OT - Cleaning the Natural Way - You, Your Mask, Your Home

Hey, it doesn't need to die. Getting the notification that there was a post on this thread brought a smile to my lips and brought me back here for the first time in ages. Things are going well here. Charlie is 9 1/2 months old and doing great, Harry is 5 and in kindergarten and doing well. I still practice all my crazy natural things. I still don't shampoo my hair very often--mostly just condition it. I started using a lot of burt's bees products which I really like. They have really moisturizing conditioners. I also like their orange face cleansing product--it is in a tube kinda like toothpaste and it is similar in concept to the oil cleaning method since there isn't any soap or detergent in the product. I continue to have issues with acne but they have calmed down significantly since trying this product.

The pregnancy put scars on my face that put my teenage acne scars to shame. It is actually really aweful. I'm going to have to do something radical like laser resurfacing or something because my skin is so terrible now. I'm not even that vain, but it makes me so upset to see those scars there. My skin was never perfect but I was happy with it more or less. Anyway, I'm saving all radical procedures until Charlie is weaned. Still breastfeeding for a few more months.

Still using my homemade soap too. Before the birth I made enough to last a year, apparantly. I am getting to a point now where I need to make a new batch soon or we will run out.

I knit a cover for my swiffer mop so I wouldn't have to use their disposable wipes with chemicals. I just toss mine in the wash. You can read more about that on my knitting blog:

[url]http:/darninginends.blogspot.com[/url]

What is everyone else up to in the natural cleaning dept?

Jen

HA HA! Well, if we're back to chatting...

I'm doing well. I'm getting over the weird flu/bronchitis thing I got right after Dad passed away. I'm taking extra Vitamin D3 and B-12 sublingually since reading about them here on the board, and I think I feel perkier from them.

I gave up on my face a few months ago, and just wash it with Cetaphil once a day, and moisturize with Cetaphil moisturizer and don't do anything else and it's cleared up amazingly. I just quit doing everything, and now it's fine. Go figure. I'm still getting little bumps from my chinstrap, but they are few and far between and I can live with them. I do have one big bump deep under my skin near my right ear. I can't figure that one out. I had the dermatologist inject it with cortisone, but it didn't go away. I might have to have it removed. Since I started dating a guy with NF1, I no longer obsess about my little bumps. I mean, he's got GIANT BUMPS all over his body. Who am I to complain?

I let my hairdresser dye my grey away yesterday. So much for the natural route.

I AM eating healthier. And BF and I are both still using natural cleaners everywhere. (BF is OBSESSED with Trader Joes and buys all his groceries and toiletries there, and won't shop anywhere else.) But I gave up being obsessed with the natural route. I did throw out all my BPA water bottles and bought all new BPA-free ones. And talked BF out of buying bottled water and now he has his own supply of BPA-free water bottles. But he still buys bottled iced tea from Trader Joes.

I love watching "Life with Ed" and fantasizing about putting solar panels on my house, whenever I get around to buying one.

Brilliant Idea I had Recently: Why aren't all GPS devices solar powered? Duh..... They are sitting right there, on your dashboard, being bathed in sunlight....

I love the knitted Swiffer cover idea. When you start selling them on Etsy.com, let me know. I'm crazy for buying handmade stuff on Etsy.

Huggers,
B.

Hey Jen, DIY DEODERANT!

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smart ... orant.aspx

I know you want to make this and report to us all how well it works.

BTW, you can buy empty deoderant stick containers on most of those lotion-making websites.

You know, I bought all that lotion making stuff and it's just sitting out in the shed now... Sigh... typical me. I just like to buy stuff and talk about it - not actually DO it.

LOL,
B.

You got me! I will be trying this. Looks like fun. I also subscribed to the blog they mentioned, little house in the sububurbs, looks freaking awesome!

Jen

If you haven't already tried it, you should try Charlie's Soap. We get it at the local Wholefoods/Earthfare, but you can go on line to [img=http://www.charliesoap.com]Charliesoap.com[/img]. The stuff really works in the wash. One little bag does eighty loads. If you have a front loader, it's even better. Our clothes come up smelling mountain-air fresh. In the end, it's cheaper than other smelly soaps, and it works with machines that prefer HT soaps. (I am in no way affiliated with Charlie or his soap. We just use it.)