Yesterday I put the plants I started indoors outside. Considering I had a jungle indoors, the process of moving all of that outdoors and starting all the seeds I should have started a few weeks ago took most of the day. I started around 10:30 a.m. when my husband went outside to do some work […]
It’s been a year now since I first noticing weirder allergy symptoms, and since I started pushing harder to get a new doctor. It’s been one year since I found a doctor who would listen to me and take me seriously, and actually help me look for answers. My old doctor is still putting on […]
I went camping again this past weekend. Preferring not to set up a tent or to stay in someone’s house, I took a mattress and slept in the back of my van. I took all the stuff I needed to stay well, spent the majority of my time outside, tried to stay away from scented […]
Dishwasher detergent can be a tough thing to make yourself. So little is used throughout the cycle, various water qualities, hardnesses and particulates make for varying qualities of clean, and detergents are pretty near impossible to make at home. The best cleaning of organic matter (food) happens at basic pHs, while many people advocate adding […]
Since finding out about my allergies, there are a lot of things I’ve avoided doing because I know it would cause a flare-up. For people around me, they would never consider these things a problem, but I’m always thinking about how to avoid rashes. Go figure. My husband and I recently celebrated an anniversary. When […]
← Having House Guests Who Don’t Have Allergies, Part 1 My husband’s parents have now arrived and we’re about halfway through their visit. Although things were a bit uncertain at first, they seem now to understand the adjustments that need to be made to their regular routine. I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for them, […]
Large masses of people. *shiver* They used to not bother me at all. Now I fear being a part of a crowd, especially indoors. The combination of cleaning chemicals used in commercial establishments, fragranced body care products, and laundry detergents and shampoos wafting through the air makes me fear for the next several days. Itchy, […]
My in-laws arrive this week from halfway across the country. They know about my allergies, but I don’t think they realize yet how much little things affect me. Nonetheless, they really are trying to make as little impact on my health as possible, a fact I wholeheartedly appreciate. Having guests in our house has been […]
I’d like to talk today about environmental allergies such as allergies to fragrances. Those annoying signs are everywhere now: Scent Free Workplace/Office/Hospital/etc. I used to wear low-fragrance products, and think I was doing the right thing. After all, if they can’t smell it, it can’t hurt, right? All that changed the moment my body started […]
← Continued from Essential Oils 101 What Can Essential Oils Do? Despite my cautions above, essential oils can be used safely by most people, if used correctly, in highly diluted form. Depending on the specific oil, properly used essential oils can kill bacteria and fungus, soothe, reduce appetite, aid breathing, reduce coughing, and more. Each essential […]
Essential oils are some of the go-to scent and disinfecting agents in the homemade and natural product sector. People buy them and use them all the time, with little regard for exactly what they are. They’re natural, right? So they must be safe? This is not entirely true. To understand how we can safely use […]
Although my husband recently decided that reducing our plastic use was the right way to go to help save the environment, our health, and wildlife, I have been working on reducing our plastic use in our kitchen for a while now. I may not be comfortable recycling, throwing, or giving away our Tupperware (and most Tupperware […]
Commercial hand-washing dish detergent such as one might buy in a grocery store is a very useful product. It removes vast quantities of grease, it rinses clean, and it’s super-concentrated. When you have chemical allergies, and start to realize what’s in the things you use, your perspective changes. Most commercial dish detergents contain isothiazolinones. The […]
Last Wednesday, as we were driving on our weekly night out, my husband said something absolutely shocking to me. I’m serious. I was floored. I almost didn’t know how to respond, I didn’t want to jinx what he was saying or wake up, but as he spoke, I became increasingly proud of him. I’ve been […]
The inevitable result of almost any spring cleaning, life change, move, or discovery of chemical allergies is that you will come across things that you no longer want around. Sometimes the item is worn out, sometimes it’s obsolete, sometimes it’s no longer suitable for the way you choose to live your life, and sometimes it’s […]
Evaluating my toothpaste use has been a very recent addition to the natural health care regimen. I had picked up a Green Beaver xylitol-based toothpaste previously for camping, because its natural ingredients and nonfluoridation mean that it’s not too bad to swallow if you don’t have a sink, but hadn’t fully immersed myself into looking […]
I have had he occasion to stay at friends’ homes a few times since finding out about my allergies. It always makes me at least a little bit nervous, but I’ve come to develop a bit of a routine and packing list, which helps a lot. Plus choosing to stay with friends who are aware […]
This topic falls into the healthier and more environmentally friendly living context rather than allergies. I like to remove the hair from certain parts of my body, I have been slowly making changes to how I remove body hair for some time now, and seem to have found what makes me happy. Tweezers work for […]
If you have pets, you have pet stains. It might just be where Fluffy threw up, where Spot dragged his bottom across the floor, or Boots may have a favourite inappropriate place to pee. We only have one cat, but he doesn’t always pee where he should, and when the basement bathroom door is closed […]
I spoke on Wednesday about sourcing and growing food. I’m still in my first few years of gardening, but I’m slowly learning the ins and outs. The first year, I went on vacation and came home to lettuce four feet tall; we offered some to our neighbour, and our unwitting neighbour walked away with two […]
I used to think that there was no value in organic food. What is organic, really? A label? Something more? Though I still think there are a lot of products masquerading as “organic” when they really are nothing of the sort, I am starting to see more value in the philosophy, even if I see […]
This post is full of honestly described product and bodily function, so stop now if you’re squeamish. I started my journey into alternative feminine products almost a year and a half ago. I had always used Always pads and Tampax cotton cardboard applicator tampons. Pads always made me itchy in the front, and tampons seemed […]