Joy's Simple Life

Carob vs. Chocolate, the final showdown

2010-02-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Do you know what carob is? You probably have heard that it's some kind of nasty imitation chocolate. Actually, carob is a Mediterranean tree that grows an edible seed pod. The pod is slightly sweet and the taste somewhat resembles chocolate. Tradition holds that the carob pods are the "locusts" that John the Baptist ate while living in the dessert.

As I mentioned, the taste is somewhat similar to chocolate, and thus it is often used as a chocolate substitute. You might have tasted some before and thought there was something wrong with it because it didn't quite taste like chocolate. Remember the scene in Notting Hill when Spike is eating some white stuff with a spoon, and says, "there's something wrong with this yogurt." And Hugh Grant says, "that's not yogurt, it's mayonnaise." And Spike says, "Oh," and smiles as he takes another bite. It's the same idea with carob. If you are expecting it to taste exactly like chocolate, then you might be disappointed. But if you are expecting carob, it tastes quite nice.

So why should you eat carob instead of chocolate? Is one healthier than the other? I thought I'd share this debate I overheard in my kitchen between the chocolate and the carob:

Chocolate: I am definitely better than you, carob, because I have my own natural fat, cocoa butter. You have to use borrowed fats (usually hydrogenated oil) to give you that creamy taste.

Carob: What? Who says you have to eat carob with hydrogenated oils? Read the ingredients on the label before you buy me, it can be any fat. Usually companies that make carob candies are responsible enough to use healthy fats. And that's only if you get me in candy or chip form. In powder form, I am fat free anyway (like you when you are cocoa powder). Speaking of extra additives, I am naturally sweet (just the right amount) and usually don't have any added sugar. You, on the other hand, are so incredibly bitter that people have to add loads of refined sugars to make you taste good.

Chocolate: Oh yeah? That's not what the Native Americans and Samoans thought. They loved drinking that bitter chocolate drink, no sugar added. Some people still even like it.

Carob: Not in this country. Only a few weird people drink that nasty stuff. Most have to sugar you up quite a bit to choke you down.

Chocolate: Hmmmph. You just have to face it that you will never be me. You can never taste exactly like chocolate, only I can.

Carob: Well, Joy's kids can't tell the difference between carob and chocolate brownies, it's all the same to them.

Chocolate: Her husband can tell, he likes chocolate better.

Carob: He likes me too, and he's learning to like me even more. Lots of people like how I taste. And I don't have to resort to mood-altering addictive drugs to get people to want more and more of me. What about that, huh?

Chocolate: Right, the caffeine. You've hit me below the belt. . . . I have no response to that.

Well, there you have it. The carob emerges as the victor (in my kitchen, anyway)!

Your pearly whites

2010-02-08T02:15:00.000-08:00

About a year or two ago, I was surfing the 'net trying to find better natural ways to care for teeth. My teeth were randomly giving me pain, and my daughter's teeth were starting to decay (classic baby bottle teeth, even though she never had a bottle!). Somewhere during my surf, I read something about the power of your teeth to re-enamel themselves at night when they are clean. I was fascinated by this concept. Could it be true? Do teeth really produce a new protective coating on a regular basis? And if they can, then wouldn't it be possible for cavities to heal? Why doesn't the dentist ever tell you this?

Oh yes, it is possible. I read another statement by a dentist who admitted that sometimes yes, he has seen cavities heal. But sometimes they just get worse. And since he has no idea which course the tooth will take, he treats all cavities the same. He drills them and fills them.

Excuse me? What if you went to the doctor with an infected finger, and he took a look at it and said, "Hmmm, I've seen these heal before, but I've also seen these get worse. And I'm not sure what to do to make it heal, so I'm just going to cut the bad part off."

What's wrong with this picture? Are there any dentists that are trying to figure out how to help our teeth heal? Well, there was a dentist, his name was Weston Price. In 1915, he was a prominent dentist that was appointed as the research director for the National Dentist Association (now the American Dental Association). He actually did some serious research, he traveled the globe for years looking at people's teeth everywhere. Amazingly, he found that some of the people with the best teeth didn't even own toothbrushes! They were the people like the Eskimos or the different tribal groups in Africa that ate their traditional uncivilized food (no white flour, white sugar, pasteurized milk, canned tuna, etc.). He also noticed that once these people moved to the city and started eating city food, their teeth started to fall out. He researched what kinds of foods these healthy-teeth people were eating. He performed experiments on people who had decayed teeth by feeding them special diets, and their teeth stopped decaying and began to heal. His work was extensive and published in journals. So why don't most dentists talk about him and his work today? Hmmmm, good question. (Maybe the answer has to do with secret combinations of the food and/or health industries, but we won't go there right now.)

So, what can you do to make healthy teeth? The first part is easy: go through your house and locate every tube of toothpaste. Then dump them all in the trash (especially if they have flouride added). Toothpaste is full of chemicals that are just plain bad for you and your teeth (glycerin is one to avoid). Get rid of any whitening potions if they have ingredients that you can't pronounce. Keep your toothbrush if it has soft bristles. I got a natural-bristle tooth brush, it is really soft and I love it.

Now that you have no toothpaste, what do you put on the tooth brush? We brush our teeth with soap and hot water. (Hot water and soap for cleaning something, it's not really a new concept!) Rub your toothbrush across the surface of a bar of soap, don't use liquid soap. Preferably use some kind of natural home-made cold-process soap, not Ivory or Irish Springs (the homemade ones usually taste better anyway). Don't use a bar of glycerin soap, glycerin coats your teeth and takes a long time to rinse off. The amount of naturally-occurring glycerin in regular soap is okay. You can also buy special tooth soap from various places online.

Another thing you can find online are all kinds of natural potions and powders (and recipes for homemade versions) for cleaning your teeth. I have never tried any special powders, but I do brush my teeth with baking soda about once a week. I started this teeth cleaning routine about a year ago, and my random tooth pain totally disappeared almost immediately. It came back briefly when I tried using an electric toothbrush (too harsh for me), but I realized the problem and quit using it. Later I got in a flossing frenzy, but that bothered me as well, so I quit the daily floss. An oral irrigator would be gentler than floss (I have one in my Amazon shopping cart). The important thing is to listen to your teeth, respond when they complain, and find gentle cleaning methods that make them happy.

Now that we've talked about cleaning your teeth, we need to address the much more important piece of the puzzle: your diet. Brushing your teeth will not stop tooth decay, it will only slow it down. If your diet were completely ideal, you would have no need to brush (except maybe for cosmetic and kissing purposes). The ideal diet was first researched by Dr. Price, then added and experimented upon by other doctors and dentists. I recently purchased a book called Cure Tooth Decay (got it on Amazon for $26 with free shipping). It was written by Ramiel Nagel. He studied the work of Dr. Price and others, tried out some experimental diets on himself and his daughter (who had the same problem as my daughter), and wrote his findings in this book. I had looked at this book online for quite some time before I decided to cough up the money to buy it. If you are interested in keeping your teeth, you should really read this book (try looking at your local library, or borrow it from me if you live in Ketchikan). It is a great summary of the work of the dental pioneers, plus he has great advice about communing with your teeth (in an almost spiritual manner) to know what food they need and to help them heal.

What else is in the book? I really can't write everything in this blog post (I don't have room). But I will sum up a few things I've learned. Dr. Price's studies said that people who had healthy teeth ate regularly from at least two of these following food groups:
1. Raw dairy products from grass-fed animals.
2. Organ and muscle meat from fish and shellfish.
3. Organs of grass-fed land animals (liver and kidneys, mmmm).
4. Creepy crawlies like bugs and insects.

Foods to avoid are: refined foods (white flour, white sugar, white rice), too many sweets (even fruits), hydrogenated oils, pasteurized & homogenized milk products, processed & packaged foods, junk food, fast food, caffeine, soda, farm-raised fish, and basically anything else that you consider regular store food.

Okay, now you're thinking, "What? I guess I need to move to a farm and start producing all my own food, because how else am I going to get that kind of food? And I'm not eating bugs, yuck!" (I agree with you on that one, I'm not eating bugs either.) Well, I used to feel that eating right would be absolutely impossible, and if possible then way too expensive anyway. But one thing my grandma always said was that grocery bills are cheaper than doctor bills. How much do you/could you spend at the dentist? Or doctor? Remember, healthy teeth are a sign of a healthy body. And what kind of price tag can you put on your health?

I am a super cheap girl with a really tight grocery budget, and I live on an Alaskan island that has not one single cow (and definitely no grazing pastures), but I am doing what I can to eat less store food and more traditional food. I have taken small steps to help me get closer to my goal. We got chickens so we don't have to eat factory eggs from the store anymore. I bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions, an awesome cookbook that teaches how to prepare whole foods in traditional ways, like soaking whole grains and fermenting your own sauerkraut. (Plus it has great recipes for things like mayo and ketchup so you won't have to buy those ready-made full-of-junk things at the store). I started getting the organic produce box from Full Circle Farm (flown up on Alaska Airlines from Seattle) and somehow squeezed that into my food budget every other week. And my most recent conquest was scraping enough money together to get a shipment of meat up from Thundering Hooves, a nice place that has their own pasture-raised meats. We ate some steak the other night, and I am never settling for the disgusting store meat again! My next goal is to overcome the dairy problem. No, there are no cows in Ketchikan, but there are goats! My husband is building the goat shed, and we are talking to all the owners of pregnant goats in the area, arranging our future purchase of two or three dairy goats, yay! My other goals for this year are to get a good garden going and to catch more seafood to fill our freezer.

Yes, it is a process. No, it isn't easy. It's not easy to completely change almost everything you know about cooking and so-called healthy food. But yes, it is possible. And yes, my family and I are worth it!

One easy thing you could do to get started is to take a supplement. The book recommends Green Pasture's naturally fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil. You can buy them separately or combined in one bottle. A spoonful a day will give you the most important nutrients from two of those four food groups: grass-fed dairy and seafood organs. The supplement is no substitute for a healthy diet, you should still avoid all the refined foods and too many sweets. I'm thinking about ordering the cod liver oil/butter oil combo. It would help pack some powerful nutrients into my family as we work towards a better diet (and are waiting for our goats). And we have been snacking lately on some homemade raw liver pate, let me tell you it is yummy. My kids really like it.

Wow, this post got really long. My parting words are, read the book. It will fill your mind with logic and clarity and hope to make your teeth (and whole body) a healthy, healing machine.

One Man's Trash . . . .

2010-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of other people's trash that has ended up in our home as a treasure. So many useful objects are thrown away just because they are viewed as useless. Here are some ways that our family has turned trash into treasure.

First, the ever important glass jar:

I don't like plastic, so glass jars make an excellent (and free) replacement for all those little rubbermaid containers in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I will sometimes make a purchase choice because it comes in a nice big glass jar that I know I can re-use. Adams peanut butter comes in awesome big jars. I also love getting those big gallon jars of pickles and olives. They make great jars for sprouting wheat, etc. The other day I was at Tongass ("the" store downtown) and they were selling gallon glass jars for $12. Wow, who would pay that much for an empty jar?? Think about that next time you go to toss a glass jar or bottle in the garbage.

Speaking of food storage, here is my next batch of buckets waiting to be filled with beans:

Two years ago we ordered a bunch of bulk food for daily use and emergency storage. Of course we then needed something to store them in, but couldn't afford to buy the necessary storage buckets at the local hardware store. So I started begging for used buckets at the grocery store deli across the street. I usually have to wash out the chocolate frosting or buttery garlic spread before I can use them, but I'm not complaining because they are free. Plus, I feel good that I am keeping them out of the landfill.

This is the pride and joy of my cluttered entry way, the patchwork wool rug:

I made it with shrunken wool sweaters, most of them gotten from the thrift store. Okay, I admit that I shrunk most of them myself, on purpose, to make the rug. And I paid money for most of them. But buying things at the thrift store does keep them out of the landfill. The thrift stores around here regularly gather up the things that don't sell and take them to the dump. Shrunken wool sweaters usually don't even get put on the rack at the thrift store, they just throw those donations right in the garbage. I finally convinced the thrift store down the street to set aside all their wool things for me instead of throwing them in the trash. I'm super excited about that, as I love crafting with recycled wool.
This wool rug was super easy to make. I cut apart the sweaters on the seams and shrunk them by throwing them in the washer and dryer. I then cut squares and sewed them together with a zig-zag stitch on my machine (no seam allowance, just sew the zig zag right over the edges). I made it double-thick to make the rug nice and heavy, but it is still small enough to throw into my washing machine. The rug has taken a lot of abuse in my wet, muddy entry way for two years and has held up beautifully. I've only washed it twice, as wool is very resistant to stains and spills. (I do vacuum it regularly.)

On the other side of my front door is this black rubber mat for wiping off your feet:

I wanted to get one of those huge industrial welcome mats that could really clean your shoes and wouldn't blow away in the wind. Of course I didn't have the money for that kind of purchase. I started thinking of what I could use to make my own mat, and then I remembered some of the junk that Chris brought home from the airport. They had replaced some of the conveyer belts at the airport, and the mechanic disposed of the old ones (brought them home, of course). We used some of it as flooring in the chicken coop, and I thought about making those tire sandals with some of it as well. But most of it was just rolled up and waiting for some useful purpose. It dawned on me that I already had a perfect rubber mat, I just had to cut a length and put it on the front walkway. I don't think my kitchen shears will ever be the same again, but the welcome mat is working wonderfully.

And now, here is the chicken coop you've been wondering about:

I had to put a picture of that since it mainly constructed with trash. You can see that the fence around the run is made with pallets. The floors and walls of the coop were also made from pallets. The blue-green siding was used and sitting in the yard of a construction company (we gladly took it off their hands). The lumber used in the construction was taken from our own living room ceiling. We even used the wood panel siding that we ripped off our living room walls to line the inside of the coop. The most expensive part of the coop was the chicken wire which sells for $50 a roll here! You'd think it was made from solid gold.

Last but not least, I can't blog about trash without talking about the stuff I pull out of the actual trash can in the produce department at the grocery store:

No, it's not the chickens, but the lettuce that they are trampling (it was fresh yesterday). We have twelve chickens (until recently we had 18) and we supplement their diet with a healthy supply of garbage from the produce department across the street. My daily jaunt to the back rooms of the grocery store, with kids in tow, to dig through the trash cans for choice pieces of broccoli and apples has given new meaning to my life, to say the least.

Enjoy your day, may the trash be with you!

Cleaning the Bathroom (without scary chemicals)

2009-07-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

I want to say "thank you" to everyone who has told me they love my blog. I don't know why you do, since I only write something once every six months! I constantly have ideas of what I should say, but finding the time to sit down and type is another story. I don't know how other moms can find all that time to blog. They must stay up all night.

Anyway, the idea for this post came when I was over at a friend's house who also has two young children. We were talking about what we do during that precious solitude of nap time. She said that she usually cleans the bathroom, because then she doesn't have to worry about her kids breathing in or playing with the cleaning chemicals. I didn't say anything, but I thought, wow, I would never waste nap time on cleaning the bathroom! First of all, the best time to clean the bathroom is when the kids are taking a bath (since you're probably in there watching them anyway). Second of all, who says you need scary dangerous chemicals to clean the bathroom? Is your bathroom some kind of bio-hazard site where you need to don protective clothing and a gas mask before entering? Or is it just another room in your house that you frequently enter barefoot (whether it is clean or not!)? Seriously, cleaning the bathroom does not have to be dangerous or expensive. I was surprised to read this in something as mainstream as a Martha Stewart mini mag: she said that it was just fine to wipe down the bathroom with a rag and hot water. I frequently follow her advice when the vanity looks a little grubby. I grab a wipe from the back of the toilet, wet it, wipe down the sink & vanity, and toss the wipe into the diaper pail. We wipe down the counters in the kitchen with water all the time, why not the bathroom?

Of course, sometimes you need something a little more powerful than water in the bathroom. Baking soda is my best friend when it comes to scrubbing down the bathroom. Simply shake some on a rag or scouring pad and scrub the tub or toilet. This is so convenient for me since I always have baking soda in my shower (for washing my hair). I frequently scrub down the tub while I'm showering. What could be easier than that? And here's a tip I got from Ellen Sandbeck's Green Housekeeping: use a plastic mesh bag (like the ones that they use for oranges or onions) as your scouring pad. These work better than any scouring pad you can buy, and they are free. I have one of these hanging in the shower for when I feel inspired to scrub.

And when it comes time for rinsing the tub, nothing works better than my toilet sprayer. The hose is long enough to reach over to the tub and hose it down with powerful force.

Baking soda also works well for scouring the toilet and vanity. I sprinkle some inside the toilet bowl and scrub it with the brush. Vinegar is another good friend in the bathroom. I usually use it to mop the floor (with a rag and a foot, not a mop. I haven't used a mop since I lived in Costa Rica. No mops there and they get along just fine.) You can also use vinegar instead of baking soda to wipe down all the fixtures. It doesn't have much scouring power, but it is a good general cleaner with anti-bacterial properties. You can also use it to clean the mirror, but water works just fine for that. For a spotless shining mirror, get two microfiber cleaning towels (look in the automotive section at your store as they frequently sell them as car-washing towels). Wet one towel with hot water and scrub the mirror (or window). When it looks clean, take the second dry towel and wipe the mirror until it is sparkling and dry. Tada! Who needs Windex? When I clean the bathroom, I usually start with the mirror, then use the towels to wipe down everything else, ending with the floor.

My cousin Laurie should remember that my other favorite tool for cleaning the bathroom is the vacuum cleaner (don't do this if the bathroom is wet). If the floor & vanity are dry, plug in the vacuum and use the hose attachment to quickly suck up all the hair, dust, dirt, hair pins, small bath toys, etc. When I am vacuuming the floors, I try to remember to quickly run the hose through the bathroom as well.

Finally, for those who are germ-o-phobic and feel the need to sterilize the house on a regular basis, you can do this without scary bleach. Get two misting spray bottles and put white vinegar in one and hydrogen peroxide in the other (both very harmless and cheap). Both of these chemicals are good cleaners by themselves, but together they make a powerful sterilizer that is more effective than bleach. Please DO NOT mix them in the same bottle; if they are allowed to mingle together they produce harmful fumes. When you want to sterilize a surface, mist it first with vinegar and then with peroxide (or in reverse order, it doesn't matter). Then wipe the surface dry with a rag. I read this tip in Green Housekeeping as well. I'm not a germ-o-phobe, but sometimes I like to sterilize if someone has been sick (or if the bathroom just seems really gross). Vodka is another good sterilizing cleaner. I've never used it since I'm too nervous to go to the liquor store to buy some! And I have no idea how much it would cost. But I've heard it makes a very effective bathroom cleaner. Please comment if you have used it.

To sum up, remember that there is a powerful advertising force out there to convince you that you need their products to clean your bathroom (and the rest of your house). They have a lot of money invested in you and your purchase power. It's time to show them you don't need them. It's time to phase out all those expensive cleaners and stock up on harmless and effective (and cheap!) alternatives like baking soda, peroxide, white vinegar, and maybe some microfiber towels. Your pocketbook and the quality of air you breathe inside your home will start to improve. Not to mention you can find something more exiting to do during nap time, like writing a new post on your blog!

Out and About with Cloth Diapers

2009-07-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

When you use cloth diapers on your baby, is it 24/7? Or is it strictly an at-home operation? I admit that when I was a new mom, I had an unexplainable fear about being out of the house with a wet (or worse) cloth diaper. I put a disposable diaper on my son whenever we left the house. Before long, I realized that toting a dirty cloth diaper back to my house in the diaper bag might be easier than finding an acceptable place to deposit that used trashy diaper. All I needed was a good wet bag for storing the wet (or worse) diaper until I got back to the diaper pail at home. At first I just used plastic grocery bags or gallon-sized ziploc bags. They did the job just fine, but they weren't very reusable (or fashionable). Then I made my own wool wet bag with a felted wool sweater and a zipper. Wool wet bags work just like wool diaper covers, and should be washed by hand. I now also have a PUL wet bag, this is very waterproof and highly durable in the diaper wash. And fashionable, like this floral "Icky Bag" from Petunias. You'll find lots of other wet bags on etsy, check them out.

My other fear of cloth diapering away from home was that I couldn't bring my wipe warmer full of warm, wet cloth wipes. I realized this wasn't that big of an issue, I just packed dry wipes and a small squirt bottle of water. My own Klean Kanteen water bottle also works fine for wetting wipes. Usually we are changing diapers in a bathroom anyway, so I'll wet my wipes in the sink.

Now when I leave the house, I just make sure I have enough diapers & covers, some wipes, a wet bag, some water, and we are good to go! Oh, is your diaper bag not big enough to hold all those things? Get a bigger one. A grocery tote works fine too, that's what I usually use.

A small wetbag is fine for short outings, but what do you do when you are away from home overnight or longer? Get a bigger wetbag! This wetbag from Wee Ones by Jajoc holds about 20 wet diapers. I made my own diaper-pail-sized wet bag from a yard of PUL fabric and a draw string. It is large enough to hold ALL my wet diapers, and therefore large enough for any trip. As long as I know I'll be near a laundromat (or better yet, grandma's washing machine) at least once every three days during the trip, we are good to go. Just make sure to bring your own detergent as you never know what you will find in grandma's laundry room. One more thing, if your trip is longer than 3-4 days, try to NOT leave any wet diapers in your diaper pail at home (they'll be super yucky by the time you get back). When I pack for a trip, the last thing I do is wash and pack all the diapers. I usually have one or two dirty ones by the time we leave the house, I pack those with me also in the wet bag. It's not a big deal to pack dirty diapers with me, as I know I will soon be adding to that wet bag. Besides, I never want to leave behind ANY of my diapers since I want to use my entire working stash on the trip.

What about when you are camping, far away from any washing machine, or even running water? I have taken cloth camping and lived to tell about it! It was actually quite easy, but all my relatives at the family reunion looked at me with awe and respect (or maybe they just thought I was crazy). The camping trip was only four days, so I made sure to pack enough diapers to last the whole trip. I packed every single diaper I could find. I even packed things that could be used as a diaper in a pinch, like cotton baby blankets. I just didn't want to run out, as I wasn't planning on washing diapers in the nearby lake! Also, as there were no toilets for rinsing out diapers, I brought some flushable diaper liners that I could drop right into the pit toilets. These were wonderful, I highly recommend them for any vacation with cloth diapers.

As I said, I have never washed diapers by hand while roughing it, but I have heard of people who have! If you do, just be sure to bring biodegradable laundry detergent, a clothesline & clothespins. Don't wash or rinse diapers in a lake, but a running stream should be okay. Also, you might want to leave your thick all-in-ones at home, they might never dry! Opt for some quick-dry fitteds or even flat diapers instead. You also might find that your camping destination is near a town with a laundromat. A quick mid-camping drive to town might be in order. Some campgrounds even have their own laundromat, check around and find one for your next camping trip.

So, next time you leave the home, don't forget your cloth diapers! Whether it be a quick play date or a two-week cruise, it can be done. And it's really not that hard!

72 hour kits and cloth diapers

2009-02-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

Last monday night for Family Home Evening we went through and updated our 72-hour emergency kits. We have a bunch of MREs (fake army food) and divided them up between four backpacks (including a super tiny backpack for Lola). We got the MREs from a family that moved south. There is a lot of food there, but no dates on it anywhere. Chris mentioned that it could be surplus meals left over from Desert Storm or even the Vietnam era. We sampled one of the pieces of fortified snack bread (it was heavily smothered with a packet of strawberry jam to make it palatable). Wow, pretty gross. I could tell it was food that you would eat to keep from starving to death, that's all. So now my new plan is to get real food from the grocery store (tuna, saltines, fruit roll-ups, granola bars, etc.) to use instead of the MREs. Then rotate that food every six months. I've heard of people that do the rotating at conference time. The family gathers around the TV (in our case, the online audio stream) for two days to listen to the prophets council while they have a picnic-type feast on all their emergency food. That sounds like it could be a fun family tradition (but not if it involves MREs). So I need to stock up some good emergency food.

We also went over some lists I have collected over the years of what should be in your 72-hour kit. (Here is an example list, there are many other lists online.) We inventoried what we already had and made a shopping list of extra things we need, like light sticks (waterproof, just in case we have to hike through the woods in a downpour at midnight, you never know). I pulled out the little hygiene kit I made for myself a few years ago. Wow, I don't even use most of that stuff anymore (shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant). I should dump all that stuff and just put in some little containers of baking soda & vinegar! And maybe one bar of soap. Another thing on my list is to make copies of important documents (birth certificates, insurance policies, etc.) to bring with us if we ever have to evacuate.

One of the things I have been struggling with in the emergency kits is what to do for diapers. Lola is still in diapers and it could be a real bummer if we didn't have any for her. Disposable diapers are the natural solution in an emergency situation, but I just can't bring myself to buy those trashy diapers. I just hate them. Plus, if I had enough trashies to last for 72 hours, then what? Things might not be back to normal yet. I could grab some cloth diapers from the normal stash on the way out the door, but chances are rare that I would have a whole clean stash. Usually about half of them are dirty. And chances are that in an emergency situation I would be down to about 3 or 4 clean ones. Finally I came up with a solution that would work. I'm going to get flat diapers & pins to use for the emergency kit. Flat diapers are super easy to make out of cotton flannel sheets, receiving blankets, or those ten yards of white cotton birdseye that are buried somewhere in my sewing room. Then I'll make a few (five or six should be plenty) waterproof PUL snap covers. The beauty of this system is that the flat diapers can be folded to fit any size of baby. Then they wash easily and dry quickly. The covers come in three different sizes, if I have another baby I'll just make sure that I have the right size of cover stashed in the kit. I will also include laundry soap, clothesline, and clothespins. And possibly a bucket for washing. I'm sure we'll want to wash more than just diapers, this will be useful for washing our clothes, too!

We have everything stashed close to the front door so we can be out of the house in a hurry (if necessary). Chances are pretty rare that we would have an emergency here that would send us packing on foot (or canoe?). Most likely we would experience something that would have us housebound without power (like a big snow storm). But if our house is on fire or we have to evacuate from the path of a REALLY big tsunami (big enough to make it over Gravina Island), then we are ready!

Dealing with Smelly Pits

2009-02-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

I don't have time to go into any details about why normal commercial deodorants are bad for you, I'll let you google that yourself and come to your own conclusions. Suffice it to say that the general consensus among informed people is that anti-perspirants are REALLY bad for you, and the deodorants you'll find at the store aren't that great either. For about ten years I've been on a quest to avoid anti-perspirant AND body odor. I've learned a lot in the process and would like to share some of that wisdom with you.

First, understand that undesirable odors in the armpits can vary in strength depending on your diet, your hormones, your stress levels, etc. So if something in your life has changed (like if you're pregnant), your body odor can change too. Or it could be something you are eating that is creating an increase in smelliness. It might take some detective work on your part to find the source of the problem.

The first natural deodorant I tried was the deodorant stone. You can buy this online or find an identical product (I'm pretty sure it's the same thing) called crystal deodorant at many stores. This is not an anti-perpirant so it will not stop you from sweating. It puts some kind of barrier on your skin that inhibits the smelly bacteria. The great part about it is that it lasts almost forever. I've owned about three deodorant stones in the past ten years. The thing that does them in is when I drop them on the tile floor and they shatter. So if you don't drop it, a stone or crystal can last a long, long time (at least several years). It works best for me if I use it right when I get out of the shower and my pits are still wet. I grab a dry stone and rub it all over to coat my underarm area. You could also wet the stone first, but I find it works better to wet your skin instead.

Crystal deodorant is the only thing I would recommend buying from a regular store. I have tried all the natural, hippie-type deodorants (like Tom's of Maine) and find that they just don't work that well for me. Maybe you would have better luck with them so it wouldn't hurt to try. Be aware that just because it is a "natural" brand doesn't mean that it is necessarily harmless. To be safe, check your brand of deodorant with the Skin Deep website. This is run by the Environmental Working Group, they have done tons of research on all kinds of hygiene and beauty products.

Sometimes the deodorant crystal works just fine for me, and other times it just doesn't cut it. I noticed at one point that my armpits were still quite offensive even as I stepped out of the shower. The smell was too much for the crystal to handle. I tried scrubbing and scrubbing with all different kinds of soap, but the smell still lingered and grew stronger with each shower. I was almost desperate enough to use Lady Speed Stick when I ran across a tip on a message board I sometimes visit. A woman there suggested to scrub your armpits with baking soda, rinse it off, then spray with apple cider vinegar, and then rinse if off. It was no trouble for me to try this since I already had baking soda and vinegar in my shower that I used for washing my hair. The baking soda I keep in an old plastic peanut butter jar. I add just enough water to make it clumpy instead of powdery, thus easy to grab a small lump. The apple cider vinegar mixture (about half water, half vinegar) I keep in a spray bottle. I tried this on my ampits and it worked so well that I didn't even need the crystal anymore, except on especially smelly days.

I still use the baking soda/vinegar trick every time I shower and it really helps. I haven't used the crystal much lately. It just seemed like it wasn't working as well anymore. Plus, I kept dropping it on the floor and it was getting some painful, sharp edges. I wanted to try something new and all-natural (like I mentioned before, the "natural" deodorants that you find at the supermarket are really not all that natural). I have heard some great things about Funk Butter and have been meaning to try it. But then I noticed that my friend Erika in Boise had started selling deodorant in her shop: Inspired Mama Creations. Since I LOVE everything else she makes (her diaper rash cream is really miraculous), I immediately bought some of her Smell Better Butter. It really love it, it's worked better than any other natural deodorant I have tried, hands down. This is what I am currently using (in the juicy citrus scent).

The only thing I haven't tried yet is to make my own deodorant. I know, I'm a slacker! I have collected some recipes but haven't made any yet. I'll post some links for different recipes. If you try one, please post a comment and let us know how it worked for you.

Homemade Funk Butter
Homemade deodorant on Mothering.com, this is also a discussion on where to buy ingredients, etc.
Recipe Mama, LOTS of deodorant recipes here.
Bath & Body Recipes, several recipes here as well, these have been assigned star ratings by users.

The Story of Stuff

2009-01-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

Today I want to recommend a short film called The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. It is about 20 minutes long and free to watch. I thought it was very enjoyable, enlightening, and infuriating! It's infuriating to know that our consumer society will act like mindless sheep and constantly buy and dispose of all the stuff that is pushed on them. More infuriating is the thought of the corporations that are orchestrating this global disaster, simply for their own gain.

One of my favorite parts is when Annie talks about products that are "designed for the dump". A common phrase to hear when something wears out or breaks down is "They don't make 'em like they used to." And why? Shouldn't society be getting better, not worse, at making quality stuff that will last? Well, we're not. And it's not just because we are taking shortcuts and using cheaper materials to make things. It's because things are specifically designed to break (or go out of fashion) so that you will go out and buy another one. That's the way that companies make more money. Take sewing machines, for example. If you can find an old quality-made all-metal sewing machine, you can bet that it will still work. If it's broken, you would repair it. Old sewing machines are worth their weight in gold because they can last forever with proper care. In other words, the sewing machine manufacturers would not be making any money from you if you sew with a machine that you inherited from your great-grandma. Most of the machines you find on the market today are made with plastic and are meant to break down after five years of moderate use. So then you buy a new one and it's "cha-ching!", another sale for Singer!

Shortly after watching this film, one of my friends told me that whenever her kids leave their board games, card games, or puzzles on the floor, she'll just throw them away because she can't stand the clutter. Then she buys them new ones every Christmas. Not a big deal, she said, they're so cheap anyway. I didn't say anything at the time, but I wanted to scream, "No! That's just what they want you to do. You are one of the victims!"

Watch the movie, it will change the way you look at everything you purchase.

Ditching the Entertainment Center

2009-01-05T00:24:00.000-08:00

We had been talking for many months about getting rid of our entertainment center and everything in it (TV, DVD player, surround sound, VCR, Nintendo). It had always seemed like such an essential piece of furniture that everyone should have. But one day as I was surveying our overcrowded living room (too many super cool thrift store couches that we can't live without!), I realized that the entertainment center took up WAY too much room. We didn't even use it that often (maybe watched a movie once or twice a week), yet it stood there 24 hours a day as a massive monument to the art of wasting time. So I said that we should get rid of it, but it seemed like such a daring thing to do! What would we do without a TV? There was something inside of me that said it was necessary and we should hang on to it. I should know better because my parents didn't even have a TV until I was 7 or 8 years old. Most of my formative years were gloriously spent reading books instead of watching TV. We finally got a small TV for the sole purpose of using it as a computer monitor. It was the best monitor we could get for our new (awesome!) TI basic computer. Eventually we started using our television for its intended purpose, not just for learning basic computer programming. We didn't watch THAT much TV as kids, but I got used to having it around and came to depend on it for various reasons (namely Dr. Who, the Dukes of Hazard, and Night Rider. Not to mention the Monkees!). I haven't really watched TV for years (no cable, no reception of local chanels) and couldn't explain why I wanted to hang onto the entertainment center.

So finally we just did it. It's been at least two months since we said goodbye and I haven't missed it for a minute. It feels rather nice, in fact. I admit that my three-year-old protested at the time when he realized that we were actually giving our TV to someone else, but he hasn't mentioned it since. We can still watch DVDs on our laptop if we ever feel the need, and that has been working just fine. And to further save space, we bought a couple of those binders that hold compact discs. The smaller binder now holds all our movies, and our music collection is in the larger binder. Now we can get rid of our CD tower, and it freed up a large space on one of our bookshelves. I had resisted storing movies & CDs that way before because I liked having them displayed in the cases (easier to see what you're looking for). But then I realized how much space they took up and how unimportant they are. We threw away all the cases and it's so much nicer now in our living room.

Now that we are without a TV, people come over, look around the room, and assume that we must have another family room in another part of the house that houses our TV. When we explain that we don't have one anymore, most people look at us incredulously with awe and sometimes respect. "Wow, how amazing, I could never do that!" It's as if we said we were going to dress in gunny sacks and eat only carrots from now on. Why is TV such a big deal in this culture? It's so meaningless. . .

Now all we need to do is find a small corner computer desk to house our laptop and printer. That will be a great improvement from this gigantic metal (but good because it was free) desk from the 1970's. That would certainly free up another large chunk of the wall in our living room.

Simplicity in Government

2008-10-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I received my Alaska Voter's Guide in the mail. I always look forward to reading these guides because each candidate has a statement regarding their goals and what they stand for (much more enlightening than all the pointless mud-slinging and gossip that is found in the media). I first read the statements by our presidential candidates. Neither the Republican nor Democratic candidates really said much of anything beyond vague statements that they will bring reform in Washington and fight for our future. Then they listed the "goodies" that they promise to give us, like more free money, health care, alternative energy resources, etc. I was not impressed. So Americans are stuck with choosing the "lesser of two evils" when they cast their vote for president next month. Unless we "waste our vote" on one of those smaller guys who has no chance of winning anyway.

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -John Quincy Adams

Voting for principle and standing alone is what I plan on doing this year. I don't want to waste my vote on a Republican or Democrat. Look what they've done to our country for the last 80 years! I am going to vote for Chuck Baldwin, member of the Constitution Party. He would like to return our country to a limited government based on the Constitution (do you remember that quaint historic document? Apparently all the guys in Washington have forgotten about it). His platform is the only one I've read that talks about any kind of real reform. He wants to bring home our troops from the 130 foreign countries where they are stationed and concentrate on defending our own borders (provide for the common defense). He would work to get rid of the Patriot Act, "free trade" agreements, and all other laws and organizations that limit our freedoms. He would work to end all socialist activity and bring us back to our Constitutional roots. I agree.

A word about socialism: Many people applaud all the various state and federal programs that are meant to help our fellow man with health care, housing, food, etc. I disagree. It's not that I am against social programs in general, I just know that the government is the absolute worst organization to carry out these tasks. I would be surprised if even 1% of our tax money ends up at the intended destination. The other 99% is wasted in overhead costs, corruption, etc. Anyone who works for the government knows that the system is bogged down with extreme waste, inefficiency, political red tape, and too many employees. These social programs should instead be carried out by the groups that are actually good at what they do. I'm talking about churches, private charities, and social organizations like the Lions Club. These groups have always worked to improve communities and provide necessities to those in poverty. They run (mostly) on private donations, donations that could be much larger if the average citizen and business could bring home more of their profits (instead of having their profits stolen by the government). Sure, there would be Scrooge-like people that never donate. And I'm sure there would also be corrupt charities that would con people out of their money without helping the poor. At least donations to these corrupt charities would be optional, whereas the current corrupt government does not give us that option!

Integrated Agriculture

2008-06-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

I recently read this article about integrated agriculture being practiced on small farms in Vietnam. The program they use is so fascinating; I find myself thinking about it often. In a nutshell, it is living & farming without waste. For example, grass that grows along the edge of a rice field is fed to cows. The cow manure is not thrown away, it is used to raise earthworms and even to power a methane gas cook stove. The earthworms are used to feed the chickens, and all the manure from all animals eventually goes back to be used as fertilizer in the fields & gardens. Kitchen & garden scraps are used for chicken feed and compost. These are just some of the examples. It is rather like the system that Mother Nature uses. She doesn't ship in supplies from other continents. Nor does she ship garbage out to the dump; every element of life has a purpose and can be used for something.

Now every time I throw something in the garbage, I look at it and think how it could be useful in some way. (Regrettably, life on an island in Alaska is largely without recycling options.) We already save all paper & cardboard to use as fire starter in our wood stove. Glass bottles & jars are useful for storing food & other items, but there comes a point when enough is enough and I have to throw some away! Plastic containers can also have a place, but I don't like them as well and usually just toss them. (I should probably avoid altogether buying food in plastic containers, but then my options are so limited.) Food scraps should of course go to compost, but I am still searching for the perfect barrel to make my own rotating composter (my attempt last winter to save food scraps in a bucket was a miserable failure, too much rain). What other useful things do we throw away? Old clothes & scraps of fabric too small to use also end up in the garbage can. In the old days, they saved pieces of cotton & string to make candle wicks. Cotton & other natural fibers can also go in the compost pile or the burn box.

What about the things that grow in our yard or nearby forests? Do we take advantage of the bounty of nature, or do we ignore the treasures right under our noses and rely on packaged salad mixes from the store? I took the advice of my sister-in-law and went out to harvest some of the dandelion greens that grow in my yard. They make a very healthful addition to salads. You can also make dandelion fritters & dandelion lemonade. We've also been eating the fiddlehead ferns that grow abundantly in our yard, very tasty! While I was outside yesterday gathering greens, I saw the hot air from the dryer exhaust escaping to the great outdoors. It made me feel momentarily guilty, first of all because I haven't installed my clothesline yet. Secondly, I thought, there must be some way to harness that wasted energy of the hot air from the dryer! If farmers in Vietnam can use the methane gas from cow manure to power their cookstove, what's my excuse?

Come back to my blog soon to see my next entry: how I used "garbage" around my house to make a mattress for my toddler!

Blow your Nose, Wipe your Mouth

2008-05-31T01:13:00.001-07:00

If you are like most humans in this country, you will always make sure that you have a box of facial tissues and a package of paper napkins in your house at all times. These used to be regular items on my shopping list. I have always been a big user of Kleenex. The box ALWAYS ran out when I had a cold, so I would usually stock up on several boxes. But the paper tissues were rough on my poor nose. Even the ones with added lotion left my nose red and rough from all the wiping. About two years ago I had an "aha!" moment when I decided to use my handkerchiefs (which I already had) instead of facial tissues. I fold up the handkerchiefs and stack them neatly in a decorative wooden bowl on the kitchen counter. Once used, they go in with the dirty towels, kitchen rags, etc. Now if I am having a killer cold and run out of hankies, I don't have to run to the store. I just quickly do a load of laundry. I'm doing laundry all the time anyway, and my handkerchiefs can be easily added to any load I am washing. I have never bought another box of Kleenex and my nose is much happier now.

I have recently been using soft cotton jersey fabric scraps to supplement my storebought hanky collection (small children=lots of noses needing constant wiping). I like these even better because they are softer and more absorbent. I cut them smaller than a regular hanky (an easier size for me to use). And since they are knit, they don't need to be hemmed. A nice soft & thick t-shirt at the thrift store would be perfect for cutting up to start your collection.

Cloth napkins are also a no-brainer solution to paper napkins. Like handkerchiefs, they are small and can be added to any load of laundry. I have collected many napkins at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. I've also stitched up my own from cotton fabric or repurposed tablecloths. My favorite to use are nice thick ones that are almost as thick as a kitchen towel (I made them from a great cotton tablecloth that I found at the thrift store). They are very absorbent & great for scrubbing messy faces or soaking up spilled milk. And they look so much nicer than paper napkins on the dinner table. Don't save your cloth napkins for special occasions, use them for every meal and save the trees instead!

Walking, Biking, Busing

2008-05-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Like most other people, I have been worrying and worrying lately about rising fuel prices. I mentioned to my husband the other day, "are you still going to go to work if the cost of gas to get there is higher than your paycheck?" Then all the sudden it hit me, there are other ways to travel besides our monstrous Jeep Wagoneer that gets 8 miles per gallon (on a good day).

So, I started walking everywhere. I am lucky that I live across the street from our town's shopping center, and have always walked to the grocery store. But church is ten blocks away, and we are always late as it is! But I walked to the church one evening (with Lola in the wrap and Jefferson in the stroller) and it took me 17 minutes. Could I commit to leaving 20 minutes early to get to church by 10 am? Yes. (Last Sunday I walked and I was 5 minutes early, yeah!) I have been walking all over the place now. Besides saving gas money, I already feel better because I am getting more exercise.

Another form of travel is the bicycle. Now, it may seem strange to my father that this hadn't really occurred to me before! He is the shining example to me about not using gas to get to work. He starting biking to work in the 1970s when he noticed he had gained a few pounds. He kept on biking even when he had to ride 13 miles each way in the hot Arizona sun. And he kept on biking in the Minnesota winters when the temperature dropped below zero (with protective clothing and snow tires). And I complain about how to get to the post office that is only 1.5 miles away. So I pulled my bike out of the basement, dusted it off, and made some repairs. We also pulled out our bike trailer (can fit both children, groceries, etc.) and ordered the part we needed to connect the trailer to the bike. All we have to wait for now are the new wheels that my husband ordered for his bike and we will be ready to ride anywhere. Truth be told, we live on an island in Alaska with very limited roadways. We can't drive more that 15 miles in any direction from our house. We have no excuse to use our car! Well, except for the fact that this is the rainiest city in North America (15 feet of rain annually). But for the price of filling up our Jeep a couple times, we could get some really nice rain gear.

The third mode of travel that I hadn't considered was the city bus. Our town is long and skinny running along a highway that hugs the shoreline. In other words, there is nowhere that is more than five blocks from the bus line. And to top it off, there is a major bus stop less than half a block from my house. But I had never thought about riding the bus before. I always just jumped in my car whenever I had to go anywhere, thinking that the bus was for other people, not me. Well, now I've decided the bus is for me. I found out that the month of May was "ride the bus for free month." Wow, I wish I had known that earlier. But even when June starts, I will be able to ride for only one dollar (my children ride for free). Or I can even buy a monthly bus pass for $25.00 (The cost of getting 6 1/2 gallons of gasoline, wow.) We have been riding the bus and my kids love it! I must say that it is easier than taking kids in and out of the car seats. Lola stays in my wrap and Jefferson sits on the seat. The bus will be great to use when it is raining sideways (as frequently happens in the winter).

It has been about 10 days since I have used my car and I feel great about it. I am going to see how long I can go. My other job is to convince my husband to either bike or ride the bus to his work (less than 2 miles away). Don't be such a wimp, Chris!

Give cloth diapers a chance!

2008-05-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
EtsyClothDiapers

Everyone who knows me knows that cloth diapering is my pet issue. I could go on and on for hours about this, so I will be very brief.

Even if you don't have a baby in diapers, disposable diapers affect us all since they make up such a HUGE percentage of our landfills. They also use natural resources that are just thrown away after being worn for a few hours. The rumor spread around by proctor & gamble that cloth diapers are just as bad on the environment as disposables was some seriously twisted corporate propeganda. Be informed on the subject so you can tell your friends.

Not only are cloth diapers better for the environment, they are better for your baby. Rashes and other health problems are MUCH higher with babies that wear paper & plastic diapers. Not to mention all those mega-absorbent chemicals that shouldn't be anywhere near the reproductive parts of a baby.

Cloth diapers are also WAY CHEAPER than disposables, even if you add in laundry costs. Add up the costs over a 3-year diapering period and you will be amazed. Not to mention that those cloth diapers can be used on your next child, diapering for free!

And finally, cloth diapers are so cute! I get the shivers every time I see a baby that is afflicted with an icky disposable diaper. If you are thinking of prefolds, pins, & plastic pants, look around online to see the kinds of cloth diapers moms are using on their babies today. The choices are endless!

For more information, look at my Boise Cloth Diapers website. It has everything you would want to know about cloth diapers, including how to sew your own stash.

To shop for beautiful handmade cloth diapers & covers, go to www.etsyclothdiapers.com. There you can browse through more than a hundred different shops.

Cosmetic Safety Database

2008-05-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a follow up to Monday's entry about SLS & soap. I found this really cool website today called Skin Deep. It is a cosmetic safety database run by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. In their searchable database, you can look up any type of cosmetic (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.), brand, or even specific ingredients. They give each product a "hazard score" from 0-10 based on the chemical makeup and their knowledge and research of its effects on your health. And they give you details of what the specific hazards are with each product or ingredient (cancer, reproductive toxicity, etc.) Pretty cool! This is an easy place to look up any product or ingredient I am wondering about. And darn, it looks like I need to find a new deodorant.

One thing that surprised me was that the Body Shop products are some of the most toxic things out there! And they always seem so natural and environmentally friendly the way they are advertised. Boy, they had me fooled. And watch out, a lot of baby products are also really toxic.

This is a great resource for someone like me that doesn't speak "scientist" and doesn't know what all those ingredients are or what they do. They've done all the research for us.

Wrap your baby

2008-05-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

I just want to say that I really love my baby wrap carrier! I just went on a long, long walk today with my two children (the three-year-old was walking/in the stroller, one-year-old in the wrap) and the baby was so easy to carry. I'm not sore anywhere! Wraps are amazing because they distribute the weight across both shoulders, your back and your waist/hips. I was afraid for a long time to use a wrap because they looked so complicated to tie. I really wanted an Ergo baby carrier because they have such good reviews, but they cost $90 each (not spending that much anytime soon!). I used ring slings a lot with both my children. Those are great when the baby is small or the walk is short. Otherwise they really start to pull down on one shoulder and hurt my back. I knew that a wrap carrier would distribute the weight better, but they were too hard to use (I thought).

Finally it dawned on me that using a wrap couldn't be more complicated than a structured carrier where you have to figure out all the different buckles and straps. So I made a wrap, tried it on, and wow, it was easy! I followed the directions for the front wrap cross carry on the Wrap Your Baby website. I haven't tried any others yet since I like this one so much (and I've already learned how to do it), but there are dozens of different ways to tie these wraps. You could probably even make up your own way.

The best part about the wrap baby carrier is the cost. To make mine, I bought five yards of jersey knit fabric (from the dollar bargain fabric bin), cut it to a strip about 30 inches wide, and hemmed the edges. It cost me five dollars, and there was enough fabric left over to make a second wrap. Instead I used some of the extra fabric to make a nice drawstring bag to contain the wrap when not in use.

You can even make your own no-sew wrap. If you use a knit (stretchy fabric) like jersey or fleece, you don't have to hem it. Just cut a piece that is five yards by 30 inches, that's all you need. If you don't want to make your own, there are plenty of places to buy one online. Try Etsy.com or just google "baby wrap carrier". And don't be afraid of tying the wrap, you will be pleasantly surprised when you see how easy & comfy it is.

To learn more about why baby wearing is so good for you & your baby, visit The Baby Wearer.

I hate plastic shopping bags!

2008-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'll never forget the time that I was really pregnant with my first and went shopping for some essentials. I decided to buy the really big & economical super huge jar of strawberry jam. But when I was bringing the groceries in, the plastic bag ripped open and the jar fell and crashed on the sidewalk. You can only imagine the flood of tears that followed this tragedy!

Don't let this happen to you! You can save your jam, your sanity, and your planet by using useful canvas shopping totes. That's what I use now and I will never go back to plastic. Paper and plastic shopping bags are offered free at almost every retail store, but many stores will offer a credit of five or ten cents for each bag that you bring in to reuse. Even if you don't get that five-cent credit, using your own shopping bags is more convenient. "Wait," you ask, "how is it convenient to haul around dozens of canvas bags every time I go grocery shopping?" I'll tell you. Reusable bags are stronger and therefore will hold more than a disposable bag. I cram my shopping bags full of groceries; a ten-bag trip for most people is only a two or three-bag trip for me. I make fewer trips to haul my groceries in and out of the car. And my canvas shopping bags are easier to carry (great for when I walk to the store). Instead of plastic handles that cut into my hand, these bags have nice long fabric straps that I throw over my shoulder.

Now my growing pile of plastic shopping bags under the sink grows much more slowly (I'm still trying to teach my husband to take the bags every time he goes shopping). I frequently bundle up extra plastic bags to take to the bag recycling drop at some grocery stores, or I drop them off at a thrift store that will re-use them. But neither one of those options is convenient. I know that's why some people shamelessly throw away every plastic bag that enters their home (that means their trash fills up sooner and they have to take the garbage out more often). Don't let yourself be shameless with single-use shopping bags! You probably have some nice tote bags lying around your house that would work great for shopping. You could also make your own tote bags or buy some at the thrift store. Or visit ReusableBags.com for all kinds of handy shopping bags. Their site also has lots of facts and figures about the world-wide problem of single-use shopping bags. Or visit my favorite website: Etsy.com and browse through thousands of beautiful handmade shopping totes. Go grocery shopping in style!

Now that I have gathered a collection of bags, I hang them on a hook by my front door so I will remember to bring them with me when I go shopping. I try to stash a couple in my car to use for unplanned shopping trips. And if I am purchasing just one or two items that I can easily carry, I just say "I don't need a bag." (The cashier looks up in amazement as she tries to stuff a 99-cent paper-wrapped burger into a paper bag. "I'm just going to eat it," I explain.)

Besides being more convenient, reusable shopping bags help me sleep better at night because I know that I am doing my part to save the earth!

Ditch the Toilet Paper, It's time for something better!

2008-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Cavemen probably just used their hands, then one of them had the bright idea of using a banana leaf to keep his hands clean. Eventually Americans advanced to using a page of the Sears Catalog instead of the leaf. In the modern day, we are so advanced that we use . . . (drum roll) . . . Toilet Paper! Hey, exactly how is toilet paper any better than the first banana leaf? Well, they sell it at the grocery store and it comes in large rolls. But as far as getting you clean, it's not much better than the leaf or the catalog page. I'm sure you know what I mean. Have you ever wished for something better?

I know many people who use what they call "family cloth" or "cloth wipes" instead of toilet paper. The cloth works much better than paper, trust me! If you ever go to someone's house that has a stack of old washcloths or cut up t-shirts on the back of their toilet, they are using cloth. If you wet the cloth in the sink before you wipe, it works even better. They collect the wipes in a small bag or can near the toilet and wash them once or twice a week. No more toilet paper!

If you have ever traveled abroad to the right countries, you might be familiar with a bidet. We have them in the U.S. too, but most people here think that bidets are silly. Why? Because they've never used one. If they did, then I'm sure that they'd never go back. I myself am in the "I'll never go back to T.P." club. You don't have to install a bidet in your bathroom to experience the cleanliness. You can install a toilet seat bidet that does the same job right on the toilet. We installed a diaper sprayer to clean out the cloth diapers, and found that it worked well as a bidet also. It cost about $35, but you could probably make one for even less with parts from the hardware store. I use the sprayer every time I use the toilet, then dry off with the wipes that I mentioned above. The used wipe is only as dirty as my bath towel (just slightly wet). We drop those in the diaper pail to get washed with the diapers. When all my kids are out of diapers, I'll just wash the wipes with the bath towels. It's so easy.

My husband was at first reluctant to try the sprayer, but now he is in the club too. I catch him all the time explaining the benefits to friends and family. If you were to help me wash and fold the family underwear load, you would be a witness that we are clean everywhere! Not only are we cleaner than the average bear, we are saving money because we don't buy toilet paper anymore. Okay, we still have some T.P. in the house for the benefit of concerned guests, but four rolls will easily last us six months or more! Of course we are also conserving natural resources (trees) by not using the paper. And we are making the guys at the sewage treatment plant happy by not dumping all that paper in our toilet. This is a win, win, win situation, and I urge you to try it for yourself!

Soap without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

2008-05-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

My most recent "project" for making a healthier family is to get rid of sodium lauryl sulfate in our personal care products. This quest started when my toddler asked me for bubbles in his bath. I wandered down to the grocery store to pick up some bubble bath, but something about the look of Mr. Bubble on the pink bottle made me pause and read the ingredients on the label. I'm sure you've seen these same ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle, the long list of . . . what is this stuff anyway? If I don't know know what it is, why should I put it in my child's bath? I have often wondered about the ingredients in our soap, shampoo, and conditioner. In the past I have just shrugged and assumed that the soap companies are the experts and they must know what they are doing.

I decided to try the "organic & natural foods" aisle at the store to see what they had to offer. I picked up a bottle of body wash and looked at the ingredients. Hey, this has a lot of the same stuff! Sure, they have some additions of natural good-for-you ingredients like essential oils and honey, but what about all these chemicals that I can't pronounce?

I finally decided it was time to do some research on the subject. I went home and did some reading on the internet about sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) (the main ingredient in most of our soaps). I learned that this is a cheap detergent that causes skin & hair irritations and may even cause hair loss & other health problems. Simply put, it is a chemical detergent that harshly strips your body of its natural oils. There was even a rumor that SLS is a cancer-causing agent, but that seems to be somewhat of an urban legend. Cancer or not, it is obvious that SLS is not good for your body. Common sense tells me that a chemical detergent that is good for cleaning oil off my driveway is not what I want to use for cleaning my skin or hair.

What about all the other strange ingredients in our soap? I haven't taken the time to google all of the other chemicals, but I do know that our personal care products usually contain preservatives and artificial colors (why do we need colored shampoo & lotion??) that aren't good for you either. I want some skin-care products that are going to clean me without any weird side effects.

Reading about SLS was enlightening to me because it validated the baking soda & cider vinegar system I have been using to wash my hair for almost two years now. In my past, I was probably the worlds biggest consumer of hair conditioner. Once I quit using shampoo, I suddenly didn't need conditioner anymore. Now I realize it was probably the SLS (and other things) in shampoo that was wreaking havoc on my hair and keeping it addicted to the conditioner. The conditioner in turn made my hair more greasy so I had to wash more often with more shampoo, it was a vicious cycle! Anyway, I quit using shampoo, but my husband hasn't been willing yet to try the baking soda method on his hair. I also found it difficult to use on my children (vinegar in my baby's eyes, yikes!).

So what are the alternatives to SLS? and where can I find them? Well, you can make your own soap. This has always been an interest of mine, but I haven't found the time and energy to start this project yet. So I turned to the next best thing to making your own stuff: Etsy.com, the online market place for handmade crafts. Just browse their Bath & Beauty section to find natural alternatives to any potion you could use in the bathroom. I first found a shampoo bar (added bonus of a bar: less garbage in the landfill because it doesn't come in a bottle) and read the list of ingredients: Saponified oils of olive, castor, palm, coconut, sweet almond, camelia, jojoba and shea butter, dead sea mud, kelp, and essential oils. Wow, that's more like it! (Just because it is handmade doesn't mean that it is natural! Make sure you always read or ask for a list of ingredients when shopping for handmade soaps.) According to their description, using a shampoo bar will most likely mean that you won't need conditioner because your hair will be clean without being stripped of its natural goodness. If you find that you still need conditioner for your hair, you can find those on Etsy too (leave-in conditioners are great). Or make your own leave-in conditioner by rubbing a tiny drop of essential or olive oil through your hair. Just a tiny drop! A little bottle goes a long way.

I've also found on Etsy natural bars of soap that replace my bottles of body wash and hand wash. I got some wonderful bubble bath for my toddler from Morning Star. If you use face wash, you can find natural alternatives that will leave your skin so soft that you might not need moisurizer anymore. I have been using my own concoction of 1 part baking soda mixed with one part ground rice or rice flour to wash my face. You can also add some dried herbs or lemon rind to this mixture. I put a small amount in my hand, mix with water to make a paste, and then scrub my face. It works so wonderfully that I have thrown out all the dozens of facial care potions & moisturizers that I have collected and tried over the years.

If you browse through the listings on Etsy, you might say to yourself, "okay, these handmade soaps and things are great for rich people, but all I can afford are the $1.50 bottles of Suave." I live on a tight budget too and have the same concerns! But consider that using these natural soaps will most likely mean that you won't need to spend money on conditioner & lotions anymore. You can also save even more money by using a combination shampoo/body bar. Imagine taking a shower where all you need is one bar of soap instead of all those bottles of stuff!

Another suggestion is to search out a local provider of handmade soaps. Many sellers on Etsy list their location; you might find someone in your own town that will let you do a local pickup to save the shipping costs. Also try browsing through local farmers markets and art fairs; you'll probably find someone in your own neighborhood that makes & sells soap. I was at a local art fair here in Ketchikan and found Debbie of Alaska Lather. Now whenever I need soap, I call her and she lets me browse through her basement filled with her huge stock of wonderful soaps & body creams. I can't explain how wonderful it feels to buy something I need directly from the local artist instead of buying something from Walmart that was made in China! But best of all is the feeling I get when I bathe myself or my children with soap that is natural & good for the skin.

For additional reading, please look at the FAQ Page at Mountain Sky Handcrafted Natural Soap. It has some very enlightening information about the differences between handcrafted soap and the soap made by large companies.

Welcome to my new blog!

2008-05-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a blog. Maybe this is a bad idea (it's not exactly like I have a lot of spare time). Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head that I need to get out where people will read them. Ideas for how to live a more simple life, a life more in harmony with nature and the way God made us. A life more like it should be, not just the way everyone else lives their life. A life that is based on good ideas and truth, not a life dictated by convention and the media. I need a life that includes more nutrition, more natural alternatives, more conservation, more beauty. I need a life with less disposable trash, less chemicals, less pollution, less clutter. I think we all, as humans, need the same things. But I get so overwhelmed when I think about all the things that need to change; how can I start? My world is filled with so many plastics, chemicals, junk food, disposables, petroleum products, and the list goes on and on. And it always seems like the "green" alternative costs AT LEAST twice as much. And is so much harder to find. Sometimes it seems like only the super rich can afford to eat organic food, wear organic clothing, and drive their electric cars home to their environmentally-friendly house. And I'm not super rich!

So what can I do? I've decided I can only do one thing at a time. I get ideas from different places, do some research, and decide what I can do to change that one thing in my life. One thing at a time. And I will emphasize things I can do that save money. Being environmentally & natural-minded doesn't have to be so expensive or difficult. God gave us the earth and everything in it for our benefit. We shouldn't have to pay more to get the natural alternative. So as I study and search out different options to make my life more simple, I will try to share them with you too!