Cloth Menstrual Pads

I used cloth diapers on my boys. A while back, I began thinking about the waste I accumulate during my menstrual cycle, and how uncomfortable plastic pads are.

So I began tinkering with some cloth and came up with this pattern.







I love the prints, the softness of the flannel, never having to worry about running to the store when I start early, and the benefits of not putting products on my body that are unsafe.

I could write an essay on the dangers of feminine products. Do a google search and think about what you have been told is unsanitary and unsafe your entire life. It is very sad when a woman's health is pushed aside for money, and even sadder when it eventually changes our thoughts on what is socially acceptable.

Fast Food

We went to a lecture last night by Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.

Eric Schlosser is an interesting speaker. He is witty. The question and answer section went well.

Since Indiana ranks fourth highest in childhood obesity, his focus was on the impact fast food and advertising makes on children. I would have preferred to hear about the meatpacking industry and immigration, but it was still very interesting.

He spoke about MRI scans being used to test target brand advertising in children. Certain parts of the children's brains lit up when they viewed pictures of specific brand names.

He also spoke about targeting pre-verbal babies, how Ray Kroc modeled, if not competed against Disney....Playland - Disneyland, characters so connected you must have them all as collectibles, the happiness associated with Disney packaged as a Happy Meal.

Kroc was a ruthless entrepreneur. He once said if he saw his competitor was drowning, he'd come over and push a hose in his mouth.

_______

He also spoke about some things I've been thinking about. He said that the change in American diet has only happened, and become damaging, over the last thirty-five years. My generation really is the first to eat the majority of meals from cartons and freezers. Is it too late to teach the next generation how to improve its diet?

He said he thought ignorance was the reason most people continue to eat fast food and make unhealthy choices, which is why he writes and lectures. I disagreed. I know that many people haven't research food and additives to the extent some of my friends and I have, but I think most people know fast food isn't healthy. Overworked, unpaid, under the assumption that it is cheaper to fix a $2 box of mac-n-cheese for their children than it is to cook beans and rice. I think time is an issue, but that really opens up the field to why we work so much, for so little.

I noticed a dramatic difference in my energy levels, moods, mental state, when I switched to a healthier diet. I wanted to cook. I was excited about cooking and growing my own food. But you have to get out of that cycle.

Some statistics:

1 out of 3 children in the US will develop typeII diabetes.
1 out of 2 African-American children will develop typeII diabetes.
28 tsp of sugar in a supersize soda
52 tsp of sugar in a big gulp

Countries which have allowed fast food chains in the last thirty years have also seen an increase in obesity and typeII diabetes.

Honesty

My husband is flourishing in his new band. He adores the new singer, Andrea, whom I've yet to really meet. But when he talks to her and about her, his face lights up. It's a good relationship for him...one that just a few years ago would have sent me into a raging jealous fit. Now, I find myself happy that he doesn't just depend on me to bring him happiness.

I've been thinking about being consumed. I think one of the deepest human needs, in present day as it is, is to be heard. I'm not sure yet if it is a symptom of having all of our other needs easily met, or if it has sprung out of necessity...an evolution of sorts in personal growth.

The problem with teaching your kids to be open and honest about what they feel and think, is knowing that you are sending them into a world with others who haven't all been taught the same thing. People stand behind religious doctrine and ethics that were set in stone years ago instead of actively listening and communicating and thinking. We have been taught that some things shouldn't be expressed, some things should be kept inside, and I question why it is better to hold those things in just for the presumed comfort of another. We have been taught, through experiences as children, that our opinions make up who we are. To have those questioned or disagreed with is a personal affront. Very sad.

So when we meet someone who actively listens and doesn't pass judgment on our opinions or feelings but rather lets them stand for what they are, we want to be consumed by that person. Our entire lives have been created behind barriers, and now we have the opportunity to tear those down. We don't know how long it will last. We don't know if it will ever come again with another person. We want to be consumed, if only for a moment.

I've come to believe that teaching my children to be honest and open is still better, even if people don't always want to hear what they have to say, even if I don't always want to hear what my kids have to say. But I also think it is important to teach them that it isn't the way everyone else was raised.

Some people tell themselves they've taught their children to be honest, when really, they just want their children to be honest with them. They want to know things so they can protect their children, but are also nosy. If they really wanted their children to be honest, they would teach them ways to speak without tearing down another, but still maintain assertiveness. They would teach them to stand up for themselves and not accept that things are a certain way 'because I said so'.

Even up until a few months ago, I was very hopeless about finding people with whom to connect. I lived backwards...thinking back to my early years when the people around me were open and honest and had nothing to gain being otherwise...trying to please others had taken us down the road of abuse and disappointment. I think that's why I wrapped them around me in my thoughts and in my stories. I clung to the only time in my life it had been safe to let down the barriers. Now, I live my life everyday with the barriers down.

I've offended a few, but I'm working on my technique. I think that by living the way I do now, I've drawn people into my life whom I want to stay in it, instead of more people whom I complain about, and I prefer it that way. I may go unnoticed except by a handful of people but the handful that does acknowledge me and converse with me are the type of people I want in my life...people whom I think about and wonder what they would do in certain situations. That's a good place to be, a good way to live life. Instead of systematically dismissing the random thoughts of many, I'm pondering a few worthwhile discussions and thoughts of friends. My mind isn't cluttered and my feelings aren't desperate anymore.

I think it is possible to have friends who accept us as we are, imperfections and better ways, without being consumed and losing ourselves in the mix, only we have to be willing to live with all the ones who don't while we seek out with good ones.

Freedom

I began on Monday. First was mine and hub's bedroom. Why do we keep all these CD cases when we also have portfolios to keep them in? Three boxes of empty CD cases - big boxes, and after I had already gotten rid of one box last decluttering spree.

Hub finally sorted through his baseball caps and we went from about thirty down to five or six. He went through his clothes and we got rid of things that don't fit or are out of date and he STILL has more clothes than I do. Of course, that could also be because I wear long skirts and sweats all the time. LOL (And sometimes for two or three days in a row.)

The bedroom is completely clean. Every closet, under the bed, every drawer. The amazing thing is that we have four completely empty shelves (approx. 3' by 5') that haven't been empty since we bought the house six years ago. It's such a relief.

Then I moved onto the kitchen yesterday. I still have one drawer left to clean but the rest is finished. I had eight sippy cups for one baby. This is the thing. I think that not only is it harder to keep up and clean around this much stuff, but it makes you lazy also. If you only have three sippy cups, you have to keep up with them. Sort of like my coffee cups that end up in the car for a week because I have plenty more. Now, you can close the cup cabinet without fear of falling sippy cups. *takes a bow*

Today is the boys' room which will prove to be much more difficult than the rest I'm sure. His dresser drawers are clean, and I donated a good deal of things during the remodeling, but there's still mounds of toys in the closet. He can't part with anything, and he's home for spring break this week. This will be a test between a mother's determination and a son's unwillingness to change. Let the battle begin.

Then books are the only thing left. I've already cleared out the bedroom, so now I'm onto the bookshelves and the cedar chest. I'm determined.

As always, Oprah runs this show about an older woman who became a hoarder after her children left home every time I hit a decluttering phase. Someday, they will run a show about me - the woman who could fit all her belongings in a ten gallon bucket after her children left home.

But it did get me thinking about why we clutter, our attachment to things, and how not to let my family become clutterers again. A good part of it is laziness. We fell into a cycle of making a stack of papers on the hutch instead of sorting immediately. The kids toys get thrown into the closet bins during a quick pick up instead of the proper bins, and it stays that way.

Think about how much stuff you bring into your house every week and how much leaves. Books, mail, clothes, toys, handmedowns. I'm putting a stop to it.

It has taken three different decluttering phases for me to finally hit the big one - finally get to the point where I know I'll never accept another bag of handmedowns because they were offered. I'll stop buying every book I want to read when I have a beautiful library and a wonderful librarian who will get me anything I want.

People think decluttering is just about getting the stuff out of your house. It isn't. It's about finding out why you clutter and making changes not only inside the housing structure, but in who you are. You have to be ready. You have to be sick of it. You have to be able to see how cluttering impacts your life. It takes away from who you are. I want to write. I want to garden. I don't want to sort through closets full of stuff I should never have brought home. This is my space - the only space I have that I can control. Living in clutter isn't control. It's deceit. You deceive yourself into believing that your life will be better off with all this stuff when you know, inside, you'll probably never use it. You deceive yourself into believing it's all the kids' stuff, or your hubby is leaving trails, but in actuality, you have let this happen. You haven't set rules. And when being honest, it was you who accepted the majority of the stuff.

Here's to a fresh new outlook on life. My house will be clutter free tomorrow. Friday morning, all the floors will be scrubbed, even in that space under the bed I've been using for storage, and I KNOW I will never clutter my house again. I will think before I buy. I will think before I make that stack of papers on the hutch. I will require my kids to donate one toy for every toy they bring home (excluding birthdays). There is a time to save things, and that time is when you don't think you'll have anything in the future. I will have great things. I don't need to save like an old mad woman.

Redoing it

I haven't felt well for the last two months. My family has suffered through the flu and tonight, the baby has vomited three times already.

I think it is a mixture of anxiety and illness that has me riddled. My anxiety is up, and my immune system is suffering. I am considering a detox diet next week. Lots of fresh veggies, nuts, and whole grains.

The poor weather has limited my time outdoors and my activities away from home. Although I'm not really interested in hanging out with other folks, I am anxious to get outdoors and feel the sun on my skin.

The ice storm should be over within the next couple of weeks, and maybe I'll see warmer days.

I'm excited to garden and look forward to getting my hands dirty.

Such is the winter blahs for gardeners.

Recycling My Closet

I was folding laundry, which all mothers know is a never-ending chore, and decided that the only way to cut down on the folding was to cut down on the clothes...literally.

I taught myself how to sew back in high school. Not too many shops carried ripped up fishnets and safety pinned shirts back in my day so my crowd became pros at pinning and duct taping tee shirts, jeans, stockings, even shoes. My mother purchased a little sewing machine for next to nothing at a fabric store when I was fourteen and so began my passion for the rhythmic bobbing of the needle.

Immediately after my revelation, my creativity kicked into high gear. I lugged hand-me-down sweaters, three sizes too big, and the sewing machine out of the closet, and went to work.

Two hours later, after several 'darn its' and 'oh craps', and with the cat tangled in a pile of unraveled yarn at my feet, my oldest son peeped in the kitchen door and asked if it was safe to come in.

Sweaters are very difficult to reconstruct so I passed on that idea. But, I am sticking to the 2008 challenge of wearing only recycled clothing and reconstructed garments.

Here I will post pics of my reconstructed garments as they come along.

Homemade Cleansers

When I first became interested in green living and homemade cleansing products, I searched the web for ideas that would help my family on our journey. I ran across several blogs that encouraged a green lifestyle but it seemed so many ideas cost more money than most families have to spare. Although in the long run the benefit outweighs the cost, most American families cannot wait that long to see the benefit.

Below are things you can do now that will show a small decrease in the amount of money you shell out every month. Most take under thirty minutes, some drastically less.

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/2c. washing soda (I use Arm&Hammer)
1/2c. borax
1/2 bar grated Fels Naptha - you can buy it online but I found it at our big grocery store chain

Melt grated soap in 6 cups water. Add washing soda and borax. Pour 4 cups hot water into a large bucket (I use ten gallon and it fills it a little over halfway). Add soap mixture. Add one gallon plus 6 cups water and stir. Let sit 24 hours and it will start to gel.

I generally stir the soap several times over the twenty four hours when I think about it. It sets better that way and doesn't separate later. The first time I made it, I didn't stir throughout the twenty four hours. It separated in my jugs and had to be shaken before each use. When I began stirring throughout, that problem ceased.

It looks similar to eggdrop soup when finished. You'll have swirls of gel in a thin liquid. I only use a half cup at a time. I also stopped using the borax and use one cup of washing soda instead. If you can't find the Fels Naptha, you can also use Dove bar soap. I only need to use 1/2 cup of soap per large load unless I'm washing my husband's work clothes. Then I use 1 cup of soap.

As for drying clothes. I generally hang, but if I do dry in the dryer, I dry natural fabrics separate from synthetics that way I don't get static cling and have to use a fabric softener.


No More Shampoo:

Last June, the people in my family who have hair (poor hubby excluded) stopped using shampoo and conditioner. My mother-in-law wasn't too thrilled when I told her I would be sniffing my children's heads for fruit salad scent after they spent the night, but she has finally gotten used to the idea of gathering products from the kitchen to clean the babies' heads.

1 Tablespoon baking soda in three cups of water
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar in three cups of water

I scrub our scalps and about the first two to three inches of hair with the baking soda mix. I let it sit a couple of minutes while we wash off. After rinsing with water, I pour the ACV mix on our scalps and throughout our hair.

The baking soda works as an exfoliator and the vinegar cleanses the scalp and conditions the hair. I also use tea tree oil on the ends of mine and the baby's hair because we tend to knot up the most. You can also include the TTO in the baking soda or vinegar mix. Use sparingly. Too much and you'll be shaping pompadours with those natural locks.

Some people have no trouble adjusting to this change. I went through about a week where my hair felt like waxy cat hair when wet, but was fine after it dried. My hair and scalp have never felt better. The nap in my hair, especially around the nape of my neck, has diminished. My bank account is fuller. I'm not dumping chemicals on our heads or down the drain. My children are learning to watch what they put on their bodies and into the earth.


Household Cleaners:

How stuffed is your cabinet of household cleaning items? I first became interested in gentle cleaners after my oldest son was born. I remembered an after school special where a boy accidentally splashed a cleanser in his eye and his illiterate friend was unable to read the label to know how to help the boy. I guess more stuck with me from those specials than I ever imagined.

Washing Soda
Baking soda
vinegar

Those are the only cleaners I use in my house. If you don't like the scent of vinegar, you can add a couple of drops of any essential oil but honestly, the scent of vinegar dissipates quickly and the idea is for your house to smell clean...like nothing...not fragrances that can pollute your nose!

I am a firm believer that we create more problems on our bodies by constantly applying one product to reverse the damage done by another. If we take some time to stop and think, follow the chain, we will see that by using higher quality, natural products, we will need to consume much less. Not only our bodies but bank accounts will thank us.

If you have a recipe for homemade eco-friendly dish soap, please let me know and I'll post it. I've been searching for months and still haven't found anything that works besides baking soda on a rag.

Happy scrubbing! Crys