Monday, May 20, 2013

My "to do" list

Here's a list of the things on my "to do" list, in order to detoxify my home and my body.
  • Avoid Mercury
    • Don't eat fish high on food chain and prefer light tuna over albacore or "white" tuna.
  • Avoid PFOA and PTFE
    • Found in Teflon cookware, many nonstick and water-resistant materials, frozen pizza packaging, French fry containers, packaged-for-heating foods
    • Don't eat fast food
    • Buy stainless steel, cast iron or enamel pots and pans.
  • Avoid BPA
    • Found in plastic containers, canned food like coconut milk, soup, meat, vegetables, juice, fish, fruit and beans
    • Pre-soak and freeze beans instead of buying in cans
    • Eat out less
    • French press coffee instead of using coffee makers with plastic tanks and tubing
  • Avoid vinyl and polyurethane flooring
  • Reduce exposure to THMs
    • Leave drinking water standing, uncovered, for several hours
    • Take shorter and cooler showers or, even better: take a bath
  • Filter out many things from drinking water with carbon or charcoal filter combined with a reverse osmosis system. Check NSF website's database for comparison of products.
  • Use green cleaning products
    • Look for ingredient disclosure and not the words "green", "biodegradable" or "non-toxic" on the front (these don't mean anything!), e.g. Seventh Generation and Ecover are good
    • Use homemade cleaning products made of vinegar, baking soda, etc.
    • Look up cleaning products in the EWG database or on GoodGuide.com
  • Avoid insect sprays and flea and tick solutions
    • Instead: boric acid, vinegar+water, or diatomaceous earth
  • Check EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database for safe sunscreen, personal care products and cosmetics, and make my own cosmetics as often as I can
  • Avoid toxins in baby's stuff
    • Buy only plastic products sold after 2009
    • Look for low or no VOC in paint
    • Make sure there is no formaldehyde in particle board or avpod particle wood altogether
    • Limit electronic equipment in room, especially older models
    • Use natural body care products such as Vitamin E, safflower oil or olive oil instead of lotion.
  • Produce in the "dirty dozen" has to be bought organic
  • Download or purchase the following apps:
    • EWG Shopper's Guide for "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15".
    • Chemical Cuisine for health risks of food additives
  • Keep house germ-free
    • Wash out veggie drawer in fridge once a month
    • Buy plastic chopping board, not wood. Also, if it gets worn and grooved, replace.
 Bonus
  • When pregnant, sign up for National Children's Study
  • Check that our home, school or workplace isn't near an uncontrolled hazardous waste site, or Superfund site
Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about the fact that I live in smog-filled LA. Or the vinyl flooring in our rental. I promise myself that we'll move when I graduate from school. This tree-lined pocket of apartments between the freeway and electric power lines is just such a good deal in otherwise unaffordable West LA..! (I'm bad, I know.)

What else would you put on your "to do" list? Share in the comments!

No comments:

Post a Comment