15.8.12

Cleaning out my closet

Yes, I'm cleaning out my closet both figuratively and literally! You can kind of understand the literal part of it - my closet has a bunch of crap on the floor that needs to be picked up and sorted and I need to start getting rid/give away my maternity clothes because yes, I pretty much fit into my old clothes, yay!!!

So, to the figurative part, in an effort to have a greener, safer home, I've started making a lot of my own cleaners, lotions, detergents, etc. This not only reduces the number of toxins my family is exposed to but also (insanely) reduces the amount of money I have to pay out for these types of items. I have to thank wellnessmama.com for planting the seed and making many recipes available. And, then the internet, always! Who knew your bathrooms could get so clean with baking soda and vinegar?!

I started by making lotion bars. These little cakes are heavenly and only contain coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, vitamin e, beeswax and essential oils.

Air freshener
Then, I made room air fresheners with only some small mason jars, decorative paper, baking soda and essential oils.

Then, I made my own laundry detergent, yes, you heard me right! I made approximately 5 gallons for about the cost 2 cents/load versus 18-24 cents/load for the store bought stuff. It doesn't have any of the harsh detergents and chemicals either and still works just as good or better depending on the type of stain. I only used water, castile soap, baking soda and washing soda. And, by using lavender scented castile, my laundry smells fantastic!!

I then moved onto an all purpose cleaner. My next item is fabric softener.

I also started on the "no (sham)poo" band wagon. It's been about a week and a half and they say to give your hair about 3-4 weeks in order to get your scalp's oil production back to normal so I'll also let you know how that goes.

I have a busy day ahead of me but I'll post recipes or links in my next entry. I really can't believe how much better I feel about making my home a less toxic place!

-- Robyn

5 comments:

  1. Hey Robyn,
    I googled Paleo Diet and Lupus and found you! I have Lupus and after hearing from my doctor that nothing I changed in my diet would make a difference (other than eating healthily), I believed him. I just happened upon a website the other day that was talking about Paleo making a big difference in people with MS and thyroid issues so I figured I had to check it out.
    How did you get started eating Paleo? Do you still have any symptoms?
    I am on Plaquenil and Prednisone. The Plaquenil for a couple years and the Prednisone for 9 long months. Though they have started to taper me off the Prednisone.
    Do you have any pointers for getting started doing this? I guess what I am really afraid of is making anything worse.
    -Erin

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  2. Erin! Glad you found me! I think the average amount of time that a doctor going through med school spends on nutrition is 4 weeks out of 7 years of education. That has to say something. Prednisone for for 9 months is brutal and I feel your pain. I once spent 2 years on a dose between 60-80 mg/day - worst hell ever! I started a paleo way of eating after trying everything else. I heard that going vegan would help, so I did that for 7 months. As a vegan, I managed to get off prednisone but could not get off of plaquinil, I was starving all the time and just was not happy overall. Around the same time my cousin started crossfit and heard a bit about paleo and mentioned it to me. I had never heard of this and spent endless hours researching it. What was laughable to me at first (high fat diet, cmon!) soon began to make complete sense. I started right away, all in, cold turkey - no grains, no dairy. I felt a difference almost immediately and I was symptom free within 2 weeks and off all my meds (the plaquinil started making me feel really nauseous) a few weeks after that. I am still symptom free. In fact I had a baby 5 months ago and I'm still symptom and med free. Women usually have a wicked bad flare post pregnancy but you wouldn't even know I have lupus! My doctors still dismiss it although my rhemy has at least acknowledged it. Trust me you will not make anything worse!!!! A fabulous book called Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo just came out and she has an autoimmune protocol to follow. Tells you the basics for paleo and what to eat, along with how to shop and some great recipes. Check out my paleo resources, marksdailyapple.com is good too. I thought eating this way would be akin to veganism but it is nowhere close! I will never eat another grain, soy product or vegetable oil again!! Weirdly, it was so easy to give up. Please shoot me an email latimerrobyn@gmail.com if you have more questions. All I can say is DO IT! What have you got to lose except symptoms and meds! Unless you have an allergy you're not aware of, eating lots of vegetables, animal protein and healthy fats is not going to make anything worse. Good luck! --- Robyn

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  3. Thanks Robyn! I am starting today!

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  4. 3 Researches PROVE Why Coconut Oil Kills Waist Fat.

    The meaning of this is that you literally kill fat by consuming Coconut Fat (in addition to coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 researches from large medicinal journals are sure to turn the traditional nutrition world upside down!

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  5. Great post, thanks for sharing it.

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