These are a few of my favorite things...

Ok, so you all know that I have become somewhat passionate about our environmental toxins...that sounded weird, but, read on, you will get it. Since Tristan's Autism diagnosis in January we have all gone great lengths as a family to insure that our house is a clean and safe house (even cleaner and safer...) For those who don't know, many autistic children suffer from a hyper-sensitivity to sensory stimulus. This means lights, sounds, smells, touch, and rolled into that is CHEMICALS. Environmental pollution just adds to the overstimulation. Tristan is very sensitive to outside pollutants and because of this, we have made our house 100% chemical free and environmentally friendly. This means, NO bleach, NO phosphates, NO sulfates, NO added chemicals to foods, NO food coloring, NO aerosols, NO NO NO!!! We use Certified Organic whenever possible and avoid preservatives when able. So, these are a few of my favorite things. It can take YEARS to compile your favorite lists, so, hopefully you can take a few of these and apply them to your house, they have been tried to be true and we love them. So, without further adue, these are some of my favorite Earth Friendly / Sustainable / Organic products and valuable resources. I didn't have EVERYTHING all together, but, these are a few...enjoy.

BioKleen Products - THESE ROCK. You can purchase them at Sprouts. We LOVE the Produce Wash, it is more like a soap (but the key ingredients are Orange / Lime Peel Extract, Grapefruit seed Extract, and it really gets all the wax, pesticides and dirt off of your freshies. It is also GREAT for cleaning out your fridge, cutting boards, baby tray, etc. BAC-OUT Odor and Stain Eliminator is great for those hard to clean situations that you would normally use bleach. It works by using You can use it for pet soils on carpets, grease stains, tea stains, berry stains, chocolate, ink...poopy clothes on kiddos, as a sanitizer to your laundry, deodorizing trash cans / diaper pails, cleaning potties, it erases mildew and again, contains no bleach or harmful additives, it smells SO GOOD



LIVING WITHOUT Magazine. I love this mag. If you have food allergies, need yummy healthful recipes, most free of Gluten and Casien, then this is the magazine for you (I feel like one of those kids on Reading Rainbow suggesting my favorite book from the library)...but seriously, good read.

Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. This should be a staple in anyone's favorites file. It is a wonderful tool that arms you to be an educated and safe consumer of today's many cosmetic products. You enter the product name and you will recieve a comprehensive consumer report of sorts. You get a brand Summary with charts, ingredient breakdown and toxicity concerns. It's just lovely!!!! Check it out, educate yourself, be a safe consumer, your family and YOU deserve it!
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/splash.php?URI=%2Fbrand.php%3Fbrand_id%3D198

Seventh Generation Automatic Diswashing Detergent I love the smell of this, and the fact that it is free of any Phosphates is wonderful. This is a green cleanser that really works. I know that many of you are fearful of using green products because you feel they lack that extra cleaning power, let me tell you...this one is tried and true. It works. What to watch out for when buying Earth Friendly or Eco products? Well, there is an order to how products are rated for toxicity and such. Most green products are not toxic and very safe for skin and such. BUT, some do contain the word CAUTION. I myself avoid these. But, if you would like to know the order of harshicity (yeah, not a word...) in all products here it is:

Caution: Slightly toxic (many green products carry this label)
Irritant: Causes soreness, redness, or inflammation of the skin, eyes, mucous membranes or breathing system
Warning: Moderately toxic
Corrosive: Can destroy material or living tissue
Danger or Poison: Highly toxic

India Tree Natural Food Coloring and Crystals Check out their website http://www.indiatree.com/ , beautiful products that really work! A lot of "natural" or plant based colorings are dull, very muddy, not these! They are vibrant. If you are looking for RED and BLUE and YELLOW in deep colors, good luck, since they are plant based, they are truly more pastel, but still so pretty, and healthy.

Blink Tidy Totes ($3 at Walmart) - These things are WORKHORSES for clutter! Each kit comes with 4 totes, and they are big. The mesh is not the strongest in the world, but, if you have toys, sippy cups, random things rolling around in your backseat, rather than stuffing them in a plastic bag, throwing them in your garage, you can clean your car up in a snap and they are easier to look at. Here is a stock pic, then my pic of the actual bag.

Glass Containers. I love storing my odds and ends in glass containers. We scored these from IKEA, they were relatively inexpensive, and they have an inner seal to lock out air and unwanted dust / bugs. I store trail mix, crakers, nuts, dried fruit, pastas etc. They are MUCH better than their plastic counterparts and really, last so much longer.

Unbleached Cloth Diapers Whenever possible, choose cloth. I am not going to preach the cloth diapering gospel on you guys, again, BUT, I will say, try it, you will see why so many people are choosing cloth to the poison filled alternatives. Aside from saving thousands of trees, sparing your child from the toxicity of bleach and petroleums, you are eliminating thousands of unbiodegradeble diapers from filling up the landfills. Ok, I have said my piece, I will step of the virtual cloth diapering soapbox now.

Seventh Generation Organic Diapers When CDing is NOT possible, I recomend these sposies. They are made from organic / sustainable recycled pulp, contain no bleach or chemicals and are biodegradable. So, give it a try, switch to something that is healthier for your baby and the Earth!

Aromababy Natural Baby Lotion (with Avocado) this product is ALL natural and certified organic. I love the natural smell, not overwhelmingly perfumey, your baby still smells like your baby, but just a bit sweeter. These are NOT cheap, but, I will add that a little goes a long way. Check out all their products here. http://www.aromababy.com/

Toms Natural Toothpastes - for kids or for us...they are good!

SOME of My Gluten Free / Wheat Free Staples. These are some of Tristans FAVORITE GF products that they have on the market. If anyone has tried Rice Bread, you know that there are good ones, and there are BAD ones. GF foods are the same. Sometimes you strike gold and find some really good tasting, awesome textured GF foods, and these are ones that my almost 2 year old swears by *I like them too!*

Perky O's - Just like Cherrios, but they are wheat and nut free! They taste like sunflower seeds to me, but I like them!

Enjoy Life GF Cereal Bars - This brand makes AMAZING desserts, cookies, brownies, cereal bars etc. They are moist and dense and taste like the real deal.

Kinnikinnick Products - ROCK! That is all I have to say! We really love the Chicken Coating mix, I cook up chicken breast and make our own nuggets...so yummy.

Happy Bellies Rice Cereal with Probiotics - Probiotics are SO vital to a healthy intestine. This cereal contains all the right "belly bugs" that you need to keep things moving healthily along!

Don Pancho Gluten Free Wraps - GF's idea of a tortilla, it is yummy...also, Corn Tortillas are awesome, so, we do a TON of that here too!

Sooo, thanks for reading this REALLY long post! I will be adding more sequals as I find more of my favorite things!