Making The Switch

So I know it's not Wednesday but I wanted to tell about a new all natural/green product I've fallen in love with and why I made the switch to it.

The last few months, each day I've put on deodorant I have felt guilty and a little sick to my stomach. Yes, over deodorant. Ridiculous I know.

But I just kept thinking about all I know about this little product we use each day and how even though the popular deodorants we all buy everyday do their job. They definitely were not good for my overall health.

Deodorants such as Secret, Degree, LadySpeedStick...and so on have some very interesting and unsafe ingredients. Your body is made to sweat and these deodorants all keep your body from doing that by clogging pores with lots of nasty chemicals. These chemicals can build up in your underarms and cause problems such as swollen lymph nodes and small tumors.

Umm, no thank you.

I had been taking so long to switch to natural deodorant because I hadn't heard of any good alternatives and to sweat and be stinky was not an option.

I have heard great things recently about the brand Alvera so I purchased a bottle of their deodorant in the Aloe & Almond scent and I have been very very impressed.

There is absolutely no stinkiness. Which is obviously everyone's main issue. But I can honestly report that I have not once in the last three weeks had issues there since I've changed to this all natural brand. I do sweat a little, but that's natural since your body is made to do that. But it hasn't been anything major, I'm not much of a sweater anyway.

I definitely recommend this product since it's aloe based and not petroleum it's a million times better for you and for the environment. Give it a try! ;)

Green Tip

And the tip of the week is.....

Check the ingredients in your laundry detergent. (which may not be on the container)

Why?

Because most liquid detergents are petroleum based instead of vegetable oil based. Which means that we use over 200,000 barrels of oil a year on laundry detergent alone!

And what could we do with that much oil instead?

Heat and cool over 11,000 homes a year.

You're getting charged an outrageous amount of money per year for laundry detergent that isn't eco-friendly.

A few brands that make great eco-friendly detergents are Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyer's

I've used both brands cleaning products before I began making my own and they are both really great.

I enjoy making my own laundry soap for a few reasons.....

1) I know everything that goes in it.
2) It's much cheaper in the long run.
3) I can make my own scent.

If you are up for it, here's the recipe :)

2 cups washing soda (found on the detergent isle at grocery store)
2 cups of scented baking soda (add in your favorite essential oil (5-8 drops) I love lavender!)
1 bar of grated Ivory soap
1 cup of Borax
Container/Jar

I use 1/4 cup per each large load of laundry

I normally double this recipe and it lasts me a really long time.

I also bought a really adorable HUGE Mason jar at Michael's, it's perfect to store the detergent in :)

Favorite Find

I know. I know. This is probably not the picture you thought you were going to see when you saw the title, "Favorite Find."

Then again if you REALLY know me, it doesn't surprise you at all.

We all know that I'm always looking for ways to 'green up' my life.

Last week I was on my weekly grocery store excursion and I knew that I was going to have to break down and buy trash bags this week.

You need to know that I hate buying trash bags. I see no reason why I should have to spend over $7 a box on something that my trash goes in. What a waste, literally.

But being the coupon cutter that I am I had a $1 off coupon so I decided I couldn't complain as much this time.

I mean really what are my other options?

So mentally, I told myself that I needed to go ahead and make the journey down aisle 9 and pick up my grocery item as fast as possible and be on my way.

My buggy never travels down aisle 9 EXCEPT when this item is needed. After all, it's the 'evil' aisle when you're working your hardest to become more green.

Examples of bad green choices down aisle 9: paper towels, paper cups, styrofoam, plastic bags, etc.

Anyway, I turned the corner and as I was picking up my usual trash bags I saw a green box out of the corner of my eye. (As you may already know the color green is pretty popular for "green" products)

The picture above is what I saw.

I'm not gonna lie the first thing that caught my eye was that this box contained 5 more bags than my current trash bag company and it was the same price.

But then, I saw 'Renew' and '65% Recycled Plastic'.

I was sold.

Yes, it's a very small way to take advantage of recycled products... but every little bit counts. :)

Also, as requested by Ms. Katie I will be giving "Green Tips" each week.

I've already sent these to Katie, but this weeks tip are:

1) Try to buy produce from a local grocer. It costs much more to ship food miles/states in order to be at your local Wal-Mart, Kroger and so on. So check out your town and see if there is a local market somewhere close. Not only are you helping the environment, your produce is much more fresh and you are more likely to have a wider range of organic produce to choose from.

2) Cut down on your use of dry cleaners. There is a chemical called perc in dry cleaning that can cause lung and kidney problems. Perc also lingers in the air and has been found in our food due to this. There are green dry cleaners you just have to look them up in your area online.

It's Not Easy Being Green!

One of my favorite things to do is walk into a book store pick out a big stack of books, find a quiet spot and sit there for hours taking in all I can.

So naturally, I love Barnes & Noble.

Who wouldn't?

It's like the flippin' library with a better selection of books, the option of coffee and great music. (I love listing to the music they have playing, it's always someone unknown.)

So Jen and I took a drive to Firewheel about two weeks ago and spent a few hours in their B&N .

I can't help but always go to books on raising, teaching or nurturing children. It's my passion therefore I love reading as much as I possibly can so that I'm as prepared as possible for teaching..... and of course YEARS from now, motherhood.

So just like any other day I made my way to the "childcare" section of the store and started picking books off the shelf when I saw a book titled Growing Up Green. Now let me just tell you this is like the godfather of all books for me.

It's about kids.

It's about the environment.

It's about putting the two together.

This was most definitely my cup of tea.

WOW! WOW! WOW! And I only read the first few chapters. Not only is this book enlightening it's kind of scary. I say scary because we are exposed to so many chemicals and toxins every day without even knowing it which means children are as well.

The scariest part for me was that your unborn children are exposed to these chemicals and toxins. EeeKKK!!! Everyday things can be harming your child that isn't even born. Some chemicals even had a 50% greater chance of your child developing cancer and certain diseases.

Isn't that horrific?

I got to thinking about if you can REALLY ever be prepared to be a mommy...

Reading the first few chapters out of this book I felt completely overwhelmed. I felt like I couldn't be prepared to have a child if I had years of nothing but time to conduct studies on environmental hazards.

I do plan on going back and buying this very enlightening book. But I think I might read it quite slowly, take it all in.