When people find out that I keep my home and garden chemical and toxin free, they assume that I don’t use cleaning products, or air fresheners, or weed & bug killers. That’s not entirely true!

Studies have found that 85% of our daily chemical and toxin exposure occurs in our own homes!  We have enough chemical pollution in Kingsport as it is, we certainly don’t need more in our houses!  No wonder we all know so many people with cancer and other serious diseases!  At least I know that while in our home, no one is adding to their chemical load.

The truth is that I use a variety of environmentally friendly products. 
I make many of my own cleaning solutions from ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, and pure liquid castile soap, while I buy many others at local supermarkets and stores.  There’s a good selection available now in many places. I still like some of my own best. Friends who have tried the homemade products love them and often request the “recipes”.  They love the clean, light smell that they leave in their homes, and are surprised to see that they work as well as more expensive store bought products. An added bonus is that by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils, you create your own scents with natural antimicrobial activity.  I use reed diffusers with organic essential oils and other similar natural room air fresheners, as well.

Are you really OK with the idea of your children and pets playing in a yard impregnated with chemicals that have to be disposed of as hazardous waste?

I often tell people about the lawn at the house we left behind 2 years ago.  We had used only organic fertilizers and weed inhibitors on it for the last 7 years.  Over the course of last summer’s drought and heat, that yard received absolutely no water unless it fell from the sky.  It remained green, and when it was mowed for the last time in the fall, it was as healthy and lush as it could be!  The grass had developed good deep roots, and the beneficial microbes and bugs in the soil were working their magic! 
People don’t realize that not only are the chemicals dangerous to people and pets, they are not doing their soil any favors either!  And remember, the chemicals you use outside do make their way inside on feet and shoes.

“I think you might really be on to something with this chemical-free stuff!”

When we built our “green” home two years ago, it was difficult to find certain acceptable building supplies in this area.  It was amazing to me to see how many new products became available just during our 7 month construction time.  People are catching on!  The absence of irritating fumes was even apparent to many of the subcontractors who worked for us, as they commented that their eyes and throats didn’t burn at the end of a day spent working in our house. And these are men who don’t usually notice that kind of thing! Many of them made comments along the line of, “I think you might really be on to something with this chemical free stuff.”  Small victories do count!