There are better ways...

In an effort to take care of our planet, people go through a lot of work and effort. They will often sacrifice convenience and speed for a healthier, cleaner way of life, with usually less of an impact on the environment. Some examples of how to do this are less plastics and paper products, less waste, recycling, cloth diapers, non-toxic cleaners, and the list goes on and on.

Here are some funny videos I found of people... attempting... to do just that. Check them out!

Grandma Boatman Vacuum

Toxic Homes

Another news report on toxic homes, asthma, and other health problems related to household cleaners and chemicals in our indoor environments...

Toxic Brew

Anyone want to go green with their cleaners yet? Tell me what you think! Contact me if you want more info.

Drinking Pesticides?

Wells in some schools, nationwide, are so contaminated with residue from pesticides that posted warnings tell people not to drink water from the tap.

Along with raising a whole host of other questions and concerns, my number one question was, "WHAT? How is the water contaminated again?"

It seems that it's a super common problem. Chemicals, pesticides, and run-off from farms, gardens, land-fills and other such places sink into the ground, and get caught in our well systems, which are meant to capture rain water. So these chemicals get mixed in with our water supply, and get pumped up along with our 'pure and clean' water. What happens then? We, unknowingly, consume varied amounts of the contaminated water, and reap the consequences of accumulating these toxins in our body systems.

See the news video HERE.

I guess my next question would be - if it's in our school's water system, wouldn't that same problem affect homes as well? Wells should be the safest and most reliable source of clean water - we are poisoning ourselves! What has happened?

So groups take water and put it into some kind of collecting pool and 'treat it' - adding chemicals to counteract other chemicals - then put the whole city on a water system that is 'safe.' Tell me, isn't there any way of just getting plain old-fashioned wonderful clean water?

What are our options, if we want any? Buy spring water from the store, get purifier systems in your home/school/work, or invest in water filters/water pitchers to filter your own tap. That's what we've done. There are inexpensive ways to be smart and take better care of yourself.

Stay informed. Check out your area. Then, if you feel you must make a change - do it.

I love a clean house!

Especially when I'm not dying of the fumes of the cleaners! ;-D That used to be the part that I HATED... working in a small bathroom with hardly any ventilation, and using all sorts of scrubs and cleaners to make that place sanitary. I would have to leave every few minutes, just to get some 'fresh' air. Even opening windows and turning on fans offered little relief from the potent smells and fumes. Wow. I'm glad those days are over! I really hated that...

Switching to non-toxic cleaners has eliminated this problem, and many more, come to find out. I don't have those nasty chemicals all over my floors and counters - or on my dishes and clothes. So many women have told me they can't imagine switching out their products, because to them, the smell of those products equals cleanliness... well, to me those smells were overbearing and come to find out... actually poisonous. Especially if certain ones are mixed together - even on accident.

Any comments on toxins, chemicals, or poisons in popular every-day household cleaners? Do you believe it or not believe it? I love to hear your thoughts.

When fires rage in California, we begin to wonder about air quality...

When fires rage in California, the air is FULL of smoke and ash. Turn on the news today and hear the reports. Look in a paper and see the stories. There are pictures and videos available online - you will be surprised at how vast and damaging these fires are. And not just for the people in close proximity to the flames - these fires are affecting millions...

Why? Because officials warn people to not breathe in the air. It's dangerous. It's bad to breathe. One of the reasons is, because the fires have consumed so many homes, the air now carries in it toxins and chemicals from the houses: the pesticides, the construction elements, the plastics... the list goes on and on. So, people are staying indoors, using masks outdoors, driving with car windows up, and keeping animals inside, just waiting for the fires to stop, and the air to clear.

But this brings up a SUPER interesting point. Air can actually be bad for you - it can be harmful, in and of itself - for anyone who is breathing it. And even without fires, how much of our air is polluted to the point of being harmful for us? Outside of the realm of California fires, where else does this threat lie? Yeah... pretty much everywhere.

I would wager those who live in places like Los Angeles, Mexico City, and New York City value clean air more than people who always have it, in wide-open places elsewhere. They can feel, and oftentimes So the question is, where can we get it? How can we protect ourselves? We NEED air. We can't just stop breathing for awhile and wait for cleaner air. Not exactly an option.

The simplest answer (besides pick up your whole life and move to an area with cleaner, less polluted air) is to invest in an air purifier. It might seem simplistic and not good enough, but consider it. They can be found at many big stores, like Sam's or Costco, or probably even at Wal-Mart. They will purify the air in your homes, so that you have a refuge to return to, and a safer place to sleep. Do some research to find out which air purifiers would be the best for your home environment. They do essentially the same thing, but use different technologies. Some are better for dust mites or mold or smoke or small/large areas... The ones that I've done some research on are the Shaklee air purifiers, and I know they are effective. They have much science behind them, and work amazingly well. They will even go a long way to cleaning up from cleaning products, paints, furniture... all sorts of smells and chemicals, etc.

So, while some people are no where near concerned about their air quality, there are plenty of people who wish there was something they could do about it. And while we can't purify the whole earth (at least not yet!) we can start at home, and do what we can there...

"Babies are born pre-polluted..." Once again, are you kidding me?

According to the Environmental Working Group, babies can enter the world with as many as 300 chemicals in their bodies. WHAT?! This must be a joke, I thought. A very bad joke. But, in reading and listening to what they had to say, things started adding up. While before the placenta was thought to act as a kind of Super-Guard against toxins getting into the baby's system, that is now known to be only partially true. Yes, the placenta is a great barrier, but certain things get past it, and into the baby's system. Which means the baby is exposed to whatever we, as the mom, is exposed to.

This video is about 22 minutes long. They explain their study and how and why they did it. And their results are very interesting. Please watch this when you get a chance. It's VERY worth watching. It will open your eyes to a LOT.

@ Yahoo! Video

A condensed version of their results from their website:

"The nation’s toxic chemical regulatory law, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is in drastic need of reform. Passed in 1976 and never amended since, TSCA is widely regarded as the weakest of all major environmental laws on the books today.

When passed, the Act declared safe some 62,000 chemicals already on the market, even though there were little or no data to support this policy. Since that time another 20,000 chemicals have been put into commerce in the United States, also with little or no data to support their safety.

Testing by Environmental Working Group has identified 455 chemicals in people, and again, no one has any idea if these exposures are safe.

We are at a tipping point, where the pollution in people is increasingly associated with a range of serious diseases and conditions from childhood cancer, to autism, ADHD, learning deficits, infertility, and birth defects. Yet even as our knowledge about the link between chemical exposure and human disease grows, the government has almost no authority to protect people from even the most hazardous chemicals on the market."

For the whole article, go HERE.

So what can we do? If this inspires you to change your lifestyle at all - I'm with you. We can start with cleaning products, food, water, take a look at your cosmetics... contact me if you have questions. Once again, I HIGHLY recommend taking a look HERE, and see what you find.

Cloth or disposable diapers: Results!

Thank you so much for all the great responses to the cloth vs. disposable diaper post. It was interesting to see the varied answers I got via this blog, email, and Facebook. Let me summarize:

Disposable Advantages:

-Easy

-Convenient

-Fast

-Cheap

Disposable disadvantages:

-Child's exposure to chemicals and toxins

-Bad on the environment

Cloth Advantage:

-Little to no toxic/chemical exposure for baby.

-Less expensive in the long run.

-Great for the environment

-With new options over the past few years, less rashes for babies

-Really cute! ;-D

Cloth Disadvantage:

-Learning curve

-Need to launder them with natural detergent (which may not actually be a bad switch!) This takes a little more time.

-Money investment at the beginning, though less and less as time goes on. (And even less than that with more babies)

Here are some comments I received. I will keep them all anonymous.

"disposable....they grow up WAY too fast to spend your short time they are in diapers cleaning them."

"In the long run, cloth are less expensive (I believe) and probably better for the environment -- disposable diapers never seem to decompose."

"Cloth is amazing :) No rashes, amazing for the environment, healthy for baby, not any messier than disposables (and a lot fewer diaper blowouts) and really really cute. :)"

"I looked into cloth and they were really interesting to me. But I never got the funds to buy them up front. If I could I would use cloth. Disposable is less work, but cloth seems worth the extra work..."

"both - cloth for home & disposable for travel (& during early weeks)."

And the following was one of the best explanations. She knows and believes in all the reasons for cloth :

"Cloth is better for the environment -- less trash, less crude oil used, which is needed in the making of a disposable. The average disposable contains dyes, fragrance, xylene, ethylbenzene, and sodium polyacrylate which can trigger allergic reactions. Some studies show these diapers release VOC's. When you feel you must use disposables try non chemical disposables carried online in bulk, at certain stores, and Target has a new brand of chemical free disposable. Cloth can be purchsed from Dy-Dee Diaper Service and you launder every 3 days. Dy-dee can wash them for you, you can purchase all-in-one diapers like Fuzzibunz and Bum Genius, Nickis Diapers (there are so many on the market).

We experienced far less diaper rash with cloth and cloth is more breathable. You can check out the gdiaper and even try a cloth diaper inside the gdiaper cover. Babies wear diapers for 2 years on average and don't need to sit in chemicals 24/7. Do a cost comparison sometime and compare the savings of re-using some sort of cloth diaper vs the cost of disposables. And if you are not sure what you want to do, try Dy-Dee Service for one month while you are in postpartum and then experiment to figure out which path is best for you. There are resources where bundles of diapers can be put together and there are websites such as --"
www.kellyscloset.com
www.nickisdiapers.com
www.gdiapers.com
www.dy-dee.com

All I've ever known is disposable, and that's all I've ever used - when baby-sitting, helping other moms, etc. So I know their convenience and ease. But, as I look more and more into the alternatives, and the reasons for the alternatives, I'm intrigued by what is out there. One note stated above is really sticking with me: "Babies wear diapers for 2 years on average and don't need to sit in chemicals 24/7..." That's something to think about.

So... have at it! Take a look at what there is, and decide from there. I've still got a few months, but it's better to find out now than later. The websites above seem to be really good. And check out this one, too, whenever you've got time.

PS: Here's an experienced Mom who gave me some real pointers. I really appreciated her time to share with me. Here's what she had to say:

"And you had asked about the ick factor. It's really not bad at all. Either way you'll have to deal with the poop :-).

Here's my routine and set-up. I have a cheap $5 garbage pail from walmart with a flip-top lid. I have 2 pail linershttp://www.facebook.com/l/;swaddlebees.com/products/Diaper-Accessories/bagprints) that I put in the pail and rotate during washes. I just throw the diapers in the pail (remove the solids if you need to, don't worry about it if you're breastfeeding). I do laundry every 2 days, but you can wait 3. Just throw all the diapers in the wash, the bag included. I do a cold rinse (to rinse out any extra poop), a hot wash, and a cold rinse (this extra rinse makes sure to get out all detergent since detergent can equal rashes and stink).

Line dry the diapers in the sun to get out any stains (the sun will stain out any organic stains on diapers or clothing! Add lemon juice for tougher stains. It's amazing!) Or just run them through the dryer! It's really simple once you get in the routine."

Thank you to all you Moms who shared your experiences with me! Please keep the wisdom coming!

Some Stats to consider...

• According to a 15-year study presented at the Toronto Indoor Air Conference, women who work at home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who work away from home. The study concluded that this was a direct result of the increased exposure to toxic chemicals, many of which are found in common household products.
• More than 9 out of every 10 suspected poison exposures occur at home with household products.
• The EPA says that only a fraction of the more than 75,000 registered chemicals have gone through testing for human health concerns.

When I heard all these things, and came to see the harm that common household cleaners were causing, I stopped using them immediately. But I didn't have any alternatives yet - I just stopped cleaning for a few days, until I got my hands on some non-toxic cleaners. To me, a dirty house was much better than a toxic one... thankfully we didn't have to wait long to begin using a safe alternative! ;-D

Monsters under your bed - I mean, your sink!

Look under your sink. It's a very accessible place - for you, for your family members, for the toddler in the house, for the curious pet. That's where we usually keep our cleaning supplies. Now pull out your trusty cleaner friends with whom you spend most of Saturday morning - breathing in their strong fumes, mixing them with other cleaners, making the world a shinier, cleaner place. But, believe it or not, at the end of those few hours, your world is not a safer place. It's hard to believe that those smells and shines are actually harmful to your health, and the health of those for whom you work so hard to keep clean. But it's not me who's telling you so! Read the back labels on your trusty friends. Notice the ingredients they are made with. Pay attention with how to use them... For example, if it says:

CAUTION: An ounce to a pint may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man.

WARNING: A teaspoon to an ounce may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man.

DANGER: A taste to a teaspoon is fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man.

Do any of those all-important bottles contain any of the following ingredients? And don't just trust this list - look them up online!

Ammonia	Fatal when swallowed
Ammonium Hydroxide	Corrosive, irritant
Bleach	Potentially fatal if ingested
Chlorine	Number one cause of poisonings in children
Formaldehyde	Highly toxic; known carcinogen
Hydrochloric acid	Corrosive, eye and skin irritant
Hydrochloric bleach	Eye, skin and respiratory tract irritant
Lye	Severe damage to stomach and esophagus if ingested
Naphtha	Depresses the central nervous system
Nitrobenzene	Causes skin discoloration, shallow breathing, vomiting, and death
Perchlorethylene	Damages liver, kidney, nervous system
Petroleum Distillates	Highly flammable; suspected carcinogen
Phenol	Extremely dangerous; suspected carcinogen; fatal taken internally
Propylene Glycol	Immunogen; main ingredient in antifreeze
Sodium hypochlorit	Potentially fatal
Sodium laurel sulfate	Carcinogen, toxin, genetic mutagen
Sodium tripolyphosphate	Irritant
Trichloroethane	Damages liver and kidneys

To go through life not knowing these facts is one thing - but once I learned, I had to tell whoever I knew might care! There are options out there, so you don't have to be victim to invisible and unknown "trouble causers..."

This website offers an amazing overall summary. Check it out!

The Today Show on MSNBC did a special on Shaklee's Get Clean line. See what they had to say!

Many people are becoming more conscious about these matters. Here's another website summary.

Simple, easy, natural solutions are offered HERE as well.

Of all the options, I'm sold on the Shaklee Get Clean supplies. They are safe, effective, natural, and are very strong cleaners. So check it out! The information is out there for the finding.

Carcinogens...

Home should be the safest place on the planet! A place of refuge from - well - almost everything you want to keep on the outside. But surprisingly, a house can be a dangerous place, and we don't even know it... and it could be worse if you keep your house spotlessly clean... Please read on.

According to dictionary.com...

A Carcinogen is any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.

And... it seems that much of the typical household cleaners, and even cosmetics we buy are filled with chemicals that fit under the title of "carcinogen..."

Go Here to find a study on indoor cleaning supplies. Follow it for a question and answer of what to use and how to use it, as well as what NOT to use...

Click here to see a LONG list of Hazardous Ingredients in Household Products. Then check under your sink and compare the active ingredients on the bottles of cleaners you are using... see how many of these chemicals are used daily and weekly on your floors, in your bathrooms, on your dishes, and to launder your clothes!