see from the look on his face that he was still skeptical.
"And another thing I've noticed is that the underpants stay fresh for longer!" I argued.
"Aha! Are you sniffing your underpants?" Tobi joked.
"Of course! But only as an experiment!" I grinned.
After breakfast, Dasha and Tobi took me to Hildesheim. From there I took the train home. On the way, while googling about hygiene, I came across a young doctor called James Hamblin, who hadn't showered for five years. His skin looked young and healthy and, according to his friends, he didn't smell of lavender or lemon, but he smelled like a human being. This doctor fascinated me and prompted me to start an experiment today after bouldering, to shower completely without soap.
At home in Hanover, it smelled of chocolate. Lina baked a chocolate cake for her friends. We weren't going bouldering until the evening, which is why I spent time in my room after taking out the garbage. There I took a look in my little carrier bag, which replaced my pink box at the time because it was more universal. There I discovered my crunchy clasp, which I never wore and had no intention of ever wearing. "The stress period is over", I thought and disposed of the braces. I also picked up my battery charger, which still had two batteries in it. I looked around the room. The mouse was no longer there and there was nothing else I could use the rechargeable battery and the batteries for. "I don't need you either," I whispered and put the charger and batteries in the corner to take them to Borsum next time.
Then there was a cool pair of sunglasses with round lenses that I never wore, but hoped to be able to wear one day when I was no longer short-sighted. I put them back in my bag for the time being. "Hmm. No animal in the world wears glasses. Maybe I don't need them either," I thought. I sat down at my laptop and researched whether sunglasses had any health effects. I came across the term "circadian rhythm", a biological clock in the human brain that sets the rhythm for our sleep-wake cycle and metabolism. This clock is synchronized by sunlight, and only by the light that falls on the eye. "So if I wear sunglasses, I'm disturbing my internal clock," I concluded and decided to give the sunglasses away.
My organ donor card was also in the bag. "Actually, I should always carry it with me," I thought. But then I didn't hesitate for long and tore it up. I no longer wanted to support the current legal regulations. I wished for a government that would introduce organ donation with instructions on how to object, so that I would automatically be considered an organ donor unless I actively objected.
When I looked at my bike key from the bag, I noticed that it had an excess key ring. I removed it and did the same with my house key. Looking at my bank card, I decided that I would no longer pay with my smartphone, but only with my bank card. This means I won't have to rely on the battery status of my smartphone and won't be tempted to open the Bumble app after paying. I removed my digital bank card from Apple Pay and deactivated the app.
In the evening, I walked about two kilometers with Lina to the bouldering hall. On the way, she told me about her toe socks and how good they were for the natural toe position. "A health benefit that I haven't yet integrated into my life", I toyed with the idea of switching to toe socks too.
In the bouldering hall, we met Lina's work colleagues, who were also a bit more advanced. After a short briefing, I started climbing. I climbed until my forearms were completely numb. It was so much fun that I resolved to visit the bouldering hall more often.
Micro Changes:
- I have decided to shower exclusively with water, even in the intimate areas and under the armpits. Soap, shower gel, or shampoo will only be used in rare cases (but not purchased, only borrowed).
- I no longer own batteries or a battery charger, as I have no devices that require batteries.
- I no longer own a mouth guard for teeth grinding, as my life is now very low-stress, and I no longer tend to grind my teeth.
- I no longer own sunglasses, as sunlight does not bother me. Wearing sunglasses significantly reduces the natural light exposure to the eyes and thus negatively affects the body's circadian rhythm. This leads to a range of health problems, especially poor sleep.
- I have removed excess key rings.
- I no longer pay with my smartphone but with my bank card. This further reduces my time spent on the smartphone. I have removed my bank card details from Apple Pay.