Natural and homegrown

I didn't know this thread was here - I am happy to have found it.  We live on three and a half acres and for the past 11 years we have always grown something or other here.  We have a lot of berries in the summer that grow wild - we don't use any chemicals of any kind on our lawn/grass.  We have a flock of chickens that free range and while we do have some chemicals in the house now i'm looking for and using lots of alternatives!

Dry cleaning fluid is an ingredient in many detergents so we make our own.  I wish I'd discovered this years ago - it works VERY well, in many cases it has removed stains that expensive detergents won't take out.  1/2 cup Borax, 1/2c Washing Soda and 1 bar Ivory (grated on a cheese grater).  Mix all together, shake up in a tupperware type container.  You can also add a little baking soda to boost it as well.  I make three batches at a time - add 2 T to your laundry. I have a big capacity washer and four kids so I sometimes add up to 4T depending.  I will sometimes also add just a little bit of non chlorine bleach as a booster.   A few weeks ago, the cat go into the laundry room and peed in the laundry.  This has happened before and it takes many washings to get out the odor.  However with this homemade detergent, the smell was gone!  

I use baking soda and an Ecofriendly dish detergent to scrub out my bathtub.  It worked great!  For other soaps, I love Dr Woods line - peppermint, lavendar, whatever.  No sulfates and they can be used for hair, body, or in a spray bottle with water to clean counters, etc.  For body oil or lotions, I use just raw coconut oil - all over - face, hands, wherever and it really combats dry skin and smells good too!  

 I don't do wheat - it bothers my stomach, and we see a nutritionist who practices muscle response testing and bases each individualized supplement program on that for each person.  Right now my parents are having to pay for that for us since our finances are in a shambles due to cancer.      I also grow sprouts in my kitchen - on chemo, I did wheat greass and just drank it from the blender.  I'm getting back into growing broccoli sprouts - really easy to grow and super packed with all kinds of BC fighting things!   I also did Kale shakes daily sometimes with some raw cranberries tossed in.  

I would like to try to grow Kale and Broccoli Rabe - they are big staples of my diet right now because I like them very much and they are powerful against breast cancer cells.  I would be interested to know if anyone else has grown them.  We are in NJ so I am not sure when to plant and harvest. 

Last year we had no garden because of my BC and the year before, the deer destroyed it even with a 6" fence.....hoping for better this year.

thenewme, I actually have one of the nice countertop composting crocks, but more often than not, while I'm chopping veggies/cleaning out the fridge/whatever I toss compostable stuff into a Whole Foods brown paper bag. The fact that it's ugly sitting on my countertop inspires me to take an at-least-daily trip to the compost bin. I prefer brown paper bags (for now until they come up with guaranteed lead-free reusable options or I have time to sew my own), they're compostable (a good "brown" to offset all the "green"), and I get just the right number of them every time I shop at Whole Foods. 

One thing I've noticed is that I started developing a strange chemical aversion for approximately 2 years prior to BC diagnosis. That is, I loved perfume for a long time, but suddenly a lot of fragrances gave me instantaneous headaches when I applied them. Candles with scent did the same thing! I am certain it has everything to do with my BC diagnosis, and have attempted to clear my environment of as many fragranced things as possible. Anyone else have this? I had to get rid of all my favorite perfumes!

Same here! I can't STAND scented things. It turns out that scented candles, perfumes, etc. release hormone-disrupting chemicals. Um, no thank you! Thankfully, my DH is allergic so I stopped wearing perfume when I met him. If I catch of whiff of it in an elevator or something, it singes my nostrils and makes me feel almost as sick as cigarette smoke or gasoline fumes.

re the magic erasers, I have some that I've been reluctant to use because I heard they contain formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen.  I decided to look it up more thoroughly, and I'm still confused!  In the past I've used snopes and I used to think they had good information.  Now, I'm not so sure.  

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp

They're debunking the claim that magic erasers are being banned because they contain formaldehyde.  Welll, the only source they quote to assure us that it's safe is the MANUFACTURER.  Hello?  And besides that, snopes is simply saying the reports of this product being banned are false.  That's not nearly the same thing as saying this product is free of harmful ingredients!

http://whatsinproducts.com/information.php?brandNo=16-003-845&PHPSESSID=5259

This page lists the questionable ingredient:  Formaldehyde-Melamine-Sodium bisulfite copolymer

The snopes page offers this quote from Mr Clean "Formaldehyde is not and has never been an ingredient in Magic Eraser. One ingredient in Magic Eraser (formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer) contains the word "formaldehyde" in its chemical name. However, this ingredient is not formaldehyde and poses no health or safety risks. (Think of this name like "sodium chloride", which is table salt. Sodium by itself can be dangerous, but sodium chloride - salt - is safe.)

It is possible that formaldehyde may be present in minute, trace amounts as a result of the manufacturing process. Even then, the amount present is significantly lower than standards established by governmental agencies and trade associations, and is actually less than what is found in indoor air."

I don't know about y'all, but I want someone besides Mr Clean telling me this product is free of harmful ingredients.  I don't trust that any more than more recent claims that travelling by air exposes a person to more radiation than a mammogram.  ...how is that supposed to make me feel reassured, in this day and age of full body scans at the airport?

Althea, when I was diagnosed in '09 (good grief, that sounds like such a long time ago), I stopped using Mr. Clean Magic Erase, chlorine bleach, and anything that was more potent than vinegar and baking soda.

Well, this summer I started using chlorine bleach again. Why? Because I had some vegetables turn moldy in the fridge and the idea of mold lingering in my refrigerator freaked me out more than the idea of a one-time use of chlorine bleach-based cleaner. I wore heavy-duty rubber gloves and was careful not to breathe any of it, and used some plain white vinegar to wipe down the area afterward.

I feel exactly the way you do re: the manufacturer's claims, as any smart person should, but I do still have a few Magic Erasers for times when literally nothing else will do the trick. Again, though, I use gloves (and I have a face mask too) and am careful not to have my face too close to it.

thenewme, vinegar and baking soda are my cleaners of choice (as well as kosher salt and lemons). Baking soda is almost as good as chemical-based abrasives for scrubbing things.

thenewme, well, the truth is....  I don't clean that much at all.  shhhhh!

I just never get around to mopping floors.  My shower has been on my 'to-do' list for YEARS.  I used to use clorox to get stains out of my white formica countertops.  On my floors I use Murphys soap.  That has lye in it.  The database site I listed above says there's nothing carcinogenic in it, but it says the same thing about the mr clean erasers.  Same goes for clorox bleach.  

For my laundry and dishes I use seventh generation products.  I use filtered water and vinegar to wash my produce.  I use bon ami brand powder to clean the sink.   For bathing, I use handmade soaps that contain no soy and I have filters for the bath and shower water to reduce chlorine.  

In the kitchen, I stopped using sponges.  I use cotton washcloths and towels.  I have a laundry bin just for kitchen linens under the sink.  Ideally, a new cloth should be used each day.  I'm less than ideal in that department.  

calamtykel, I looked for washing soda yesterday while shopping and couldn't find it.  Where do you find yours?

Anyone using Marajuana medicinally? I had some in tea and I slept like a baby for the first time in months without nightmares.