Going (A Bit More) Green: My Journey

When my first baby was born, it changed my life in so many ways right from the start.  I vividly remember my daughter getting her first shot in the hospital and being upset not only because she was crying, but because I felt that my perfect little newborn was being contaminated.  I thought about the food I was putting in my daughter’s mouth and began buying more organic foods.  I also made a new rule that no shoes were allowed in our house beyond the door, because I thought about her crawling around on dirt, pesticides, oil, and other nasty stuff on the bottom of our shoes.  Basically I was questioning everything about how I had lived my life to this point!

Then, at 18 months old, I discovered my daughter had contact and food allergies.  She has contact allergies to St. Augustine grass (of course what’s in our backyard!) and dog dander, and a food allergy to milk (with a couple other mild food allergies mixed in).  So we went out and bought a better vacuum cleaner, better filter for our A/C vent, and started vacuuming every other day. No, our beloved dog Goldie was not going to get the boot since she was our first “daughter” from our college days.  (She didn’t seem to mind the more frequent brushing though!)  And of course we cut out all dairy products.

I was born a seeker, and only until I do research and feel informed do I then know where I stand and what I believe.  And so with this news I began questioning… Why does she have allergies to begin with?  Why are so many other children born with allergies too?  And is this somehow related to the rise in learning disorders and autism?  Are childhood vaccinations involved? Is it genetic or environmental?  Maybe a combination of both triggers it?  Or maybe the steady increase in use of pesticides and in our food and chemicals in our environment over the past 80 years started affecting us genetically, but we are only now seeing the side effects a couple generations later?

I feel I’ve been on the path to going green for a couple years now, but my purchasing behaviors have changed quite drastically since January of this year.  I came across HealthyToys.org and Skin Deep sites, which lead me on a quest to find safer cleaning and body care products for my family.  I now use the “Monster” steam clean mop to clean my tile floors (it can be used for hardwood floors too).  The steam lifts dirt and kills bacteria, so no need to use any cleaning products at all on my floors.  I also make my own cleaners and buy body care products without all of the toxins in them.

I feel much better knowing that my children are growing up in a healthier and safer environment, and that piece of mind is something I cannot put a price on.

Two good resource books I bought on living the “green” life are:

This book provides information on beauty and bath products and recipes for making your own healthy versions at home. In the index is a list of the top 100 most harmful ingredients which I found extremely helpful for deciphering product labels (initially it can be very confusing!)

This book is an excellent resource guide for making greener choices in your life including your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, health care, and cleaning supplies. There are some good recipes for homemade kitchen and bath cleaners or greener product choices to purchase.

Happy researching!!

**Disclaimer: Going “Green” means something different to every person.  For example, many politicians believe it means flying a bit less in their private jets.  For me, it means doing what I think is healthiest for my family.  I by no means claim to be 100% green, but am definitely a bit more aware than I was before.  There are some things that aren’t feasible to change right now, like our vehicle.  I would love to have a nice hybrid to drive around, but until I somehow have enough extra cash burning in my pocket, it will have to wait.