04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
15 “Free and Clear” Laundry Detergents Rated “D” or “F”

15 “Free and Clear” Laundry Detergents Rated “D” or “F”

Blog, Cleaning
It feels good to buy “free and clear” laundry detergent, thinking they are free of fragrances or dyes. While our intentions are for good health, the products we’re buying may not be. Popular products labeled “free,” “fragrance free,” or “free and clear” can still be made of chemicals that may be causing health conditions such as cancer, allergies, asthma, and be toxic to the developmental and reproductive systems. Wouldn’t unhealthy products be marketed as typical products? Okay, so some products labeled “free and clear” may be deceiving, but wouldn’t you know by the product label if it was an unhealthy product? You might expect unhealthy products to be marketed as typical products, without words such as green, clean, natural, pure, or gentle. But even products marketed to give us the impression of…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Are my chemical-free cleaners really working?

Are my chemical-free cleaners really working?

Blog, Cleaning
Good friends tell you when you have food in your teeth. My good friends are also honest with me about the challenges of switching to an organic and chemical-free lifestyle. When it comes to cleaners, my good friend Lorry pointed out: nontoxic cleaners don’t smell clean. That’s a big change for many people. Our brains have learned to associate “chemical” smells with “clean.” So, when our cleaners don’t have a chemical smell our brains are programmed to think “it’s not really a cleaner.” History and science tell us otherwise, though. Nontoxic cleaning ingredients and methods have been used – effectively – for decades. Chemical-Free Cleaning Ingredients These top five time-tested ingredients have been used to clean over many years. They remove dirt, dust, grime and bacteria in thousands of homes, still…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
What’s the Key to Nontoxic Cleaning?

What’s the Key to Nontoxic Cleaning?

Blog, Cleaning
When I ask people "what is nontoxic cleaning to you," the answer I hear most is “avoiding chemicals.” While it’s with good intention, avoidance won’t help much. U.S. labeling and trade secret laws don’t require all ingredients to be labeled. Combined with knowing there are thousands of chemicals that have been tested and harmful to health, and that these chemicals can have two or more names makes label checking a daunting and exhausting task. Who the heck wants to feel daunting and exhausted? I’m gonna go out on a big sturdy limb and say, no one. Even more powerful, is knowing what to look FOR. Focusing on what TO do also creates a positive shift in thinking! Not to mention the affects it may have to feel better physically, breathe easier, and have peace…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Why Avoiding Chemicals Just Doesn’t Work

Why Avoiding Chemicals Just Doesn’t Work

Blog, Cleaning
Avoiding chemicals found, well, everywhere…In our picture frames, furniture and other household products, in our building materials, in our cosmetics and personal care products, in our food and clothing. It can be exhausting. Scratch that. It is exhausting. Especially when we approach it with avoidance. Focusing on what we can’t do feels defeating and heavy. So, what if we focused on what we can do? Would that make living organic and chemical-free less heavy? The topic itself would not be. It’s creating illnesses with limitations that sprawl into every corner of life. To compound that, these illness such as chemical sensitivity, autism, and others are greatly misunderstood by so many. But what if we could turn our feeling of defeat into empowerment? What if we see our choices as just that, a choice? Would it feel less…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
What types of illnesses are caused by cleaning products?

What types of illnesses are caused by cleaning products?

Blog, Cleaning
When you clean the bathroom, is it tougher to breathe? Like someone took the fresh air out of the room. You don’t think much of it until your throat hurts or your eyes squint from the fumes. “Hurry up and finish” you think to yourself, “I just gotta get it done and over with.” Those weekly cleanings and residual chemicals may be adding up, causing health conditions such as chemical sensitivity, asthma and other health conditions. How are cleaners causing chemical sensitivities and other health conditions? What starts out as difficulty breathing may develop into asthma, chemical sensitivity, cancer, central nervous system damage, or other chronic illness. The chemicals found in typical store-bought cleaners may be damaging cells. Here’s what happens when cells are damaged: they regenerate and create one of three…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Could your food allergy actually be a pesticide allergy?

Could your food allergy actually be a pesticide allergy?

Blog, Food
Do you have food allergies? I used to have SO.many. food allergies (the non-life threatening kind). Traditional allergy testing would turn my back fire-engine red. Fruits and vegetables were the primary cause. Or, so I thought. Today, I can eat nearly all fruits and vegetables. As long as they’re organic. My body was doing its job, protecting me from harmful chemicals such as pesticides. In the process it associated food with chemical and attacked both. It took time to undo this association. When I started re-introducing foods and eating 100% organic, I felt much better. I stopped having allergic reactions to strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, spinach, carrots and nearly all other produce. What a relief that was. I had more food options at parties and restaurants. My mouth was free of itchyness and…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Why Does My Shirt Smell Bad?

Why Does My Shirt Smell Bad?

Blog, Clothes & Textiles
Have you pulled a shirt out of a package and thought it smelled funny? Kinda like a weird indescribable smell. Or maybe like a sweet tart? It hits you at first and you think, “aaack, what IS that?” The smell gets less intense in a few minutes, but still lingers when you bring the shirt into the house. After a few washings, it still smells odorous. And you know it’s not your b.o. Why do shirts smell bad? That bad smell that hits ya fresh-out-of-the-bag is created from the chemicals that are used to make the dyes or finishes in and on your shirt (and other clothing). Different dyes and finishes are used on different types of materials. Take synthetic man-made materials (polyester, nylon, acrylic) that are made from chemical mixtures in a…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings

How to Pick Organic Strawberries & Why We Love Them

Blog, Food
Are you a strawberry lover? One of my good friends is a strawberry lover and sent me a text message asking if I knew where to find the best organic strawberries. She was asking because strawberries are the #1 food on the Dirty Dozen list. Do you know about this list? It’s created and published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit company that has our consumer health in mind. Each year they publish the Dirty Dozen, a list of fruits and veggies that have been tested and found to have the highest amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides – chemicals used while growing our food. We certainly don’t want these babies ending up in our desserts! Check out these 5 ways chemicals get into our food. Why is this so important? When we…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
3 Ways Our Bodies Fill with Chemicals

3 Ways Our Bodies Fill with Chemicals

Blog, Health
I know it’s a struggle to take the time to understand what it means to live organic and chemical-free while balancing regular life stuff, family happenings, and/or work life – especially when you’re just starting to understand the ball of wax that is “chemical-free” and chemical sensitivities. One of the top 5 things to understand is how these chemicals in our everyday products are entering our bodies in the first place. You might be sighing and thinking, “crap, more studies and medical info to read and sort through?” I don’t want to do that to you. Instead, I want to give you the best information and info sources that I found over the years. Hundreds of hours of reading and researching summarized into a short few points, just for you.…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Are Your Household Products Damaging Cells?

Are Your Household Products Damaging Cells?

Blog, Health
I’ll cut right to the chase. There are over 100,000 chemicals used to make food, clothing, building materials, household products, cosmetics, cleaners, and personal care products – all items that you and I use every day. The items I’m referring to are found in the typical home. In quality products. In expensive products. In cheap products. In locally produced products. In the products that you’re buying. Below are a few of the ways our body functions can be affected by chemicals. Courtesy of Dr. Grace Ziem More than 20 health organizations have found that over 140 medical conditions may be linked to chemicals found in, on and around the products we use every day. Types of Health Organizations Health organizations, doctors, non-profits, and scientific agencies have published documents, spoken up,…
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