Category : Green Tips
My readers that follow the Mommy Footprint fan page are aware of my latest chapter of research and have been very helpful with suggesting questions & information on the topic of greener dental care. I’ve been working on research since last Spring and because I’m not a dentist or doctor, I’m having a tough time finding research or a subject matter expert I trust. But like any new journey, I’m going with my instincts but please know I’m writing this series as a parent – not a subject matter expert. With such a small percentage of dentists actually practicing holistic or ‘green’ dentistry it seems to be an uncharted area of parenting. What started with questions about sealant to use on cavities my kids have has become a huge topic of research. The first change I’m making in routine dental care for my family is switching toothpastes. I had seen sites talking about how bad fluoride is for health, but I assumed I didn’t need to worry since all my kids used Oral-B kids toothpaste (made and marketed for kids!). Because there is a Winnie The Pooh character on the front I guess sub-concisely didn’t think any bad ingredients would exist in the tube. I know…I’m slow to the dance. After quickly checking the medicinal ingredients, fluoride is listed. And for those (my husband) who might think I’m paranoid, have you ever wondered why all toothpaste tubes warn you not to swallow & only use a pea size helping of paste? If you read up on fluoride…you’ll actually find very little that it provides health benefits…it’s actually the opposite. I’m a pretty high strung parent and Googling fluoride did nothing to help my confidence in parenting. It is suggested it’s quite toxic in nature & linked to many diseases, bone cancer, brain development, muscle disorders, etc. I have a son that complained of body pains on a regular basis last year so this information really freaked me out. Finding reports on fluoride being one of the biggest medical frauds in medicine is not a good feeling when your children have always used it in their toothpaste.
If you look closely at your bottle of traditional toothpaste you’ll notice warnings not to swallow toothpaste & only use a pea sized amount. Yet commercials encourage these sorts of visuals for toothpaste measurements (image below)!
It’s all enough for me – I’ve pulled the traditional toothpaste from our house & made the following changes. I’ve been trying different brands of organic toothpaste with the kids & the hardest part is finding a brand that tastes good to them. I’ve also learned of an ingredient I want in my toothpaste called xylitol because it’s known to strengthen teeth in lieu of fluoride. My biggest concern of not using fluoriated toothpaste anymore is suddenly having a huge cavity problem on my hands because I’ve also cancelled fluoride treatments at our dental checkups & checked with my city to find out if our drinking water contains fluoride (it doesn’t). So without any fluoride will my children’s teeth be okay?
After talking with a super helpful person at Planet Organic, I learned about xylitol and the benefits of this natural sweetener that is naturally occurring in many of the foods we eat. Xylitol gum or mints you can chew after each meal stops acid attacks that would otherwise cause cavities. For more information on this process click here. For people reading this that are very prone to cavities or have weak teeth it’s not a good idea to go crazy with xylitol – 6 to 10 g is enough. I’ve read that too much will give you diarrhea & this sweetener is not good for animals.
How else to strengthen kids teeth if you replace fluoride? Brushing teeth, flossing teeth, extra calcium for teeth & bones, xylitol in toothpaste, xylitol brands of chewing gum/mints form for after meals, and overall diet. These are the steps I’m taking to be proactively removing fluoride from my children’s bodies, hopefully without causing future problem with cavities…but after researching fluoride…I’m happy with having xylitol in my arsenal to help keep their teeth stronger.
What brands of natural toothpaste am I currently using? I like Grants made in Australia for myself. The tea tree oil ingredient gives a refreshing taste & the mint oil is similar to the traditional toothpaste ‘taste’ I’m used to. My kids are not huge fans. I think it’s important to support the Canadian made Green Beaver brand too. I would have purchased it, but I didn’t see xylitol listed as an ingredient on the packaging. The Green Beaver website and Gwen from Nayla Naturals confirms that Green Beaver toothpaste does contain xylitol so I will buy this brand next – hopefully they have a more ‘kid friendly’ tasting flavor. Another thing I like about the Green Beaver website is their category called “Ingredients to Avoid” and why. You will find many of the ingredients to avoid if you read the ingredients on the toothpaste you are using right now: sodium lauryl sulfate for one. Read why here and check out this handy section of their site. So with toothpaste well in hand, next up is to try the xylitol mints & gum I found (they are expensive) at Planet Organic for some extra help with cavity prevention after meals. I know my kids will happily oblige popping a goodie after meals.
The next article on greener dental care will be what I’ve learned about dental sealants. Children get cavities – what options are there for sealing a cavity?
Deep breath parents! Summer has ended and a new chapter starts if you’re a parent…back-to-school is here. I discovered a ‘must have’ item this summer, even though I’ve used this stainless steel wonder for years, it really offered me convenience with taking my kids on many full day excursions over the last few months. For this reason – it translates into a great back-to-school convenience option and it took me not having ice-cubes one morning when I went to the farm to realize how important ice cubes are for packing up lunches for my kids. Yes!! I’m talking about stainless steel ice cube trays and before you think I’ve gone crazy, read why they are so important to my day.
First a picture:
Does it look familiar? It might remind you of the ice-cube tray your grandma used. Remember hearing the “CRaaaakkkkk” sound when she pulled the handle? The Onyx design is a ‘new take’ on this design, manufactured using high quality 18/8 stainless steel and well made to last many years in your home!
Why would I love a stainless steel ice cube tray this much when there are plenty of light-weight trays on the market made for BPA-free plastic or silicone? I’ve read enough about BPA-free plastic leaching BPA when tested & I don’t freeze anything in plastic because of leaching concerns. When it comes to silicone it’s my personal preference; I had a bad experience years ago with a skull & cross-bone shaped ice-cube tray that was marketed as silicone. It literally smelled like I opened a new tire when I opened the packaging and I can still remember the bitter taste of the ice-cubes. I would assume this was straight PVC & plasticizers as the ice cube tray was bendy – not the silicon material it was marketed as….but it’s completely turned me off. Although you’ll pay a bit more for the quality, stainless steel ice cube trays offer no scent, no chemicals to make it bendy, & is easy to clean & maintain.
Okay now back to my story of realizing how much I need ice-cubes on an outing to the farm. This summer we went on lots of excursions to local farms, mountains, and all-day outings. With the heat of the day my standard routine in the morning is packing up a stainless steel water bottle for each child, loading it half way with ice-cubes, the rest tap water. This would ensure the kids still had cold water to drink many hours later (great tip for back-to-school water bottles too). Running late to get to the farm I realized I didn’t have any ice-cubes for the morning so decided to not bring water with me – no point because it was a blazing hot day. During the course of the day I spent over $12 on bottled water the farm sold ($2 a bottle), had to worry that they’d actually be recycled, and then arrived home to read a great article by TreeHugger on drinking water bottled in plastic. I can’t find that article but here is another great article to support drinking tap water from Treehugger. And after calling my local municipality and finding out we don’t put fluoride & other nasties in our drinking water – it’s worth a read: A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water.
So it was even to my surprise that something like an ice-cube tray could give me so much convenience of using plain old tap water, save me money by not buying disposable water in plastic bottles, and piece of mind that I wasn’t freezing my water with any nasties leaching from the tray. I guess when people say “it’s the simple things in life”…they really know what they’re talking about.
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My hair and I have a love/hate relationship. If I want to describe my hair, most days it looks like unruly, long, wavy, hippie hair. I’m okay with all that. It’s the color I struggle with. I get my hair streaked once a year and enjoy how my appearance seems brighter after I have some blond put in my hair. I truly don’t think there is a way to make your hair lighter without chemicals, so I haven’t researched the slightly less alternative options. I have also learned that damaging my hair to keep it lighter in color makes no poo methods of hair maintenance difficult. I enjoyed using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for 6 months before my hair started getting dry…brittle actually. So I got a good trim and started using Green Beaver shampoo & conditioner. This combination has been working well, but since it’s summer I’ve been looking for an all natural moisturizing treatment for a deep conditioning. I experimented with coconut oil and olive oil and have been using Tropical Traditional Virgin Coconut Oil in the ends of my hair every few weeks to give it some extra moisture & shine. The first time I made the mistake of applying a large amount of it to my entire wet head…I looked like I was caught in an oil slick. After receiving some tips from the greenies on the Mommy Footprint fan page, I really like how my hair reacts when I apply it to the ends of my hair when it starts drying out after regular trips to the pool.
Gillian Deacon, Author of There’s Lead In Your Lipstick: Toxins In Our Everyday Body Care and How To Avoid Them, has some great tips for DIY, all natural deep conditioning treatments. Check out:
Gillian’s tips:
Make your own conditioner: slather your hair in coconut oil, wrap your hair in a towel and leave it for a few hours. For a hot oil treatment, heat extra-virgin olive oil and massage through dry hair. Wash thoroughly after 20 minutes. For a revitalizer, mash an avocado and mix with two tablespoons of honey; massage into hair and wash out after 20 minutes.
Summer can be hard on hair – between trips to the pool and sun exposure. My jar of Virgin Coconut Oil for Hair Treatment is specially made for hair treatment because it contains a higher content of protein than the other oils Tropical Traditions sells. This is an unrefined coconut oil and is made from organic coconuts. I’ve mentioned Tropical Traditions before because I’m impressed with their packaging…my coconut oil arrived in a glass jar. So skip expensive, chemically laden conditioners and try an all natural approach with deep conditioner for your hair…it not only feels great but you won’t get a headache from the smell!
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This article has been tough to write because the crafting world is gigantic…it’s impossible to try and cover the thousands of products that crafty people have in their cupboard. I walk into a Michaels store and I’m overwhelmed by two things: the varied depth of their craft materials and how much of it is imported & very cheaply produced. So much of that stores reminds me of the dollar store and it makes me nervous. I’m an average person on the scale of crafty – my children have always loved painting and making little projects, but with the inevitable smell that comes from opening specific paints, glues, and inks, I’m admittedly a little skeptical of how healthy these supplies actually are.
The inspiration for this article comes from a woman in the US, named Julia Andrus, who created a line of crafting materials after surviving a self described ‘mean’ cancer. Julia realized her exposure to even low levels of toxic materials in craft supplies could have contributed to her chemical exposure. On a mission to change her lifestyle and environment, Julia created EcoGreen Crafts and I guess it’s because an avid crafter created this line of products, the quality is as effective and amazing as traditional supplies. I’ve found in the past that sometimes using plant-based crafting products you loose some of the texture in paint and glue. This isn’t the case with the acrylic paint and Green Glue and is the reason I’ve stocked Green Planet Parties with these products. Just like my claim with the O’Bon pencil crayons (best I’ve every used) I can say the same about the EcoGreen Crafts Acrylic Paint. They are amazing! I asked some seriously crafty people to test the acrylic paint and everyone reports back loving it! It’s creamy, comes in a great sized tube, and there is no scent because the non-metallic shades of these paints are no-VOC. The metallic paints in this line are anchored to a No-VOC base, but end up being low-VOC after the metal pigment has been added. The popular 6 colors I’ve chosen to carry are popular with children and contain no volatile organic compounds. These paints are not manufactured in North America and that is reflected in the price point. These non-toxic paints are priced equally to traditional acrylic paints which is wonderful…parents love switching to same priced greener products, but while the price would increase, I hope they are one day manufactured in the US. If you’ve been searching for plant based white glue? This all-purpose green glue is great for back-to-school shopping.
For parents that enjoy painting with powdered paint, setup your environment with plant based so that powder cannot be inhaled that may contain lead. There are several paints on the market that use plant based pigments..the only brand I’ve tried is GLOB and these paints are manufactured in the US. As far as paint brushes go – I’m actively researching a ‘greener’ paintbrush. It’s actually a very difficult product because you are dealing with two issues: the handle and brush materials. If you go for a non-synthetic brush you might have anxiety about the methods used to obtain real animal hair for the brush…and these brushes are super expensive. ‘Greening’ up the handle of paint brushes is relatively easy because there are bamboo brushes on the market, but I’ve yet to find a brush I’m happy with at an affordable price.
Hands down – this point is the most important for providing healthier sculpture based craft material for your child! Don’t ever waste your money again on store bought play dough. From the amount of traffic and comments on this article “The Perfect Home Made Play Dough Recipe!” I know how many parents have discovered how easy, affordable and fun making your own play dough can be. Kids love to sculpt and it unleashes free-play at it’s best for young children and since you’ve made the dough yourself, you don’t need to worry if a small piece ends up in a child’s mouth. I’ve also experienced headaches from the synthetic scent from store bought play dough. Another sculpting product that shouldn’t be sold or wind up in your home is polymer clay that is used for sculpting small figurines…it’s made from PVC! Invest in clay that is packaged and marked ‘non-toxic’ and PVC-free. The dollar stores are not where you should be purchasing materials like this…there are no sort of guidelines it seems for this material. The amount of incorrect information on the internet about polymer clay is disturbing. Many crafting sites list polymer clay as a safe material even though it contains PVC and phthalates…it’s disturbing. I don’t have a source/brand for an alternative to PVC based polymer clay but I will post in the comments when I find one.
I was spoiled years ago when trying Clementine Art crayons – they were like applying butter to paper. I think all children would miss the variety of colors that you can achieve with a box of Crayola crayons, but traditional crayons are manufactured with paraffin wax which is petroleum. There are many brands of soy or beeswax based crayons if you are looking to ‘green’ your art supplies. I think the soy brands offer more color options, but I have only had the pleasure of using beeswax based.
Pencil crayons and pencils can easily be ‘greened’ with O’Bon. I’ve written about this brand before and love that these pencils are not produced by trees, but made from recycled newspapers. Not only is the story behind O’Bon cool, but I’ve never been happier with the pencil crayons. The quality is amazing and children love the fruit or wild-animal designs.
You can tell from the length of this article the crafting world is a vast area to try and write about in one article. For those searching for North American made craft sets which are convenient and make a great gift – check out the new brand Artterro I found at My Little Green Shop. Just one look at the packaging and you know this brand is different. I can’t wait to try these kits with my kids – not only are the supplies made of higher quality (glass beads vs. plastic, felt wool, handmade paper) but many of the components are made in the US. The craft world has seemed slow to manufacture locally – the concern of course that crafting will no longer be an affordable pass-time. It’s nice to see companies like Artterro putting an emphasis on this and side stepping the norm of producing craft kits that are filled with questionable ingredients – both for human health and the environment. Differences that impress me are the wool felt dresses in the Art Dolls Kit, copper wire & wooden handles (!!) in the amazing Bubble Wand Kits (eeep I love these!!), and for the older crowd the Paint with Wool Kits are very unique. Imagine encouraging a child to felt? It’s incredible that the boxes that Artterro supplies are packaged in can be transformed into frames to later showcase art work. Pictured below are the finished kits from Artterro with bubble wands and felt painting.
I hope this gives you a starting point to help green your craft supplies. It’s a huge undertaking, but like greening your bathroom or kitchen, I recommend starting with baby steps and incorporating these changes when you’re looking to replenish art supplies. Look for crafts with No-VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound) which are the chemicals that produce off-gassing vapors. Packaging is a great way to improve your craft supplies and look for supplies marked ‘non-toxic’, made with soy or beeswax, PVC-free and phthalate-free. I’ll have more recommendations coming in August because once again I’ll be putting together my own school supply boxes for my children with an effort to create kits that are more sustainable and chemical free. Stay tuned and please share your experiences with sourcing better quality craft supplies.
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It’s Father’s Day this weekend and because I’m lucky enough to know some very artistic, resourceful, and Eco minded mamas – I asked for stories to create a group article. My two top father’s day ideas are at the end of this article but thanks to some great ladies, there’s something for all dad’s listed in this post. I would like to thank Lindsay, Fiona, Tracy, Annemarie, & Rebecca for being guest contributors for this special article.
First up is Lindsay, David Suzuki’s Queen of Green. She answers your questions about everyday green living with tips and recipes to make your life a little easier on the environment. It’s all about green living made easy. Lindsay has incredible DIY recipes and is an amazing resource. I love this DIY after shave recipe…just in time for Father’s Day, this Men’s Herbal After Shave only takes 10 minutes to make and it will last about 2 months.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup distilled or sparkling mineral water
1/4 cup witch hazel (make sure it’s pure, without parabens)
2 Tablespoons vegetable glycerin
1 Tablespoon aloe juice or gel
Optional essential oils:
4 drops rosemary
3 drops clove
2 drops bergamot
Add to a bottle and mellow for 2 days. Apply after shaving.
*Note: always try a test patch and omit essential oils if you or someone in your home is sensitive to scents
Our next contributor is Fiona, the owner of Pip ‘n’ Milly Creations. She continues to nurture her love of handmade and specializes in creating beautifully practical, one of a kind handbags, incorporating core product values: Handmade. Well-made. Uniquely you.
After Suzanne asked about the best Father’s Day gift I had been a part of, I spent a fair bit of time pondering. I have to admit that my thoughts kept returning to a gift I had made for my father when I was a child, rather than to something amazing I had done with my own children for their dad. Perhaps it is because they have always made gifts at school and preschool that I have not had to think much about it! Whatever the case, the gift which sprang to mind was a simple embroidered felt bookmark I made when I was 7 or 8. Handmade gifts were a part of my Mum’s upbringing, but not Dad’s, so he never had quite the appreciation for handmade that we might have liked. Or so we thought. Sadly, my beloved Dad passed away 5 years ago at the age of 59. When we were able to come to terms with sorting his belongings, Mum found the bookmark in his drawer. I treasure it greatly for the memory it holds and the reminder not to judge a book by its cover.
Next up is Tracy, the Ops Manager at Mighty Nest that is a store devoted to helping families find safe, healthy, non-toxic products for their home and family.
Since my daughter is 10 months old this is our first Fathers Day! We’ll actually be spending the day at airports/on airplanes on our way to vacation with his family so I don’t have any plans but I am working on a special gift – my husband loves reading to our daughter so I’m making a book just for the two of them. It will contain pictures of them doing various activities together such as eating, sleeping, making funny faces, etc. and each page will have a caption as if it were written by my daughter – I love when my Daddy reads to me. It makes me laugh when Daddy makes funny faces. I don’t like green beans, just like my daddy! Hopefully it’ll be a big hit…and hopefully I’ll finish it in time!
Next is Annemarie – the amazing mama behind yoyomama.ca, an e-newsletter for mums that aims to make their lives less yoyo-like!
I know that all mums secretly (or not so secretly) want to sleep in and have time to themselves on Mother’s Day, which goes against the grain of what the day is meant to be. But I recently read a survey where I found Dad’s also want the same time. The sleeping in I knew, the time alone, not so much! So this Father’s Day I’m going to take the girls out in the morning – if I can pry them away from the idea of making breakfast in bed for their Dad (they’re five and seven so you can imagine what breakfast in bed looks like, though they excel at presentation) – and stay out so he wakes up at home all alone and has some time to luxuriate in silence before we return bearing gifts.
My last guest post is from Rebecca who is just an absolute pleasure to know. Rebecca is the mom of two, a blogger, foodie and social media lover.
Here’s one gift idea that I did the first Father’s Day after my son was born, and again the first after my daughter: For $1.50 at Michael’s I bought an unfinished wooden frame and painted it. I then took the children’s feet (they were still babies), painted them and stamped them on the frames. Then I put a picture of the baby inside the frame. Daddy now has the footprints for each of the kids and a special token from each of his first Father’s Days with them.
And me! I’ve written about it in the past, so there ideas are not originals, but I love having them in my back pocket for ‘Father Day’ emergency gifts. They are right up most dad’s alley & very affordable!
Pick dad’s favorite sports team and purchase a new T-shirt (preferable with a white background). Have your children put hand or foot prints on the back of the t-shirt with their name and age (with fabric paint). I’ve done this gift for the last two world cup soccer tournaments and it’s been a really cool way to document the growth of my family over a 4 year period and just how much they’ve grown. And – Dad gets a great t-shirt that he’s proud to wear with his team on the front and his even more beloved team on the back.
A favorite gift that both my father-in-law, my dad, and my husband have all loved receiving in the past are Shutterfly photo books. This company has the easiest and most attractive design layouts on the market and you don’t have to be a ‘techie’ to figure it out. You simply select a design background, upload pictures, then give the photos captions that dad will enjoy. You may be thinking its too late to order and receive a photo book by Father’s Day. Well you are correct. BUT – you can still make the book, order it, and send dad a link to the album where he can view all the wonderful pictures and captions and enjoy online for Sunday. He’ll be so excited to receive the photo book later in the month to enjoy for many years on his coffee table.
Thank you to all the guests that took the time to share their Father’s Day memories, ideas, and even a recipe! I hope you enjoy your Father’s Day this weekend and remember to relax and just enjoy the moments.
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