I must confess…..If the green police came to my home they would be very disappointed with their findings. I try to do what I know is right. However, I know that there are things in my blue can that shouldn’t be there and there are things in my black can that should be in the blue one!

I must also confess that sometimes I forget my reusable bags. I leave them at home or even in the car and I don’t appreciate the dirty looks I get from the people behind me in line as my groceries are being bagged in paper or plastic.

Several years ago I began a journey that has changed my life. I hope I can share a little bit of it with all of you. It has changed the focus of “being green” to a place I can’t ignore – my children’s health.

Did you know that that commercial cleaning products are not required by law to list their ingredients? I was very surprised when I learned this fact. We work very hard to provide a safe and clean environment for our children to grow up and yet the very products promising to help us do that may actually be causing more harm. This is not the place to get into huge discussion about all of the chemicals but once you are aware of the dangers it is very difficult to go back!

I am going to take a brief moment to talk about chlorine. It is listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act as a hazardous air pollutant.Chlorine and chlorinated compounds are toxic respiratory irritants. When I eliminated chlorine from my home, I noticed a significant improvement in my sons allergies and skin condition. All I did was change my household cleaners and buy filters for the shower and bath. It was the easiest change I have ever made! I currently make my own all purpose cleaner with vinegar (which has been proven to work very well as a disinfectant) and essential oils. There are also so many natural cleaning products out there today, it’s hard to miss them.

I would simply urge parents to take a moment to learn about what is under their sink. The fewer toxic chemicals we use, the healthier our families are and the healthier our earth will be.