I figured a few people would read my last post and that would be all. I was surprised by how many people actually did! After reading over it I thought of a few more green ways.
In the dishwasher, if you have hard water and can't stand the hard water marks, use citric acid. I buy it in bulk from Amazon.com. I put about a tablespoon in the second/open spot in my dishwasher and it works great! Also, great kitchen storage is canning jars. I make sure to buy freezer safe. I make big batches of beans in my dutch oven and freeze them in can-size servings. I try to avoid canned goods due to the BPA in the lining. I also freeze leftovers in them when I know they won't get eaten in a few days.
For laundry I dump about 1/2 cup of vinegar in to wash my towels. I put it in the center of my top loader, where the fabric softener would go. It gets rid of the stink. If you don't have that you can use a Downy ball.
For hand soap I use some Seventh Generation, but have also found that I love to use the foaming soap pumps with about 1/3 cup (or less) of soap and the rest water. Which soap do I use here? My favorite-Dr. Bronner! In our bathroom I have 2 options, one Dr. Bronner bar soap for me (because they're usually cheaper) and Seventh Generation liquid for hubby and guests. I've tried making the gallon of soap from one bar and it turned into a big glob of slimy goo that didn't get our hands clean. Another Pinterest fail :)
In the baby care section I forgot about milk storage. I plan to dodge plastic by using canning jars (freezer safe kind) to store my milk. Ball makes a plastic reusable storage lid for the jars. I know it's plastic, but if stored upright, it shouldn't come in contact with the milk. I hate to think of the precious liquid gold soaking up the chemicals from the plastic milk storage bags.
I'm sure I'll think of others, but that's all for now.
Kristy
Family 2014
James 2
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Green Life at the Lewis House
So I've had a few friends asking questions lately about how we clean and eat at our house. I decided to take the opportunity to type it all out. I was your guinea pig.:) I have been working toward living a very low chemical lifestyle and I've tried many different products. I'll let you know what works for us and hopefully you'll give it a try.
I'll start with cleaning, since that seems to be catching on quicker than other areas.
My favorite cleaning tool=ecloth. Find it on their website, on amazon or azurestandard.com. You use only hot water with it to clean and disenfect your house. For the extra tough jobs (bath tubs, kitchen sinks, etc.) I use Norwex Cleaning Paste from Norwex.com, It's pricey, but it lasts forever. Once you get it and see how it works, you'll understand. Norwex also sells the cloths, but they're 3 times as expensive as the ecloth. Ecloth also makes a cloth for windows and you spray the window with water and wipe clean. Shiniest windows ever! I also love their mop. Hot water on the floor is wayyy better than any chemical under my babies' feet and hands.
Bathroom
When cleaning the bathroom I like to use something with my ecloth besides just water. My most common spray is vinegar, water and tea tree oil. Half vinegar, half water and 20 drops of tto. I also use borax (found in the laundry aisle in walmart) in the toilet to give me some scrubbing power. Also, we use a fabric shower curtain liner. The vinyl kind puts off chemicals as it heats up in the shower. I find these cheapest at TJ Maxx.
Kitchen
For the kitchen I like Seventh Generation dish soap and dishwasher pods. They also make a rinse aid. Soaking fruits and veggies in half vinegar and water helps get rid of the pesticides. I have tried two different homemade dishwasher soaps and they were TERRIBLE! Pinterest doesn't always work :)
Carpet/Dusting
For shampooing the carpet I like Dr. Bronner Sal-Suds. It only takes two drops in the tank of the shampooer. It comes in a huge bottle and lasts forever. If your carpet needs freshened in between shampoos, just sprinkle baking soda and leave it set for awhile before vacuuming it up.
For dusting I use a dry ecloth. They make one specifically for dusting that I'm excited to try, but the basic cloth works ok.
Laundry
I have a few different soaps that I use. I made my own with borax, baking soda, fels naptha soap (laundry aisle at walmart), and oxi clean. I felt like it turned my white scrubs yellow, so I use that on my baby clothes and my dark clothes. For my whites I like Greenshield Organics, or Nellys. For stains I like the Babyganics spray or Honest Company spray.
Health and Beauty
If you want to know how healthy your current products are, check out ewg.org. You're able to put in your product and they'll give you a break down of everything that's in it. Scary! Baby Magic is one of the worst.
I don't use shampoo and conditioner on my hair any more. I use Dr. Bronner castille soap. They come in several scents and my favorites are citrus or almond. You put a squirt (probably a little less than 1 tbsp) in a cup and add 1 cup of water. Pour that on your hair and scrub and rinse. I use Dr. Bronner conditioning rinse as a conditioner. 1 cap with 1 cup of water. Pour that on your hair, scrub it in and leave it in for a few minutes (the longer, the better). You'll probably notice that your hair seems kind of dry at first. It's actually not, it just doesn't have all the weird silicon or whatever slimy chemicals they add to regular products.
I use the Dr. Bronner castille soap on a loofah for body wash and face wash.
I'm still trying to figure out the perfect lotion and hair product. As of now I'm using Great Value brand of Aveeno lotion (which is better than some, but still not great) and a gel or hair cream that's not natural at all. I've ordered a hair cream from Dr. Bronners to try.
For face moisturizer I use coconut oil at night and Alba brand moisturizer during the day. I still use Mary Kay make-up and hope to gradually make the change to better products soon.
I use natural toothpaste with NO SLS or flouride. SLS gave me terrible canker sores and it's in nearly every single toothpaste at Walmart. Flouride has been proven to cause issues such as decreased brain function. Google it! We get enough in our water so I'm not concerned about cavities. One of my favorite toothpastes is the "Now" brand in cinnamon flavor. When I do get canker sores, I swish with warm coconut oil for 10-20 minutes and that seems to heal them quickly. Spit it in the trash, not the drain! It will clog them up. It's actually recommended to swish with coconut oil every day. I'm not quite that good.
I've recently been experimenting with my homemade deodorant. I found one that works great on the wellnessmama.com website, but after using it for a week it started burning. I took a few days off and used it again with the same results. I made one without baking soda (which is causing the burn) and it did NOT work. I'm going to try using less baking soda in my next batch.
Baby Care
I have used several different brands and have been the happiest with the Babyganics brand. I've found it at Target and Babies R Us. They make soap, lotion, sunscreen, bug spray, butt cream, etc. and I've been happy with it all. It's one of the lower priced products I've found. I also like coconut oil on a sore bottom. No stinging, just soothing. I have yet to switch to natural diapers. Hubby wasn't on board for cloth and the natural disposables are crazy expensive. I also made most of my own baby food using a magic bullet to puree. I stored it in the smallest glass canning jars with the reusable plastic lids. They freeze well were easy to clean. I used some glass bottles and plan to use all glass with the next babe.
Eating
We use very little plastic in the kitchen. I bought a ton of the little 2 cup pyrex dishes for leftovers. I use only glass in the microwave to avoid the crazy chemicals from plastic leaching into our food. Also, no saran wrap in the microwave. And by the way, "BPA free" isn't any better. I do use plastic sippy cups, but plan to switch to stainless steel as soon as the little guy can figure out how to work the seals. I've started buying more and more organic foods. Between pesticides and GMO's I don't want to risk it. I buy whole wheat and regular pasta and mix the two. We just can't quite get used to the whole wheat by itself.
We don't buy low fat or fat free anything, besides milk for hubby and I. There are strange chemicals and additives in those items and fat from real sources is healthier than fat from a donut. The little one gets whole milk and probably will until he's an adult. Hubby and I drink 2%.
No artificial sweeteners are allowed in our house! They're terrible for you. I know first-hand after having head-to-toe joint pain for months and realizing it was caused by my light yogurt and Crystal Light that I was eating daily.
I also don't recommend any meal replacement plans or diets.Eat real food and you will feel better and lose weight the way our bodies were intended to.
I recommend Rainbow Lite multivitamins, or a similar organic product.
We order bulk meat from a company called Zaycon Foods. This meat is natural and free of hormones and antibiotics. The prices are much cheaper than the store! You have to buy 40 lbs, but I've never had trouble finding someone to go in half.
Now, where does all of this come from?
I have recently started using a co-op company called Azure Standard. It's mostly organic and they carry food, health and beauty items, ecloth cleaning supplies, Dr. Bronner soap, produce, etc. Their prices are lower than any other place because you pick them up from the truck yourself. You can find a "drop point" close to your home. I'm picking mine up in Topeka next week.
I also find a lot of good products on Amazon.
Target carries Dr. Bronner soap, but it's way more expensive there. Dillons is cheaper, but not quite as cheap as Azure.
Seventh Generation is at Target, Dillons or Azure.
Pinterest has many good ideas, but know that Dawn dish soap is not a low chemical product and this is added to many so-called "green cleaners" on there.
http://ecloth.com/
www.amazon.com
azurestandard.com
wellnessmama.com-Deodorant Recipe and much more!
drbronner.com
zayconfoods.com
Well, my eyes are blurry after this rant. Hopefully this is helpful to those out there looking to live a healthier life.
Be well!
Kristy
I'll start with cleaning, since that seems to be catching on quicker than other areas.
My favorite cleaning tool=ecloth. Find it on their website, on amazon or azurestandard.com. You use only hot water with it to clean and disenfect your house. For the extra tough jobs (bath tubs, kitchen sinks, etc.) I use Norwex Cleaning Paste from Norwex.com, It's pricey, but it lasts forever. Once you get it and see how it works, you'll understand. Norwex also sells the cloths, but they're 3 times as expensive as the ecloth. Ecloth also makes a cloth for windows and you spray the window with water and wipe clean. Shiniest windows ever! I also love their mop. Hot water on the floor is wayyy better than any chemical under my babies' feet and hands.
Bathroom
When cleaning the bathroom I like to use something with my ecloth besides just water. My most common spray is vinegar, water and tea tree oil. Half vinegar, half water and 20 drops of tto. I also use borax (found in the laundry aisle in walmart) in the toilet to give me some scrubbing power. Also, we use a fabric shower curtain liner. The vinyl kind puts off chemicals as it heats up in the shower. I find these cheapest at TJ Maxx.
Kitchen
For the kitchen I like Seventh Generation dish soap and dishwasher pods. They also make a rinse aid. Soaking fruits and veggies in half vinegar and water helps get rid of the pesticides. I have tried two different homemade dishwasher soaps and they were TERRIBLE! Pinterest doesn't always work :)
Carpet/Dusting
For shampooing the carpet I like Dr. Bronner Sal-Suds. It only takes two drops in the tank of the shampooer. It comes in a huge bottle and lasts forever. If your carpet needs freshened in between shampoos, just sprinkle baking soda and leave it set for awhile before vacuuming it up.
For dusting I use a dry ecloth. They make one specifically for dusting that I'm excited to try, but the basic cloth works ok.
Laundry
I have a few different soaps that I use. I made my own with borax, baking soda, fels naptha soap (laundry aisle at walmart), and oxi clean. I felt like it turned my white scrubs yellow, so I use that on my baby clothes and my dark clothes. For my whites I like Greenshield Organics, or Nellys. For stains I like the Babyganics spray or Honest Company spray.
Health and Beauty
If you want to know how healthy your current products are, check out ewg.org. You're able to put in your product and they'll give you a break down of everything that's in it. Scary! Baby Magic is one of the worst.
I don't use shampoo and conditioner on my hair any more. I use Dr. Bronner castille soap. They come in several scents and my favorites are citrus or almond. You put a squirt (probably a little less than 1 tbsp) in a cup and add 1 cup of water. Pour that on your hair and scrub and rinse. I use Dr. Bronner conditioning rinse as a conditioner. 1 cap with 1 cup of water. Pour that on your hair, scrub it in and leave it in for a few minutes (the longer, the better). You'll probably notice that your hair seems kind of dry at first. It's actually not, it just doesn't have all the weird silicon or whatever slimy chemicals they add to regular products.
I use the Dr. Bronner castille soap on a loofah for body wash and face wash.
I'm still trying to figure out the perfect lotion and hair product. As of now I'm using Great Value brand of Aveeno lotion (which is better than some, but still not great) and a gel or hair cream that's not natural at all. I've ordered a hair cream from Dr. Bronners to try.
For face moisturizer I use coconut oil at night and Alba brand moisturizer during the day. I still use Mary Kay make-up and hope to gradually make the change to better products soon.
I use natural toothpaste with NO SLS or flouride. SLS gave me terrible canker sores and it's in nearly every single toothpaste at Walmart. Flouride has been proven to cause issues such as decreased brain function. Google it! We get enough in our water so I'm not concerned about cavities. One of my favorite toothpastes is the "Now" brand in cinnamon flavor. When I do get canker sores, I swish with warm coconut oil for 10-20 minutes and that seems to heal them quickly. Spit it in the trash, not the drain! It will clog them up. It's actually recommended to swish with coconut oil every day. I'm not quite that good.
I've recently been experimenting with my homemade deodorant. I found one that works great on the wellnessmama.com website, but after using it for a week it started burning. I took a few days off and used it again with the same results. I made one without baking soda (which is causing the burn) and it did NOT work. I'm going to try using less baking soda in my next batch.
Baby Care
I have used several different brands and have been the happiest with the Babyganics brand. I've found it at Target and Babies R Us. They make soap, lotion, sunscreen, bug spray, butt cream, etc. and I've been happy with it all. It's one of the lower priced products I've found. I also like coconut oil on a sore bottom. No stinging, just soothing. I have yet to switch to natural diapers. Hubby wasn't on board for cloth and the natural disposables are crazy expensive. I also made most of my own baby food using a magic bullet to puree. I stored it in the smallest glass canning jars with the reusable plastic lids. They freeze well were easy to clean. I used some glass bottles and plan to use all glass with the next babe.
Eating
We use very little plastic in the kitchen. I bought a ton of the little 2 cup pyrex dishes for leftovers. I use only glass in the microwave to avoid the crazy chemicals from plastic leaching into our food. Also, no saran wrap in the microwave. And by the way, "BPA free" isn't any better. I do use plastic sippy cups, but plan to switch to stainless steel as soon as the little guy can figure out how to work the seals. I've started buying more and more organic foods. Between pesticides and GMO's I don't want to risk it. I buy whole wheat and regular pasta and mix the two. We just can't quite get used to the whole wheat by itself.
We don't buy low fat or fat free anything, besides milk for hubby and I. There are strange chemicals and additives in those items and fat from real sources is healthier than fat from a donut. The little one gets whole milk and probably will until he's an adult. Hubby and I drink 2%.
No artificial sweeteners are allowed in our house! They're terrible for you. I know first-hand after having head-to-toe joint pain for months and realizing it was caused by my light yogurt and Crystal Light that I was eating daily.
I also don't recommend any meal replacement plans or diets.Eat real food and you will feel better and lose weight the way our bodies were intended to.
I recommend Rainbow Lite multivitamins, or a similar organic product.
We order bulk meat from a company called Zaycon Foods. This meat is natural and free of hormones and antibiotics. The prices are much cheaper than the store! You have to buy 40 lbs, but I've never had trouble finding someone to go in half.
Now, where does all of this come from?
I have recently started using a co-op company called Azure Standard. It's mostly organic and they carry food, health and beauty items, ecloth cleaning supplies, Dr. Bronner soap, produce, etc. Their prices are lower than any other place because you pick them up from the truck yourself. You can find a "drop point" close to your home. I'm picking mine up in Topeka next week.
I also find a lot of good products on Amazon.
Target carries Dr. Bronner soap, but it's way more expensive there. Dillons is cheaper, but not quite as cheap as Azure.
Seventh Generation is at Target, Dillons or Azure.
Pinterest has many good ideas, but know that Dawn dish soap is not a low chemical product and this is added to many so-called "green cleaners" on there.
http://ecloth.com/
www.amazon.com
azurestandard.com
wellnessmama.com-Deodorant Recipe and much more!
drbronner.com
zayconfoods.com
Well, my eyes are blurry after this rant. Hopefully this is helpful to those out there looking to live a healthier life.
Be well!
Kristy
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