Our Story

Growing up I had the same perspective as all teenagers.  Things were made to be used, wasted, and thrown out.  No chemical was strong enough to hurt me; if they were on the shelves of stores for us to purchase and use, of COURSE they had been tested and deemed safe.  

Little did I know that the Earth was in crisis, our bodies were science projects for chemical companies, and we would be lucky if 50 years from now the ozone layer was still in tact.  

It started with my oldest son turning 9 months old and the search for formula to supplement breast milk.  I had been vegetarian for 17 years at that point (since I was 8!) I looked at soy... and learned that a high diet of soy in Americans has been questioned as being harmful.  I was a bit shocked as I had been eating soy at least 5 days a week at that time.  The research was conflicted and I couldn't find anything concrete at that time, but I wasn't about to risk my baby's health.  So I kept looking.  That was the first time I had questioned anything on a store shelf and it was quite eye opening.  

I started questioning everything we ate.  We switched to all organic for our son and as much as we could afford for us.  It has taken about 4 years, but we have gradually replaced EVERY food item we purchase with organics.  We now buy as little processed food as possible.  We make all of our meals and the only thing we buy in a can is tomato sauce.  We do not store our food in plastic, we do not eat out of plastic containers or dishes.  We do not even use plastic spatulas.  

Then I found cosmeticdatabase.org and was SHOCKED to find out how many carcinogenic chemicals were in our everyday products.  My son's Johnson and Johnson tear free baby was was the most toxic thing we had in our bathroom.  I couldn't believe it.  I was soaping him up with chemicals without even knowing it.  I was outraged.  I switched every product we owned for a product rated 3 or lower on cosmeticdatabase.org.  

I started reading everything I could find (blogs, books, articles, etc) on toxic chemicals in our everyday lives and was furious at what I found.  Flame retardants, plastics, pesticides, etc and how they relate to our health.  Very scary.  

We try to stick with as natural and local as possible.  We started with changing one thing at a time so it wasn't overwhelming.  We are now at the stage of high ticket items such as mattresses and furniture... any knowledge any of you can share regarding those things, please add your comments!  I purchased a toddler mattress for my youngest son when he was born and still uses.  It is a wool mattress from www.organicgrace.com that we just love.  I think the couch is going to be our biggest obstacle.  We are considering trying to find nontoxic foam and building our own couch/ having a local upholsterer upholster it for us.  

I think it is very important to take care of our planet AND our bodies.  Have you seen www.storyofstuff.org?  Eye opening.  I want my great-great-great grandchildren to live on an un-polluted Earth.  I don't want to ruin it for them.  It is up to you and I to make the changes that we can.  When enough individual make the change, we will be able to see the difference.

That is our story.  The saga continues and new efforts are made each day to live a healthier, more chemical free life.