Vinegar the All-Purpose Cleaning Warrior

How do I count the ways of Vinegar use? You can clean your house, clean your ears, wash your hair face and use on sunburns, boost your laundry, clean diapers, and pickle food. If anyone knows where I can purchase a 50 gallon drum or make my own please let know. I'm looking into fermenting apples later today and hopefully will discover how to make apple cider vinegar.

My only household cleaner is 50/50 vinegar and water with a few drops of essential oils like tea tree, lemon, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and myrrh. Fill in a spritz bottle and clean the counters, floor, sinks, windows(use newspaper here), handles and cupboards. I have a crawling-walking 1 year old and we can eat off the floor.

For a little extra scrubbing action and excitement use some baking soda in the tub and sinks. Besides buffing hard water stains it will also unclog drains and is fun to watch(remember those science volcanoes of yesteryear?)

Plus, it's cheap. No need to buy expensive "organic" cleaning products when vinegar will do the trick. Eliminate bleach, windex, ant-bacterial soaps and other toxic cleaners from your home. If you can't eat it don't clean with it! If your interested in learning more on common household products and their detrimental health effects read this book.

To make an all purpose ear cleaner for after swimming or even for you doggie-Mix 50/50 alcohol and vinegar add a drop of lavender or tea tree and drop into ear.

For super shiny, healthy, stronger hair-pour apple cider vinegar over a fresh jar of nettles leaves and let sit for 1 week. Strain and use 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of water as a hair rinse-If using dried leaves use 3 tablespoons per 8 oz mason jar for a strong brew.

Spray in full concentration on poison ivy-spotted knapweed and your other least favorite weeds.

Organic Plastic Food for Thought

Yes, you read right-Organic Plastic Food. How can this be? Even if you avoid canned and plastic packaged foods and buy items in glass the lids contain a "rubber like" seal made from plastic-bpa containing plastic. So here in lies the "convenient parent" dilemma. For those who purchase their baby food instead of making from scratch-your consumer options for bpa food is virtually non existent.



Here in lies the importance of making your own food- baby or otherwise from raw ingredients.



Oh the woes of the "not enough time" to make your own food-Enter the Pressure Cooker. Not only does it save



-time



-energy



-money



But you can be assured of a bpa free food experience.



I love my pressure cooker. I just add a little Super C to naturally preserve carrots, apples and other fruits and veggies if I'm not eating them right away.


Say hello to potatoes in 10 minutes, rice in 20, applesauce in 5 minutes. Plus you have to plenty to freeze, can or refrigerate for later use.



Some of you may be thinking- Come on what's the big deal about bpa, the FDA says it okay, who cares if Europe has banned it and the health nuts are just raving mad. Well take a look at your own health, your parents health and national statistics of



Cancer



Hormone and Thyroid Dysfunction



Endocrine Disruptor Health Issues



You see BPA mimics estrogen thereby increasing your estrogen hormone levels significantly. This article on baby food sights bpa level a 1ppb in a single baby food jar. That's the average, some had levels in the 7+ppbillion. That sounds pretty insignificant numerically except that natural hormone levels ride a pptrillion not billion.



Therefore, your slamming your system or your little ones with estrogen. As consumers you have the a purchase power voice. Stop buying items that contain plastic and email or write letters to companies that continue to use plastic in their products. Here's a hit list



-Baby Food Jars with metal lids



-Tetra Pak Containers



rice, soy, hemp milks, orange juice etc



-Any food or beverage product in plastic


-#7 Plastics


-canned food





Some other BPA items include your old nalgenes (this will pass through breastmilk), teflon, dental fillings, plastic children toys and rubber duckies.

Wool and Fevers

Like shorts and a tank top in the snow in June-who would think wool would keep you cool!

Yet again I am in awe of the amazing healing properties of wool. As a temperature regulator, wool acts by pulling heat away from the body when too much is radiating as well as insulating if the body is drawing heat in.

In terms of fevers wool couldn't be better to keep a temperture in check. My little one just went through a high fever of 101-103+ for 3 days. Temperatures were peaking at night as the fever worked it's healing magic. We left him undressed* at night laying on his wool pad and covered him with his wool blanket. His radiating body was kept comfortable with the wool pulling heat away from his body and keeping him drytoo.

Body temperture for youngsters needs to be monitored to minimize seizures during fevers. Wool or Hemp are ideal choices for temperture regulation and healing properties. Polyester and other synthetic fibers do not breathe and quickly overheat your body. During the daytime-merino wool, hemp and cotton clothes are a must if sick or otherwise.

We also sleep on wool beds and wool pillows. Our wool beds and pillows only require some sun and air to freshen up and sanitize. Wool does not harbor dust-mites and is naturally anti-bacterial. Both beds will likely last 50+ years without showy the slightest bit of lumpiness. The cost is substantially higher up front-but you can imagine the savings over a lifetime. Plus no old mattresses filling up the landfills. Both beds come from Northern California Sheep Farmers.

Considering the amount of time one spends in slumber-bedding should be non toxic, breathable, temperature regulating and healing. The majority of mattresses are treated with fire retardent and off gass tremendously. Both can lead to acute and chronic illness. I haven't been sick once in the 3 years we've had our bed. This is in combination of eating only fresh organic veggies, fruit and grains-and virtually no packaged foods.

*On another note. Our little one has been diaper-free since nine months including at night. I encourage establishing elimination communication with your baby as early as possible. It really provides substantial freedom in terms of laundry-traveling and daily living as well as understanding yet another of your childs basic needs. (There is a previous post on how to go about this process)

For the occassional miss in the evening we use an organic wool puddle pad. The moisture is quickly wicked from his body and absorbed into the fibers without leaking through to the mattress. Some puddle pads out there are quite toxic so do some research. They are breathing in close contact with their bedding so even a wool barrier would be beneficial. Try some diaper free nights on wool-and relish in how comfortable your baby feels.

If your child wears diapers-organic hemp or cotton are the most breathable and should be worn without a cover especially in the evenings. Dark, wet environments harbor bacteria, yeast and are definetly uncomfortable especially if they don't breathe.

During the warmer months babies love fresh air blowing on their bare skin. Leave them undressed and let them enjoy the summer air, for at least part of the day, if not all day. Fresh Air and Sunshine are healers of diaper rash, fussiness and foster giggles and calm in children of all ages..They'll spend the majority of their lives clothed-let them live a little now.

To receive an extra 10% off and free shipping on your next wool puddle pad order-just mention "Wooly Worms are Winter Weather Predicters" during check out.

Arnica Salve your Herbal Sidekick

Well Spring is finally in the mix here in Montana and the flowers are popping. One of my favorites is Arnica montana. A beautiful yellow flower full of medicinal properties. Primarily used for sore muscles, bruises and broken bones-topically it is a strong medicinal herb.

The medicinal constituents consist of

sesquiterpene lactones of the helenanolid type mostly ester derivatives of helenalin and 11,13-dihydrohelenalin

flavonoids -isoquercitrin, luteolin-7-glucoside, and astragalin

volatile oil with thymol and its derivatives,

phenol carbonic acid chlorogenic acid, cynarin, caffeic acid

coumarins umbelliferone, scopoletin

The extraction can be completed with and organic oil like olive-safflower or hemp or by tincturing with 100 proof alcohol.

The oil extraction can be rapid by simmering the fresh flower in oil for a few hours-watch that it doesn't boil. You can also pull the properties by allowing the arnica to sit in a mason jar of organic oil for a few months before using.

A little beeswax is then added to the oil to make a salve.

The alchohol tincture can infuse for several months or longer then added to aloe vera gel or foot and hand baths.

The fresh flower is best collected on a cool dry morning when the flowers have just popped. You'll want to fill your jar full of flower heads then top with oil. Shake daily for the first week, then allow to sit for at least a month.

Great for bumps and brusies and overworked muscles. If you'd like your own travel tube of arnica-for backpacking trips or quick use at home, during travels or for your little one(crawling and walking is hard work!)-I have a fresh batch up for grabs.

Natural Sunscreen-Micronized Zinc Oxide

So after some extensive searching through scientific and mother blogging(really a very accurate source of trial testers on products)I've narrowed down sun exposure safety. As one with fair skin and a youngster who didn't inherit his father's beautiful tan-I am always on the look out on how to minimize mine and his burning potential. I mean really this is a daily adventure as I Love the Sun-hence the name-Sun Loving Baby....always searching for the warms rays.

Here's some helpful tips to enjoy the warm sunny weather

-Bring a Golf Umbrella

besides being and excellent choice for sun ray filtering it can be added entertainment for the little one. a tent stake and string are crucial on windy days or just tie it to a chair if you have one.

-Lightweight Organic Cotton or Hemp Clothing

long sleeve pants and shirts will keep you surprisingly cool on a hot day as your surface body temperature isn't baking in the sun-Ideally Hemp Clothing as it wicks moisture away from the body, is naturally temperature regulating and grown without pesticides (one of the main causes of cancer and birth defects)

-Hat with a strap

keeps the sun off the face and the strap deters little hands from successfully removing it off their dome.plus the strap keeps the hat secure on windy days

-Natural Sunscreen

read labels and research every ingredient. just because it's sold in the natural marketplace does not guarantee it's safe. Go here to find your sunscreen and see how it is rated in terms of toxicity, developmental effects, bioaccumulation, cancer hazard and more. You'll likely be as alarmed as I am on how even my choice brand of Alba is really toxic as well. I always hated the way you could taste it in your mouth after applying it. Those chemicals were really soaking in. Terrible.

After digging through several sources I've concluded that Physical Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum Coverage is ideal. What this means is the sunscreen using minerals instead of chemicals to block harmful rays is safer. The minerals basically absorb then reflect UV light before it reaches your precious skin. Mineral Sunscreens with Micronized Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide are in the Physical Sunscreen Category.

Micronized Zinc Oxide is the most affective at blocking UVA and UVB light. Currently the only organic brand on the market is Badger Sunscreen which is a base of olive oil, shea and cocoa butter and some essential oils with 20% Zinc Oxide. This is not Nano Zinc Oxide but Micronized meaning the particles are greater than 100nm. Their is much concern on cell damage (DNA mutation) from the nano particles penetrating several layers into the skin. Unfortunately, Burt's Bees uses Nano Titanium Dioxide among other dirty ingredients which only protects you from UVB light. Burt's Bees was also bought out by Clorox and bleach is a whole other topic on cancer and water contamination. If you go to the link on Burt's Bees above you'll find that the fragrance is really one of the worst ingredients-saturating your skin with a neurotoxin. This is where reading ingredient labels is so important instead of glazing over on a company name.

SPF is difficult to evalute and higher numbers are not neccesarily better. In my opinion 15 is probably the highest you need to go as higher numbers mean more mineral or chemical content. Too figure out how long the SPF is effective calculate

-How long till you burn w/o sunscreen-Multiply by SPF rating = # of minutes till it wears off.

For example if it normally takes 20 minutes for you to burn and your using SPF 15 then after 300 minutes you'll need another coat. Sooner if you've been sweating or in water. So divide the minutes in half.

I like to put on a layer of Organic Lotion as the Shea Butter has a natural SPF of 6 and it provides a barrier to the sunscreen risks. I'd much rather have the Organic Lotion soaking and the Sunscreen floating on top doing it's job absorbing and reflecting light. Plus if I use SPF 15 I'm basically getting around SPF 20 by applying the two layers.

My rule of thumb for all products going on the skin is to stick with true plant oils and butters and stay away from anything with

-Mineral Oil (petroleum based)

-Sulfates and Sulfites

-Dioxins

-Fragrance

-Metals-especially Aluminum (causes dementia-use your old cookware for plant containers)

Really after reviewing organic shampoos and sunscreens I am quite disturbed. It really seems in terms of sun exposure that cancer can occur if you do or don't use sunscreen. Not sure which is more rapid or severe. You'll have to decide on the lesser of 2 evils. A combination of some sunscreen and clothing and shade devices seems the best bet.

As for me-I'll be making a whole new line of hats and sunscreen sticks to survive these beautiful Montana Summers.

Growing Earth and Sun Oven

Spend the day growing your space. Things you can do on Earth Day. Isn't this pic so inspiring! Click on any of the links below for directions

-Make an Sun Oven Or Cob Sun Oven

-Build an Earth Oven

-Park your Car

-Start an Urban Garden

-Make an Urban Greenspace

-Turn Your Computer Off

Diaper Free at 9 Months

Here we are at 9 months old and diaper free! How can this be you ask? Well we started at 7 weeks communicating with our little one and have finally broken free of the cloth diaper.



Parents diagnose Sleepy, Tired, Teething, Hungry, Frustrated, Happy etc..It only made sense to include the Need to Releive. And interestingly enough the early stages of lumping all needs into the above categories were actually indicative of the urge to pee or poo.



So there's three options out there-Disposable, Cloth and Diaper Free. The later being the most eco-nomical.

Here's how you can get started by following these 3 guidelines:



Ques

Timing

Consistancy



QUES

-restlessness

-fidgety-verbally agitated

-pumping legs

-shiver/quiver

-crawling to you or potty

-motioning toward or grabbing groin

-won't latch on

-becomes still (after crawling-rolling)

-stops making eye contact

-pushes away when done nursing



**Remember the cues evolve over time and are somewhat dependent on development



TIMING

-upon waking

-every 20 minutes (0-4months)

every30 minutes(4-6 months)

every 40 minutes(6-9 months)

-before leaving home

-upon arriving

-pulls off abruptly when nursing

-before wearing/wrapping

-after wearing/wrapping



**Find a rthyme that works for your child



CONSISTANCY

-when peeing or pooping use the same verbal cue

ex:pishing while peeing/grunting while pooping

-offer potty frequently

-offer potty after you miss one

-Keep At It-it can take a few months



What my diaper bag(daypack/backpack) is filled with

Red Potty

Handful of Cloth Wipes

2 Prefolds

2Cloth Diapers

32oz yogurt container-for backup and cleanup



**My personal cue was if I blew through both diapers I was not paying enough attention to my little ones' needs



We used cloth until we we're communicating more effectively. See the side bar for the hemp diapers we like.

Cloth also makes it easier to tell when you miss a pee(soaks thru rapidly)

Cloth diapers are great "potty trainers" for parents. You will associate what happened right before you felt pee or poo. Again it's about communicating with your child and "training yourself" to understand your child's ques.



This is not a new concept. Third World countries do not have the luxury of washing diapers or buying throw-aways. They are in tune their babies needs by neccesity. Also wrapping your baby is more commonplace around the world. Wrapping makes me far more cognizent of my little one's needs than any other carrying method.



A majority of the literature on "Potty Training" has really missed the point. Most parents spend the first few months "training" their child to go in their pants. Mammals inheritently do not want to releive themselves on themselves. Parents then at some point switch teams and try to get their child to stop using their pants and move to the potty.

Ever notice you get peed on quite a lot in the the early days?



This happens for several reasons I believe

-Baby waits to releive themselves instinctually when they don't have fiber bound to their waist

-Parents are actually intuitively tuning into when the baby needs to pee

If you feel this might be alot of work. Spend a day catching pees/poos and spend a day changing diapers. The former is far less time consuming, less messy and a great way to connect with your child!