I got an interesting email from someone who subscribed to my email updates. When you subscribe you get a free copy of my green cleaning recipes and apparently this rubbed someone the wrong way. What was sent to me was basically a plea for me to stop providing online information about natural cleaners, remedies, alternatives, etc. It was hinted that these were sisterhood secrets shared between women for millenia and that by sharing them online I was actually doing more harm to the green/natural movement than good. But I am not sure I agree with the logic.

Yes, I understand that by sharing with other women that they can effectively clean their home with naught but baking soda, vinegar, oil, and some lemons…potentially the prices will go up for these items. That is the way consumerism works. If women everywhere start buying up lemons, baking soda, and vinegar, then these items become hot commodities and the price goes up. The email requested that I please consider poorer women who would then be forced to use the cheaper, chemical cleaners. Only women of means would able to afford greener cleaners.

BUT this is in essence saying that the “secrets” cannot be shared with women of means, condemning THEM to use chemical cleaners. So it is not so much a green issue but a money issue. The people of means buying up naturally green products will motivate the market to price them higher, putting them out of reach of poorer families. But is limiting information so that fewer people buy natural/green the answer???? It MAY, as the email stated, help the poor but it surely won’t help those that aren’t.

I totally understand the logic but keeping these secrets to protect the poor is doing a disservice to those of means. I think that EVERYONE should have knowledge that there are more natural ways to clean your home and take care of your family. These should not be kept secret from most of the population to keep prices from going up. While I love the idea of helping poorer moms, I am not loving the idea of keeping natural/green secrets from other moms.

Another part of the email stated that I could redeem myself by encouraging others to learn to make their own vinegar and distilled water on a mass scale so that we can then share with the less fortunate. Also to invest in the production and manufacturing of Bicarbonate.

What do you think? Should the secrets shared between women for all these years remain relatively secret to protect the poorer classes or should ALL women be let in on the secret of keeping things natural, healthy, and affordable. And if prices skyrocket and they are no longer “affordable” have we done a disservice to the poor?

And just in case I need a little redpemption you might check into this book: Lost Arts: A Celebration of Culinary Traditions. It includes instructions on making vinegar, among other things.

Here is a video I shot yesterday morning. Hear all the birds chirping?? The garden is coming along beautifully. Last year we let the lettuce go to seed at the end of summer so I found lots of places where heads of lettuce greens are sprouting all on their own. I think we are going to have a TON of lettuce this year.

This week we plant some cilantro and some herbs.

I have liked Badger products for a couple years now. We have used their sunscreen often and it made my list of safe, natural sunscreens. I had never tried any of their balms beyond their baby balm and lip balm, so trying a few of their other ”powerfully pure” products these past few weeks has been a treat.

Their products are certified organic and very natural so what is not to love? I already really like their lip balm so of course I loved the Creamy Cocoa Butter Lip Balm. In addition to it being creamy soft and delightful to wear, it is natural, organic, and fair trade. I also like how big it is. Most lip balms are kinda small.

I also liked their Clear Mind Balm with essentials oils of lemon, Cardamom, and Rosemary Verbenone. The idea is that you rub it on your temples, forehead, and hands to invigorate you and help you focus and concentrate. It is a nice mood booster in the late afternoon.

My kids also really like the Sleep Balm and the Night-Night Balm which basically do the same thing but with different ingredients. I am not sure if they sleep better with the balm rubbed on their temples and neck but they certainly like the process and the ritual.

And of course the Baby Balm is excellent for diaper rash and cradle cap. Adults with sensitive skin can use it too.

Badger has TONS of other fun stuff too… Healing Balm, Anti-Bug Balm, sore muscle balm, foot balm, etc. Check out what they have on Amazon.

As far as good, natural companies go… Badger is a winner. It is also family run! It was founded on the banks of the Ashuelot River in rural Gilsum, New Hampshire, USA. Bill, Katie and daughters Mia, Emily and Rebecca started the business back in 1995, in the kitchen of their home.

Well, I have been saying it since 2004… cloth diapers are making a HUGE comeback. That was the year I started a cloth diaper business and it took off like a rocket from day one. In 2006 when I was sick of being holed up in a sewing room and was stuck with the decision of expansion or quit… I chose to quit the business and sell it. I had no desire to be in a service business for the long term and I have never regretted selling. I am very happy to see a passion of mine get the attention and accolades it deserves though.

A recent article from The Big Money has the cloth diapering world buzzing. Apparently the recession has spurred parents to try cloth diapers in record numbers. The cloth diaper industry which always had a steady growth is now exploding as parents who have limited cash can’t stomach spending any of their hard earned dollars on what is essentially… garbage. That is what a conventional, disposable diaper is…. a portable potty destined for the trash heap. Cloth diapers on the other hand are an investment and a cheaper one at that.

At a time when most of the economy is in the toilet, the cloth-diaper business is booming. Cloth diapering has long been a countercultural lifestyle choice, reserved largely for deeply committed environmentalists. It became more popular in the past couple of years as green went from crunchy to hip.

If you haven’t given cloth diapers a try I urge to to take that leap. And don’t fall prey to the cloth diaper myths that abound. Just a couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend on the phone and I brought up cloth diapers and I could almost hear a gag over the phone. She proceeded to tell me that she could never dunk diapers in the toilet and swish them around and then put them in a bucket that would then smell up the whole house.

I am baffled by the people who think you need to dunk diapers in the toilet. WTH? I never, ever dunked a diaper. I also never, ever had a problem with smell and I used a wicker basket with no top to store dirty diapers until wash day. When I lived in Arizona I could also easily go a week without washing diapers. In Ohio, with its more humid climate, I had to wash every 2 days but that was because of mildew, not smell. 8 out of 10 objections to cloth are usually just a matter of false perceptions.

I won’t re-invent the wheel and tell you all the reasons I love cloth. Just check out some of the stuff I have written already.

The Green Diaper Smackdown

Green Baby Diapers

“If someone said ‘Write a sentence about your life’ I’d write, ‘I want to go outside and play.’” – Jenna Elfman

Awhile back I mentioned that one of my all time favorite books was MaryJane’s Ideabook – Cookbook – Lifebook by MaryJane Butters. I also LOVE her magazine. If I could wave my magic wand and give myself a life makeover… I might just have to be the next MaryJane Butters. She rocks!

Anyway, a couple months ago I got her latest book called MaryJane’s Outpost – Unleashing Your Inner Wild. The book is all about living your life outdoors, no matter where you live geographically. I was hooked from the moment I read about how she would sleep outside under her kids bedroom window many years ago. This allowed her to feel connected with nature and yet still close to her kids in case they needed her. This is a quote from the introduction:

Haven’t we all heard by now how important it is to eat a diet high in roughage? Likewise “roughage” (spending time outdoors) is essential to our mental health. Even if it is a settee on the porch, we need it. Gotta have it…

The book is an absolute treasure and if it does not make you hot to trot outside with the power of a thousand burning suns, nothing will. Short of traveling to Idaho and asking MaryJane if she will please, please be your mom and adopt you, you can get this book and bring a little of that MaryJane magic into your life every day and let nature, nurture you.

The book is broken up into sections. Outhinking has lots of inspiration and stories. Outbound gives you some ideas you never would have dreamed of… making a willow table, putting and actual bed or bathtub outside, making lanterns, doing special things with the kids, etc. Outstepping is a call to get out in the wild with a backpack and a good pair of hiking boots.  MaryJane was actually one the first women back-country rangers for the US Forest Service. In Outspoken she tells stories of the women who have already blazed a wild trail for us to follow.

This book is worth getting just for the inspiration to get outdoors but it also has tons of awesome recipes and craft instructions. It has a great recipe for Bugoff bars for instance, bug repellent bars she makes in muffin tins, that I am going to try this summer. It was also this book that gave me the idea for a reading tree…. setting up pillows and blankies and reading to your kids outside. I also loved the tutorial on making your own tree swing with wood and rope.

This is one of those books I will never, ever sell or otherwise let go. It is a permanent fixture in my personal library.

This week I am reading another book that has a profile of MaryJane in it…though I didn’t know that when I bought it. It is A Mile in Her Boots – Women Who Work in the Wild. It has essays and stories from park rangers, smokejumpers, field scientists, and other female outdoorswomen.