Chemicals and the natural home

This article is interesting.  It's amazing all the ways our modern society mindlessly poisons ourselves in our quest for perfection or a quick fix.  No wonder there is so much illness in the US!  However, being informed is half the battle, so that's what this post is about.  

I try hard to limit the amount of chemicals and additives that come into the house.  

Of course, food is a huge one, since that's what we put inside of our bodies.  I'm doing decent on that score, though there is still a ton of room for improvement.  

The things we put ON our bodies is a little trickier.  For the most part my cleaners are pretty pure, except for my shower cleaner, toilet cleaner and disinfectant wipes for the toilet.  The natural stuff just doesn't work well enough on my hard water, and as far as the toilet wipes, I just can't bear to use anything else just yet. 

My dish soap and dishwasher soap are from Seventh Generation or Bio-Kleen (I've stocked up on their stuff since they've been running a sale and I got some coupons for them too!).

  

For a general purpose cleaner, I use a squirt of Dr Bronners castille soap with 15 drops of tea tree oil in the bottle for anti-bacterial purposes.  I use this on counters, floors etc...  A similar mix works great for hand soap when you refill those handy foaming hand soap bottles.

The laundry soap I use is usually at least fragrance free, but it's still a work in progress.  I'm not always as natural as I'd like to be in this area.  I do have a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I plan on trying whenever I get the hankering to tackle a big messy project.  I may wait until the summer, so I can do it outside and avoid the frustration of granules all over the house.

For window and mirror cleaner, 2 drops of joy dish soap in a 32oz container works great.  I add a drop of blue food coloring to the bottle to distinguish it from other cleaners.

I haven't found a natural shampoo that I love yet.  They're pretty expensive, and I'm struggling with this dry climate.  Say Yes to Carrots has a great hair mud mask that I really love, but the shampoo doesn't moisturize as well as I need.   I'm still working on that portion of simplifying.  

 For body wash, I use liquid Dr Bronners with the lavender scent and it works great!  I use the unscented gentle baby version of Dr B's for the kids' body wash and then Burts Bees shampoo (and bubble bath for when they want some extra bubbles) - Say Yes to Carrots has a baby line and I'd like to try it once we run out of Burts Bees (BB is owned by Clorox who is not known for being natural, obviously)

I have made progress on the makeup or lotions yet, except to try and eliminate anything that has fragrance in it.  I usually do this when it's time for replacement.  

  The most exciting change I've made lately is to make my own deodorant.  I found the recipe here and here and I LOVE it.  The combo I used was coconut oil, cornstarch and baking soda (you could add a lovely essential oil here for extra scent also if you wish).  The coconut oil makes it smell great going on, and honestly, it works better than any other deodorant/anti-persperant I've used.  I still haven't gotten Dave to try it.  We need to wait for a weekend to test it on him...it wouldn't do to find out it doesn't function as well for him at work, haha!  The best part is that I don't any aluminum going into my body.  The info below is copied from the second deodorant link.

So Why Avoid Antiperspirant?

The simple fact that my skin absorbs what I put on it is one reason to be cognizant and careful about any personal product, but antiperspirant has a few more.

1. Aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s.
2. Aluminum may impact breast cancer risks.
3. Parabens in conventional deodorant are increasingly being linked to cancer and other diseases.
4. Is blocking my sweat glands a good idea?

Anyway, these are a few of the things I've been focusing on lately.  One small step at a time, and I'll work my way there.  I hope this has given you a few things to think about so you can maybe adjust some of the toxic products in your own home. ♥