Plastic Nasty!

So there was yet another news report about the dangers of plastics. I think it actually may have been this report that got me started on this green kick in the first place. There have also been a lot of news reports about Chinese products being contaminated with bad stuff. It has all made me really question how much stuff I have in the house that is toxic and has prompted me to reassess our lifestyle choices. So I thought the best place to start would be with the kids. I can't control everything they come into contact with, but I can at least try to make their home environment as healthy and safe as possible. So I have been in search of a non-leeching sippy cup for A. After lots of surfing research, it appears that my options are limited, but there do seem to be some possibilities:
a. Kleen Canteen - stainless steel, uses "non-leaching" Advent sippy cup attachment. Downside: not very well designed as a sippy cup (not economical, difficult for a toddler to tip up and drink from) and still has the child drinking through plastic.
b. Thermos Foogo sippy cup - stainless steel with non-leaching plastic spout and casing. Better design than Kleen Canteen but still has plastic.
c. Sigg water bottle - aluminum bottle with water-based non-leaching liner.
So, not sure which route we're going to take...

My no 'poo

So, last Monday (17th), I began my no 'poo regime. After reading up a little on the subject, I did a Baking Soda (1tbsp) and water (1 cup) rinse. It was one of the weirdest feelings ever. My hair felt almost sticky. It was very tacky, like it was thick with grease and syrup - very, very strange. I had read that sometimes the apple cider vinegar makes your hair smell like vinegar and sometimes can make it greasier, so I didn't try that step yet. I was for sure in de-tox - my hair was a mess! It was like the baking soda had released this reservoir of damned up gunk that had been stored inside my scalp and all of a sudden it was all set free and it came flooding into my hair. YUK!! Need I say more? So over the next day and a half I read a lot more about no 'poo and found the natural family website which had a better step-by-step description of how to do the baking soda wash and I attempted it a second time. This time I used the same baking soda wash, but used warmer water, let the solution sit on my roots for a minute, did the whole scrubbing sequence they suggested on that website and rinsed really well. I also followed by a apple cider vinegar (2 tbsp) and water (1 cup) rinse just on the ends (I let it sit for about a minute) and rinsed that really well too (in cooler water). I did not get the nasty sticky feeling (although I do think a lot of that was the de-tox, especially as my hair had a lot of product in it the day I started no 'poo). I also did not smell like vinegar (although there are worse things to smell like... but thats another topic!) The amazing thing was that over the next few days my hair actually got better as the days went on, rather than worse. The curl got more defined, the hair was silkier and shinier (but not greasy). In fact, Saturday was my best hair day (four days after it was washed). By Sunday it started to get a little bit greasy around the part, so I did the routine again on Sunday night (tonight). Same as before, but I added one drop of lavender essential oil to the vinegar rinse. My hair is less coarse than last time (softer) and almost all the tackiness has gone. So we'll see...

No 'Poo

OK, so for clarification, no... I am not constipated... no 'poo = no shampoo. Yup, hippy grease-monkey alert!! I got onto this idea when I was reading the "Green Parenting" blog and I have to say, it intrigued me! I feel all chemicaled-out right now - so, so many chemicals all around us and after several very public recalls of products where something had gone wrong with the chemical ingredients, I have been yearning for a more natural, simple lifestyle. I have heard of others in the past not washing their hair, but it always seemed very hippy and actually quite disgusting. I am a big fan of personal hygiene, so I wasn't so interested until I read Green Mama's description on Green Parenting and I realized that there is a way to eliminate shampoo but not hygiene! So I thought, what the heck? I'm a stay at home mom, if my hair is horrendous, my kids won't care, but if this works, then it will be sooo great financially and environmentally and also on a personal level. So, rather than re-hash the reasons and general techniques of no 'poo, I'll just refer you to the "authority" on no 'poo: babyslime's blog page. I have also found this website helpful and informative, and there is an entire no 'poo community at this website.

Going green... in a good way!

I have been on this major green kick recently. I can't exactly remember how it started, but once I started researching into greener options for one area of my life it was like a big ol' can of green worms was opened up and an avalanche of sustainability released... OK, enough mixing metaphors! Anyway, I have been collecting info and ideas about a variety of green issues recently and I think this will be the place to post them. So stay tuned!

Here goes...

So, a couple months ago I came to the realization that it was inevitable that I would join Facebook at some point in the future. I also guessed (correctly) that I would probably love it and wish I'd jumped on the band-wagon a lot sooner. Having read a lot of really cool info on other people's blogs recently, I have decided that perhaps blogging may be similar. So here goes nothin'!