This got me to thinking that my 'chicken-skin' have to be caused from the shave gel or the lotion that I am using. My skin is very sensitive in the first place and can break out in bumps, redness, and itching pretty easily. So, to put my hypothesis to the test, I will be looking and testing more natural and non-toxic products to use as moisturizers. I have read things in the past about using oils and other natural ingredient moisturizers--some you can buy and some you can make. I am not opposed to making my own lotions at all, as long as the irritation stops! Any conclusions I draw on natural remedies to decrease irritation will be celebrated and shared!
This all brings me to my next point--I have set a goal to live a "More Green Twenty-Fourteen." Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? I'm so glad I decided start such an initiative this year because I'm not sure what I could rhyme with twenty fifteen... oh, I guess the same thing... well, whatever. Then on to the next mantra, "There's no time like the present!"
To achieve my goal of a more green twenty-fourteen, I will be making and testing several different homemade cleaners and household products. On the top of my list at the moment is obviously some sort of moisturizer, then deodorant, laundry soap, hand soap, general purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, and the list goes on and on. I have already tried an excellent tub/shower cleaner using Dawn dish soap and white vinegar, but I will post more on that later. Hopefully with great before and after shots.
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If I am being honest, this initiative has been a long time coming and has been spurred on by a few different reasons. First, we have realized how much money is spent on store bought cleaners and how much we could save if we made our own. This ties in to our Financial Peace University class and just being more budget conscious in general. Second, we realized that many store bought cleaners contain harmful and toxic chemicals that are quite frankly unnecessary. We basically have a chemistry stock room right under our bathroom sick! I work with harmful organic solvents every day at work, and this is something I'd like to keep in the laboratory and not in my home. All the research I have done on natural cleaning products claim to be just as effective has cleaners with harsher additives. Now, is there proof in their pudding? I will be judge of that! Third, we have more than a few family members suffering from terrible cancers and other medical issues. These are devastating on all levels. We know that we cannot completely safeguard ourselves from harmful chemical exposure on a daily basis, but I want to do everything I can to reduce the toxic substances that enter our household. And again going back to research I have done, it looks like we can keep the same cleanliness levels, or even better, using homemade cleaners with natural ingredients. So why not??? Lastly, this may sound pathetic, or extreme, or just weird but we recently adopted a sweet little kitty by the name of Bug. She has been our best investment in a long time, and we love her! But watching her walk around on the floors I just mopped with store bought wet-cloths, and seeing her drink directly out of the sink I just cleaned with a harsh chemical cleaner really made me realize all the chemicals we use in our household. Maybe it is just because she is so much closer to theses areas with her legs being so short and her being so small or maybe it is because I have taken on a motherly role with her, but I don't like seeing her so close (rubbing against, laying on, or licking) areas that have been cleaned with non-natural chemicals.
I know I will feel even more strongly about this subject when/if we have children of our own, so I thought--why not start now? Make good habits now, so everything is already in place for any new additions to our family. So here is goes! Updates to come with each new recipe...
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