I spent some time reflecting on our class project to reduce the chemicals we introduce to our bodies and the environment. The main lesson I’ve learned from this experience is that of simplicity. The more I’ve simplified my purchasing habitats and ingredient list in my household products, the better I feel. I’m creating a better quality of life for myself and my family and reducing our impact on our local and global environment. Better living through chemistry no longer works in our society (if it ever did in the first place).
So what’s new this week…….
I LOVE the household cleanser I made a few weeks ago. The lemon zest has given the cleaning solution a really wonderful scent that fills the air as I clean. While I plan to use this cleanser for mostly everything, I just had to try Dr. Bonner’s solution on my kitchen floor. Yes, that’s right. I’ve never used Dr. Bonner’s inside the home, only during camping trips. GASP! I added the peppermint cleaning solution to warm water and also mixed in some baker soda for stains. My kitchen and wood floors gleamed and made the downstairs smell so good. Thanks Coleen for doing so much research on Dr. Bonner’s soaps! I felt good about the product and the mission of the company.
As Maddie would say, “Eww… stinky”
I had another “why haven’t I done this sooner” moment this week. As silly as it sounds, I was nervous to change from my Secret Powder Fresh antiperspirant to an aluminum-free deodorant. I sweat a lot, so I was a bit anxious to try a non-antiperspirant. However, I realized that I spent too many years placing my dislike for sweat at inopportune times (like work and formal occasions) over my health, and that had to stop. Aluminum, which is a main ingredient in antiperspirant, has been linked to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. In particular, breast cancer has been diagnosed earlier in women who began underarm hygiene practices (shaving, antiperspirant) before the age of sixteen (cancer.gov). While studies conducted to find links between antiperspirant and cancer have not been overwhelmingly conclusive, why take the risk? I immediately picked up Tom’s of Maine Wild Lavender deodorant, and I love it so far. I’ve worked in the yard, ran around after Maddie, run errands, and gone of runs (wow, that’s a lot of running), and I haven’t experienced an embarrassing underarm moment. Score!
Spring is a time of re-birth… including mosquitoes and ticks
I spend a lot of time outdoors. Whether it’s in the yard, camping, hiking, or doing on-the-job field work, I spend a lot of time exposed to mosquitoes and ticks. When I was pregnant and doing these activities, I simply went without any bug spray, because I did not want any dangerous chemicals to absorb through my skin and into Maddie. Since then, I have sprayed my jeans with OFF when conducting field work or at the campsite. I use the product sparingly, but it is also important to me to prevent against infection of Lyme disease and West Nile Virus.
This past week, I set out to make my own insect/tick repellant. I had a great recipe using olive oil and essential oils, and I went to the health food store to get the oils. $14 for a small container of lavender or thyme oil! After cringing over the cost of the ingredients for a recipe I wasn’t sure was going to work, I decided to look at the natural bug repellents that the store offered. There was a wide variety of insect repellents that had similar ingredients to the ones I planned to purchase: lavender oil, thyme oil, and witch hazel. Nestled amongst the national brands such as Burt’s Bees was a small bottle of BUG OFF! made at Jenness Farm, a local farm that is known for its amazing goat milk products. http://www.jennessfarm.com/
So what’s new this week…….
I LOVE the household cleanser I made a few weeks ago. The lemon zest has given the cleaning solution a really wonderful scent that fills the air as I clean. While I plan to use this cleanser for mostly everything, I just had to try Dr. Bonner’s solution on my kitchen floor. Yes, that’s right. I’ve never used Dr. Bonner’s inside the home, only during camping trips. GASP! I added the peppermint cleaning solution to warm water and also mixed in some baker soda for stains. My kitchen and wood floors gleamed and made the downstairs smell so good. Thanks Coleen for doing so much research on Dr. Bonner’s soaps! I felt good about the product and the mission of the company.
As Maddie would say, “Eww… stinky”
I had another “why haven’t I done this sooner” moment this week. As silly as it sounds, I was nervous to change from my Secret Powder Fresh antiperspirant to an aluminum-free deodorant. I sweat a lot, so I was a bit anxious to try a non-antiperspirant. However, I realized that I spent too many years placing my dislike for sweat at inopportune times (like work and formal occasions) over my health, and that had to stop. Aluminum, which is a main ingredient in antiperspirant, has been linked to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. In particular, breast cancer has been diagnosed earlier in women who began underarm hygiene practices (shaving, antiperspirant) before the age of sixteen (cancer.gov). While studies conducted to find links between antiperspirant and cancer have not been overwhelmingly conclusive, why take the risk? I immediately picked up Tom’s of Maine Wild Lavender deodorant, and I love it so far. I’ve worked in the yard, ran around after Maddie, run errands, and gone of runs (wow, that’s a lot of running), and I haven’t experienced an embarrassing underarm moment. Score!
Spring is a time of re-birth… including mosquitoes and ticks
I spend a lot of time outdoors. Whether it’s in the yard, camping, hiking, or doing on-the-job field work, I spend a lot of time exposed to mosquitoes and ticks. When I was pregnant and doing these activities, I simply went without any bug spray, because I did not want any dangerous chemicals to absorb through my skin and into Maddie. Since then, I have sprayed my jeans with OFF when conducting field work or at the campsite. I use the product sparingly, but it is also important to me to prevent against infection of Lyme disease and West Nile Virus.
This past week, I set out to make my own insect/tick repellant. I had a great recipe using olive oil and essential oils, and I went to the health food store to get the oils. $14 for a small container of lavender or thyme oil! After cringing over the cost of the ingredients for a recipe I wasn’t sure was going to work, I decided to look at the natural bug repellents that the store offered. There was a wide variety of insect repellents that had similar ingredients to the ones I planned to purchase: lavender oil, thyme oil, and witch hazel. Nestled amongst the national brands such as Burt’s Bees was a small bottle of BUG OFF! made at Jenness Farm, a local farm that is known for its amazing goat milk products. http://www.jennessfarm.com/
This was perfect! It contained the ingredients I wanted, was only $3.29, and buying it supports a local business. My work scheduled for tomorrow includes collecting groundwater samples, and several of the wells are located near a wetland and are situated within tall grass. I sample at this site every six months, and EVERY time I’m there I get attacked by mosquitoes and end up crawling with ticks. I also always get poison ivy when I’m there, so I’ve stocked up on Burt’s Bees poison ivy soap. (Sounds great, right? Anyone care to join me?) I will continue this post tomorrow after I’ve had a chance to test out this natural bug spray. My field partner has agreed to wear the traditional OFF Deep Woods spray for comparison. Let the best spray win, and watch out vermin!
As always I love your post Liz, although I wish I had read it prior to my tick problem last week! I am so sorry that you have to check the water at this site and always end up with ticks on your legs. I am scratching just thinking about it and getting all sorts of hebbie gebbies.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to try and find some similar flea/tick repellent here in Michigan for humans and dogs so that I don't have a repeat.
Liz - I like it - Simplicity is the new Sophisticated. Indeed! And imagine the money you save. Sounds like the deorderant is a good switch and the truth is - you can learn to live with alittle smell. We are so conditioned to not like our natural animal smells.
ReplyDeleteI read this evolutionary biologist article once (sorry I can't cite it) where he was saying he had a theory about the high divorce rate because we have so masked our natural smells, and he says that mammals use smell as one of their criteria for mating. Being that we are still mammals, and probably our biology governs more of who we are than we'd like to think, he was saying that mating these days is masked by articial checmical smells. In the end the mismatch is because there was no biological connection in that way that we have evolved. Hmmm... interesting theory. It is true that I have been really turned off by perfumey smells on men - aftershave - etc - or women for that matter - more so than the natural smell. So maybe your husband will fall in love with you all over again - maybe the real Liz - not the antipersperant laden Liz. Look out.
I'm back from the field and was successful in avoiding ticks, misquitoes, AND poison ivy. The all natural inspect/tick repellent was a welcome change from the DEET-laden OFF Deep Woods I've previously used. The smell was pleasant, and I didn't have insects hovering over me as I worked. A few sprays was all it took! The true test will come in July with the hot humid weather, but so far so good!
ReplyDeleteYAY! This is so cool, Liz. I will have to give this a go. I also heard an interesting segment on NPR last week - evidently the U.S. government now has a patent on an insect repellent/insecticide made from grapefruit that is "generally considered safe." Hm. http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/135468567/repelling-bugs-with-the-essence-of-grapefruit
ReplyDeleteYour reflection reminded me of my days in Girl Scouting. When I went to Girl Scout camp as a kid, bug spray was always on the "Packing List." However, we were NOT allowed to bring any bug spray that had DEET in it. I had always assumed this was because they worried about the health impacts of such a harsh chemical on children. I found out as an adult, however, that it was banned because it ate away at the waterproofing and the canvas in the camp's tents. So, it was OK for us to spray it on ourselves...but since it ATE AWAY AT THE TENT, we weren't allowed to use it on site. Oy.