When we last left New Green Mom, she was terrorizing her cleaning woman with non-toxic scrubbers and natural sponge-y cleaning products and lamenting her use and overuse of traditional, chemical-laden makeup and bath products.
So did the cleaning lady ever abandon her trusted bleach in favor of the citrus-oil based bathroom cleaners? Will New Green Mom remember to order a supply of gentle, natural baby and children’s products so the kids will finally have clean hair?
I’d like to update you here on how the new and green thing is going for us. First, I ask that you remember “baby steps” is going to be key to appreciating my progress. After screening the disturbing and important film, Toxic Baby (reviewed for Mommybites here), I did a clean sweep of the kids’ bathroom. I did save, however, some of the less-awesome products we were using “just in case,” as I have been known to run out of everything and been forced to wash the kids with the bubbles-blowing soap we keep in the stroller.
I did a huge order on diapers.com (one of my favorite places in the world. I’d like to be trapped there I think). They have a great “green baby” section that carries many organic and natural brands that I already know and love.
And it has all been very well received.
I even tried a new brand of pull-ups for my son (no, he’s not potty trained yet. Please stop looking at me like that.) Instead of the brand I’ve been trusting for diapers and training pants for the past 3.5 years (yes, he is that old and still in training pants), I ordered a ton (I am not too optimistic about his potty training chances) of Nature Babycare ones.
And Henry likes them just as much. (Wait–that’s not a good thing, is it?)
And the cleaning woman? Did I convince her to turn over a green leaf and start using healthier, happier, earth-friendly products? Not yet. I continue to use my favorite non-toxic, good-for-everyone brands at home to clean counters, wash dishes, and do laundry, but my dear, beloved cleaning person has yet to open the products I’ve bought, and my home still smells very bleach-y when she leaves. She does leave it very clean though. So I am a little torn. I think next week when she is here, I will have this conversation again–and pull my preferred products out from the back under the sink.
Remember when I said “baby steps” would be a good phrase to keep in mind? It has been, so far, a series of steps in both directions: these small realizations, moments of fear for what chemicals are around my kids and home, moments of feeling good about my choices, often forgetting to take the extra step – and then remembering as I think of my babies’ health to also give thought to the earth and the air. Because the process and the progress really do matter.
No part of this post was sponsored. All opinions are my own.
Wendy Bradford is a mama of three, wife, writer, spin instructor, ardent New Yorker and blogger at mamaonetothree.com.
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