Up Next

I have been so behind on just about everything but life is looking like it might just settle down enough that I can start concentrating on blogging again .. soon ... I hope! I'm going to put together some online resources that I use or have found to be helpful with this whole "natural" living thing. I almost to the point of refusing to call it an organic lifestyle since "organic" has become such a buzz word that I think it's lost a lot of meaning. ... I find it funny to think that it's only been that last 50 years or so that we haven't been living organically. Pre WWII most people grew their own food, used "natural" cleaning methods and understood basics of ecology. Its funny when I talk to my grandmother about making my own laundry soap using Fels Naptha and she remembers her mother using it for stains on her father's shirts! The cycle of life I suppose!

The Retro Housewife!

For all of those with stay at home mom guilt .. check out the Retro Housewife.

After browsing RH for awhile a memory of Freshman English flooded back. I think it was the obligatory "What I want to be when I grow up" essay. Mine was about how I wanted to be a caretaker of my family .. take care of my husband, our children and our home. My feminist teacher graded the writing an 'A' but made an example of me .. saying that I anti-feminist, a traitor to my sex and wondered why such an intelligent person would aspire to so little. Funny how a 14 year old could cause a grown woman to be so defensive, huh? I was literally speechless for a few minutes (not an easy task for me!) and finally retorted that I was aspiring have the best and most important occupation in the world and it needed no degree, no career wardrobe and no daycare. Needless to say it was a tough year but it taught me to be tolerant of others ways of life.

I honestly believe that not every woman is cut out to be a full time homemaker. The glory of the feminist movement is that we have a choice. Bottom line is that each mother, whether they work at home, work from home, or outside of the home, loves and cares for her children and is parenting her children the best way she knows. I have felt (and heard on occasion) that my choice to be a full time homemaker is one of laziness and I have nothing interesting to contribute. I think all mothers, regardless of their situation, have moments where we question if we're doing what's best for our kids. I think that I'd be able to get my kids more toys or my husband would be able to get a newer car if I were working a "normal" job. But my kids don't need another toy (just another one to be picked up!) and my husband's car is perfectly fine. They need me and that is a fantastic feeling!

Organic Shopping and it's terms

I fully admit to not buying Organic as much as possible which is part of the reason I love Mission Organic. I think it can be rather confusing to figure out what all the labeling is all about .. what's the difference between Free-Range and Organic .. and why does it matter? So I did some digging and have come up with a few "definitions"

• ORGANIC -- For produce it means that it was grown without pesticides or synthetic herbicides. For dairy, beef and poultry it means animals were fed organic feed and were not given hormones or antibiotics. Watch for the "natural" label, especially on poultry, FDA does not allow for the use of hormones on poultry so pretty much all chicken is labeled "natural" but doesn't not mean it's organic. "Certified Organic" shows that production methods were inspected by an independent party. For packaged foods like cereal and snacks there are 3 USDA approved labels: "100% Organic" which must contain all organic ingredients .. "Organic" for products with at least 95% organic ingredients .. and "Made with organic ingredients" for products with at least 70% percent organic ingredients. For our family it's not exactly frugal to buy organic all the time .. but I think it's still very important to do so .. Meat and dairy is at the top of my list that must be organic .. packaged goods are a bit different .. I am not a huge fan of the preservatives and sweeteners used in about 75% of the snacks and cereals and mixes out there, so I'll make my own or I just don't buy them. As for produce, see "locally grown"
  
• Locally Grown -- Used for product that is grown in the same region as the store .. but the exact definition will vary from store to store .. for the most part it seems to mean the produce has travelled less than a day from the farm to the market. I tend to look for locally grown produce over organic .. mainly from growers in my area that I know practice organic methods but haven't been "certified" (which I gather is a rather expensive process). The other main benefit, other than it's fresher, is that there are less fossil fuels used in transportation.
  
• Free-Range -- I think is a gimmicky term for the most part. Generally, it means that the animal was raised with access to the outdoors. BUT (here's the gimmick) the label is only USDA regulated for chickens raised for consumption, not egg laying chickens AND only 5 minutes a day of open-air access is sufficient to qualify for the free-range claim. It boils down to the fact that you need to trust where you're getting your food from.
  
• Certified Humane -- This is one I didn't know existed. This label indicates that animals raised for meat, poultry or eggs were raised in humane conditions, including being able to "engage in normal behaviors" and had "sufficient space to live". Apparently Whole Foods is about to launch a similar line of foods with the label "Animal Compassionate". I think this is what "Free-Range" was meant to be and is what most people think of when they think "Free-Range".
• Hormone-Free -- Like the "natural" label on chicken I mentioned earlier. This means that no hormones were used in production (what a lovely way to describe raising animals). There is no independent group that verifies these claims over what is required by the USDA, which does not allow for the use of hormones on poultry and pork .. but does allow certain hormones to be used on cows for consumption and dairy cows.
  
• Trans Fat -- The worst of all fats!!! Trans fats are found in food that are fried in (ie chips) or contain partially hydrogenated oils. Consumption of these fats not only raise bad cholesterol but lowers good cholesterol. Most of the "convenience" food products on the shelves contain trans fats .. everything from cake and muffin mixes to crackers, pop tarts, ect., especially if the product is inexpensive. Hydrogenation turns liquid vegetable oils (mainly soybean) into solid fats using a chemical process. Solid fats are easier and less expensive for producers to use and were at one time believed to be healthier than using solid animal fat (neither is healthy). Watch out for products labeled "trans fat free", a product can claim that if it contains less that 1 gram of trans fats per serving but it does have to list the partially hydrogenated oil as an ingredient. I avoid any label that lists partially hydrogenated anything like the plaque. Any recipe for "convenience" foods like baking mixes can be found using a simple Google search .. CDKitchen.Com has lots of great user submitted ones!
  

• No Sugar Added -- Must not contain sugar, natural sugar that is. However, these products are often sweetened with artificial, chemical sweeteners like aspartame or Splenda or with the use of sugar alcohols such as malitol, sorbitol or xylitol. All these in addition to being unnatural, can negativity affect the digestive system if consumed regularly. Watch out for the "naturally sweetened" label as well .. most companies consider high fructose corn syrup a "natural" sweetener. I avoid most products with artificial sweeteners or any thing ending in "itol" and look for things sweetened with honey, honey solids, or fruit.

SO .. bottom line time .. To get the most bang for your organic buck buy organic where it matters most .. where your food is most likely to connect with the chemicals that are used on our food with conventional methods. Meat and dairy are the first prior ties (animals are given hormones and antibiotics that we in turn ingest through meat or milk) followed very closely by produce that you don't peel (like apples, lettuce, ect .) fruits like oranges or pineapple where you remove the skin are less likely to contain pesticides or other chemicals. Buy local when it's possible for most everything .. get to know the people or companies that grow, raise or sell you your food.

Mission Organic 2010 .. Join the Mission

The Organic Center, who was disappointed by the fact that organic food still makes up about 3% of total food sales, created Mission Organic 2010. This campaign aims to get the message out about not only the health benefits but the ecological benefits of "going organic" .. and makes it easy to make smarter choices. On the website you can "publicly announce" your commitment to the campaign by saying you'll make at least a tenth of your eating choices organic .. Overwhelmed by the whole idea or think you have to clean out your entire pantry? It's "Easy as 1 2 3" according to the Organic Starter Kit that comes as a free download when you sign the pledge!

1. Purchase 1 organic item for every ten in your shopping cart.

2. Make 1 organic meal out of every ten you prepare.

3. Ask 10 friends to join you!

According to the Center, if the goal is reached 98 million daily servings of water will be pesticide free and antibiotics and growth hormones will disappear from 20 million daily serving of milk .. and that's just the beginning!

A few "recipes"

Just thought I share a few of my favorite frugal and natural cleaning "recipes"

All Purpose Cleaner:
Mix equal parts vinegar and water (I like to boil and cool tap water to add to prevent bacteria buildup) in a spray bottle .. use for everything, counters, bathrooms, windows (dry with crumpled newspaper) there's no need to rinse and fixtures will shine .. the vinegar smell will go away as it dries.

Laundry Soap:
I've been able to find everything at local stores .. however, Meijer is the only store that carries the washing soda. Of course Amazon carries it here. Even with pretty heavy laundry this seems to last 2-3 months and doesn't take up too much room.

one bar Fels Naptha soap (about $1)
one box (55 oz) Washing Soda (about $3)
half of a 76 oz box of Borax (the whole box is around $3.50)

*Grate the Fels Naptha (I use the finest side of a box grater I found at a resale shop for $.50 that is just for this purpose .. not for food!)
*Combine the grated soap, Washing Soda and Borax in a large container .. I use a candy jar with a screw on top.
* Use about a 1/8 cup per wash. Be sure to add before you add the water and "swoosh" it in the machine to dissolve.

Fabric Softner:

I simply fill a Downy Ball slightly past the line with plain old vinegar. Works great and helps keep the washer clean too!

For scouring / oven cleaning / showers ect ..

Wet the surface with water or your all purpose cleaner and sprinkle with baking soda .. Scrub away without the worry of scratching anything!

Drain Cleaner:

After cleaning the trap of hair or other debris (a bent metal hanger works great) Pour a bit of baking powder down the drain followed by a bit of vinegar and super hot water!



Links:

Vinegar uses and tips: Vinegartips.Com
Baking soda uses and tips: ArmandHammer.Com
Downy Ball:

First Post

Well, here goes my first venture into blogging. I've gained so much from reading others blogs that I hope to pass on the same to others. I'm going to try to provide an account of our life and pass on things of interest to me in hopes it will spark something in someone else .. I'm not trying to preach or convert anyone to anything but maybe this will help those realize that it's not hard or expensive to healthier and more "down to earth".

A little more background on me .. I'm the oldest of 7 and grew up in rural Northern Michigan and being "close to nature" was only natural :) It's all around and without the distractions of television and computers my sisters and I spent the majority of our time exploring woods, beaches and creeks in the summer and see the changes that a northern Michigan winter can bring. Now as a mother, my kids are outside as much as possible and have been from the beginnings of their lives .. Maddy has loved to play in the dirt and snow since she could crawl and as she approaches 3 years old she's learning to understand why we recycle and why the brightly colored, processed sugar filled boxes of cereal with Spongebob on the front are as we say in our house "Not good for kids". I love that she tells her sister to put a piece of paper in the recycle can and not in the trash .. It's been harder to convince my husband who grew up with so many delicious goodies and who loves the processed, canned foods like spaghettios and potted ham .. but as we make creative subtitutions for the junky food we all like he's more and more into and really likes the ideas but the practice is a little harder for him.

Not that's I'm perfect .. I'm the first to admit my favorite food is chocolate in any form and I like to drink a Coke now and again.. and I have to confess to using disposable diapers. But as Rome wasn't built in one day neither is a completly green family. Each step to a healthier alternative from what ever "bad" food or "bad" cleaning product or "bad" whatever is a step to a better life for us all.