I saw a headline last weekend that stopped me in my tracks. As long as I can remember “accidents” was always listed as the #1 cause of deaths among children. This article and this article claim that cancer is now the leading cause of death among children in the United States.
To be fair, I tried to track the sources of these articles and couldn’t find anything confirming these claims. Whether it’s true or not, cancer is the leading cause of childhood mortality by disease, and even if it didn’t pass accidents, it sits proudly in the second place position as a potent childhood killer.
I’ll admit, there are times wish I didn’t know everything I do about the hazards that lurk in our everyday lives: dangerous chemicals in plastics and drinking water, GMOs, food additives, pesticides, who knows what in the air we breathe. It’s a lot to take in and honestly, sometimes I feel like a crazy woman to even think about it as much as I do.
But when I read articles like these, I am reaffirmed in my passion about living an anti-cancer lifestyle. I know that avoiding these potentially deadly toxins as much as I can isn’t being over-protective or extremist; it’s being smart.
Many of you have expressed an interest in what natural products I use. It is admittedly hard to find good natural products and I’ve tried a lot. Sometimes they smell awful. Other times they just don’t work. Other times they are awesome, but super expensive. I thought I’d take some of the guesswork out of choosing natural products and share with you a few each month that I am using and loving.
The products I feature will range from personal care to household cleaning to kitchen products. None of the products I feature will be any I’ve been paid to review, just the natural products I’ve found and tried on my own. I hope you find this new series helpful!
This all-purpose soap is great! It’s cheaper than Dr Bronner’s and I like it better. I use it as a shower soap and shampoo. I love the peppermint smell–it’s very invigorating. I haven’t tried using this for anything else, but the bottle says it can be used as laundry soap and a general household cleaner, too. I recently added this product to my Amazon store if you are interested in giving it a try.
Wool Dryer Balls from The Graceful Mom on Etsy
Did you know that regular dryer sheets are filled with chemicals? Many of the chemicals are linked to asthma, skin irritation, and other disorders. Those chemicals get all over your clothes; they are vented into the air we breath and rubbing off onto our skin! I ditched the dryer sheets almost a year ago in favor of wool dryer balls. I got mine from The Graceful Mom on Etsy and love them! They cut down on the time it takes to dry your clothes (making them great for the environment, too) and we have no issues with static cling.
You probably think I’m a paid spokesperson for e-cloth by now, but I promise you, I’m not. I just love their products. They work great and eliminate the need to use a lot of household cleaners. This mop cleans your hard surface floors with just water. The bottom part of the mop pulls off easily and you get it wet under the faucet, ring it out so it’s damp, and it’s ready to clean! It’s so easy to use and gets your floors really clean. The handle is adjustable so you can make it small enough that your toddler can help you clean as you can see in the picture. 🙂 What’s not to love?
One thing that I love the most about having a blog is the community feature. I would love it if you would share what natural products you are loving now, too, in the comments. Links are welcome! I hope you are having a great week!
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
October 16, 2013 at 12:57 pmLove this post, lady! I MUST invest in that funky looking drier ball. Adios, lavender drier sheets!
Maryea says
October 17, 2013 at 7:41 amGood call! 🙂
Tammy Root says
October 16, 2013 at 12:58 pmHi Maryea! Long time no talk. 🙂 My little Marea is now 17 months old. Time flies. Anyhow, I love this post. I wanted to weigh in and tell you I am now using Honest Company products. I love them. They are not tested on animals and they are free of:
phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DMP, DEP); PVC; formaldehyde; alkylphenols; benzene; TEA (Triethanolamine); MEA (Monoethanolamine); parabens; phosphates; chlorine; chlorinated or brominated solvents; ceteareth 20; polyethylene glycol (PEG); resorcinol; bronopol; quaternium 15; nanoparticles; triclosan; sulfur oxides; organohalides; hexavalent chromium; DMDM hydantoin; organophosphate pesticides; 1,4 – dioxane; SLS/SLES (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates); optical brighteners; mineral oil; petrolatum; BPA (bisphenol-A); a-chlorotoluene
I use the diapers, wipes, household products, toddler vitamins, etc. You name it, I use it. 🙂
Hope you are well!
Tammy
Maryea says
October 17, 2013 at 7:40 amHi Tammy! We use Honest products, too! Well, we just use the diapers and wipes. It’s good to know you like their other products, too. I will have to try them. 🙂 Thanks!
Jenny says
October 16, 2013 at 3:29 pmGreat post Maryea! I always look forward to your suggestions, as we continue our household purging of conventional products. I bought some e-cloths on your rec and have been impressed so far. I also like Honest Company products, especially the dishwasher pods and hand soap. Haven’t been overly impressed with their dish soap but it’s ok.
I have been making my own laundry detergent for a while now…easy and super cheap! A cup of Borax, a cup of Super Washing Soda, and a grated bar of soap. I’ve used a bar of castile soap but it’s super hard to grate. I’ve been using Ivory but I’m sure there are better choices out there for that. Works great- you only need a tablespoon per load. I will have to check out those dryer balls- haven’t used dryer sheets in a long time (mainly because I was too cheap to buy them- good thing!).
Also I love the kids’ vitamins you have on your amazon page! Thanks for all of the help and guidance to all of us on this journey. Love you.
Maryea says
October 17, 2013 at 7:40 amI wonder if you could grate it in the food processer (with the grating attachment)? I’m so lazy I can’t see myself grating soap for laundry! haha Okay maybe busy is a better word than lazy. 🙂 Thanks Jenny! Miss you!
Jenny says
October 17, 2013 at 9:40 amHmm, I will have to try that. If I did several batches at a time I might actually do it:). Thank you!
Tracy says
October 16, 2013 at 5:19 pmThanks for the post. I have what is maybe a silly question about the e-cloths. I just bought them based on your rec, but haven’t opened the package yet :). Since I’m used to single-use paper towels, how do I know when to wash or simply reuse the e-cloths? Like, if you need to wipe something off the floor (I have a 4 yr old and a 15 mo old so this happens a lot!), would you just rinse it out and use it again? Do you rinse it with water, squeeze it out, then reuse (most) every time? Thanks!
kate says
October 16, 2013 at 8:33 pmSorry – totally butting in here but I put this post on my blog some time ago… http://cleaninup.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/when-and-how-to-launder-wash-your-norwex-or-e-cloth-microfiber-cloths/
It may help you.
In general, I say rinse your e-cloths well after every use and then hang to dry. Rinsing will remove over 99% of any bacteria picked up by the cloth. If you used it to clean up raw meat juices or missed potty messes, rinse it and then hang it in the laundry room to be washed. Since I sell ecloths, I’ve got massive quantities of them and sometimes only launder them (big loads) every 2 weeks. But as long as I hang them to dry (and they don’t sit all balled up in a pile waiting to be laundered), they’re fine. I’ve got hooks on the side of my washing machine to hang the dirty ones on.
I have a 2 yr old and an almost 5 year old. I also have a dog. Any food that falls on the floor gets eaten by the dog but then I have to wipe up drool etc. If I’ve used a cloth to wipe the floor, I rinse it in the sink with hot water and a bit of dish soap (sometimes I just leave it to sit there for a while depending on how busy I am). Swish it around a bit, then rinse in hot water and keep on using it (maybe not on the boys’ faces, but no problem on the counter or sink or stovetop).
If on the other hand, I haven’t mopped my floors for over a week – if I have to wipe up the floor with an e-cloth, I usually just rinse it and then set it aside for laundering (although I will use it for other “dirty” tasks).
Hope this helps, but if not, feel free to contact me!
Kate
Maryea says
October 17, 2013 at 7:38 amKate answered this pretty well but I’ll chime in, too. I rinse my e-cloth after each use with warm water and then let it dry. I wash them in the laundry about once a week.
kate says
October 16, 2013 at 8:24 pmLovely post! I just read the one about your trip to Jamaica too – I’m trying to book a vacation and am torn between a place in Jamaica that has NANNIES(!!!) and another place in Mexico. Your Jamaica pics may have tipped the scales a bit more…
But enough dreaming. Thanks for the intro to Dr. Woods – I’ll have to look into that. I haven’t seen it where I live but now I have a mission. With the wool dryer balls, I started making them a couple of years ago. There are several tutorials online and if you hit Value Village (or any thrift store), you can get balls of wool very cheaply. They make great gifts too.
e-cloth… well, I sell it so of course I’m biased but L-O-V-E it 😉 Not sure how I ever lived without it. I’ve gradually been adding my thoughts/reviews/ideas about it to my blog (http://cleaninup.wordpress.com/) if anyone is interested and I’m always happy to provide info on particular products. My biggest advice is to just try it once.
Going to peruse the rest of your site now…
Maryea says
October 17, 2013 at 7:43 amThat’s cool that you make your own wool balls! I haven’t seen the Dr. Woods around here either, but I am a member of Amazon Prime, so I get it there. 🙂 Thanks for the info on e-cloths. I love them, too!
April says
October 17, 2013 at 2:42 pmThat E-cloth is on amazon so you could add that to your store too! I just added a bunch of that stuff to my Christmas Wish List! Thanks!
Maryea says
October 18, 2013 at 5:39 amThanks, April, I didn’t realize that!
April_H says
October 19, 2013 at 10:00 pmWe’re just starting out on the mission to be more natural, so I am loving these posts!
While it’s not a product, the EWG (Environmental Working Group) website has been a great resource for us. Like Jenny (above), we’re fans of the Honest Company and use their shampoo/body wash, body lotion, and sunscreen. I like the original Burt’s Bees chap stick, and Method Free & Clear laundry detergent.
Thanks for sharing your favorites!
Maryea says
October 25, 2013 at 6:36 amThanks for sharing! 🙂
Roxanne says
March 23, 2016 at 12:05 pmGreat post! I have been using dryer balls for over a year now and love them! If you want some scent on your laundry, you can add Essential Oils to the dryer balls and put them on a heat-free cycle for a few minutes.
I used to use Method, but then started to research and discovered Shaklee products. Not only are they safe for our family, safe for the environment, and work, but they actually save me money (one bottle of Basic H cleaner is equivalent to 48 gallons of cleaner!) I was so impressed, in fact, that I became a distributor so that I could share my positive experiences with others. I love that you do this as well. Thank you!