Frugal Friday: Toxins, toxins, everywhere
This wasn't going to be my Frugal Friday post, but after I wrote it, I realized it was somewhat appropriate. We'll resume the series on Simply Centsible Living next week, hopefully!
------------------
In between the incessant all-day-sickness and never-ending exhaustion, I actually have a few patches here and there of semi-intelligent thought patterns. (Yeah, believe it or not. I know some of you who are less-than-fond of yours truly think I never have any intelligent thought patterns, but we won't go there...)
One of the things I've been contemplating is toxins. I'm reading The Complete Organic Pregnancy and actually considering making some considerable changes in our lifestyle. No, I'm not turning into a tree-hugging liberal, but I'm starting to notice how so many things I used to take for granted have a toxic effect on our environment. Not just the environment at large, but our own little home. And my own little people in our home. Do I really want them breathing more toxic fumes than they have to?One area we are currently making a switch in is cleaning products. I've always gone with fairly simple cleaning products, but I never realized how many harmful chemicals could be that simple single bottle of disinfectant spray. According to this book, once you spray it, those fumes stay in your home for up to a week. Ick! My babies are breathing that nasty stuff for a week after I clean. Lots more research to do on this, but in the mean time we just got a bottle of Basic H from Shaklee which I've been very impressed with. It makes 48 gallons of cleaner, is non-toxic, organic, biodegradable, and very reasonably priced - only $11.95 for a concentrate which makes 48 gallons. You can see the label and more details on the cleaners you can make with it here. My more in-depth review will be coming soon. Just wanted to give it as an example of how you can find nontoxic cleaners which won't break your budget. I'm also hoping to research making my own cleaners from safe ingredients. Does anyone do this? Does anyone use nontoxic cleaners? If so, which ones and what has your experience been?
Another area is water. We have been trying to only drink bottled water whenever possible while searching for a less-expensive alternative. Well, after some research, we found a simple solution which will work for the time being - a Brita pitcher. (It was free with ECBs from CVS, by the way). Until we can save up for a more expensive water filtration system, this will at least allow me to drink decent water during my pregnancy and Kathrynne will be able to, as well.
Those are just two simple examples of ways we are practically trying to make changes to have a less toxic home environment for our babies without spending a lot of money. There are so many other things we are considering right now as well. Expect some future posts along these lines!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Are toxins something you think about? Do you try to avoid them? If so, how? What are some practical ways you are making your home environment less toxic for your family?
By the way, this is not to put anyone on a guilt trip. Obviously, God is ultimately in control and He can protect us. However, I do think we have a responsibility to be wise stewards - not only of our time and money, but also of our bodies. I guess I'd just always focused more on the food we put into them and never thought much of the fumes we might be breathing in.
----------------
To join in Frugal Friday, just post a frugal tip or post on any subject of frugality on your blog, link to this post in your post, and then post the direct link to your Frugal Friday post below. Any link or post which does not adhere to these rules will be deleted at my discretion. If you do not have a blog, but have a tip to share, please post your tip in the comments section. And, remember the rules: Must be family-friendly. Thanks! I can't wait to read your tips! Note: Please do NOT post a link to your business website below. All links of that sort will be deleted. If you have a business blog and want to write a post on frugality on that, you are more than welcome to post your link below, but please respect the rules in not just posting your website URL below as a way of garnering advertising. This is for blog posts on frugality only. Thank you for your understanding in this.
posted by Crystal Paine at 2:03 PM
41 Comments:
Yes! I do think about things like this. For the past, oh, year or so, I have been trying to be really careful about what I buy at the store. I still use things we have around the house (although I gave away some stuff like air fresheners, regular candles, etc.) but I am trying to not bring toxic things into our home. There are even times when I pass up a free-after-rebate item at Rite Aid because it's simply NOT good for us (like aerosol perfumes, etc.)... now, for me, that's a big step!! ;)
It seems there are toxins everywhere. I would love to have an organic bed mattress, organic carpet (or better yet, NO carpet in our house at all!), or basically organic everything!! :D But, it's just not financially possible. So, I watch for whatever I can. This was one of the reasons I was so excited about making my own laundry detergent! :)
I use baking soda for scouring, and vinegar in a spray bottle for cleaning. I use water with tea tree oil for a shower spray. Every once in a great while (maybe every 6 months) I will use a little bleach on something, or use another chemical... but I haven't bought bleach in years, still using that one last bottle!
I am excited about Shaklee. I recently started taking their multi-vitamin with Iron and have really noticed a difference. I look forward to hearing how you like the Basic H!
This is a big concern for our family too. However, like Tammy said, often it's not financially feasible to implement everything I would like to do.
With limited finances, one thing that I do not compromise on is meat and milk. If you do a little reading on the hormones and antibiotics in regular foods, it can really scare you. We are fortunate to live near enough to farms to have gotten good deals on a year's worth of beef and chickens, and we have a cow share to get raw milk. I try to buy organic produce when I can, but I try to be smart about it using lists of which fruits and vegetables are most important to eat organically. I found that organic salad greens at Costco are actually cheaper than conventional salad fixings at our local grocery.
My aunt sells Shaklee and I would love to use more of their products, but it's cost prohibitive for me right now. I have Basic H and Basic G and two of the scrubbing pastes that I got as gifts. I also try to use baking soda, vinegar, and peroxide wherever possible (I think there was a link on one of your Frugal Friday's recently about how to make a disinfectant for counters out of peroxide).
I would love to find a cost effective and safe laundry detergent recipe that I could make. If you find one, let me know. Shaklee claims that their laundry soap is cheaper than Tide, but as I did the math, that's only if you pay top dollar for Tide and never use coupons. I usually buy the cheapest generic detergent so it would not be a savings for me and finances are tight right now...
Good post topic!
Wow, I got to put the first link in?! How exciting! :)
Catherine, I have a homemade laundry soap recipe on my website, if you're interested. http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_laundry_soap_recipe At the bottom of the page, there are links to other references, also! :)
Yes, Catherine - check out Tammy's post on it. I was going to recommend it. Very helpful. I'm hoping to try this soon. I have some natural detergent I got for free and once that is gone, I'm planning to branch out into making my own.
I do not worry about toxins at all. I really take to heart Jesus what Jesus said about worry. He said "don't".
As a good mom, we could ultra-analize everything we bring into our homes on put on our tables, but I feel that the time and energy is better spent elsewhere.
Also, if you follow a flylady-like system, you never wait until everything is grungy and need high power cleaners.
I believe that, as far as food goes, Jesus said, "Just eat it, don't worry about it"
I live on the mission field and eat their food and drink their water, (it is a reasonable thing to do here) When we have American guests, we give them bottled water because of the different bacteria that their bodies are not used to.
That's my 2 cents!
Rhonda
Crystal -- the Brita filters don't get much...drinking distilled water works much better.
G.
Hi, G: From what I've researched, Brita pitchers actually do a pretty good job. And anything is better than our tap water - which up until a few weeks ago was all we were drinking!
Yes, I do think about these things more now than ever. I want to try to start using some less toxic cleaners.
However Rhonda reminded me of something. I taught English in Thailand for a bit, and I NEVER worried about that sorta thing there. Its funny that where we live changes how we think about things!
Crystal,
There are some great books on using non-toxic cleansers. The best book is Organic Housekeeping, however Home Comforts has some non-toxic homemade altneratives, which we've been using for two years. The library has lots of great resources for making your own cleaners, but I have to say I come back to and stick with the ones in Home Comforts - they are basic and work.
Your water pitcher is a great idea, just make sure you keep the filter constantly wet. We switched from the Brita to a PUR water filter on the tap, since that means that all of our cooking water will be filtered as well - every step helps.
I'm not sure if they have it down in Kansas, but up in Minnesota we have the RESTORE products which are nontoxic and biodegradeable. Their laundry detergent is not made with any petroleum products, which has been a major concern of mine for a while. I paid $9.00 recently for a 64 load container, but since our laundry mat uses the HE washing machines it will be 128 loads - which, for us, is very comparable, even better than what we would sometimes pay before. Add to that, they have refill stations where you get money off of your refill so that it is constantly cheaper than your initial investment.
Good for you for doing some research in this area - you will reap the benefits of your careful and prayerful consideration of your health. It is sometimes wallet shocking to switch to better for you things, but it certainly should be done....
"Clean House, Clean Planet" has some great recipes for homemade, non-toxic cleaners. I use some liquid soap (Method dish soap from Target is inexpensive and effective) mixed with water in a spray bottle to clean, and white vinegar (essential oil masks the smell if it bothers you) as a disinfectant. As a scrub, I use 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup peppermint Dr. Bronner's, a cup of baking soda and two tablespoons of vinegar (added after the other is mixed). I used it today to clean a freezer that has been moldering unplugged for six months, and it worked great.
I have a Brita filtration system that I use on my kitchen faucet. Also works great. I'd love a reverse osmosis system but it's out of reach right now.
Our biggest leap is using naturopathic medications. My oldest son ran a fever last night and had a sore throat. Ordinarily, I'd have pumped him full of ibuprofen but this time I gave him a cold and sinus remedy for the post-nasal drip and some peppermint tea with honey for the soreness. I let the fever run its course. This morning he was fever-free and feeling better.
We're attacking our health and beauty supplies little by little, examining the effects of things like sodium lauryl sufate and cocamide DEA. We can't just go out and replace everything at once, but I buy a little each month that lasts for awhile and gradually make some progress. The best investment to us has been a quart of Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild soap, which you can dilute to use as a shampoo, bubble bath, soap or for shaving or cleaning.
I can't do much organic meat but I try. I can't afford organic butter so I buy Smart Balance -- there are coupons for that. I buy organic milk but we don't drink that much, so it doesn't damage the budget.
The thing that has helped us the most health-wise is very good vitamins and supplements. It hurt the first time I shelled out the cash for something other than store-brand Centrum and Flintstones, but I can honestly say I've never flinched since. Our health has improved immensely.
It's very possible to make small changes and still stay within budget, in my opinion. The trick is to do as Rhonda said and don't worry about it when you can't!
(Sorry about the length -- we're just starting down this road and I tend to get a little over-enthusiastic.)
Very good post Crystal and ladies for some book reccomendations. I have thought about making my own cleaners and such, mainly just to save money. In some of my frugal books, you can make easy cleaners with water, baking soda, vinegar or ammonuia (not all together of course, but with those products).
I like air fresheners and usually buy them twice a month, except during Christmas I stock up on the hoilday scented ones once a week. And as far as candles...those are my obsession...LOL...I got everything in my house from Yankee, to Glade to Betty Crocker...I love them.
One thing that really eats away our money is buying bottled and gallons of water. When DH and I arrived in Germany, they told us flat out to not drink or cook with the water but bathing and washing dishes was okay. The water is very hard with alot of calcium and who knows what else, I didn't ask...LOL.
So every week we are out buying gallons and bottles of water. The PX does sell those water filtration systems but I am not taking any chances with the water here even with one of those...LOL.
The Culligan water is more expensive here so we don't get it that much, but Germany sells this non carbonated water really cheap and it is soooooooo good and makes wonderful ice cubes!!!!
Looking forward to more ideas that I can jot down.
God Bless!
Thank you for the information. This is on my mind a lot. Not so much cleaners but things like processed foods, etc. We seldom eat foods like that for the simple reason that I don't know what it is in them. I don't want my husband and I and our future babies eating unknown substances. I often wonder if the processed food boom and the seeming cancer boom are related in some way.
I personally love the Brita pitchers and have a 1 1/2 gallon dispenser in the fridge at all times. I think it just tastes better and use it to make tea or juice or for drinking water. Most bottled water is actually tap water that has been filtered and still may have more toxins than the tap water coming out of your sink. The Brita filter has been rated really good by Consumer Reports. So until we can afford a whole house system, this is what we use.
I take the SuperMom vitamins and we use organic local milk. Otherwise, I only buy organic when it fits my grocery budget. I limit sugar, and processed foods, and try to cook most everything from scratch. I have heard that there are still chemicals in most of the "organic" foods out there.
Other than that, we are trusting God to keep us healthy.
A very timely subject, Crystal; we aren't to be anxious in anything including cleaning yet we are to be wise! Manufacturers give us toxins in products while we can opt for natural as many do: lemons, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, borax, baking soda, herbs/essential oils such as lavender and tea tree oil, castile soap, etc. Processed foods and cleaning products are complex; simplicity is best!
http://www.ecologycenter.org/fact_sheets/cleaning.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=RNWE%2CRNWE%3A2006-20%2CRNWE%3Aen&q=natural+cleaning+recipes
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=RNWE%2CRNWE%3A2006-20%2CRNWE%3Aen&q=non-toxic+cleaning+
Tammy, thanks for the link to your soap recipe! I plan to try it out! I was especially glad to see that you find it works well on cloth diapers in hard water.
I posted a frugal tip =)
I always enjoy Fridays around here on your blog! =)
~Samantha
Thanks for all the great tips!
I forgot to say what mine was next to my name.
It is for sweetened condensed milk recipe substitute.
I have been getting migraines since age nine. They were so severe that I couldn’t stand any noise or light, got sick to my stomach and had to go to bed. Finally, as an adult, I discovered that perfume triggers my migraines. Since this revelation, I try to avoid people wearing perfume and rooms with fragrances from candles, airfreshners, etc. I seldom get migraines, and my life is so much better.
My experience has made me more conscious of environmental illnesses. A book I have found to be very helpful is Is This Your Child’s World? By Doris J. Rapp, M.D. Chemicals are fairly new in our history and Americans are just beginning to realize the devastating effects on our health. This book discusses health issues such as headaches, asthma, extreme fatigue, “foggy head,” joint & muscle pains, behavioral problems in children, and many others.
Thank you, Crystal for addressing this very important issue.
We started reducing toxins because we really didn't have any other choice. I was having migranes and asthma-type attacks and then had bad reactions to the medicines I was given to prevent them. We discovered that I am extremely chemically sensitive. We quickly eliminated cleaning and health and beauty products that had artificial fragrences and colors in them and I experienced a huge amount of relief from my symptoms.
It took me until my then 5 year old was having horrible behavior problems to realize how many chemicals and artifcial ingredients are in our food supply though. When we were at our wit's end after trying every parenting tecnique we could think of to improve his behavior, I heard about the Feingold program. We joined and with in 2 weeks I had a totally different child.
We still have a long way to go to be where I would like, but every step we've taken so far has improved our health greatly. What's surprising is that it really hasn't made much difference in our budget. I think the extra money we spend on things like organic milk is cancelled out by the fact that a gallon of white vinegar is much less expensive than the cleaning products we were using.
We have gradually moved towards organic and natural products over the past 5 years, and now pretty much everything we eat or use is chemical free. Another good book is Better Basics for the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond. It has recipes for everything from face cream to house paint. Another thing to consider is to avoid PVC in baby toys (or avoid plastic baby toys completely). Since babies chew their toys, they tend to get chemicals from the plastics into their bodies. Here is a website about safer toys: http://www.thegreenguide.com/reports/productprint.mhtml?id=65
There are a lot of WAHM websites that sell cloth and wood baby toys as alternatives to plastic.
Thanks for the inspiring Frugal Friday! I have recently discovered a road less travelled in household cleaning... that is, making your own cleaners out of ingredients in your kitchen like vinegar, water, baking soda, lemons and salt! I love being able to do something healthy for my family and saving a bundle while doing it!
Happy Cleaning!
The Frugal Friday series has been a great inspiration to me to re-energize my frugal efforts. I have posted some thoughts from a vintage homemaking book of 1905 - I have a real addiction for those sorts of volumes.
As far as cleaning materials go, I was prompted to switch to less chemically agressive products by my 4 year old's enthusiasm (insistance really!)in helping me clean. Certainly didn't want to discourage him but nor did I want him getting his hands on the cleaners I had at the time. I had been given a large stash of 'natural' baby bath products when pregnant, but since they made even my husband's skin dry and itchy we decided not to use them with the children. But, in small doses, they are great for cleaning with if you use one of those scratchy sponge things and don't mind rinsing a bit more. I also use a homemade vinegar/water/eucalyptus oil spray in the kitchen. You can't let little ones have free rein even with homemade or 'natural' products, of course, but I do feel better using them around them.
Crystal- not all tap water is bad! Have you ever had it tested? Well water is often a safe bet, on the other hand city water isn't even good enough for the dog! A reverse osmosis system is the best and you can them on your entire house or just under the kitchen sink.
White Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and you can heat it to get soap scum etc from the shower. It is great for kitchen floors- even wood ones. The Queen of Clean has a lot of tips. Also use a half a lemon and baking soda to scrub the tub etc. Borax is non toxic and you can clean just about anything with it- it tells you on the box. Also another laundry detergent recipe that is safe for allergies, sensitive skin etc. Add 1/4 cup borax, 1/4 washing soda and 1/4 baking soda to your wash. Does a good Job. You can do away with fabric softner it isn't good for you or your dryer. Just take your clothes out before they are over dry and you won't have static
Good Luck
Crystal- not all tap water is bad! Have you ever had it tested? Well water is often a safe bet, on the other hand city water isn't even good enough for the dog! A reverse osmosis system is the best and you can them on your entire house or just under the kitchen sink.
White Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and you can heat it to get soap scum etc from the shower. It is great for kitchen floors- even wood ones. The Queen of Clean has a lot of tips. Also use a half a lemon and baking soda to scrub the tub etc. Borax is non toxic and you can clean just about anything with it- it tells you on the box. Also another laundry detergent recipe that is safe for allergies, sensitive skin etc. Add 1/4 cup borax, 1/4 washing soda and 1/4 baking soda to your wash. Does a good Job. You can do away with fabric softner it isn't good for you or your dryer. Just take your clothes out before they are over dry and you won't have static
Good Luck
Lori - we have city water and it is ick! :(
Hi, I've enjoyed reading your blog and have enjoyed it a lot. I have read these other 2 blogs and the one lade just had a baby and had a home birth and the next lady is preg. now and they are very naturale and thought you may glean from them if you haven't read these two places.
www (dot) keepingthehome.com and
www. (dot) musings-of-a-mountain-mama.blogspot.com
regarding the tap water info we had a company come and do some testing and we knew they were trying to sell their large house products but wanted to see what they could tell us. Boy the 'experiments' they did to show us that you could swim in our chlorinated drinking water was amazing and that the reason that you have static in your dryed clothes from your dryer is because your water has so many toxins and they cling to your clothes and even the soap you add doesn't get it all out so the static is the toxins rubbing on each other-I think that's somewhat how they explained it. So, we did jump in after much deliberation between us and the sales rep that we got a whole house system-water softener, dechlorinator, RO (yummo!) and an air purifier that is used everytime the furnace / a/c fan runs. So, in essence NO more static in dryer (I don't use dryer sheets) and I only use 1 TB of laundry soap and when that is gone soon will just use the homemade stuff but will only need small amount and but all of the soap is washed out because our water is so pure.
ok just my 2 cents and if you want to know the company I would be willing to share
Lisa
I heard that bottle water wasn't that much better than city water, it just taste better. Also, the plastic that the water comes in is loaded with all sorts of "chemicals."
I just wondered what are all the problems that can come from these chemicals that you ladies are mentioning? I understand that really strong cleaners are bad and that some people are allergic/asthmatic. The shower cleaner I use gives me a headache sometimes. Homemade laundry detergent seems to be going a bit far. I have used chemical cleaning detergents all my life (so has my husband). We haven't had any reactions to them nor has any of our siblings. My babies are all fine Are the ladies who are using all organic hyper-sensitive? I am just wondering what the big concern is. I haven't read any books on the subject. What are the effects of the chemicals on the human body?
i've been detoxifying my home for years now! lol
i use only water and vinegar to surface clean,including mopping, and baking soda to clean toilets and tubs.
my children could drink an entire bottle of my cleaner and nothing would happen!
it's cheap too- i spend about $5 a month cleaning.
oh i make my own pledge too- vinegar and canola oil ~smile~
Bottled water can be city water bottled or a variety of different waters(spring, naturally carbonated, etc.). The water can be in a container similar to milk, in a polycarbonate bottle, or in glass. Many companies that deliver water to homes(for use with dispensers, for example) have the polycarbonate and glass containers, glass being the least leaching. City-treated water is better than straight from the river or lake with issues but it is treated(clorinated and fluorinated, for 2 examples) and has residual toxins that meet regulated standards. Well water can have run-off issues from farms, mining, industry, chemically treated lawns or even poorly operating septic systems. Reverse osmosis water is said to be an improvement over the two but it was not originally intended for human consumption. Pure water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen(H2O) and technically what God provides in the natural water cycle of evaporation and distillation(rain) though these days is tainted by what is in the air. Distilled drinking water is the next best thing to God's way, according to health gurus like Schulze and Bragg(yet some say the water is slightly acidic pH and more alkalized is better). The concern with the last two methods is the water that is put through them initially. Some impurities/germs make it through the RO process and some chemical toxins can actually make it through evaporation to distillation(according to some while others say not). Minerals necessary for health are ingested in foods when drinking distilled. An option some folks use is an ultraviolet whole-house system to kill the germies and then put that water through a distiller. I'm not real familiar with the container types like Brita though my concern would be what can "brew" in the filter over the time between changes. With the RO, there is a flush hose that the nasties it does filter go out. The distiller would be washed to remove residuals. I drink distilled and have done my own RO and even ionized. I've read that water softeners are a definite no no as they use altered salts(other than pure/healthy sea salt) that can adversely effect the circulatory system in a hardening way(and organs in general). It is interesting that even though industry settings use RO water in many applications, some offer spring or distilled water in bottles to their employees. Distilled drinking water is what you will find used in the pharmaceutical and health business(it provides the best absorption of the medications or nutrients added and why many in the natural health realm recommend it for drinking, infusing herbs, making teas, and taking supplements.). Wouldn't it be nice to not have to wade through all the voices on these matters. For every article on each saying yes, there can be found a nay(especially if it is a commercial product website). If you are showering or bathing with tap water, your skin is an organ of elimination AND absorption so drinking is not the only concern with straight from the tap and unfiltered/treated. Sorry for the length and lack of paragraphs. We simply should do the best we can as God provides without it becoming the focus of our life in Christ, correct?
Yes, I worry about toxins. I've noticed a great source for natural cleaners is a cookbook. I have quite a few Amish and Mennonite cookbooks and they all have "recipes" in the final chapter for homemade cleaning solutions. They work, and you do not have to worry about harming your children or pets!
Ruth
Tyrone, PA
I love your post. Eliminating toxins is one thing we've been doing too. I make my own cleaners (there is an entry on it back a ways in my blog) that are non-toxic. We eat as much organic as we can afford to avoid toxins left on produce and such from pesticides. We also try to avoid artificial hormones by buying organic dairy. A little extra money invested now can save TONS down the road in healthcare.
And you don't have to be a liberal to be crunchy. I think there a lot of crunchy conservatives out there!
These 3 links help better explain what I was poorly sharing about water(inorganic versus organic minerals included) and in a much better format(sorry, didn't have time to edit/paragraph with my last offering though not sure it will be posted).
Just think that inorganic minerals are what clogs the water pipes in the house...and the body. Distilled water is how God works in nature(evaporation/distillation with the water cycle) and with vegetables and fruits. Reverse Osmosis is technically the opposite of how osmosis naturally works through cells to hydrate and remove inorganic matter and toxins. I'm not convinced about RO water being healthy or not in light of it being derived in an opposite process of how the body works. It's a tad bit complex and I've not delved into it too deeply.
http://www.livingnutrition.com/water.html
http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-1559.html
http://www.alphaomegafood.com/distilledwater.htm
Norman Walker was a proponent of fresh vegetable juicing(NorWalk juicer) and lived to be over 100 drinking distilled water via fruits/veggies and as distilled water alone. Bragg(Paul & Patricia) has a commercial website with an excerpt from his book, Water, the Shocking Truth that can be read online. They also have excellent health(Paul recovered from quite ill health using their protocols which others have embraced or been inspired by such as Shaklee, Schiff, Herbalife) and have helped others(Jack LaLanne, J.C. Penney, Conrad Hilton, Dr. Scholl, Tom Selleck, Demi Moore, Madonna, The Beach Boys, Clint Eastwood, not sure about Christie Brinkley???, Olivia-Newton John, Bruce Willis, etc.). I tried to find links without connections to products but it wasn't an easy thing to do.
Hi Crystal,
I too, am making changes as far as the cleaners I use, etc. I used The Works shower cleaner the other day and had a nasty reaction, so I am looking for a safe alternative for a shower cleaner. Also, I use the Brita Pitcher and it works great! A filter lasts me about 3 months and costs around $7.00. City water is gross and I can taste the chlorine, smell it even! I also purchased a showerhead with a chlorine filter for my shower as the water was irritating my skin. There are a lot of nasty chemicals in tap water. Bottled water is expensive, so the Brita thing works out great for those on a budget.
During my last pregnancy, I read a book called, Having Faith, and I can't remember who it is by. But is very much about that the enviromental toxicns and how they can effect pregnancy. It was a fasinating and informitive read. I recommended it to my midwife and she also loved. All that to say that we switched to all natural cleaners and dishwasher soap, laundry soap, shampoos, ect... Here in the west we have a wonderful resource called Azure Standard and that is where I buy all my cleaning products. Water is a big thing. We are forunate to live in the country and drink well water and we also have an under the counter filter. I noticed a huge differance in my last pregnancy between the filtered water and not. The unfiltered water gave me a stomach ache. ~Diana
For Zan and anyone else who is wondering about what the chemicals can do to you:
http://www.lifekind.com/catalog/
chemical_glossary.php
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/
http://www.mercola.com/2004/jul/31/
toxins_home.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/8/
cleaning_products.htm
Some of the health problems with chemicals in our homes are long term issues. An example is young children being exposed to estrogenic compounds in plastics that can cause cancer much later in life. Those kinds of things aren't studied when initially determining if a product is safe, because they don't have time to test it for 20 years or longer.
Also, I agree there are a lot of crunchy conservatives, there is even a book about them:
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/
crownforum/catalog/display.pperl?
isbn=9781400050642
For anyone who is less willing to mix their own concoctions, Method products (get them at Target or www.method.com) are great. They are non-toxic, smell good, and work really well. On top of that, they are affordable too!
Crystal,
I really enjoy your blog. Congratulations on your baby (or is it babies?)! I will be praying that God will continue to bless you & your family.
I wanted to tell you that there are dozens of uses for Basic-H. We have been using it for as long as I can remember (16-18 years!).
Basic-H Uses:
fruit/veggie cleaner (nontoxic, but rinse THOROUGHLY)
brush teeth (tastes bad though)
wash hands
clean windows
clean mirrors
wash clothes (I love it for spot cleaning!)
wash dishes
wash floor
body soap
I can't think of anything else just now, but you get the picture I am sure. I joked to my mom that I will put it on my wedding gift list someday :)!
Crystal,
It's been too long since I popped by here, and I just spotted your posts about having a baby on the way. Many congratulations to you, Jesse, and soon-to-be big sis K! A few weeks ago I found out that we have a little one on the way as well. When are you due?
I finished reading The Complete Organic Pregnancy just a few days before I found out that I am for sure expecting. What a great read! I have had concerns about toxins in cleaning products and things like BGH and antibiotics in meat and dairy for many years, and made a lot of changes when I started trying for my first child. They stuck and it's been worth it. Another of your commenters has already mentioned Method...I too use Method and have been very happy with their products. You can also create a lot of "green" cleansers from basic staples such as vinegar and baking soda, so if you do a lot of research, all you would have to buy commercially would be a couple of spray bottles and a bucket (which I bet you already have).
There are many options, and I can't encourage folks enough to consider going green -- not for any political reasons, but for the health and well-being of their families and the generations of them to come.
I'd like to second Rebecca's recommendation for the book "Clean House, Clean Planet." (That should be in italics, but I don't know HTML.) I use the cleaner she gave the recipe for. It's great!
I'm super sensitive to chemicals. In fact, I quit my teaching career because I was so sick all the time. Not to sound totally paranoid, but I believe I was working in a sick building. It was brand new, so it was filled with all sorts of fumes from the new carpets, paints, etc.
Just to stress how sick chemicals make me, we had an undetected freon leak in our home for months. I was so unbelievably sick that I was seeing 4 specialists, on 9 different medications, ending up in the ER... Once we discovered the leak and replaced our AC, all my symptoms (chronic hives, swollen joints, facial swelling, constant upper respiratory distress) went away.
I'm a big fan of non-toxic cleaners! My main cleaner for lighter tasks is Red Juice. It is a non-toxic, biodegradable, unscented cleaner that can be purchased from The Clean Team. (www.thecleanteam.com) I use club soda for my mirrors. This was recommened in "Clean House, Clean Planet." It takes slightly more elbow grease than using Windex, but it works beautifully, it's essentially just water, and it's not harmful!
We started drinking bottled water about a year ago. My sister was suffering from some ailments and did research enough to discover how bad our water is. She then dug deeper for information on the best bottled water. We haven't invested in a filtration system yet but we're going to.
With our cleaning I buy a lot of things from Mrs. Meyer's and Method. I also stopped using fabric softener and I'm very careful what I use around the babies.
Post a Comment
<< Home