No Impact Man

This man has an amazing, inspiring blog. The blurb at the top of my page speaks of minor changes, of not being fanatical. I have found that each little change I make leads me to a bigger one. I like it this way...I'm moving toward a different life the way I climb into a cool swimming pool. First a toe, then up to the knees, and so on.

Sometimes you just have to dive in and completely submerge yourself. No Impact Man did that. His blog is one to add to your daily reading.

Soft Scrub

Mix baking soda and liquid castile soap to form a paste...makes an awesome soft scrub! Works wonders on soap scum and other tough messes. You can make just enough for a one-time use or add a little glycerin and store in jar.

Alba Daily Shade

Out shopping yesterday, I discovered Alba Daily Shade Lotion. It's a natural body lotion with SPF 16, which, in my opinion, is just enough sun prevention without keeping you pasty all summer. :) I haven't used it yet, but I've used Alba lotion for a while, and I really like it! Just thought I'd share!

Green Dimes

If you haven't already, go to www.greendimes.com to stop receiving junkmail! The free plan walks you through canceling mailings for various marketers, or you can pay a fee and Green Dimes will do all the work for you. Whichever plan you choose, Green Dimes will pay you a $1. You can get a check mailed to you or use the dollar to have a tree planted.

Diatomaceous Earth

DE is a powder made from crushed fossilized diatoms (hard shelled algae). It makes an awesome all around pest control. It can be used

-in gardens
-around the exterior of the house/windows
-as an instant bug killer (great for spiders, ants, roaches)
-fire ant hills
-yellow jacket nests
-treating carpet for fleas
-directly on dogs and cats as a flea killer and prevention
-just about any other time you need to kill an invasive critter

DE is very safe. It can dry your skin if you handle it frequently, and it's best not to snort it. :) It's even edible. Most flour and baking mixes (like Bisquick) contain DE to kill any sort of bugs that might get in it. Chances are, you've eaten DE.

You can buy DE in garden stores. Just make sure you get FOOD GRADE DE. There is another version sold for pools that is highly toxic.

(Thanks dobie_mama, for turning me on to DE :))

The Baby Diet

Want a sure-fire way to eat better and lose weight? Of course you do. And because I'm such a good friend, I'm going to share this little secret with you instead of writing a book and making millions :)

It's called the Baby Diet. I know, it's a terrible name. It doesn't involve eating babies but eating what your baby eats. MJ's been eating table foods for quite a while now, but I stopped preparing special foods for her about a few weeks ago. Now, she eats what we eat. Nothing will give you a wake up call about all the crap you eat like considering feeding it to your kid. I'm just not okay with starting off her young life with processed foods soaked in perservatives. In these past weeks, I've pretty much eliminated that stuff from our house, and we're all healthier for it.

CrunchyClean Detergent

Check out Crunchy Clean Laundry Detergent! It's made from all-natural ingredients by an internet friend of mine. I just did a few test loads, and I was happy with it's performance all-around! I did three loads for the purpose of this review:

Large cold/cold load of clothes: Detergent dissolved easily in cold water

Load of baby clothes: I didn't do any pretreating, and MJ's clothes came completely clean

Load of white dish cloths, kitchen towels, super scrubby wipes, and cloth napkins: This was a true test! I did add my usual kick of oxy clean, but the pair worked together fabulously

All loads came out clean and soft, with a VERY subtle fragrance. I got the lavender scent, but you can chose from several natural essential oil fragrances. Clothes come out smelling clean, not at all "fragrancy." You barely notice the particular scent, which is nice.

Another perk: This detergent is MUCH less expensive than the green grocery store brands.

She also just started making a detergent for diapers...you can bet I'll be trying that one too!

Support a mom and craftswoman and be kind to the planet...order some CrunchyClean Green Detergent!

Super Scrubby Wipes

This post is long overdue, but I just now realized I didn't get around to it.

So, a while ago I talked about making some cleaning wipes. I contacted my pal softandscrubby on Etsy, and she made me some double-sided birdseye scubby wipes for cleaning. I played around with the solution a little, and found I like this one best:

3c water
1c vinegar
"good squirt" (about 2-3T) Peppermint castile soap (Dr. Bronner's or other)
4 drops Tea Tree Oil

The peppermint essential oil in the castile soap smells so clean and softens the smell of the vinegar and TTO, both of which I don't love.

I've used these to clean everything, but my favorite use for them is a quick post meal high chair wipe down!

Just Me and My Crunchiness

I am, by far, the "crunchiest" of my friends. Fortunately, they love me anyway. They tell me I'm crazy for some of the things I do, but they agree to disagree, and we move on. I recently decided that it might be nice to find some fellow "hippie moms." I discovered a playgroup on a message board and met them at a park. They were such nice ladies, but so different from me. I didn't fit in at all. I'm not going to elaborate...I don't want to hurt feelings. It was disappointing. Surely there must be other moms out there with an interest in preserving the planet and peaceful parenting that are....well...normal. Sigh.

I'm really not sure where this post is going. Just wanted to reach out to others feeling this way I guess. Be proud of your choices. Don't let others make you feel nuts. Appreciate your friends for thinking you're nuts and loving you anyway. Return the favor by not being critical of the things they do differently.

Anyhoo... That's the end of this rambling post.