Day 236 of our Green Year: Banning Materials In The House

Throughout Our Green Year, we have banned a number of items in our lives. We do this in an effort to remove toxins from the home, as well as remove toxins from the environment. We have found that by doing this, we feel healthier and we feel as though the environment is healthier as well.

As a result, for the 236th day of Our Green Year, the following items will not longer be bought in our home. Some of these have been banned by extension already, but this list makes it official.

Are we forgetting any items here? Let us know and we will add it to our banned list.

• Any type of pesticide is not welcome here. As well, we do not use pesticides in our garden and the fruit and vegetables we buy are organic and pesticide free.
• Many homes have moth balls, however ours will not. The reason is that a big ingredient in moth balls is naphthalene, which is a carcinogen. Instead, we can use natural moth balls.
• Formaldehyde has already been banned in our home, but it is one many people need to ban.
• Volatile Organic Chemicals are man-made chemicals that are used in the creation of paints, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants. These are also used in dry cleaning items and paint thinners.
• There will be no synthetic perfume in our house. We will only be buying natural perfumes.
• We have already banned air fresheners because of phthalates, but we will ensure that it is in no other items that we buy.
• Lead is not in as much as it once was, but we will ensure that it is in nothing we own since it is a very dangerous heavy metal.
• Kerosene is not found in a lot of items anymore, but it is sometimes used in space heaters. This can contribute to carbon monoxide emissions, and it is dangerous to have in the home.
• Dry cleaning is something many people do, but the truth is that many dry clean clothes use a solvent that is a possible carcinogen and neurotoxin, which means we will not be dry cleaning clothes in this house.
• Lastly, oven cleaner contains a lot of chemicals in it that can make you very sick. A few years ago, Layla was cleaning out a rental place when we moved and she used oven cleaner for the oven. She was sick for several days as a result of it, and even had flaky skin on her hands from it, even though she wore protective gloves. For us, we use vinegar only from now on.

Some more laundry was done today by hand. It is very cold out, about -30, so we were able to use the heat of the wood stove to dry everything, rather than using the dryer.

We have been very busy baking treats for friends and clients, and all the treats that have been made are made with organic items. Our local organic store has many great organic baking ingredients that we use, which makes everything very easy.