Since this article was posted, I’ve discovered that my complexion gets better when I have apple cider twice a week.

Also, on flooring…. I found out that some polyurethanes contain toxic chems that can leech.
I have oak floors in 2/3 of my house and am seriously dreading getting the floors done this year… if anyone knows or hears of good alternatives let me know. I honestly don’t know if I have it in me to go the old paste wax route – I’ve have really tones arms when all was said & done though But I could pay someone to sand it & then seal it myself with something other then poly…

We got Ecover from our local coop and we really love it. It’s a powder, zero phosphates, and environmentally friendly. It comes in a cardboard box, and even the pour spout is totally cardboard, so it’s completely recyclable. No gritty weird residue, and everything is super clean. We’re in CO, so differences in water softness/hardness may also play a part in its efficacy.

I keep going back and forth with cosmetics and other things and this post really helped me. I went on the cosmetic database last night and looked for specific makeup with the lowest chemicals.I was disappointed to see my Mrs. Meyer hand soap that I thought was pretty healthy is indeed not so.

Thanks again. I really enjoyed this post and am going to attempt to work on becoming less toxic in the home and what I put on my body.

I did just start using coconut oil on my face, and it is glowing like never before. I highly recommend!

Yes, it it very hard on the budget. Even though I can do my own upholstery work, I totally get that. My hope is the prices will come down as materials become more readily available. As it is they are considered luxury items and priced accordingly. Materials based on the petrochemical industry are so much more readily available and essentially subsidized by governments – therefore cheaper to buy. Imho, we don’t pay the true cost (for oil spill clean ups, etc.) of an item when making an original purchase of foam, carpet, fabrics, or anything made from or packaged in a petroleum based product. If we did, people would scream to high heaven about taxes, lost jobs, and government intervention. In the meantime we are polluting our planet and creating toxic environments for our children. It’s criminal.

I don’t believe in throwing out something until it NEEDS to be replaced. It isn’t eco-wise to throw something in a landfill that is usable and already in place. That is wasteful. Frugality, to me, is a mentality of creativity, inventiveness, and resourcefulness. While carpet may not be the best choice, if it is already in place, kept clean, and in good condition, use it until it is worn out. Then replace it with a sustainable & healthy choice in flooring.

One of my favorite products is rose water. I put it in a spray bottle and spritz a cotton pad with it when I wish to freshen and de-grease my face. I’m very fair skinned and prone to redness, so this calms my skin as well. I learned about this from someone from Egypt. My other favs are coconut oil (use on skin and for cooking) and shea butter (wonderful on dry chapped winter skin). Both are initially expensive but last a crazy long time as you only need a teeny-tiny amount each time you use them. I buy a shea butter that supports a women’s collaborative in Africa, but don’t recall the name. Anyway, I feel that helps in a small way to justify buying such an expensive product. Plus my whole family uses it, so we aren’t all buying different things and the labels are simple – one item, one source.

One a side note: I do upholstery and find it very discouraging that most furniture is very toxic. It looks so comfy and is so ubiquitous that it is most deceptive. Polyurethane foam found in almost all furniture emits VOCs their entire life, not to mention that they don’t decompose. There is no way to recycle them once they are replaced. Almost all of the fabrics are treated with pesticides, flame retardants, and formaldehyde. Have you ever noticed the smell when you walk into a fabric store? In fact, I smell it when I enter clothing stores too, but I digress. (One more reason to buy at thrift stores!) The problem is that natural latex foam is much more expensive than polyurethane foam so it replaced latex as the standard foam in the 1930′s. Government regulations are in place, but in favor of toxic materials in that laws were enacted to require flame retardants in bedding and seating. Synthetic materials burn at a scary fast pace (flash burn) plus they give off deadly fumes when they burn. Rather than ban the fibers, the solution was to require chemical treatments on fabrics. That isn’t the whole story though. The way natural fibers like cotton are grown, processed, and dyed is also an issue. Thankfully there are alternatives emerging. Companies are now making truly organically grown and processed fabrics printed with non-toxic dyes, organic wools and cotton battings, and natural latex foam (which is sustainable and supports communities where the trees grow). It isn’t cheap (yet) but if consumers buy and press for these alternatives, then hopefully the market standards will change. In the meantime, I take small steps – one chair at a time, looking at it as an investment in the kind of world I wish to live in and in my family’s health, both now and in the future.

Thanks to everyone with the mosquito solutions. We’ll give them a try.

We’re switching to baking soda for toothpaste once our current tube runs dry. I’ve switched to a “crystal stick” for deodorant- just a mineral salt stick, it’s awesome!- and the only makeup I usually ever wear is a swipe of eyeshadow. I’m excited to try the “no-poo” method, because my hair is very thick and wavy, and almost down to my waist, so I already only wash it about twice a week or else it will dry out. The one thing I simply cannot give up, however, is my Retin-A. I had terrible acne starting at 15 or 16 that just got continually worse, to the point of strangers pulling me aside often in public to offer suggestions and pity. After over a decade of trying everything under the sun, from natural to medical to lasers to changes in diet, this is the only thing that works. I wish I could be a fresh faced all natural girl that did a wash ‘n’ go with some Dr. Bronner’s, but it’s not in the cards for me, so I just try and make it up in other ways