Strange Machines

Since I’ve gone green, rather horrified by the damage one could do to the environment, oneself, and one’s family with the current crap they put in personal care, I’ve thrown (don’t wash down the sink - it will pollute our water even more - remember: closed loop) away my shampoos, hand soap, and skin care.

Instead, now I use the Australian organic brand Suki which Watson’s carries at a really reasonable price for my face and neck (night cream cos I am old), lotion for my arms and legs, and face wash for face. As for sunscreen, after much research I picked up California Baby’s Citronella SPF 30+ and have been using it since (cost me $29.90 at Brown Rice Paradise).

We don’t use hand soap anymore. I’ve replaced them all with natural soap from Victoria Market (thanks Joyce) and Kiss My Face’s Shampoo and Conditioner. I have fond memories of soap. They smell nicer too. Natural. Not that tart smell hand soap has. Plus we save on a plastic pump bottle too. Very much more eco-friendly. I didn’t buy a soap dish but used a porcelain cup lid instead. Works well.

On the rare occasion I actually use make up, I use my old Revlon eyeliner, some Japanese brand of eye brow pencil, metal eyelash crimper, Maybelline Great Lash since 1922. Since talc is kind of toxic to lungs, I stopped using that but am using Jack’s Playtex corn starch powder (he never used it) as powder. It has fragrance but at least I am not polluting my son’s lungs when I put on make up. Concealer, which I totally need for my undereye, is Revlon.

Since I never went for SKII in the first place but stuck with L’Oreal and $5.99 shampoos, the cost of going organic was a tad higher but I find my skin never ever getting a rash and it is clear and glowing (could be cos I stay out of the sun too), plus the soap lasts eons more than the lousy Lux we used to use.

I’ve always admired how good my sister looks sans make up, especially since she became an Earth mother (went organic and all). Now I’ll just have to figure out how to deal with the hair.

After a long day of cleaning, cooking, and rearranging furniture which pleases everyone, I finally put Jack down for a nap and still feeling buzzed came online.

I’ve been briskly removing plastics from our home and after reading this post Caution: These seven household items may feminize baby boys, I am grateful that I have been keeping Jack away from these phthalate-full items.

This means:

1. No more nail polish

I had to remind my mom, who loves getting her pedicure done. I’ve never enjoyed it, nor having a layer of smelling paint on my fingers and toes so it never has been a problem. These days I keep my nails very short so smell doesn’t accumulate there (I change my cat poo pans, cook, etc) and it helps me type faster on my phone.

2. Kitchen plastics

We have switched to stainless steel and cast iron for a while now and I daresay the food tastes better. Plus there is the 5 minute massage I give my cast iron pan after every meal which seems to soothe the both of us. The microwave may need a new home now. It hasn’t been used in months.

3. Vinyl (PVC) toys

We don’t have that many soft plastic toys anymore and Jack never was much a fan of putting them in his mouth. I do worry about the paint on his die cast cars though, which he carries around all the time.

4. Paints

We’re not doing any painting in the near future so we’re okay. There are non-VOC options now though, as well as this neat thing called SoyCrete if we ever want to stain our concrete floor.

Meanwhile, that means no more oil painting for now. Not that I have the time to do that anyway.

5. Fragrance

Since I have never worn perfume, I don’t worry too much about this. I do have to look for fragrance in our every day items though. But since we switched to organic skincare and soap, careful reading of the label has helped us stay clear of it as far as possible.

6. Vinyl

Since we moved to this place, we haven’t had to use a shower curtain because the shower stall is glass. A ton of other things are made of vinyl, aka PVC, so I have stopped buying cheap shoes, cheap bags, and anything labelled PVC.

Come to think of it, I have stopped buying, period.

7. Air fresheners

Yup, even the fragrance-free ones have fragrance, to mask the chemicals that make the stuff. I’ve taken to airing the house or buying house plants to make the place smell better.

So far so good. But there’s always room for improvement. I really would like grandchildren.