Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I will now relay to you some horrors I recently discovered. You will thank me.

According to Green Up Your Cleanup (Green House), regulations on chemicals used in the home are essentially nonexistent. They don't have to give lists of ingredients. They can say they list all their ingredients and lie. They don't have to test for combining chemicals (say, using mirror cleaner and counter cleaner in the same room). They don't have to say what kinds of KNOWN dangers there are to the chemicals, just what you can't do (ie don't take internally). Does any of this freak you out as much as it did me?

A study by the Environmental Working Group tested the
umbilical-cord blood of 10 American babies born in 2004
and found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and
pollutants in each babies blood.

The effects of these toxins are cumulative. The EPA estimates that we have an average of 700 pollutants in each of our bodies. Not to mention the impact on the environment. Household cleaners are the most common source of pollutants. Seemingly innocent chemicals mix with each other when washed down the drain and combine to make some pretty nasty stuff. It is pretty scary.

Now I am not rich enough to go nontoxic with everything. I can't replace my floors and my mattress etc. But I can choose safe cleaning products. All I need is castile soap, vinegar, baking soda, and a few other things to make cleaning safe for my family. The kids can help me clean with no fear of getting poisoned. I am even using the recipe in the book for dishwasher detergent using borax and citric acid. I am loving it.

Happy Earth Day, folks. Here's to making a difference, however small.