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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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DISPOSAL
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RECYCLING:
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CONSUMERS-
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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DISPOSAL
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RECYCLING:
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CONSUMERS-
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WHAT YOU CAN DO! This
webpage is not high tech, it is geared to the average person. See: Great
Video!
http://storyofstuff.com
and read
President's Cancer Panel: Eat Organic, Avoid Plastics (May 6th, 2010)
Oct
9, 2011 --
Below is what I currently
do. It's not a final list because I'm always experimenting and so should you!
CAUTION: Our federal government has a flawed policy of little to no effective
safety regulations or regulators to enforce these laws. They allow industry to
do their own testing and reporting - to essentially self-regulate.
Only a tiny fraction of the 80,000 chemicals used
today are regulated and tested for safety in humans.
The result is that when dangerous products are discovered, if ever, it is only
after they have been put on the market shelf.
To guard against health
hazards and environmental damage:
-
ELIMINATE what you don't really need.
-
SUBSTITUTE with organic, biodegradable, home grown, hand-made, clean energy,
and LOCAL products.
-
MINIMIZE consumption, avoid toxins,
fossil fuel products, imports, and shopping (all of which produce a
large carbon footprint)!
IN BRIEF: see more details in chart below...
-
CLEANING (personal and general): I use apple cider vinegar for brushing
my teeth, mouthwash, deodorant, and washing clothes! I am currently using plantain (considered a garden weed - put
in blender with water and sieve)
to bath and wash my hair (and my dog's!). For tough dirt and/or grease
build-up (such as on kitchen cupboards, etc), use oil (sunflower oil works)
first to cut through the grime, then wipe with a clean cloth.
-
WARDROBE: I hand sew or knit most
of my clothes.
-
DIET: I eat raw edible weeds
(see
WildFoodies.org),
meat/fish (as raw as possible). Most of it is grown or made
locally. I do not take vitamins or supplements, avoid all drugs and
inflammatory foods. I also avoid mint
because it makes my joints ache. And I avoid wheat because, quite frankly, it makes my
underarms smell worse. Too much information? Moving on...
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SHOPPING: I avoid buying
stuff as much as possible. If it can't be recycled and is probably going to be
in a landfill, don't buy it! And that includes wrapping paper for gifts
people generally don't need or want. Even if it can be recycled, recycling
uses up lots of energy as well. So, cool it on the consumption!
-
HOME: I live in Center City
Philadelphia, in a 1200 sq ft home, 1 bathroom, with my husband and son.
We walk or ride our bikes many places.
FOR MORE DETAILS...
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ELIMINATE,
MINIMIZE, SUBSTITUTE!
CAUTION:
I was using peppermint water for all kinds of cleaning, but it made me feel arthritic
so I stopped, see
http://noarthritis.com/mint.htm.
It makes me wonder about all those people who have painful muscles and joints,
because mint is in lots of food and drink products.
- ELIMINATE!
I've eliminated the following, including but not limited to plastics and
other petrochemical & fossil fuel products:
- soap
- detergent
- deodorant
- commercial
cleaners
- air fresheners
-
house or
lawn chemicals
- make-up
- perfume
- hair dye
- hair spray
- nail polish
- tissues
-
vitamins and
supplements
-
all jewelry, except a
thin wedding band
-
See
a more complete list to
AVOID
below...
- WHEN YOU GO
OUT:
- PERSONAL CARE
PRODUCTS:
Do Not Put On
Your Skin What You Wouldn't Put In Your Mouth!
- HAIR AND SKIN --
Every 3 days I wash my hair and skin in a bath, followed by a quick
shower, otherwise I take 2-minute showers to rinse off, using only a hand
cloth. Ingredients I have
used: apple cider vinegar, amaranth seed water, buckwheat flour, salt, or eggs.
- Hand soap:
buckwheat or oat flour in small cheese shaker
- Baths are good for
skin and hair - I use plantain water.
- Apple Cider
vinegar in your bath occassionally
seems to be efcfective against many skin conditions, including: lice,
scabies, shingles, and
seborrheic
dermatitis.
-
Egg yolk, salt, oat flour
and/or honey in the bath may also help heal your skin.
- Salt water seems
good for achy muscles
- Extra skin and
hair conditioner - egg yolk in my bath for both my hair and skin.
Just work the yolk into your hair, comb through, then rinse off in the
tub. It makes my hair very soft, but not as manageable as when I use
the amaranth seed water.
- Hair styling jell:
raw egg white, although the four water makes styling my hair easier.
- Hair dryers: let
hair dry naturally, it's better for it, doesn't dry it out.
- Food for your
skin: I know of people who bath in greens and other foods, thus allowing the skin
(your largest organ) to absorb nutrition.
- TEETH: brush and
rinse with organic apple cider vinegar and oat flour, then rinse well with
water.
- MOUTHWASH: diluted apple cider vinegar,
then rinse
- DEODORANT:
I've had a good response to scrubbing armpits with straight apple cider
vinegar for several seconds, twice a day. My underarm body odor
seems to be gone although I still perspire. I've also found
that certain grains,
particularly wheat, increases my body odor. And avoid synthetics because bacteria, which causes odor, loves anything plastic or
synthetic.
- For young women:
cloth menstrual pads, organic cloth is best
- For babies: cloth
diapers, organic cloth is best
- For everyone:
cloth bottom (ass) wipes, instead of toilet tissue (actually I'm not doing
this yet, but I should)
-
GENERAL
CLEANING KIT (floors, sink, tub, dishes): Apple cider vinegar,
plantain plant water, buckwheat flour
water,
sunflower oil, egg whites
-
KITCHEN cupboards and
other areas that have a tough dirt/grease combination: use sunflower oil
first to cut through the grime, then wipe off with clean cloth.
-
FLOORS AND WALLS:
buckwheat flour diluted in water by itself, or add some apple cider vinegar
- DISHES: I am
currently using buckwheat flour to wash the dishes with a splash of apple cider vinegar. I hand wash my dishes and dry with
dish cloth. I don't use dish washer because it heats the plastic parts
(very unhealthy), but you might try the flour water on wash cycle only.
-
SINK AND TUB - Buckwheat water by itself is doing
okay. But, 2 or 3 egg whites (undiluted)
really work to cut through waxy gunk our bodies naturally leave behind in
the tub. You might also have to occasionally use a wire scrubber.
- CALCIUM BUILD-UP -
vinegar (on faucets, pans, etc.: wrap faucet in cloth soaked in
vinegar for 30 minutes)
- DUSTING:
use cloth gloves lightly wetted with apple cider vinegar and water.
- WOOD products,
like salad bowls: use walnut oil to moisturize
- TOUGH DIRT OR
GLUE: Try scrubbing with egg whites, or sunflower oil - wash off
with buckwheat flour
-
AIR CLEANERS --
ODORS, like paint: cut a big onion in half and place in a bowl of water - it absorbs the smell.
Certain
houseplants are beneficial to remove toxins from the air, such as
formaldehyde, benzene etc. The best plants for removing these and
other toxins are philodendrons, spider plants, aloe vera, English ivy, golden pothos, and Boston fern. To learn more, there is a really good book available called:
"How
to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office"by
B. C. Wolverton. http://www.ourlittleplace.com/nontoxic.html
-
ANT PROBLEM? Might also work with
termites, etc. Pour (or use a
paint brush) vegetable oil with tobasco sauce (so your pets don't lick it
up) around the bottom of the entire outside wall of your house.
Also paint the inside baseboards if necessary. Leave no gaps or else the
ants will come marching through. Fill any holes in walls where ants are
coming through. Make sure all food is in sealed containers - glass, etc,
not plastic.
- CLOTHES:
- laundry - 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (it cleans,
softens, and deodorizes) Use a toothbrush and buckwheat or eggwhite on dirty collars,
etc.
- Avoid
white clothes or mono-colored fabrics that will easily show stains and
dirt.
- Also try hand washing, then line dry. Sunlight is a
natural bleach and disinfectant. If you use a machine, try a front
loader - it's more effective.
- I hand sew and
knit (often using local fibers and un-dyed yarn) in order to avoid toxic
materials and sweatshops. I dye the yarn in combinations of beets, turmeric,
and black turtle beans (use uncooked beans and only soak for two days,
otherwise beans start to spoil)! I haven't yet learned how to avoid
dyes fading...stay tuned.
- FOOD & DISHWARE
-
- Check out eating "edible weeds"
(see www.WildFoodies.org) and small critters (Entomophagy)
online.
- Avoid anything
packaged, jarred, canned, or processed! There's no telling what's in
that stuff.
- BE A LOCALVORE and
eat ORGANIC! Think about your carbon footprint and self-reliance! Buy locally grown
(localharvest.org)
or made products: it cuts down on waste and pollution created from the
transportation of imports. I live in Pennsylvania, so I particularly
avoid imported foods, such as: coffee, chocolate, olive oil, bananas,
citrus, etc. (http://www.naturalnews.com/023339_banana_bananas_disease.html).
Want to save the Everglades? Use local raw honey, not sugar -
http://www.everglades.org/sugarletter.html
...although I avoid all sugars and most fruits, see:
http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/124reasons-no-sugar.asp
-
Dishware -- I
use ceramic, glass or
stainless steel (however, even these materials can be contaminated with
various substances. SEE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_scrap_metal Avoid plastic, aluminum, or stickless
pans. Also, avoid using the dish washer. It's a major source of indoor
air pollution.
- avoid microwave
ovens!
http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm /
http://www.litalee.com/documents/Microwaves%20And%20Microwave%20Ovens.pdf
- avoid irradiated
foods (and there are lots of them!):
http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.cfm &
http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/irradfact.cfm
- LIGHTING:
Use LED lights, not compact fluorescent (they contain mercury!). I paint
the cover with a little egg yolk to make the light look warmer.
- HOME & TRANSPORTATION
--
We live in downtown Philadelphia in a small 1300 square foot townhouse.
We generally walk, rather than drive. We use public transportation a lot
and have also joined
phillycarshare.org/.
- PLANT & LAWN CARE -- For
excellent potting soil, go out in the woods and dig some up! Do
not use store-bought chemicals, even if the container says it's safe.
There's no way to know.
Make your own compost and plant fertilizer using ingredients such as:
rotting leaves, egg shells, vegetable waste (no citrus or meat products). ALSO SEE:
ZWA'S LAWN CARE KIT
- MINIMIZE
SHOPPING (including DRUGS/PHARMACEUTICALS), AND GIFT GIVING because
they often involve the following:
- STOP
JUNK MAIL! (I try not to use the mail at all.
Rather than send greeting cards or letters, I phone or email)
- MISCELLANEOUS:
- WANT FROSTED
GLASS FOR PRIVACY? Apply egg yolk (a couple of times or as
needed) with brush or sponge.
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AVOID!
NOTE: Despite the assurances
of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA),
many environmental health hazards are associated with the
manufacture, use, and disposal of consumer products. (See Health &
Wastes & Toxics)
"EPA Registered" on pesticide and other products does NOT mean that the
chemicals were fully tested for safety by the EPA or are safe to use. Most
products and chemical have not been tested for safety
by the FDA or EPA. Both agencies continue to rely heavily upon research and
reporting by industry.
- Petroleum-tainted or treated
products, including plastics and synthetics, most personal care products, household cleaning agents,
lawn care chemicals, pesticides, pest strips, flea collars, plastics, and
synthetics. Even if the product is said to be "organic", changes are
it comes in a plastic container.
- Driving a car - try to live within walking
distance of where you work
- Wood fires to heat
your home
- Compact fluorescent
(they contain mercury!)
- Paper: tissues, napkins, towels, diapers
- Fluoridated water and fluoridated dental
products (see: Fluoride)
- Chlorinated water and chlorine cleaning
products (see: Chlorine)
- Food additives,
including anti-caking agents (found in salt and baking products):
http://www.oxymega.com/alzheimers_dementia_aluminum.html
- Talc (see: Wastes&Toxics) and Fiberglass (including air filters and insulation) see: Wastes&Toxics)
- Aerosol spays and Air fresheners / perfumes / scented
candles (These scents are particularly harmful for
the growing numbers of chemically sensitive, allergic,
and asthmatic sufferers.)
- Avoid synthetic
clothes (they get static and retain body odor). Avoid wrinkle free
clothes
http://www.healthdiaries.com/ &
http://www.safbaby.com/.
Avoid dry cleaners
- New homes: Most new buildings need a
period of years to "out-gas" due to the use of
toxic construction materials. In addition, old buildings
may harbor lead paint and/or lead plumbing.
- Dishwashers: The biggest source of indoor air pollution
may be the dishwasher and its plastic parts. US tap water is laced with traces of toxic
chemicals, including by-products of water-treatment with chlorine and
fluoride. Environmental Science & Technology reports that the hot
spray of a dishwasher liberates 96 to 100 percent of the toluene, ethylbenzene, and cyclohexane in the water within minutes and releases it
into the surrounding air. Washing machines, showerheads and faucet taps
also release toxins in lesser amounts. (The hotter the water, the more
toxins are freed.) Chlorine cleansers compound the problem University of
Texas researchers warn. Listed in Earth Island Journal Winter 1999-2000
Page 3, Earth Island Journal is published quarterly by the non-profit
Earth Island Institute
www.earthisland.org
-
Check-out your medications! Many may be hazardous to your health and
the environment, plus medications are not filtered
from your drinking water.
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