Beauty Update

Since my last post on beauty (over two months ago!), I have switched to Crystal deodorant and eliminated all commercial facial cleansers and products. Unfortunately, I have not stopped using shampoo, conditioner, or styling products, although I still swear by my sulfate-free commercial brand. I found out that vinegar changes or fades colored hair and coloring my hair is just not something that I am willing to give up, so I'm still using commercial products.

The Crystal deodorant is working surprisingly well. I'm generally a sweaty person anyway and no anti-perspirant really made much of a difference, although I guess that I could tell if I wasn't wearing any. I just never felt fresh all day. In my opinion, the Crystal deodorant is as effective as any anti-perspirant/deodorant combination that I've tried, but keep in my that I didn't find them extremely effective anyway. After I started using this product, I found Soapwalla Deodorant Cream and  Primal Pit Paste which I am intrigued with since it now comes in a stick. I plan on giving these a shot in the near future and doing a comparison post. I'm already betting that I'll never use antiperspirant again!

Using coconut oil for facial cleanser took more trial and error. I began by using coconut oil every day. I immediately noticed a difference in my coloring, all of the red undertones were fading and my face was becoming a peachier color. I loved it.  As time went on, my face began to naturally balance and I noticed that the daily coconut oil washes were just too much. I took them back to every two days, then every three days, until I finally got down to once a week. That made me feel kind of dirty, though, so I began incorporating witch hazel into my routine. That stuff is magic! I use it nightly (or in the morning if I forget) as a toner and then my once a week coconut washes are plenty. My complexion is good and much better than it has been in the past.

My coworker also switched her cleanser to coconut oil. She loves it. She still washes with it daily and didn't find a need to incorporate witch hazel. We are definitely perfect examples of finding your own skin's natural balance. Her only complaint is getting "coconut oil eye" (when the oil is too melty and runs into your eye) at least weekly, but even that is manageable!

Overall changing my beauty routine to include more natural products has been incredibly positive. I imagined writing these reviews a couple of months ago and always pictured that I would write how these products were a disappointment and allover failure. I'm so happy that our earth has come through again.  If you don't already I challenge everyone to give it a shot! 

If anyone else has a success story with these or other natural products, I'd love to hear it!

Me v. Bugs

We have recently engaged in a war against insects and have chosen several non-chemical methods as our weapons. Some have worked, some have not. We have avoided spraying toxic chemicals inside the house, but our hands were tied and we had to spray outside. Just a short year ago we would have bought bombs and set them off immediately. But, back then, we were also cleaning with toxins and eating pesticides.

My favorite bug killing weapon (recommended by my husband’s grandmother):

In a bowl about the size of a cereal bowl mix:
3 cups water
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon of dish soap

Put in a room where there are bugs. You can even use this outside on your deck or anywhere. *Note* if you have pets, set it on a countertop or windowsill or railing or anywhere the animals can’t drink it.

It’s almost magical all the different bugs that this eliminates. We have found everything from wasps to little tiny bugs that I can’t identify. Bonus, since I can’t throw anything away, especially food, I have found that this is a great use for the non-organic sugar that I bought before we went organic.

We have been pretty successful eliminating all of the bugs except for fleas. Our animals became infested and since we had never had this problem before we were a little late in picking up the signs which increased the problem significantly. These are the little pests that have required chemicals and medication for the pets.

Current score…

Me – 1
Bugs – 1 (pesky fleas)

Does anyone have a non-toxic pest eliminating method? Please share!

Getting greener

In a week and a half we will be moving and I have been pretty busy. The baby food production is quite a bit slower since I want to move as little as possible, so we are using up what we have. The CSA and farmer’s market have been plentiful. Unfortunately my weekends have been packed with activity, so I haven’t had a lot of time to spend scouting the market. I hope to spend some time there (and invest in some meat) after we are settled (mid-June?).

I also just realized that I could make my own teething biscuits. I may have to invest in a box of the organic premade first because our kitchen is in boxes, but I plan to try a couple of recipes shortly after the move. If any of them work out, I will post the recipes.

Even as busy as we are, I constantly find new ways to go greener. I hope to have a compost pile for our new house. I don’t think that I am ready for a large outdoor one, but at least a countertop bin. I hate throwing out all of the vegetable remains (carrot tops, kale stems, etc.) after I process my weekly share. I have been looking at functional, yet somewhat attractive bins to use.


Although I love the ceramic and the bamboo, I am leaning towards the stainless steel for better durability. I also want to purchase the “ugly green one” since it holds twice as much as the others. This way I can use that to break down the scraps while I continue to collect in the other. Thanks, Kate, for such great ideas and references.

Even though baby food production has decreased, I have been trying to find ways to improve that, as well. I always hated that I stored the food in plastic zipper bags, but couldn’t think of a suitable alternative to ensure freshness. I considered mason jars, but don’t have any and really didn’t want to make the investment. Then, one day, I was looking around the house and realized that we have quite a few empty glass jars around. Mostly from pasta sauce, but we have a few different shapes and sizes. I made some homemade labels for the jars and just put the food in them. I really like how cute the different sizes look and I love the labels because I made them pretty big, so they are easy to see. There are some cons. Now I fear that the jars will break and it takes a few jars to hold what one gallon bag would hold, so there is a space issue. I have a freezer in my garage, though, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I also don’t have enough jars right now, but I plan to build my collection. All of his organic fruit juice and our organic pasta sauce are packaged in glass containers, so hopefully our collection will build quickly. I also found out that our city doesn’t recycle glass, so this is a great alternative to the trash.

I also invested in a few WasteNot Saks™. Jason and I were so impressed with our first order that we immediately ordered more. These are great to travel with the little guy’s food and bottles to and from the baby-sitter. I plan to add these to Christmas and other holiday lists so that we can have a nice sized collection. We special ordered a gallon size for the bottles and food and like the snack and sandwich size for future finger food use.

As I make these tiny changes and look back at all of my efforts, I constantly wonder if I am wasting my time, money, and energy. Luckily, I always have some reassurance shortly after that thought. I was talking to a friend over lunch today and he mentioned that I may be onto something with this organic stuff (he was not a huge supporter of the transition – not against it, just not understanding). He mentioned that he saw a news story connecting ADHD in children and pesticides commonly used on produce. After hearing this, I am so thankful that I am taking the time, spending this money, and making the extra effort. Especially for my son, but also for my entire family. And now that other people are aware, they are beginning to believe and make healthier choices, too.