Are your cleaning products making you sick?

Brace yourself.

The conventional products we’ve been using to clean our homes are, themselves, rather dirty. Typical household cleaners—from laundry detergent to glass cleaner—traditionally have a number of toxic ingredients like mutagens, neurotoxins, and hormone disrupters.

Read the label and you’ll probably see red flag words like “Caution” and “Poison”; you’ll also find some products don’t disclose their ingredients, which makes you wonder what the manufacturers are hiding. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a term for the 1.6 million tons of common household product waste tossed into landfills every year: “household hazardous waste.”

We’ve always known housework wasn’t fun, but hazardous?

The EPA has a suggestion: Try alternative products when available. Green household cleaners are now easy to find. Big retailers like Target and Wal-Mart Stores sell eco supplies as do many chain grocery stores and every local health food store. In other words, there’s no excuse for adding to the household hazardous waste problem.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to clean green:

Sun & Earth Deep Cleaning Laundry Detergent
As the name implies, this product has a “deep cleaning” formula that’s tough enough to stand up to your worst stains, yet gentle enough for baby’s clothing and people with sensitive skin. It’s hypoallergenic, biodegradable, non-toxic, and free of allergens, dyes, perfumes, and petroleum-based solvents.

Seventh Generation Liquid Dish Soap
Washing dishes will never become one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it will come as close as possible with this dish soap, available in a number of delightful scents. It’s biodegradable, plant-based, packaged in recyclable bottles made partially from post-consumer plastic, and never tested on animals.

Ecover Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Cleaning the toilet isn’t enjoyable but at least you can enjoy knowing that you’re not harming Mother Earth. The process itself isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but this cleaner’s pine-fresh scent makes it somewhat like taking a hike in the woods.

Caldrea Window Spray
You can have clean, streak-free mirrors and windows without using harsh ammonia. Caldrea does a fantastic job (be sure to clean with a lint-free, reusable cloth) and comes in a number of pleasing scents that will have you almost looking forward to washing the windows.

Shaklee's H2 Organic Super Concentrated Cleaner
This nontoxic, natural, double concentrated, and biodegradable product is a super powerful and versatile cleaner. "Use a couple of drops of this, and it's amazing," Oprah Winfrey says of H2 on Oprah.com. "You can clean the windows. You can clean the counters. You can clean everything!" Need we say more?

This list is just the beginning. You can (and should) stock your cleaning supply cabinet with all green supplies. Mother Earth, and your family, will thank you.

By the way, I was inspired to write this post when I read this article in my paper about how employees of a local company got sick simply unloading a truck carrying conventional cleaning products.

Question of the blog: How are you approaching spring cleaning?

How is an embryo like a canary in the coal mine?

I just read this article in HealthDay News about oh-so-dangerous perfluorinated chemicals, which the article says “are pervasive in food packaging, pesticides, clothing, upholstery, [and] carpets and personal care products.”

The article continues, “These chemicals are being phased out in the United States because of their toxic effects, and are expected to be completely gone by 2010. However, they remain in the environment and in the body for decades, and have been linked to developmental problems.”

The gist of the piece is that “these widespread chemicals apparently lower the fertility in couples trying to get pregnant.”

I’m pregnant—and due on Earth Day!—and find myself continually outraged at information like this. If perfluorinated chemicals make it harder to get pregnant, just what are they doing to our bodies? I often think of an embryo as the canary in the coal mine . . . if the embryo can’t survive in a cocktail of chemicals and toxins, what makes us think we can?

Here’s some good news: I was 35 when I got pregnant (with what will be my first child) last July, and was in the “high-risk” category because of my age. In other words, my chances of conceiving were lower than that of a woman in her 20s, yet my husband and I created a baby the first month we set about trying to do so.

I say this is “good news” because I live a very earth-friendly lifestyle and I know that being green made it much easier for me to conceive. I eat all organic food. I don’t use beauty products with fragrance, parabens, or other dangerous chemicals. I sleep on a non-toxic mattress with organic cotton sheets and an organic wool duvet. I have hard wood floors, use an air purifier, wear eco clothing, and even drive a Prius.

I guess you could say I created an environment for a canary to thrive!

Now, in my 7th month of pregnancy, I feel absolutely terrific, as I have throughout my pregnancy. No headaches. No back pain. No swollen ankles. I can also still fit in most of my non-maternity clothes. I attribute this to my eco lifestyle as well.

Whether you’re trying to get pregnant, or already pregnant, or are just looking to live a healthier life for you, going green is the only way to go. Just keep paying attention to those canaries.

Question of the blog: Do articles like this outrage you enough to make changes in your lifestyle?

Ready To Go Green AND Give Green This Holiday Season?

I just reviewed Deloitte’s 2008 Annual Holiday Survey and it seems Mother Nature will be receiving a great gift this year: More eco-minded shoppers!

Here are some of the results of this year’s survey:

· 21% of consumers will consider not wrapping holiday gifts to conserve paper

· 20% will purchase more “eco-friendly” products this holiday season than they did in the past

· 18% will shop at more “green” retailers this holiday season

· 14% will purchase more organic products this holiday season

Additionally, 37% will use fewer plastic bags from supermarkets and other stores. Of course, as the owner of EcoVixen—a chic cloth bag company, specializing in made-in-the-USA, recycled cotton totes for men and women—I’m especially thrilled with this statistic.

Another thing that thrills me is Amazon.com’s hassle-free packaging, which doesn’t just avoid wrap rage, but it avoids all that unnecessary product packaging ending up in the landfills. Read all about it.

Question of the blog: How does being green influence your holiday shopping?

Why Can’t Obama Take Office Today?

Now that Obama has won the Presidential election, I just want him to move right into the White House and get all cozy behind the desk in the oval office. I already consider him my President. I look to him to voice the thoughtful solution. I’m ready for him to lead, especially when it comes to the environment.

For years, President Bush has refused mandatory curbs on emissions which could/would help control global warming. Can you say, “In bed with oil companies”? As I’ve expressed before, I’m pretty convinced the only way Bush is able to sleep at night is by sniffing a little of his prized oil. The damage he’s done to our earth, and the damage he’s failed to avoid, is beyond measure.

I can’t wait to see him ride off into the sunset on that Texas ranch.

More than that, I can’t wait for the sun to rise on our future under the leadership of Barack Obama. Speaking of global warming, Obama made a surprise (videotaped) speech at the climate change conference in California today and vowed to take quick action to curb global warning. (Read the entire article here.)

Now that’s my leader.

Question of the blog: Do you think Obama will get to do all he’s promised to do for the environment?

Where Are All the Eco Couches?

When Mark and I sold our house last month, the buyers purchased almost all of our furniture, including our sofa. We were thrilled with the transaction because it meant we could finally buy an eco couch.

Or so we thought.

Go to Google.com and do a search for “eco couch” or “organic cotton couch” or “non-toxic couch” or “green couch” or “environmentally friendly couch” and you won’t find very much (and certainly nothing affordable).

We all know that conventional couches aren’t terribly good for our health, what with toxic glues holding the frame together, non-organic fillers, and flame-retardant fabrics. It’s a good thing organic denim jeans and a bamboo tee comes between us and our couch!

Here's the good news: I love a challenge.

Inspired by a search result that revealed Crate&Barrel has made a green commitment, Mark and I headed over to a Crate&Barrel furniture store. I approached a sales woman and she walked us through the store, pointing out the “eco” sofas (read about their “eco-friendly construction”) but when I asked if they had an organic cotton fabric available, she said no. Disappointed, we started to leave . . . and just as we were almost out the door, the sales woman appeared, holding a book of organic cotton fabric swatches.

Yes!

So as I type this blog, I’m sitting on my eco couch. Mission: Accomplished.

Question of the blog: What eco items are you having trouble finding?

Got Hope?

Last night, just before midnight eastern time, I watched Barack Obama walk onto the stage in Chicago as the president-elect. Rather unexpectedly, I burst into (joyful) tears. In that instant, I felt not just immense hope for my country and for myself, but a relieving hope for my child and his or her future.

Until then, I hadn’t realized just how worried I was that John McCain would win and just how scared I was to bring a child into that world.

And I mean “that world” in both the figurative and literal sense. Instead of McCain’s commitment to continue to be a seemingly reason-free aggressive force on the international scene and to strip the planet of its resources with no thought to the consequences, Obama is looking to bring people together (both in this country and across the globe) and to help solve the environmental crisis.

In fact, during Obama’s speech, when he mentioned the challenges facing the United States, the first thing he mentioned was the two wars, the second thing he mentioned was the environment (!), and the third was the economy. Obama gets it and, as a result, we all get a healthy dose of optimism.

Question of the blog: Has your hope for positive environmental changes improved with the election results?

Just What Does a Pregnant Vegan Do at a Wine & Cheese Party?

Okay, so it’s Election Day (a most historic and important day) but rather than encourage you to get out there and vote, I’m going to offer you a little election distraction.

You can thank me later.

Back in September, I shared with you that Mark and I had sold our house and made an offer on another house. Well, the offer was accepted and the move is now complete. Whew.

I’ve been silent for weeks as the massive undertaking (pack, pack, pack and then unpack, unpack, unpack) completely took over my life. We’re beyond happy to be in a green space that’s just the right size for us—with just enough room to grow—across the street from a dog-friendly park and with really wonderful neighbors.

But that’s just a small part of my news: I’m also expecting a baby on April 22, 2009 . . . which just happens to be Earth Day. For a passionate environmentalist, the idea that my baby’s due date is Earth Day is a heart-warming thought. We're thrilled!

Our new life is based in the charming seaside community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For six years, Mark and I have wanted to live downtown so we can walk to our favorite restaurants, the movie theater, the health food store, etc. (and Mark still has a quick commute while I continue to work from home as a full-time freelance writer).

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a client in a coffee shop about a 10-minute walk from my house. Walking to a meeting is a liberating and highly enjoyable activity. I smiled the entire walk. On the way home, I popped into a local gallery, seduced by the lovely painting in the window (I wanted to buy it for the baby’s room but it had already been purchased).

While there, I learned that six of Portsmouth’s galleries host a “Gallery Stroll” the first Friday evening of every month. Mark and I will absolutely go this Friday! The gallery employee was telling me all about the event. “Oh, beyond the art, you’ll really enjoy the cheese and wine,” she said. I just smiled . . . after all, what does a pregnant vegan do at a wine & cheese party?

Question of the blog: Okay back to the election: As we wait to hear if McCain or Obama will lead us, are you feeling anxious or excited?