Anyone who knows me knows how ADD I am (I lack the hyperactivity for ADHD). Wolf calls it the butterfly syndrome. That’s because I often start fluttering away during conversations, while shopping, walking, or whatever. It’ll take me a few minutes but I can usually flutter back. Other times I’m gone!

While a kid in school I had much of the hyperactivity needed for the H in ADHD. Those were the 80s so I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD. I wasn’t a problem child in school though I was at home. After sitting around all day in school I’d come home with buttloads of energy that made me impossible. Getting homework done was like pulling teeth. After all, I’d been sitting around during the school day so the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was sit around some more. My mother didn’t know how to cope so she’d throw me outside to get rid of the excess energy. This coping mechanism worked for a while. Read more…

Please welcome today’s guest poster, Mary Hickcox.

Image credit: ecoplum.com

We are addicted to chemicals:  bleach, window cleaner, shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, fabric softener, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, body creams, shave gel, dish soap, antibacterial spray, deodorizer, mildew remover, and the list goes on and on. We have been convinced that we need these products in order to keep natural odors and bacteria, mold, and germs at bay.

But the cost is staggering in many ways. I’m as guilty as the next person, having spent loads of money on all these products over the years without considering the impact they had. I suppose the first step for me in making a change was deciding to use cloth diapers for my youngest son. It was far easier than I ever imagined. When talking to a good friend about how we could change our ways, she said to me, “well you just do the best you can do.” At that moment, I realized that I may tell myself I’m doing my best, but I knew that I wasn’t, and I knew I could do more.

The following are simple ways that anyone can minimize household chemicals and save money.  Come on – you know you can do better: Read more…

Earlier this week I wrote about the amazing MAVEA Water Filtration Pitcher and how it turned me into a water lover. It’s not just me, either; my husband commented (totally without prompting) that the MAVEA filtered water “tastes different — not like that stuff that comes out of our tap.” Ha! Fooled him, didn’t we?

Not only do the folks at MAVEA provide a 100% BPA-free pitcher and an easy way to recycle the used filters, they have now generously offered to GIVE A FREE MAVEA Water Filtration Pitcher to one of you!

Just leave a comment on this post telling us about your relationship with water — unique conservation method, what you look for in filtered water, how you get your minimum daily amount of water, etc.

One of you will be selected at random from the comments section. Comments that will be included in the contest will close on Friday, October 29, 2010, at 11:59 pm, EST. Good luck!

I’ve only gotten the flu shot once in my life, and you know what happened that winter? I got the flu. Since then I’ve opted to forego the giant needle in my arm and instead keep myself healthy by other, less painful means. So far it’s worked, since I haven’t had the flu in years (*knock on wood*) and I’d like to keep it that way.

One way to ward off the sickness is to not let your home become a safe haven for germs. There are plenty of toxic chemicals you could use to go on a germ-killing spree in your house, but remember: You have to live there too, and since the whole point is to keep yourself healthy, perhaps poison is not the answer. You know what IS the answer? Non-toxic cleaning products that will lay the smackdown on germs while not hurting you in the slightest.

I’d already fallen in love with Method for its hand soap and laundry detergent*, so I was especially excited to see their new line of antibacterial cleaning products. Method partnered with CleanWell (whose hand sanitizer we’ve reviewed before) to create cleaners that use a thyme-based disinfecting ingredient that kills 99.9% of common household bacteria, including salmonella, influenza A, and H1N1. It’s also safe to use on the hard, non-porous surfaces in your home. Read more…

I’ve been suspicious of water ever since I was a child. Family friends gave us a few guppies and instructed us to fill the fishbowl with water, but … we had to let it sit overnight before putting in the fish. Why? Because, they said, the chlorine in the water had to evaporate or the fish would die.

If water kills fish, I thought, it can’t be good for people, either.

Read more…

Well, I’m going to feel a little weird writing about this, but apparently my post about menstrual cups makes me The Greenists’ resident expert on menstruation. I’m not sure I know any more about the process than any other 31-year-old woman, but I do know a thing or two about feminine products, having used them for nearly 20 years. (Is that right? Jeez, I’m old. Moving on.) So when Organyc — the first complete line of 100% organic cotton tampons, pads, and pantiliners — sent me some samples, I was happy to try them out.

And I’m glad I did. All-cotton tampons have been available in the United States for a while, but Organyc is the first to offer 100% organic cotton, and they make pads and liners in addition to tampons. They’re completely free of chlorine and plastic, and they’re compostable and biodegradable. While most pads and tampons are made of a combination of plastic, cellulose, wood pulp, and absorbent chemical powders, Organyc products don’t contain any of that. They’re also free of dyes or perfumes, making them hypoallergenic and ideal for women with sensitive skin. Read more…

Before my local Target stores started carrying the now-famous bottles of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps (complete with their dizzying labels jam-packed with scripture, philosophies, and instructions for both life and soap), I am pretty sure I’d never actually heard of castile soap. Since I started making efforts to green my cleaning routine, however, I see it mentioned all the time. I have to admit, though, that even after I bought my first bottle of the stuff, I couldn’t have told you just what castile soap is. It occurs to me that perhaps some of the rest of you couldn’t either. Let’s remedy that, shall we?

Read more…

We’ve written before about the wondrous powers of baking soda here at The Greenists, but here’s another cheap, easy-to-find substance with all kinds of uses: hydrogen peroxide. When I was a kid, my mom used hydrogen peroxide to bubble away the germs after I skinned my knee or got into a rambunctious fight with my brother that ended up bloody. Little did I know that hydrogen peroxide can be used for all sorts of things around the house, even when one is too old to be roughhousing with her brother anymore.

Why buy expensive products when you can get the same job done with a $2 bottle of hydrogen peroxide that you can find at any grocery or drugstore? It’s cheap, it’s effective, and it involves less packaging — win/win/win. Read more…

WARNING: Once you start cloth diapering, it becomes an obsession. Once you try one Kushies Ultra-Lite Cloth Diaper, you WILL purchase more!

Kushies sent me a Trial Pack of Infant (neutral colored) diapers to sample on my little Owen. The Infant diapers are sized to fit babies from 10-22 pounds. I discovered that the diaper did not fit him properly until he was about 15 pounds – the only drawback to this incredibly soft and vibrant diaper (every baby is shaped differently – just because they did not fit Owen properly until 15 pounds does not necessarily mean it will be the same for your little one). As one of the least expensive “All-In-One” diapers on the market at $12.49 or less, I additionally purchased a Toddler Pack of 5 (boy colored) to use on my 2-year old son. Read more…

All right . . . weak joke . . . but this baby bottle is so green that it could’ve grown in my garden!

Pura generously sent me a Pura Kiki stainless steel baby bottle in this beautiful shade of aqua blue to try out on Owen, my new little boy. I cannot comment on its function as a baby bottle, as my little Owen is exclusively breastfed. However, this toxin free, environmentally friendly baby bottle is also able to function as a sippy cup simply by changing the attachment on top. Read more…