Organic living

[LNC]

I need your best magazines, websites, books etc. I really want to make some major changes in this area. We have lots of autoimmune diseases in our family and I'm motivated by our health! I just read The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World out of Balance.

I would love to talk about this! Some areas I'm concerned about are:

1. Plastics - vs. wood for toys, for food storage and heating up. Should I switch to only glass cups for the children and I? Throw out the saran wrap and tupperware and buy glass food storage? What about straws?
2. Pesticides for the lawn - do you just not spray for spiders and bugs? Pesticides for food - I need that list someone had on here for the priorizing of fruits/veggies to buy certified organic.
3. Preservatives - we don't eat heavily processed foods, like Velveeta, but I want to eliminate all benzoates, nitrates, parabens, sulfites, bha, bht, fd&C dyes & MSG. There goes lots of sauces, lunch meats, and ready made treats!
4. Cleaning products? What do you recommend? For deep cleaning and the shower scum?
5. Cosmetics? I want to avoid paraben and phalates and some other things. I read Burt's Bees and Aubrey Organics are good. No more nail polish or hair dye (we already talked about dye on the boards).
6. Teflon? I have Calphalon knock-offs from Sam's that I love. I just Googled Teflon is unhealthy.

This is too much info to take in all at once :( . How do you handle all of these decisions?

[Doran]

This is too much info to take in all at once :( . How do you handle all of these decisions?

Tackle these and other issues one at a time. Some of them require total lifestyle changes, like the elimination of certain chemicals in foods and personal care items. Others require cash outlay that could feel huge if you try to implement them all at once. A few are fairly simple and not terribly expensive, so you can check those off your list right away.

Take plastics. Yes, get rid of plastic food containers as much as possible. When I made this switch, I tossed all the Rubbermaid and purchased glass Pyrex storage containers with snap on plastic lids: http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageId=97. I bought one set of several size containers (two small rectangular, one large rectangular, one round, maybe something else). I also purchased a set of three small round containers, same style. These can be used for storage, baking, and freezing. I still keep quart size yogurt containers (and, I have to admit here that I just corrected a typo that read "quary sized"....oooooh, that would be BIG!:D) for when I just don't have enough containers, but I don't reheat food in them, and I avoid storing acidic foods in them. We use glass jars (Ball canning type jars) as drinking vessels. Started with jelly jars, now we've graduated to some pint jars as our kids are drinking larger quantities. They are cheap, sometimes free (yard sales, thrift stores), and durable. Maybe those are good first steps for you. Generally, you want to limit plastics for food storage or reheating, and you want to eliminate PVC plastics in baby bottles/teethers/etc.

No, you don't need to spray pesticides for spiders and bugs -- at least not in a blanket "preventive" way -- and possibly not at all. Many bugs are our friends. If you come across ones that aren't friendly, you can deal with them on a case by case basis. There, see. That's easy, right? :)

Cleaning products, I like baking soda and elbow grease for soap scum. Bon Ami is another option. White vinegar, water, and a splash of tea tree oil is a good disinfectant/cleaner for countertops, toilets, etc. Seventh Generation Liquid Laundry Soap works well for me in the wash.

Personal care products like soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste are a bit more of a chore because there are so many choices and personal choice often comes into play in a larger way. Try the Skin Deep report (http://www.ewg.org/) (find the link on the right hand side of their home page) at Environmental Working Group.

Cookware: another one to do as it fits your life and budget. Personally, I don't use Teflon and haven't for years. I use good stainless cookware and cast iron. But, you don't have to add that to the list until some of the other more easily accomplished things are done.

Food: This one will take the longest time and the transformation will be slow. Start with the items you feel your family eats the most of that you know to be a less healthy choice. Some choose organic milk. Some choose apples. But, please don't try to overhaul your refrigerator and pantry all at once -- you'll feel overwhelmed and you won't want to keep doing this. Here's a list of which foods might be best to avoid (http://www.grinningplanet.com/2006/update-2005-05-24/pesticides-in-food.htm) right away (not sure if this is the one you saw before).

Finally, The Eco-Wise site (http://www.ecowise.com/index.php?osCsid=8f35eb1d312e32688cae60d6e51b714d) , the Seventh Generation (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/) site, and The Green Pages (http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/) are all resources for helping you find your way in this transition. Beware! There is a lot on these pages. Use them to search out a specific item that you've decided to try to address rather than as places to seek out what needs to be addressed. We can't do everything, and certainly not all at once.

Best wishes!
Doran

[Michele in New Zealand]

I don't have any good books, websites, or magazine for you but I have some ideas.

We are a chemical free household. My daughter was diagnosed with chronic fatigue last year. We decided that was not a label we were willing to take on and fought it. She is now healthy, vibrant and energetic. She still has some low days but then we all do, don't we. I have an auto-immune disease (rheumatoid arthritis) and have found that our new, healthy life helps that a lot too.

1. Plastics. We still use plastic. We don't let it get hot. We store flours, pasta etc in glass jars. Leftovers that go in the fridge go in bowls. We do use plastic water bottles like Evian. You have got to pick your battles and we decided this wasn't going to be one of ours.

2. Pecticides or any other chemical spray. We don't use them at all period. As for buying organic. We bought everything organic for a while there, but it is too expensive for us right now. We do have an enormous vege garden, but we are in drought and haven't been able to water it, so it is rather dead.

Here is a list called the Dirty Dozen which contains the foods you should avoid due to high chemical levels and residue from sprays. And this is after washing!
Apples
Cherries
Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Raspberries
Strawberries
Bell peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach and
Milk
Beef
Poultry

3. Preservatives. We just don't. I have a book called The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham. It contains list of preserservatives and additives, what they are from, what they can do to you and how dangerous they are. He also lists the harmless ones as well. I don't know if USA uses the same E numbers as Australasia, but it's worth a look.

4. Cleaners. We use completely natural cleaners too. I guess ours would be different to yours though.

5. Cosmetics. Again ours are more than likely different. Burt's Bees do contain some dodgy ingredients in some of their products. I use locally made products called Living Nature http://www.livingnature.com/ and http://www.sukinorganics.com/ and http://www.earthwiseshop.co.nz/

6. Teflon. We don't use it often. The only teflon product I have are my muffin trays and I use cupcake papers inside them which I am hoping is enough. My frying pan, pots, saucepans, slow cooker are all made from stainless or ceramic.

As far as handling these decisions ... pick your battles. We have never use sprays outside, so that was easy! I picked cosmetics, hair and oral care to go first. I threw everything out and went out that day and replaced it all. The following week, I threw out all the chemical cleaners and replaced them. Then the next week came along, our cupboards were bare and I filled them with organic breads, organic flours, organic tinned food, organic soy and rice milks, organic cows milk for dh, organic rice and quinoa....etc, etc. We ordered an organic box to be delivered every week but found that more and more it was filled with rotten produce. I was not impressed and so for now, I buy some organic at our local supermarket and the rest is conventional. I juice a lot and everything that goes in the juicer is organic.

HTH!
Michele.

[Michele in New Zealand]

:D I see you get Seventh Generation products for cleaning. That is what I use for nearly everything. It's great stuff.

[Lisa at Home]

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when people ask these kinds of questions because there is just SO much to be said.

One thing I might suggest in addition to everything Doran said is how I made it more particularly easy on myself. Start with the store closest to you to see what they offer in regards to all these things you want to change. Go without the kids, and just stand there and read labels for a *really* long time for the particular products you need. The brands that you might read about on the area are going to be hard to stick with if not easily obtained.

And one thing I have learned the hard way is that you have to keep reading labels, because they change!!! Several products I had been using have been changed since I initially purchased them, and are no longer welcome in my home. And even within certain brands you will find a wide range of acceptability.

It will depend upon funds available as to how quickly you can make changes, because with some types of products (like cosmetics) it takes a great deal of trial and error. Sometimes you think you have found just what you're looking for, but it just doesn't work out.

Please be patient, you are undertaking a HUGE project.

Best wishes to you,

~Lisa

[CalicoKat]

Tackle these and other issues one at a time. Some of them require total lifestyle changes, like the elimination of certain chemicals in foods and personal care items. Others require cash outlay that could feel huge if you try to implement them all at once. A few are fairly simple and not terribly expensive, so you can check those off your list right away.

Take plastics. Yes, get rid of plastic food containers as much as possible. When I made this switch, I tossed all the Rubbermaid and purchased glass Pyrex storage containers with snap on plastic lids: http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageId=97. I bought one set of several size containers (two small rectangular, one large rectangular, one round, maybe something else). I also purchased a set of three small round containers, same style. These can be used for storage, baking, and freezing. I still keep quart size yogurt containers (and, I have to admit here that I just corrected a typo that read "quary sized"....oooooh, that would be BIG!:D) for when I just don't have enough containers, but I don't reheat food in them, and I avoid storing acidic foods in them. We use glass jars (Ball canning type jars) as drinking vessels. Started with jelly jars, now we've graduated to some pint jars as our kids are drinking larger quantities. They are cheap, sometimes free (yard sales, thrift stores), and durable. Maybe those are good first steps for you. Generally, you want to limit plastics for food storage or reheating, and you want to eliminate PVC plastics in baby bottles/teethers/etc.

No, you don't need to spray pesticides for spiders and bugs -- at least not in a blanket "preventive" way -- and possibly not at all. Many bugs are our friends. If you come across ones that aren't friendly, you can deal with them on a case by case basis. There, see. That's easy, right? :)

Cleaning products, I like baking soda and elbow grease for soap scum. Bon Ami is another option. White vinegar, water, and a splash of tea tree oil is a good disinfectant/cleaner for countertops, toilets, etc. Seventh Generation Liquid Laundry Soap works well for me in the wash.

Personal care products like soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste are a bit more of a chore because there are so many choices and personal choice often comes into play in a larger way. Try the Skin Deep report (http://www.ewg.org/) (find the link on the right hand side of their home page) at Environmental Working Group.

Cookware: another one to do as it fits your life and budget. Personally, I don't use Teflon and haven't for years. I use good stainless cookware and cast iron. But, you don't have to add that to the list until some of the other more easily accomplished things are done.

Food: This one will take the longest time and the transformation will be slow. Start with the items you feel your family eats the most of that you know to be a less healthy choice. Some choose organic milk. Some choose apples. But, please don't try to overhaul your refrigerator and pantry all at once -- you'll feel overwhelmed and you won't want to keep doing this. Here's a list of which foods might be best to avoid (http://www.grinningplanet.com/2006/update-2005-05-24/pesticides-in-food.htm) right away (not sure if this is the one you saw before).

Finally, The Eco-Wise site (http://www.ecowise.com/index.php?osCsid=8f35eb1d312e32688cae60d6e51b714d) , the Seventh Generation (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/) site, and The Green Pages (http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/) are all resources for helping you find your way in this transition. Beware! There is a lot on these pages. Use them to search out a specific item that you've decided to try to address rather than as places to seek out what needs to be addressed. We can't do everything, and certainly not all at once.

Best wishes!
Doran
because it's an aspect of organic living that generally gets over looked! It's huge. Also, don't forget to look into getting rid of your microwave oven. Don't freak out. If you time things you'll find that it's takes about as long to do it in a conventional or toaster oven as it does in the micro--plus your food is better for you.

Going with glass storage -- don't forget to check out your local 2nd hand shop. You can get many smaller casseroles for leftover storage there.

I agree with the above, very thorough!

[Colleen]

Just since this new board was created, there have been a number of good discussions about living organically (for lack of a better term). I think it's great that you want to make these major changes! Do you have a natural foods co-op at your disposal. Mine is fabulous, and a wealth of information. Having a good place to shop is so helpful.

Regarding the areas you specifically mentioned...

1) Plastics ~ I don't mind storing leftovers in plastics (e.g. cottage cheese containers). I don't heat the foods up in there, of course. We drink out of glasses and I don't buy plastic wrap. In general, I try to avoid plastic, primarily out of concern for the environment.

2) We don't use any pesticides outside and it's obvious. Our lawn is thick with clover and, in spring, dandelions. Our house is right next to our barn, and we have a lot of bugs around. That's life!

3) Pesticides on foods ~ I try to avoid them. I buy organic the vast majority of the time. (And of course there are foods not certified organic that are pesticide-free, too!)

4) Preservatives - Again, I just do my best to avoid them.

5) Cleaning products ~ In many cases, vinegar, water, and/or baking soda are sufficient. I do use Bi-O-Kleen and, less often, Seventh Generation, too.

6) Cosmetics ~ Desert Essence Organics is a good source for shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. I don't wear a lot of make-up, but most of what I do use is from Aveda. There are other brands that are better as far as avoiding chemicals outright; Aveda is middle of the road. I just like their products and don't have any health issues in this area, so it's what I use.

7) Teflon ~ I love my non-stick pans from Swiss Diamond; they're free of Teflon. My other cookware is either stainless steel or ceramic.

Best wishes to you as you pursue these changes. Give it time!

[LNC]

One more question. This is my cookware below. They are anondized aluminum calphalon knockoffs. Are they teflon? Should they be replaced?

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=203558

Thanks again! I printed off all of your replied and if anyone else has any I would so appreciate it!

[LN in WI]

I just finished reading Boys Adrift & and it has motivated me to go more green.

I already don't buy the dirty dozen, but now we are going to buy organic, non-homogoneized milk, dairy products, eggs, & meat as well.

I am going to switch to cleaning with baking soda and vinegar.

I already use all glass storage containers. I usually pick up the old glass refrigerator containers from the '50s at garage sales, but Crate and Barrel just came out with a new line of them.

Unfortunately, I just invested in many Tupperware containers to organize my pantry. Do you think I should switch to glass?

Thanks for all the links.
Ellen

[Closeacademy]

Rodale press books, I really liked Organic Gardening Magazine before that woman took over. Mother Earth News, Backwoods Home Magazine, Countryside and Small Stock Journal are all good magazines for the back to nature less is more lifestyle.

Our library carries a lot of the old Rodale press books. I see that there is all kinds of books on Whole Foods out now by different presses. Whole Foods for Whole Families published by La Leche League is a good cookbook.

Good Luck and hope you find this helpful.:)