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Posted: Mar 28, 2006 - 9:56am

Three Rules of Thumb for Nontoxic Living
More Environ. Health & Safety Solutions

By Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment, (Rodale Press, 2005).

1. Buy the most inert materials that you can find. These are materials that have low odor if any odor at all. One good way to identify them if the material doesnÂt smell much, such as polycarbonate, is to realize that you would smell chemicals if they are burned. Examples of inert ingredients would be those made of stone or wood.

2. Buy ingredients with no label with a stronger Âsignal wordÂ than Âcaution.Â For example, ÂflammableÂ or Âfatal if swallowedÂ indicates a warning stronger than Âcaution.Â

3. Choose the least toxic product available every time you make a consumer purchase.

Posted: Mar 8, 2006 - 12:46pm

Hire a maid, use the card. F#ck the rest.

Actually, I enjoy cleaning the hacienda!

Posted: Mar 8, 2006 - 12:31pm

Ten Spring-Fresh Tips for Your Home
More Green Home Decor Solutions

By Cait Johnson, author of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air: Essential Ways of Connecting to Spirit (SkyLight Paths, 2003).

1. Move Things Around: HereÂs a quick--and totally free--fix for winter stuck-energy: try moving things around! Spring is all about changing your perspective and inviting the hope of positive new life in. How to do that in your home? Just try rearranging one or two pieces of furniture--or changing the placement of a rug or painting. Shake up your old patterns and habits by changing the traffic flow in a room, or encourage seeing things differently by switching the positions of pictures or other accents that have always been in one place.

2. Make an Intention Corner: Give some thought to what you want to bloom and grow in your life this growing season and begin to imagine it. Cut out pictures that express what you hope to create or do and make a small collage. Then make a special place to honor it. This doesnÂt need to be elaborate: a shelf with space for a beeswax candle and some object from nature--a stone, a shell, a cup of flowers--are all ways of giving positive energy to our plans and projects. And when we create places in our homes for the unfolding of our soul-processes, we make our homes feel more connected to our spirits, and we make an inner connection to the world of nature that is beginning to bud and grow outside.

3. Quick Pick-Up: Just because we may not have time for a major spring-cleaning, that doesnÂt mean our homes couldnÂt use a little clearing-out of stuff that adds to clutter rather than pleasure. Try the Just One Step approach: every day, pick up just one thing that no longer "sings" to you and donate it, give it away, or put it in a storage area for later.

4. Clarify the View: Windows are the eyes of our homes, and by the end of winter, they can be pretty grungy inside. It can take less than five minutes to wash the inside of a window: just mix up a batch of this vinegar-based
Window Cleaning Formula and spritz it on. Wipe off with a soft lint-free cloth and finish drying with old newspapers for a streak-free, fresh new outlook for your home.

5. Air it Out: It may not be warm enough where you live to start opening windows, but you can close off one room at a time (so you donÂt waste energy) and open a window for a few minutes to release stale winter air and invite freshness in. Nothing smells as sweet as fresh air.

6. Lighten Up: Explore some ways to allow more light to enter your home. Ideally, spring windows are lightly dressed in filmy layers--or bare--to let in as much of the cheering light as possible. But if itÂs still too cold to put away the heavy drapes, consider using mirrors or small, pretty lamps to add illumination.

7. Freshen Your Things: Periodically fluffing small cushions and throw rugs in the drier is a good idea: it helps to get rid of dust mites and just plain dust. And when you have a sunny day, you can place items outdoors to soak up sun and fresh air. You will smell the difference when you bring them back inside!

8. Bring Blossoms In: I recently had lunch at a friendÂs house where a vase of vivid yellow forsythia was blooming on her table, although outside the windows the hillside was still covered with snow. Her husband had simply pruned the bush and placed the still-dormant branches in water--and they burst into flower all by themselves. It was such a sunny, cheering sight! You can try encouraging dormant flowering tree or bush branches to bloom for a lovely taste of instant Spring. Or invest in a few bulbs to place in a pot with some stones or soil. Keep them moist and watch them flower, then plant them outdoors once the weather has truly warmed. Many bulbs will bloom again the following year.

9. Think Colorfully: Winter colors tend to be dark, heavy, and more saturated, while spring colors have a refreshing lightness and invigorating freshness. There are many inexpensive ways to bring airy pastel colors into your home: it just takes a little imagination. A robinÂs egg-colored plate, a buttercup yellow toss-pillow, or a vibrant yellow-green scatter rug can all brighten up your space and give it some spring-like energy. If you donÂt want to break the bank buying new spring-colored accessories, search your local thrift store for bargains: they are often filled with great and inexpensive treasures.

10. Use Spring Imagery: Most of us associate birds, nests, and eggs with spring, and it is great fun to fill our homes with reminders of these lively icons: you can find some great realistic-looking, inexpensive bird nests at craft stores to fill with egg-shaped candies, soaps, or stones. Pictures of birds, and other bird-related accessories--like imaginatively-painted birdhouses, for example--are also fun to have around as the season shifts. And if you donÂt already have a birdfeeder outside your window, consider making or purchasing one in time to host the scores of birds returning to your area. Watching birds at the feeder is a guaranteed heart-lifter.Here are some super-easy ways to make your own bird feeder.

Posted: Mar 4, 2006 - 9:15am

Which Plastics Are Safe?
More Environ. Health & Safety Solutions

Adapted from Green Remodeling, by David Johnston and Kim Master (New Society Publishers, 2004).

The news about plastics has been pretty alarming lately, causing some of us to go dashing for the water bottles to see what kind of plastic they are--and find out if weÂve been unwittingly poisoning our children and ourselves with chemicals leaching into the water from them.

1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars. GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

2 High density polyethylene (HDPE) Milk, water, and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash, and retail bags. GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

3 Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC) Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses, and other foods sold in delicatessens and groceries are wrapped in PVC. BAD: To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add ÂplasticizersÂ during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen.

4 Low density polyethylene (LDPE) Some bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles. OK: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.

5 Polypropylene (PP) Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs. OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.

6 Polystyrene (PS) Foam insulation and also for hard applications (e.g. cups, some toys) BAD: Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling.

7 Other (usually polycarbonate) Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages.

Posted: Feb 24, 2006 - 1:33pm

Three Rules of Thumb for Nontoxic Living
More Environ. Health & Safety Solutions

By Annie B. Bond

I was poisoned in 1979 and 1980, two back-to-back exposures--one to a gas leak and another to pesticides--and developed permanent central nervous system damage resulting in extreme sensitivity to most synthetic chemicals.

The result is that IÂve learned to live without toxic chemicals in my home for 25 years. I did this without getting a Ph.D. in chemistry. What I used were these rules of thumb, based on common sense. Try these guides for your life: your health and the environment will be happier for it:

1. Buy the most inert materials that you can find. These are materials that have low odor if any odor at all. One good way to identify them if the material doesnÂt smell much, such as polycarbonate, is to realize that you would smell chemicals if they are burned. Examples of inert ingredients would be those made of stone or wood.

2. Buy ingredients with no label with a stronger Âsignal wordÂ than Âcaution.Â For example, ÂflammableÂ or Âfatal if swallowedÂ indicates a warning stronger than Âcaution.Â

3. Choose the least toxic product available every time you make a consumer purchase.

Posted: Feb 23, 2006 - 10:50am

How Healthy is Your Kitchen? The Safe Kitchen Quiz
More Environ. Health & Safety Solutions

by Annie Berthold-Bond, Care2.com Producer, Green Living Channels

The hearth is considered the heart of the home Â the centerplace around which all revolves. The modern kitchen needs some work to hold the related feelings of love, connection, nourishment and contentment the way most of us wish it could.

Making it a healthy and wholesome place to be is a wonderful way to start the process of making such an important room the way you want it to feel. Here is a quiz to help you learn where your kitchen could use some help to become a healthy place to be.

QUIZ
Count One Point For Every ÂYes,Â and Subtract One Point for Every ÂNo.Â

Do you have a gas stove?

Do you cut meat on a cutting board?

Do you use store bought automatic dish detergent manufactured by a large corporation?

Do you use standard store bought regular dish detergent?

Does the label on the packaging of the sponges you buy say Âkills germs?Â

Does the label on the dish detergent you use say that it Âkills germs?Â

Do you frequently heat oil to the smoke point?

Do you have a kitchen exhaust fan that you use when you cook?

Do you clean the tray under your refrigerator at least once a year?

Do you have a compost in the kitchen that is emptied less than every three days?

Do you spray pesticides in the kitchen for sugar ants or other pests including rodents?

Do you use bleached coffee filters?

Do you place pesticide-based ant or roach traps, rodent poison, or fly stickies in the kitchen?

Do you have chlorine in your water?

If you have a garbage disposal do often run it less every two or three days, even when it contains food?

Do you have well water without a filter?

Do you or other family members often stand or sit near a large kitchen appliance such as a stove, dishwasher, or refrigerator?

Are the kitchen cabinets made of particleboard or other pressed wood materials?

Do you frequently smell food that is ÂoffÂ anywhere in your kitchen including the refrigerator, potato bin, or trash bin?

Does the cabinet under your kitchen sink contain commercial cleaning products and other products that have a label with a signal word on it that is more serious than a ÂCaution?Â

Do you clean the kitchen with standard products bought at a conventional supermarket or hardware store and that contain a label with a signal word on it that is more serious than a ÂCaution?Â

ANSWER
If you answered any questions with a Âyes,Â and have any points at all, you have some environmental indoor air quality issues. Here are some suggestions to improve the situations:

Do you have a gas stove?
While gas stoves are energy savers, they can cause a significant amount of indoor air pollution, in particular high indoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Do you cut meat on a cutting board?
Bits of meat can become imbedded in the cutting board and cause deadly bacteria to grow.

Do you use store bought automatic dish detergent manufactured by a large corporation? While washing the dishes, the synthetic fragrances will cause pollution.

Do you use standard store bought regular dish detergent?
Same answer as above, except you will also absorb the detergentÂs chemicals into your hands unless you wear gloves.

Does the label on the packaging of the sponges you buy say Âkills germs?Â
Most likely the sponges contain a chemical disinfectant call triclosan. Triclosan is a suspected immunotoxicant, a suspected skin or sense organ toxicant, and considered more hazardous than most chemicals in an Ecological Risk Screening Score.

Does the label on the dish detergent you use say that it Âkills germs?Â
Answer same as above.

Do you frequently heat oil to the smoke point?
Oil heated to a smoke point can be toxic. Here is a handy chart of the smoke point of most oils.

Do you have a kitchen exhaust fan that you use when you cook?
Exhaust fans help remove hydrocarbons produced while cooking.

Do you clean the tray under your refrigerator at least once a year?
Believe me Â you can grow some very ugly looking mold in this tray. Keep up with the cleaning of it; twice a year at least!

Do you have a compost in the kitchen that is emptied less than every three days?
Mold can be very toxic, and youÂd be surprised at how many people let their compost bucket languish in their kitchen before emptying it of molding food! Two days is really about maximum for food scraps to be in room temperature before problems can arise.

Do you spray pesticides in the kitchen for sugar ants or other pests including rodents?
Pesticides are usually neurotoxic and EPA list of pesticides that contain suspected or probably carcinogens is extensive.

Do you place pesticide-based ant or roach traps, rodent poison, or fly stickies in the kitchen?
Same as above.

Do you have chlorine in your water?
Chlorine is a highly corrosive substance, capable of damaging skin, eyes, and other membranes. Chlorine was listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the 1990 Clean Air Act, and exposure to chlorine in the workplace is regulated by federal standards.

Do you use bleached coffee filters?
The chlorine in bleached coffee filters can leach into the coffee. The EPA says that using bleached coffee filters alone can result in a lifetime exposure to dioxin that "exceeds acceptable levels." Choose instead unbleached coffee filters.

If you have a garbage disposal do you run it less than every two or three days, even when it contains food?
Mold and bacteria can fester in rotting food that could be in the disposal. Run the disposal at least once a day.

Do you have well water without a filter?
Well water often has contaminants and bacteria. Unless you have complete water tests run regularly on your water, it is prudent to have a water filter. Reverse Osmosis filters are popular for homes on well water because it reduces both suspended solids and dissolved solids in the water source, as well as bacteria and viruses.

Do you or other family members often stand or sit near a large kitchen appliance such as a stove, dishwasher, or refrigerator?
The highest concentrations of electromagnetic fields in my house, when tested by a guassmeter, were right in front of my dishwasher when it was running. The stove and refrigerator also had high fields. Note that the high fields drop off quickly Â within a few feet.

Are the kitchen cabinets made of particleboard or other pressed wood materials?
Particlboard and pressed wood is usually a source of a lot of formaldehyde, especially when the ÂwoodÂ is heated, as could happen next to a stove, heater or refrigerator. Formaldehyde is a strong sensitizer and carcinogen.

Do you frequently smell food that is ÂoffÂ anywhere in your kitchen including the refrigerator, potato bin, or trash bin?
Again, mold can be very toxic. Follow your nose and clean out rotting food!

Does the cabinet under your kitchen sink contain commercial cleaning products and other products that have a label with a signal word on it that is more serious than a ÂCaution?Â
Bottles can leach toxic chemicals into the air and they will waft into your kitchen and home.

Do you clean the kitchen with standard products bought at a conventional supermarket or hardware store and that contain a label with a signal word on it that is more serious than a ÂCaution?Â
One of the biggest causes of indoor air pollution is cleaning products. Many contain solvents that are toxic, neurotoxic, and long lasting in the environment.