What Living Green Really Means
50 years ago cancer was rare, it is now the #1 death of children by disease and #2 in adults. In surveys performed by the EPA the air quality of your home is 3-5 times higher than the air quality outdoors. These statistics are alarming and more proof that cleaning products, paints and building materials are poisoning our bodies.
Federal law exempts many products from having to disclose all ingredients in their products. Whatever the reason full disclosure is not required the truth is you do not know what is in your cleaning products, personal care products or other products you buy for the maintenance of your home. Most of the ingredients of these products are listed as other or inactive. You are inhaling these toxins and they are seeping into your body through your skin.
Though this blog is about living green on a budget and I stress that change is needed it is time to talk some cold hard facts about the health of you and your children, even your beloved family pet.
The nursery is possibly the most toxic room in your home. With the foraldehyde from the wood flooring and furniture, the voc’s from the paints you chose for the wall color and the retardants on the crib mattress your child is sleeping on. These are scary thoughts for any parent but as we all love our children these things need to be brought to light.
Greener is not just about the environment, it is about you and your family’s health.
While greening your home is not something you have to do all at once, as that is very overwhelming to most, start with areas that are most toxic to your family. Choose flooring such as bamboo, this is also a wise choice for the environment. Bamboo grows back in 2-3 years and is a sustainable material. It is as beautiful as the hard woods with the difference being it is a little softer but to me this is great for my feet when standing to cook and to clean.
You now have choices for mattresses that are green. Keetsa is one such choice. Instead of the harsh chemicals they are using things found in nature without the harsh chemicals and petroleum based pesticides. Their plastic bags that the mattresses are bagged in are bio degradable and with the use of bamboo and organic cotton making a choice is easy. There are many more choices and they are only a google away.
Living green is a choice and once that choice is made there are many things to consider. My main priority was to keep my family healthy. I started with cleaning products and my research lead me to much more. From the paint on the walls, my choices in furniture, linens, the foods I eat I went all the way.
I recently discovered that 15 million trees are cut down to make toilet paper for the US alone each year. When I thought of this I immediately thought of installing a bidet in my home. They have been in use in the European countries for years and I began my research on the pros and cons of having a bidet. What I found was that they are healthier than using toilet paper and though you use some water with them and electricity with the really fancy ones with the heated seat and the air dryer, the consumption is worht it when you think of the trees that are being saved. When it comes to hygeine they are much better for you than toilet paper. I don’t know about you but I have my 4 and 6 year old grand daughters in my home that are constantly stopping up the toilets with toilet paper and I can’t deal with waste so guess what is being installed in our bathrooms. Yep we are going with bidets. I will do my part to save the trees.
Pick your battles when it comes to living green, start where it matters most to you. As I said I started with cleaning products as that was my biggest concern at the time. I went from that to changing all the light bulbs, buying reusable shopping bags then buying organic linens, ridding my home of carpet and installing bamboo flooring. I then changed to safer paints and began buying organic foods. We buy clothes that are earth friendly and also from resell shops which is a smart deal for our natural resources. Though I can afford to buy new I choose to buy tv’s and jewelry from pawn shops to help with our natural resources also. Hey the deals are great, I bought 2, 36″ flat panel tv’s that were less than 6 months old for $378 at the pawn shop. You can’t buy one new one for that.
See all of my living green tips by reading through my blog. I may not can save the world as my mother and my children tell me daily but I can make a difference and that is my goal.
