In the 60's and 70's they were hippies, the 80's and 90's saw a bohemian revival, and here and now, the earth conscious are called "crunchy". I guess you could say i fit into that category. I don't use harsh chemicals, i used plant based cleaners, detergents, body products, hair products, and make up. I use essential oils to help me sleep, to tackle colds, and to ward off enemies of the insect variety. I even cloth diaper my little one (who doesn't love a truly fluffy butt?!!). I never really thought of myself in those terms though, i just always saw it as responsible. Plus, my skin is CRAZY sensitive, so yeah, girl's gotta be careful about what she touches, so NO chemicals for us.
But as time goes on, and i grow up, the better i feel about these choices, the happier they make me. They are simple little life changes, that add up. Like the whole "using essential oils to keep bugs away" thing for instance. Do you know what goes into mainstream pesticides? Nothing good. Instead, a little bit of peppermint and cinnamon oil spritzed around the windows and doors, and you accomplish the same thing, protect your family from harsh fumes, and keep that crap out of the air and atmosphere. For some awesome essential oils i use, and recommend Spark Naturals, they are high quality, fairly priced and get the job done. I use their dream blend religiously, and their respire blend saved me when i had the flu.
Cloth diapers.. I could (and probably will) write entire posts about how much cloth rocks the ever loving socks off of disposables. For one thing, name brand disposables take take forever and a day to biodegrade. They are made with harsh chemicals and treated with bleach of all things, dyes, and perfumes. They are awful for tender tooshies, and they pile up fast. The average infant goes through roughly 2,920 diapers in one years. My diaper stash is about 20 strong, enough for about 2 and a half days with normal consumption, i wash every day. My stash cost us $600. Want to know what a years worth of disposables will run you? On average in America, that number is $2,533.44. For one year. My 20 diapers will last until he potty trains. So aside from the occasional adorable print that i can't pass up, my diaper investment is done. AND? I will be able to use them for the next child. For those at home who don't want to do math. The typical age for kids to be potty trained is about 3 give or take depending on the kid, the average family has 2 kids. That is 6 years of diapering, add in lets say another $300 dollars in cloth costs for when they wear out, and i will have saved, wait for it, wait for it... Just around $14,300. I'll wait while you get your heart rate back under control..
....
You okay? Okay. This is not the cloth of our parents, and grandparents generation. We aren't talking safety pins, and complicated folding, though if that is what you prefer you can totally still do that. For more information on what modern cloth diapering looks like, i highly recommend checking out Kelly's Closet Cloth Diapering 101. It is very informative, and lays it all out in easy to understand language that makes cloth accessible to everyone. However if you are attached to disposable, or can't do cloth for allergy or logistic reasons Honest.com has a line of diapers that biodegrades within a year, and is chemical free, and their prints are adorable. 7th Generation also has a good product that crunchy mamas swear by.
As for cleaning products, you really can't beat Honest.com. I use their bathroom cleaner, multi-surface cleaner, glass cleaner, hand soap, dish soap, and dishwasher detergent. Everything is plant based, smells divine, and is safe for a house crawling with kids or critters. I also use many of their body products, like their body wash, lotion, healing balm, lip balm, and body oil. Again, plant based, and they leave you feeling soft, not oily, and the smell.. My goodness, the smell. Mmmm..
So this is my crunchy, hippy, dippy, life. Doesn't seem so weird huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment