photo by: Horia Varlan

A bit late, but One Small Change nevertheless. This month, we are endeavoring to get plastics out of our home. This is DIFFICULT. Plastics are everywhere. In the morning, I turn off my plastic alarm clock, and turn on the plastic light switch. I get in the plastic shower, grab my plastic bottle of body wash and put some on my plastic shower towel. I step out onto my plastic synthetic shower mat, and reach for my plastic tooth brush. Later I grab my plastic car keys and get in my plastic car. I grab my cloth grocery bags (ahh) and battle the stores searching for shoes made of natural materials, veggies not suffocated in plastic tubs, and play toys made from anything but plastics.

Why do we want to rid our home of plastics? Health. The health of our family and the health of our planet. Plastics contain some pretty hazardous ingredients. You have probably read a million blog posts about the health hazards of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, so I”ll not list here all the diseases and illness you can get from putting these into your body. It isn’t pretty. Just google these if you don’t want to take my word for it.

Plastics are generally not biodegradable. By not consuming as many plastics, we hope to slow our landfill contributions.

So what are we doing? So far we have:

• invested in a heirloom quality wooden play kitchen set for the kids and filled it with metal, ceramic, and wooden dishes and utensils as well as felt, and wood play foods
• switched to stainless steel snack cups and sandwich containers
• purged our kitchen of the melamine kiddie dishes, polycarbonate sippy cups, and polystyrene spoons
  
• started making natural, organic, homemade lotions, hair conditioner, hand soaps, and facial treatments
• started using biodegradable, plant-derived cleaning agent laundry detergent
• been giving away our synthetic fiber clothing
• stopped using teflon pans
• started drinking homemade kefir fermented in glass containers instead of eating yogurt in #5 plastic containers
• started purchasing paper, metal, and glass packaging over plastic packaging
• started using glass food storage containers instead of plastic

It is amazing how many plastics and petro-derived synthetic items we come in contact with each day. It is hard to know where to start to get them out of your life. Here are my top 4 pointers to help eliminate plastics from your life.

:: Start with what is closest to you ::

1. Limit the plastics you ingest.

Select a few of the suggestions below and start eliminating the plastics that touch the food and liquids that you put in your body. (Google search any of these and you’ll likely find a host of natural alternatives and recipes.)

In the kitchen: limit cling-wrap, plastic food storage containers, plastic water bottles, petro-derived soaps and dish detergents, plastic packaging containers (like salad clams, plastic milk jugs, and shrink wrapped cheeses), resealable baggies, plastic dishware and cups, teflon coated pots and pans, and plastic cooking utensils.

In the bathroom: switch from dental floss coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)[i] to dental floss coated with natural bees wax; switch from plastic tubes of toothpaste to a homemade toothpaste (just Google “toothpaste recipe”); switch from conventional mouthwashes which typically contain methylparabens[ii] (one of the parabens) to a homemade remedy (my search for “natural mouthwashes” yielded products with ingredients like poloxamer 407[iii], polysorbate-20[iv], and sodium hydroxymethylglycinate[v]. This research didn’t lead me to believe that these were very natural ingredients so I’ll be making my own.)

2. Limit the plastics and petro-chemicals you wear.

Start with purchasing new clothing made only with natural fibers like cotton, wool, linen, hemp, or silk. Limit acrylic, nylon, polyester, and lycra in your wardrobe.

Read labels and research ingredients in personal care products. Many may contain potentially, perilous, petro-derived, chemicals like parabens, phthalates (typically listed as “fragrance”), paraffin, and p-phenylenediamine. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database to find out what is in your favorite lip balm.

I like making my own personal care products at home. I know where the organic ingredients come from and what they are. Also, making small batches eliminates the need for preservatives, anti-fungal additives, or other petro-chemicals I don’t want to wear. It is expensive to start up but we don’t waste any and many of the more expensive ingredients will last us for a year. My favorite book at the moment is Organic Body Care Recipes: 175 Homeade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin & a Vibrant Self by Stephanie Tourles.

3. Limit the plastics you touch.

Goodness, it is hard to find play things that aren’t made of plastic. We invested in a wooden kitchen play set, wooden beads to string, and wooden play food, ceramic tea sets, a doll made of only natural fibers, recycled paper colored pencils, wooden jigsaw puzzles, and metal cars. Many of these items can be bought second hand or thrifted for less.

Be aware of the plastics that enter your home and try to choose items made of natural materials when you can. Appliances, carpets, paints, flooring, door pulls, cleaning tools, window treatments, furniture, stereos, all are made of plastics or may contain petro-chemical additives.

4. Limit the plastics in your living environment.

Choose to add to your home natural materials like stone, ceramics, real wood, organic fibers, wicker, copper, steel and iron. Not only will these invested pieces last more than a lifetime, they will also lend to your home a grounded, visceral, pure connection with nature. Think of the following made of natural materials: shutters, siding, roofing, lighting fixtures, plant pots, patios, and ornamental outdoor fixtures. Even though it isn’t always fiscally possible, to add these to your home would certainly be icing on the cake.

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Whew, that is a lot of plastic! Remember eliminating each little bit helps your health. And each little bit you forgo helps our planet. For more small changes to help our earth check in with Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change blog!

[ii] Pure Zing.  Veradent Aloe Vera Natural Mouthwash. http://www.purezing.com/body/body_teeth_NK_veradentmouthwash.html

[iii] Tom’s of Maine. Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash. http://www.tomsofmaine.com/products/mouthwash/product-details/anticavity-fluoride-mouthwash

[iv] Pure Zing.  Veradent Aloe Vera Natural Mouthwash. http://www.purezing.com/body/body_teeth_NK_veradentmouthwash.html

[v] Ibid.