With the boy quickly learning to (ack!) crawl, it’s time for some major babyproofing of our house and of all the places he frequents regularly. Installing baby gates is the least of our worries. Our main concern is the toxic chemicals everywhere you turn. Feeding him organic food just isn’t enough in this day and age. We must clean up the grass he rolls on and the floors he crawls on. We try to live as organically and naturally as possible. We don’t use pesticides or herbicides. We’re going to try organic fertilizer. If you can’t eat it, you really shouldn’t touch it or inhale it. We want to teach him about health through natural living and we want to lead by example. We also really believe that you vote with your money. If nobody buys it, they’ll have no choice but to stop making it.

Some things we’ll be disposing of:
1. Bug repellents
2. Febreze
3. Drain Cleaner
4. Toilet Cleaner
5. Oven Cleaner
6. Furniture Polish/Stains
7. Window Cleaner

We haven’t used any of these since I got pregnant, but they’re still sitting around polluting our space.
I’ll be heading to the dollar store to buy a crapload of spray bottles and spending a few hours making the natural alternatives.

We’re also using up the last of all shampoos, soaps, laundry detergents etc and replacing them all with Dr. Bronner’s castile soap (which works for absolutely everything!) and/or Nature Clean products. We use baking soda instead of fabric softener as well, and it works great. I’m still working on a dishwasher detergent alternative, so I’ll let you know when I come up with something.

We never bought any commercial baby products and disposed of the ones we received as gifts, so we don’t have any to dispose of, but here are my baby recipes.

1. Bug repellent::

(posted here)

2. Febreze:

(posted here)

3. Drain Cleaner:

Pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain. Follow with 2 cups (more or less) of vinegar. Let sit 1 hour. Flush with hot water. For bad clogs, repeat as many times as necessary. This is best done monthly to prevent clogs from occurring.

4. Toilet Cleaner

Simply pour in 1 cup baking soda and scrub with a brush.
For deep cleaning, pour in 1-4 cups vinegar and let soak 1-2 hours. Scrub with a brush.
For fizzy toilet fun, pour baking soda and vinegar in together!

5. Oven Cleaner:
Sprinkle a little bit of water over the bottom of the oven, follow with baking soda (make sure it covers the bottom) and then wet it with a spray bottle of water. If you need to clean the sides, make a paste of water and baking soda. Apply the paste and let it sit a couple of hours or even overnight. Use a damp rag to remove the baking soda. Residue doesn’t hurt (it’s non-toxic!) but if it bugs you you may need to wipe it down a few times to remove all of the whiteness. For deeper cleaning, use vinegar instead of water.

6. Furniture Polish:
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice plus a few drops of oil. The vinegar/lemon pulls the dirt out of the wood, and the few drops of oil lubricates the wood so that it doesn’t dry out. I have also tried the reverse (1/4 cup oil and a few drops vinegar/lemon) but I find it too oily for polish.
The best oils to use are those that have the longest shelf life. I think olive oil works well. Or the liquid wax jojoba, which never goes rancid (get it at health food stores).
Unfinished Wood:
We just got new 7 foot bookshelves made of unfinished alder wood. Since we couldn’t find SafeCoat locally, we decided to completely opt out of toxic stain and instead we rubbed the wood down with a mixture of 2 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice. 2 cups oil and 1 cup lemon covered both shelves with a tiny bit to spare. If I remember, I’ll post a pic so you can see how well it works!

7. Window Cleaner:
While plain vinegar works fine, I like this mix. Add ¼ cup white distilled vinegar and ½ teaspoon liquid (organic/natural) soap (I like Dr. Bronner’s) to 2 cups water in a spray bottle and shake. You can add a few drops of an essential oil for scent if you want, but it isn’t necessary.

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If you can’t/don’t want to/don’t have time to make your own alternatives, here are some of my favourite products and lines:

Seventh Generation

Kiss My Face

Dermamed Children

Burt’s Bees

Battle Those Bugs

Burt’s Bees

and some of my favourite sites:

Clean Air Gardening

CHEC

Blue Butterfly

Green Babies

Green Nest

Magic of Arm & Hammer

A good book about baking soda.

Uses for vinegar.

Have a cat?

The Inspired Protagonist

Inhabitat (green building)

Watch this movie!

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Congratulations to Jenny of Shlameel Shlamozl for being my first winner at MMO with a blog to link to! Keep reading, keep entering…I have some more very awesome things lined up for you soon!