Green Up Your Clean Up

My new favorite book! Although with an extra chromosome comes extra cuteness, unfortunately, so does an increased risk of many health problems, including autoimmune disorders, respiratory problems, and leukemia (just to name a few.) My girls already suffer from allergies (family trait, not DS) and respiratory problems. I can not do much about their predisposition, but I can try and help them be as healthy as possible. I am trying to be really good about the toxins that my family is exposed to. We eat no food containing partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat), try to stay away from all colored dyes and preservatives, and generally most processed food. Of course, the occasional McDonald's Happy Meal is a welcomed treat to Mary. I also use all-natural soaps and shampoos that contain no fragrance (a nickname for harmful toxins that have been linked to cancer.) My latest change has been cleaning products. I threw out every chemical cleaning product that I own and made my own. The book, Green Up Your Clean Up by Jill Potvin Schoff, is an amazing resource and made it super simple. It lists all of the harmful toxins that we take into our home (and intern into our bodies) and gives natural alternatives. I have been blown away at the cleaning ability of these products! Among my favorites is a mildew and germ killer made with essential oils and water. One may think that if you avoid eating or drinking chemical cleaners then you avoid taking them in your body. The truth is that you can absorb chemicals in many ways... your skin (the largest organ in the body, therefore anything that touches it can be absorbed and goes into your blood stream) and your lungs (even if you use do not use a spray, liquid chemical products release gases that can suspend in the air for long periods of time.) But the government regulates these things, right? Wrong! Currently in the U.S. there are almost no regulation of chemicals used in the home (the only exception is pesticides.) One last thought and then I will get off my soap box... A study by the Environmental Working Group tested the umbilical-cord of 10 American babies born in 2004 and found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in each baby's blood. Okay, so throwing everything away and starting over may not be what you choose, but you can be cautious about what you are buying. There are many products on the market that are "going green." Look for those. I have found, however, that although they are out there, those products are expensive. Making my own was actually quite inexpensive and because most natural ingredients are sold in bulk it will save you money in the long run (most things can be found at Wal-mart.) I have not switched to homemade dishwashing detergent (I like my phosphate-free, eco-friendly Palmolive for now) or homemade laundry detergent (mostly because Wal-mart didn't carry what I needed), but I most likely will in the future. I feel good about cleaning my home now and don't worry about the harsh chemicals that my girls are exposed to. I hope that switching will help with a lot of their respiratory problems and contribute to better health in the future.

What my cleaning products looked like before...


after...