ELIMINATE AND SUBSTITUTE!  Below is what I currently do. It's not a final list because I'm always experimenting and so should you!  I try to use common plants.  NOTE: I was using peppermint for all kinds of cleaning, but it made me feel arthritic - see http://noarthritis.com/mint.htm

• ELIMINATE!  I don't use the following, including but not limited to: make-up, perfume, jewelry, tissue paper, hair dye, hair spray, nail polish, soap, detergent, commercial cleaners, air fresheners, deodorant, lawn chemicals, etc. (see list the AVOID below).  I also try to minimize my use of the mail: junk mail
• WHEN YOU GO OUT:
  • Always carry a cloth handkerchief, a cloth shopping bag (just in case), & a non-plastic water bottle.
• AVOID SHOPPING because it wastes precious resources and often involves the following: 
  • toxic products: http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=babycare & http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0708/S00078.htm
  • sweat shops: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/sweatshops/, http://www.behindthelabel.org/faqs.php
• FOOD & DISHWARE -
  • Check out eating "edible weeds" and small critters (entomophagy) online. 
  • Try growing your own herbs, greens, and other foods!   Greens from planted root veggies are very nutritious and easy to grow, such as: onions, garlic, beet greens, & carrot greens. 
  • Buy local foods.  Avoid foods that are imported, highly processed, packaged, canned, bottled, baked, highly refined grains and sugars (including maple syrup). 
  • Eat and cook with any and all basic foods that are organic and can be grown in your local area (not imported!)   I live in Pennsylvania, so I particularly avoid imported foods, such as: avoid coffee, chocolate, olive oil, and bananas (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
  • 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 are!): http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.cfm & http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/irradfact.cfm
• GENERAL CLEANING KIT: (Feb '10) I'm experimenting with amaranth seeds (they grow like weeds, so you can harvest them or buy at market).  I soak a teaspoon of seeds in a cup of water, wait five minutes, then use the water (which has a strange slightly jell-like consistency to it)  to wash dishes.  So, far it seems to work better than the scallion/beet green juice (which leaves a slightly slippery residue).  I'm also using amaranth in the bath, and again, it seems t. Stay tuned...  
  • DISHES - amaranth seed water
  • SINK AND TUB -  egg white really works, meat stock also, then less well is amaranth water and scallion juice
  • CALCIUM BUILD-UP -  vinegar (on faucets, pans, etc.:  wrap faucet in cloth soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes)
  • DUSTING: use gloves lightly wetted with diluted scallion juice or amaranth water.
  • Wood products, like salad bowls: use walnut oil or butter
  • Use a little bit of oil or fat for tough spots.
• PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:
  • HAIR AND SKIN (scallion juice, egg yolk, egg white, apple cider vinegar, oat flour, and honey)
    • Baths for skin and hair - Scallion juice works best for me. 
    • Skin and hair conditioner - Every 1-2 weeks, I use an 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 scallion juice.
    • Hair styling jell:  raw egg white
    • apple cider vinegar also seems to be effective against many skin conditions, including: lice, scabies, shingles, and seborrheic dermatitis.  I would start with a teaspoon and go from there. 
    • I sometimes use salt, but if the general population used salt often, we would alter the salinity of our drinking water.
    • Hand soap: oat flour in small cheese shaker - use fat for hard-to-clean hands, then wash with oat flour to remove grease.
  • TEETH and MOUTHWASH: diluted apple cider vinegar
  • DEODORANT: I haven't found the perfect solution, but have had good luck with pinning all-cotton folded (small) wash clothes to the armpits of my tops.  That appears to keep bacteria from building up, thus minimizing odor.  I've also found that certain grains, such as wheat, increases my body odor. And don't wear synthetics, bacteria loves anything plastic or synthetic.
  • For young women: try reusable menstruation pads
• CLOTHES:
  •  
  • laundry - I use apple cider vinegar only, but you may want to use white vinegar.  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 and needs less detergent. 
  • I hand sew and knit (often using local fibers and un-dyed yarn) in order to avoid toxic materials and sweatshops. I try to avoid cotton or silk because they are not locally produced. 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.

• AIR CLEANERS --  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

• 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 have also joined phillycarshare.org/, since our son often uses our car.
• 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
• WANT FROSTED GLASS FOR PRIVACY?  Apply egg yolk (a couple of times or as needed) with brush or sponge. 

AVOID! NOTE: Despite the assurances of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, 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 fully tested for safety by the FDA or EPA. Both agencies continue to rely heavily upon research and reporting by industry.

• Driving a car - try to live within walking distance of where you work
• Any mined product, including products such as: petroleum, coal, aluminum, gold, diamonds, baking soda, perlite, stickless cookware, jewelry (diamonds are not a girl's best friend - http://apscuhuru.org/campaigns/diamonds/index.xhtml)
• Plastics, synthetics, or petroleum-tainted or treated products, containers, and packaging
  • Flame retardants: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2008/116-5/innovations.html ,  http://www.ewg.org/plastic-food-pallets-fire-retardant
• Wood fires to heat your home
• Compact fluorescent (they contain mercury!)
• Soaps and detergents, petroleum-tainted cosmetics, jells, & personal care products
• Outside lawn & garden chemicals, pesticides, & fertilizers
• Inside pesticides, pest strips, & flea collars (see: Pesticides) 
• Bleach & non-biodegradable detergents, cleaning agents, and "Dry clean only" clothes
• 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 are hazardous to your health and the environment, plus they are not filtered from your drinking water.