Friday Features: ‘Becoming Crunchy’ And ‘Liberated Family’

When mothers sit in a circle at toddler groups talking about the allergies and asthma and eczema in their children, and medical professionals say that these are all on the rise, and levels are higher than ever before; when people in their twenties and thirties (three of my friends in the last two years) are diagnosed with random cancers, I find it hard to not want to shake people when in their very next breath, they will say that the cleaners, sterilisers, and chemicals we use so freely in our beauty products, in our homes and on our skins make no impact on us. The ‘I used it on my child and s/he is healthy and normal’ argument makes me seethe in it’s erroneous  stupidity.

We’ve been trying, ever since Ameli’s birth, to phase toxic cleaners out of our home. In some things we’ve succeeded, but in others, not so much.

We’re still using regular dishwasher tablets, and ‘normal’ detergent on our reusable nappies. We don’t manually wash dishes very often, but when we do, we use regular washing up liquid… but the rest of the house has the permanent aroma of lavender or tea tree oil. But I have much yet to learn – which is where today’s featured bloggers come in. Queens (in my book) of Sustainable Living, Becoming Crunchy and Liberated Family set a great example, and share fantastic recipes, both for nourishing our bodies, and for cleaning our homes without the toxic chemicals.

Liberated Family is written by Rebekah, who shares her family’s journey as they learn to live simply and eliminate excess waste from their lives. I was inspired this year by their  gardening skills, and while their veggie ‘patch’ is the size of my entire property –give or take a few yards– I was thrilled to see the bounty of their labour, and even more so their environmentally friendly alternatives to pest control, such as those offered at pest control appleton wi.

And then, the recipe that sparked this post today: Citrus Lavender Laundry Detergent.

Becoming Crunchy was one of the very first blogs to go on my Reader when I began learning about natural parenting and living.

Kelly has loads of information on moving away from toxins. Her topics include everything from reusable nappies to reusable sanitary products for women, to going shampoo free and thoughts on stepping away from toxic household cleaners. 

Both these ladies are inspirational in their attempts at greener lives and while I may not always go as far as they do, I sure try!