First Things First

Hello All!
I'm excited to start out on this new venture of demystifying the increasingly complicated arena of toxins in the home.

Do you know what is really in your air?  Have you ever looked up what is really in Febreze?


Check out one of my favorite websites www.ewg.org to search everything from cleaning products to hair-care to make-up to cell phones (don't get me started on phones today... that is for a future blog post).  Anyways ... if you are curious, pick a personal or cleaning product you use often and look it up on the consumer products section of the site http://www.ewg.org/consumer-guides and see what you find out and if you still want to use that product on a daily basis.

It happened at my house.  My husband, who is ever so patient with the constant stream of new discoveries of dangerous chemicals lurking in commonplace items, was right on the verge of spraying some Febreze.  I had a sudden attack of i-better-look-this-up-itis and put it into the trusty consumer search.  Well, after I rattled off a decent sized list of neurotoxins and chemicals that harm the reproductive system and much more my husband promptly threw away the bottle and we haven't been poisoned by the definitely not-freshening since.

So now, the trick is to find a suitable and more importantly affordable air freshener. First and foremost - one very cheap and healthy for you and the earth option is.... drum roll please... Baking Soda. You can buy the fridge/freezer packs and use them in rooms or for an even more eco friendly option, use a reusable satchet and replace the baking soda periodically.

This site had some interesting ideas. http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/environmentally-friendly-4/ .  Now baking soda is great for maintenance, but for an occasional odor, this site suggests non-toxic candles.  Even if a product says it has natural oils does not mean it is safe.  Turns out even lavender oil that isn't pure can have formaldehyde in it which is a known carcinogen.  http://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/3179 (Cheer up! Small exposures are ok and inevitable, the key is to find the major toxic chemicals that we are exposed to at high levels on a regular basis)

So this is the point where I would have been overwhelmed.  If its all toxic, who cares; we are all going to die anyways.  Well... It can be very simple and easy.  Seek balance.  Do you have to use air fresheners? (We opted not to- though we may pick up an eco candle or two for our bathrooms)  When can you use the baking soda?  In stinky closets?  Anywhere with persistant smell issues is a great candidate for a baking soda satchet. If you absolutely feel you need spray air freshener, EWG has a list of better (still not completely non-toxic) air fresheners to use.  Compare products looking at prices vs risk and choose a product that works for your family and try to use it sparingly.  What I constantly strive for is balance.  I can't be perfect and I'm not a super duper eco stickler.  I'm just another human trying to do the very best I can for my family and my earth.

Here is a link for making your own baking soda satchet with a sock!!!!  http://voices.yahoo.com/how-deodorizing-sachet-baking-soda-2351266.html  She has a great idea to add salt for moist areas that need deodorizing.  If you are aiming at non-toxic don't spray perfume into the baking soda as the author suggests. Alas that is also for another blog.  I'm going to do this actually this week as I have some cute colorful loner socks that could use a purpose.

I hope that I have enlightened more than confused you.  As this venture is very new to me as far as sharing with the world, I would appreciate your feedback on this article.

Love to all
Val