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Here's to Your Health:  How "natural" are you?  |
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Georgia Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
212 Posts
Denise
Atlanta
GA
USA
212 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 09:48:48 AM
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I wasn't sure where to put this post so here it is.
I was just wondering how "natural" everyone is. What do you do that is "abnormal" by todays thoughts (ex..not shaving your legs, not wearing deodorant, wearing cloth pads, not eating out, hand washing your clothes, not using shampoo, eating fermented meat, no cleansers). Please share what you do and your thoughts on it. What products do you use that are organic? not organic?
Thanks!
~Denise~
Proud Farmgirl Sister #113
http://mybigcityfarm.blogspot.com/ |
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mima
True Blue Farmgirl
1573 Posts
1573 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 10:00:55 AM
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I'm a product of the So. California seventies!!! So I've always been this way!
I only use natural products on everything!
Hemp clothing and shower curtain! Thrift store clothes!
Vegatarian!
Walk everywhere!
Breastfed my children and
raised them on Mothering magazine
Compost
Have a garden
Have a clothesline
No paper towels or napkins!! All cloth!
Eat mostly organic and local!
Probably other things that I can't really think of right now!!! Maryjane's book resonated with me sooooo much!
I didn' shave my legs or pits in high school but that was all the rage back then! But My kids would all gag if I didn't shave now!! but as my old employer used to call me - A real nature cookie!!! Hugs!
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 10:10:46 AM
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I make my own cleaning products, we have an organic vege garden, I can, I preserve, I use natural pest deterents in the house and yard (chalk lines work wonders for Ants!!!), I knit (but only with natural fibers--personal preference), we compost, and we have rain barrels and we are in the process of getting bees together for honey farming.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 12:42:43 PM
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I am probably 60 natural 40 percent not. I use cloth products (towels, napkins and pads) and used cloth diapers when my kids were young, make my own cleaners and all, and use a clothesline. We raise our own milk, eggs and veggies in season, and chicken and I do alot of canning and my own baking and don't use boxed prepared foods. I do shave my armpits and shave my legs most of the time too, and try to buy local food and organic...but I do still do some things not so organic. When it comes to food and stuff for my kids I am real picky. But I am sure not perfect. I am working on being more green all the time. Fermented meat????
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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sweetproserpina
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
meg
Vinemount
Ontario
Canada
535 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 1:02:54 PM
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I'm getting there..
I cook and bake mostly from scratch (then I know what goes in it!)
I make jam and am learning to can
I learned to make cheese this year
Getting my own hens this year too
Growing an organic veg garden/ try to buy most groceries local
Starting to make my own cleaning products/ and hanging laundry in the basement by the wood furnace
Compost
Cloth Napkins/ handkerchiefs
There are still some things I want to work on - like getting most plastic out of the kitchen, I'd say I'm 40%nat./ 60%not
A friend at work once told me I was a bit 'granola' lol!, but I think I'm just old-fashioned =;-)
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world."
http://theprimroseway.blogspot.com/ |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2916 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2916 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 4:28:19 PM
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Well Don't get grossed out gals, but I use NO SOAP on my body. My gyn(who is 70 & looks 40) wrote a book about natural cleansing & says that we are all brainwashed by corporate cleansers(without mentioning any names) so to speak. The body produces natural oils & soap takes them away,, & our girlie parts are self cleaning ovens. The cleanest thing in the world actually cause a baby passes through them. He claims that I have the cleanest cervix ever. I guess that is a good thing  No I don't stink..I've asked my hubby & friends, unless they are all lying.
Also..
Make all cleaning products
Cook from scratch
Compost whatever is compostable
Wear only cotton
Use baking powder for deodorant & make own toothpaste
Grow organic with no pesticides
Can whatever I can
Recycle everything
Heat with wood
Use all natural shampoo bars
Do not eat white sugar & rarely white flour
Have goats & soon some chickens
What I don't do natural.. SORRY I still have my hair highlighted, but I go to an Aveda salon, so it is the lesser of evils.
Great thread
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jenbove
Moderator
320 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 6:02:39 PM
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I'd say I fall right in with the 70% natural crowd, always aspiring to be better. I used cotton pads for years till I learned about the DivaCup last year. Overall, I'm really happy with it. Check it out at http://www.divacup.com/
Not for the squeamish, but menstrual blood is a fantastic plant fertilizer!
Jen
GOT A "WILD HAIR"?
COME VISIT MARYJANE'S OUTPOST! 
www.maryjanesoutpost.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member # 9
My Blog: The View From My Boots
www.bovesboots.blogspot.com |
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Georgia Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
212 Posts
Denise
Atlanta
GA
USA
212 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 6:46:27 PM
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Lisa, how do you make your own deodorant out of baking soda? Have you tried washing your hair with baking soda and acv? It is awesome!!
~Denise~
Proud Farmgirl Sister #113
http://mybigcityfarm.blogspot.com/ |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2916 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2916 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 8:42:44 PM
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Denise
I just use straight baking soda right in the pits after I shower(with water only) I just sprinkle a little bit in my palms & apply to pits. Works great!! Don't use too much or it can irritate.
I have tried washing my hair with baking soda & ACV, but I heard it strips color & since I still do highlights   I kinda stopped. Hubby told me to just go natural, but I still like being a blonde  |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 9:19:03 PM
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I'm making the switch slowly but surely. I use all organic shower products though I tend not to use soap very often. Just let the water clean me. As far as food we garden and buy local and organic when possible. I am a meat eater but with all the info about cloaned animals we may soon be eating only that which we raise ourselves. I do shave regularly in the summer but not as much in winter. We still use paper towels. I know I should switch that but I haven't yet. As far a feminine products I will continue to use tampons. My period only ever lasts about a day and a half so it takes me almost a year to go through one box of tampons. My consumption is so small I think I will stick with that luxury.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
Felt and Fabric Crafts
www.willowartist.etsy.com
www.willowtreecreek.com
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wovenheart
True Blue Farmgirl
80 Posts
Dona
Washington State
USA
80 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 11:01:58 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by nubidane
Well Don't get grossed out gals, but I use NO SOAP on my body. My gyn(who is 70 & looks 40) wrote a book about natural cleansing & says that we are all brainwashed by corporate cleansers(without mentioning any names) so to speak. The body produces natural oils & soap takes them away,, & our girlie parts are self cleaning ovens. The cleanest thing in the world actually cause a baby passes through them. He claims that I have the cleanest cervix ever. I guess that is a good thing No I don't stink..I've asked my hubby & friends, unless they are all lying.
Also..
Make all cleaning products
Cook from scratch
Compost whatever is compostable
Wear only cotton
Use baking powder for deodorant & make own toothpaste
Grow organic with no pesticides
Can whatever I can
Recycle everything
Heat with wood
Use all natural shampoo bars
Do not eat white sugar & rarely white flour
Have goats & soon some chickens
What I don't do natural.. SORRY I still have my hair highlighted, but I go to an Aveda salon, so it is the lesser of evils.
Great thread
Just out of curiosity do you use any moisturizer/cream on your face and if so would you mind sharing what! TIA
"It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder...It's the stillness that fill me with peace." |
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Georgia Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
212 Posts
Denise
Atlanta
GA
USA
212 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 07:06:48 AM
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I was wondering about mosturizers too as I was sitting here applying my Olay. That is my one indulgence I guess. I would love to find an all natural one. I am going to have to try the baking soda deodorant. The baking soda/acv hair wash is working great for me but since I don't color, I don't have to worry about that. I told my mom about it yesterday and she was like "wow, I'll have to try that". This is my mom who uses expensive shampoos and lots of makeup everyday. My hair kept falling out before using this though and it has now stopped. I don't have periods anymore (hysterectomy) but I think I would be using cloth pads. How do they work for urinary leakage (they didn't tack my bladder)?
~Denise~
Proud Farmgirl Sister #113
http://mybigcityfarm.blogspot.com/ |
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Rebekka Mae
True Blue Farmgirl
965 Posts
Rebekka
Moscow
ID
USA
965 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 08:00:08 AM
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Denise-
I would recommend trying a moon pad with a wool outer layer to help and just see if it works...after giving birth I never had leaks with the moon pads I make, even on the heaviest day. Of course I just changed my pad a bit more often than usual- meaning three per day;)
Warmly,
For facial moisturizers I love aveda and zia;) I am getting ready to try some products that a local farmgirl makes---simple something, come on girls what is the name of her etsy store?
www.bebebella.etsy.com
As a woman I have no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.
Virginia Woolf |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 10:58:04 AM
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If you want just a very simple moisturizer, try an oil. Jojoba would be lovely - it's very light, and you can purchase organic jojoba oil in bulk for best savings. It's actually a liquid wax, not an oil, so it has a nearly indefinite shelf life.
If you want something a bit heavier but still natural and eco-conscious, get some fair trade unrefined shea butter. I LOVE THAT STUFF. (I do sell tins of in my store, but this isn't meant to be a commercial for me! I swear!) |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 10:59:31 AM
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PS not that I have any problem with hair dye but henna is a good option for those of us who like to change hair colors :)
it's not helfpul for going blonde but lush has lovely shades of red, black and brown! |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2916 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2916 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 11:42:34 AM
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Donna
I use Maggies shampoo bars(love them) & sometimes nothing on my face, but do have some facial products and butters from Mountain Rose Herbs.(Maggie, I will try yours next time ) When my hands & face are extra dry, I also use BioMarine by Oceana which is a topical deep water squalene. |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 8:05:38 PM
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I'm not as natural yet as I would like to be.
I make our food from scratch. No white flour, very, very little white sugar.
We are vegetarian (I'm vegan, but DH won't go that far)
I make our household cleaners and laundry soap
I have a clothesline
I walk to the grocery store, and bring cloth bags to any store
I reuse everything I can
I have an organic garden
I have a compost pile
I have a LOT of herbs, and have been learning to make tinctures/medicine. Lots of study there.
I heat with wood
I can veggies
NO paper towels or throwaway plates/cups/knives. If I throw a party, I'm using real stuff. Hate the cleanup, but oh well.
I want to know how to:
make my own soap
make a quilt (I can sew, I make myself designer "knock-offs" when I have the time)
make face/skincare products
knit
Lisa, your experience is telling me what I expressed as a theory to my hubby last week was possibly true. People never used to bathe every day... or wash their hair every day. Since I went vegan I noticed my hair does not need to be washed every day, and I am far less "oily" than I used to be. I think I even smell different, just to myself. I wonder if the average American processed-food diet is making us oilier.... that our bodies are needing to expel more poisons and it comes out of our pores as bad odor (bacteria).
Part of my theory comes from my dogs. When Cookie was unwell (malnourished and sickly) when we first got her, her breath and her B.O. were AWFUL. I mean, her breath smelled like something had died and rotted in there, no kidding. 24 hours after a bath she would REEK of doggie smell. After getting her on a raw meat diet, her breath is no worse than a persons (my dogs do not have "doggie breath") and they get baths every couple of weeks instead of every week like they used to. They still don't stink too bad, it's more that they need a bath because they roll in the dirt.
Do you have a link to Maggie's shampoo bars? I'd like to try. ACV & baking soda didn't impress me, but I still don't like knowing I am putting petroleum by-products on my head every couple of days. |
Edited by - greyghost on Jan 27 2008 8:07:42 PM |
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mima
True Blue Farmgirl
1573 Posts
1573 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2008 : 10:04:46 PM
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Hey! I'm vegan too! and I can't believe how many compliments I get on my skin,hair and body!!! So much I believe is what you put IN more than the outside!!!
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 03:55:27 AM
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We grow our own stuff and I can we always compost and feed scraps to the chickens
We heat the house and our domestic water w/ a water stove
I wear cotton/hemp and linen or try to for most everything
We buy our beef from a friend and have a chest freezer to buy in bulk whenever possible
I raise chickens for eggs to sell
I cook from scratch and never buy processed foods except frozen pizza only because we live 20 miles from the nearest big town with a pizza joint and I'm too impatient to make the whole thing from scratch
I feed my pets human grade pet foods not mainstream garbage
I'll soon learn to make homemade bread
I prefer to shop at food co-ops and health food stores whenever possible, but are slave to the almighty Wal Mart due to trying to save a buck
Hubby and I are able to drive in to work together
I don't shave in the winter
My hair and body products are non mainstream Sorry, I work with and around elephants and rhinos. If I didn't shower, the stink would drive ME crazy.
I shop and regularly donate to thrift stores
Whevever we eat at potlucks we use our own place settings from home and use cloth napkins
I was "into" holistic medicine and "all natural" before it became hip and PC
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 07:59:06 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by mima
I'm a product of the So. California seventies!!! So I've always been this way!
I only use natural products on everything!
Hemp clothing and shower curtain! Thrift store clothes!
Vegatarian!
Walk everywhere!
Breastfed my children and
raised them on Mothering magazine
Compost
Have a garden
Have a clothesline
No paper towels or napkins!! All cloth!
Eat mostly organic and local!
Probably other things that I can't really think of right now!!! Maryjane's book resonated with me sooooo much!
I didn' shave my legs or pits in high school but that was all the rage back then! But My kids would all gag if I didn't shave now!! but as my old employer used to call me - A real nature cookie!!! Hugs!
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller
Mima, you sound a lot like me!
when I can make it myself, I mostly do.
no shampoo except prairielandherbs shampoo bar once a week, otherwise its baking soda and vinegar
all around attached parent who reads Mothering and Midwifery Today
There are no disposable paper products in our home except toilet paper and that is made of recycled paper (7th Gen.) but I am working on Rob to make the switch to family cloth
The general greent hings that we do: clothesline, homemade cleaners (all of them except Bronners, Murphy's and 7th gen dish soap)
Mostly organic faire here in addition to our garden
etc
etc
etc
We do our best that is for sure.
This spring we are having a cob stomping party to build our barn, a moon hut and some outdoor permanent seating.
There are things that we can still do, but it's little by little...
[size=1]
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2916 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2916 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 08:10:45 AM
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Lynn
Maggies site is prairielandherbs.com |
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babysmama
True Blue Farmgirl
931 Posts
Elizabeth
Iowa
931 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 08:19:01 AM
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Well, I'm still getting there but I am more natural than most people around me.
I use a crystal instead of deodorant. I do shave in summer but rarely in winter, mainly because my legs get so dry if I do. I'm switching over to more natural soaps, make almost all of my cleaners and use Seventh Generation dish soap. I mainly use cloth diapers for the kids, totally breastfeed and let the kids self-wean (so far at 15 months and 23 months), co-sleep. Love to read Mothering and Compleat Mother. Compost our food scraps, hang laundry on a clothesline, grow a small backyard garden.
It's funny, really, that last year my elderly neighbor across the street asked if I was Amish. Apparently she doens't know much as the Amish but she said since I wear long skirts (I have such a hard time finding shorts that aren't too short!) and hang my laundry up and such that I must be!!! I still get a laugh out of that.
-Elizabeth |
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Forrester Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
703 Posts
Ann
Belmont
MI
USA
703 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 08:45:19 AM
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Hi there,
I use the crystal instead of deodorant too. It's perfect. I've been using the Arbonne moisturizer since Christmas - it was a gift. My husband keeps commenting on how he really thinks that it is making a difference in my skin. I was using a Burt's Bees product prior to that.
We try to be as natural as possible too. Probably a 70 to 30% ratio natural to mainstream. Finding balance for your family is the most important thing.
Ann
http://annforrester.tohe.com
http://forresterfarm.etsy.com
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kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 11:23:11 AM
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I use natural deoderant- most of the year. When it is hot and humid outside, I will use "regular/conventional" deoderant.
I use natural shampoo, conditioner and lotion; I am going to make an afternoon out of making my own to see if like them more.
I use 7th Gen. dishsoap, Method or Ecover cleaning products and Trader Joes-next to godliness laundry soap. But will probably switch to making my own once I use that up.
I line dry in my basement whenver possible, and have a clothesline I use all the time in the summer.
I use my programmable thermostat a lot, and also recycle just about everything.
We buy organic whenever possible-availability/money wise. Even the dog eats organic dog food, and uses natural shampoo.
I cook from scratch whenever possible. I use a filtered water pitcher too, instead of buying jugs of water.
I have also started to use more natural/homeopathic remedies first, before I rush to buy/use conventional first aid/remedies.
I would grow my own garden but my yard is way too small AND I tend to only be able to grow weeds and kids at my house anyways.
Both kids are skeptical of some of this-the lastest on the natural health remedies for instance, but have had pleasant surprises.
My biggest conquest was getting my son to stop using chapstick and start using Burt's. He goes through a lot of chapstick, and since Burt's is now owned by Clorox, I will have to find another natural brand for him.
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
Edited by - kissmekate on Jan 28 2008 11:44:51 AM |
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wooliespinner
True Blue Farmgirl
1311 Posts
Linda
Manchester
Ohio
1311 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 11:32:48 AM
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I am not 100 percent but have been doing things natural for years. Still learning and changing more all the time as I learn.
We have raised our own beef naturally for 16 years.
eggs from my chickens....they free range and are spoiled rotten!!
Milk from my nubians goats and cheese
homemade goatmilk castile essential oil soap
grind my own wheat and been making bread for 25 years
garden and can allot of things
use a crystal for deoderant
don't buy processed foods
compost
dried clothes on line or a wooden rack
heat with wood
went green on cleaning products and laundry soap thanks to all you gals who posted laundry soap recipes !!!
Pads...still buy them.....heavy and long 7 day period..probably should wear cloth diapers....lol
Anyway I don't usually shave in the winter but I do shave my underarms in the summer cause my hair is red and so are they. It looks kinda funny when I lift my arm........lol
Anyway I keep learning and since I have joined Maryjanes website I am learning tons more. I just love this site. Lots of smart women and info in here.Lot of good hearted women. I think its just great !!
take care.
Linda
recycle
spin my own fibers
Each day is precious...take a few of those minutes for yourself. |
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Here's to Your Health: How "natural" are you? |
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How "natural" are you?
