Cut Down On Chemicals.

There is a lot of information out there in webland on why it isn't good to use so many chemicals and telling people how to stop using *poisons* on themselves and in their homes and some sites even come up with ways on how to go about it.  In theory, I think the less chemical/poisons we use the better.  But!  I live with a smoker so how serious about it all can I be?   I can't change the smoker but I can choose to buy and use less of the man made muck that seems to be everywhere and in everything.

I have Fibromyalgia and many many years ago I started to think that all the chemicals and poisons that we used wouldn't be helping.  Tiredness and stress were big contributors for me but I was pretty sure that different chemicals that seem to be everywhere and in everything played a big part in it all too.

After a bit of thinking about it all I decided to see if I could try and cut some of the chemical use out.  But there were so many, everywhere...  In everything...Where to start?   And now, so many years later I can't remember where I started, what *poison* I stopped using first.  I knew that a lot of the deodorants made me come up with a rash but I eventually found one that didn't and used that for a couple of years until it too started stinking and making it hard to breath when it was applied.   So I stopped using deodorant unless I was going out somewhere but I was more stinky so I started spraying myself with Vinegar.  Normal white vinegar as that is what I had.   It didn't stop the sweating but it did seem to inhibit that stinky smell that comes with working hard and getting up a sweat.  I know, who'd have thought, me doing enough to get up enough of a sweat to actually be smelly.  But yep, it happens.  Not so much now though.  Because I spray myself with Vinegar.    I also like putting powder/talc on after a shower but read that that wasn't good for you either.  But I liked the feel of it.  So I started using Cornflour and Bi-Carb as a powder deodorant.  The first time I tried this it seemed to work OK but after a week or so I noticed that I was getting a bit of a rash so stopped using it.  Started again after reading about others using it but changed the amounts that I used.  I now use slightly less Bi-Carb than Cornflour and that seems to work without the rash and soreness.  I put in on after a shower and again in the morning before getting dressed.  If anyone decides to try this mix then you may have to experiment with the amounts until you find what works for you.  Others use different concoctions on themselves, some are quite complicated but I am a simple soul and like simple things.  I am also lazy and tight so the more simple the better for me.

The shampoo and conditioner were the next to go.   That was easy as I have short hair and I am lazy and tight and rarely go to the shops so not buying this was a no brainer.  Just don't buy it any more.  See, easy.  There is a bottle in the shower still that has been there for close on 2 years.  One day I might take it out and put it away but I leave it there in case the shampoo that the husband uses gets empty and he needs it.  That is my excuse anyway.   Me, I just rub my head while standing under the shower and the dirt and sweat gets washed away down the drain.  

Soap is over-rated too.  You know if you use a flannel/wash cloth you can get just as clean?  Yep, you don't need soap in the shower to be clean.  A rub down with a flannel works really well.  I do use  soap when washing my hands at the bathroom basin, after being in the loo, after digging out in the dirt, sometimes before eating...

I use detergent for washing the dishes but usually nothing for clothes washing.  The clothes are washed in a twin tub machine in cold water.  I do sometimes use some homemade laundry powder on husbands work clothes but mostly not.

All those smelly toilet sprays that you can buy?  You don't need them.   I have a box of matches and a spray bottle with Vinegar with a Vanilla pod in it in there if anyone wants to spray anything .  And those horrible scented toilet rolls...buy and use unscented but cloth is nicer and works better...

Most of the awful over scented cleaners are not needed and there are dozens of natural recipes that will help you get your house clean if you wanted to use something.  A regular wipe-over with a damp cloth works just as well...or so I have been told...

Over the years I have been trying to cut down on toothpaste use and even when we were kids we were taught to just use a tiny bit.  You don't need to cover all the bristle on the brush like they show you in the ads.  I have at various time used salt, nothing, Bi-Carb, but always seemed to *forget* and go back to toothpaste.  It was there, it was easier...Over the last couple of weeks I have made a concerted effort and now believe that I will stick with the Bi-Carb.  I have it in a pretty container on the bench next to the toothpaste and brushes so it is now no harder to get to.  It used to taste horrible too or was that all in my mind...now though, no yucky taste and no foamy mouth like the toothpaste.  I think it is more the brushing that cleans your teeth not the paste so maybe even the Bi-Carb is not needed but for now I will stick with that.

There are so many ways that you can cut down on the use of chemicals and I know that many of you already do but if not why not try and rid yourself and your home of something this month.  Choose something to not use, try it for a few weeks and let me know what you think.  Do you need to go back to spending lots of money on products or can you use less and be just as happy.