Intro

December 2, 2007

Hi,

My name is Susan, I am 46, married for 13 years and live on the coast of Virginia with my husband, one dog Jill, and soon to be another dog Holly.

I am really concerned about the environment. We live in a rural area, yet there is a lot of development going on around us. People are building mega-mansions and cutting down all the beautiful trees and "raping" the land. It is so devastating to witness.

I am concerned about the chemicals in the products I had been using. I have a severe skin irritation that I have had since July 2006 and I am trying to treat it myself. I cannot get in to see a dermatologist until February 2008. I took one bottle of shampoo I use and "googled" all the ingredients and was appalled by the chemicals I had been using on my body. I did the same with toothpaste and other toiletries. I have purged all my soaps, shampoos, deodorants, conditioners, and toothpastes. I found "Dr. Bronner's Unscented Pure-Castile Soap" at a health food store and used that today to shower with as well as wash my hair with. I am highly allergic to any dyes or scents. I no longer wear fragrance of any kind. For soap I had been using Dove Unscented, but I noticed that it contains SLS, which is a toxic chemical. I actually found some products at the health food store that did contain SLS and I stayed far away from them.

I have not found any toothpaste yet that is chemical free and would like suggestions on that. I do use baking soda as toothpaste, but it leaves a strong after taste even after much mouth rinsing.

I would also like suggestions on laundry detergent. I have been using Tide unscented, but I am wondering if it has an adverse effect. I prefer to hang my clothes outside to dry as they seem so fresh and clean afterwards. Someone suggested I make my own washing soda but the soap to use has a strong fragrance that I am allergic to.

I have started eating organic eggs and find them very good. I cannot find any raw milk as it is illegal to purchase raw milk in the state of Virginia. But I did find some organic milk today that I have not tried yet. I haven't started reading labels for the chemicals in my food, but that will be next on my list. I would like advice on what to look for that I should avoid. I prefer to eat locally grown food. I had my first garden in 2005 and made a lot of salsa from it. I also harvest wild onions and berries.

As we live on the coast the town water and well water are laced with sodium. It is not recommended to use on gardens as it kills the plants. I wonder what it does for our bodies? Doctors have told their patients with high blood pressure not to drink it. So I started using bottled spring water. I hate using plastic of any kind, but everything seems to be made of plastic now. I tried to get home delivery for bottled water set up with glass bottles, but no company services our area.

My husband could care less about what he puts into his body. He usually eats what I fix and today I fixed organic eggs and whole wheat toast. He loved it but when I told him the eggs were organic he said they really weren't that good. When I tell him there are so many carcinogens in our products, he just shrugs and says we all have to die sometime. The doctor tells him to exercise but he refuses to do so. I walk every other day at 7 am while he sleeps. The other days I go to Curves. Since I cannot convince him I want to live my life healthy and maybe he will come around.

We are debt free except for a vehicle payment. My dream is to live on a mountain top in the wilderness, far away from civilization. I would love to be off-grid but my husband does not share my dream.

I hope to learn a lot from this group.

Susan