How has your yr been thus far? Did you accomplish the entire objectives and resolutions you deliberate approach again in 2017? Now that we’ve made it by way of January, I’ve been interested by New 12 months’s Resolutions, from every year in my previous. This yr my objectives had been extra alongside the strains of self-care, however previously I’ve created a whole lot of Resolutions about being environmentally accountable and fewer wasteful. The truth is, during the last ten years or so, I’ve tried a whole lot of crunchy tendencies, merchandise and habits. A few of these experiments have turn out to be favourite merchandise that I’ll by no means quit! (Others I needed to abandon a very long time in the past.)  The query is, which of them have stood the take a look at of time and which have been kicked to the curb? Maintain studying to seek out out!

Which Work and Which Don’t? Part 1

Fabric napkins-About 8 or 9 years in the past, I spotted what number of napkins and paper towels we had been going by way of on a weekly foundation. Though paper napkins are biodegradable and cheap it appeared like a easy swap to place some material napkins to each day use. I discovered a ton of 100% cotton napkins on clearance and sewed a couple of of my very own. These napkins have been washed and re-washed a whole lot of occasions now and nonetheless serve our goal completely! This was a easy change that was simple to maintain up for our household. Click here for some budget-friendly cloth napkins to start your own stash! 

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Fabric Diapers-Once I came upon I used to be having twins, any ambitions of material diapers disappeared together with my sanity. However once I had my son a couple of years later, I made a decision to present it a very good strive. I used material diapers for about six months and I positively perceive why many mother and father love them. These aren’t your mother and father material nappies, of us! Fabric diapers right now have come a extremely good distance, they’re absorbent, sturdy, cute and can be utilized by way of a number of kiddos! As a result of I purchased my set of material used and re-sold it at a aggressive fee, my material diaper experiment positively saved us a ton of cash. I completely love that there are nice material diapers accessible right now, however I frankly nonetheless beloved my disposables once I threw within the towel. If you are interested saving money by cloth diapering, check out this post with tons of tips from Melissa at BeyondMommying.com!

wooldryer

Dryer Balls-I keep in mind studying years in the past that dryer sheets had been one of many extra poisonous gadgets within the common family, so I ditched them. After the swap, I attempted to seek out different options however nothing impressed me….till I began utilizing wool dryer balls. I like these SO a lot! Click here to get a six pack of wool dryer balls by Smart Sheep for only $16.95! I throw all six into every load and so they completely eradicate static, speed-up drying time and, with a couple of drops of important oils, scent your garments naturally. I positively really feel like dryer balls are an improve from dryer sheets, so I encourage you to present them a strive!

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All Pure Cleaners-Nicely, it is a enormous class so I’m not even certain the place to start. The fact is, a whole lot of the cleansing merchandise we use each day aren’t protected or wholesome. Then again, I’ve come to comprehend that a whole lot of “pure cleaners” aren’t really that pure (have you ever heard the time period: “green-washing“?), so I like to recommend doing a little analysis earlier than you completely revamp your cleansing arsenal. There are a number of manufacturers promising safer merchandise, at a premium value so it may be troublesome to weed by way of the choices. Then there are tons of parents that advocate merely cleansing with vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda or cleaning soap and water. So what’s really your only option? I like to recommend changing robust poisonous merchandise with a gentler different as you run out, that approach you’re slowly transferring towards a more healthy surroundings in your house  There are a couple of merchandise I really love and may’t advocate extremely sufficient: Biokleen Soy Cream Cleanser, Young Living Thieves Cleaner, and the e-cloth Window Cleaning Pack. I’ve positively embraced the thought of mechanical cleansing v. chemical cleansing.

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Amber teething necklaces-Okay, I admit I first bought amber teething necklaces as a result of I assumed they had been simply too darn cute. On the time, my twins had been toddlers and it appeared like a enjoyable accent for them with the added attainable advantage of ache aid. On the identical time, my pores and skin had turn out to be extremely delicate to metallic jewellery so I purchased a few necklaces for myself. Ya’ll, I’ve to confess carrying an amber necklace actually helps my neck soreness and ache! Once I’m having a headache or any type of neck stiffness or soreness I put mine on and it actually takes the sting off. My favourite store for amber jewellery is Inspired by Finn. There are additionally plenty of options on Amazon. 

diva cup

Reusable Female Care- That is positively the class I’ve to actually rave about. I don’t wish to get too graphic, however reusable menstrual choices have fully modified my life. I’d by no means wish to return to the disposable variations of those merchandise. Each lady must know, there are a LOT of choices that may lower your expenses and are a lot extra comfy. I really really feel just like the reusable choices are the posh model of their disposable counterparts, altering them was completely an improve! Right here’s a post with my down and detailed reviews of a few of these merchandise. And in case you are already bought and simply wish to soar proper in, listed here are some reusable menstrual cups and reusable pads (or mama material).

Reusable Straws– I do know this may occasionally appear to be an odd one, however my household makes use of a TON of straws. My youngsters are obsessive about smoothies and on the whole we simply are inclined to eat a whole lot of drinks in our house! Switching to reusable straws simply appeared like a no brainer and I’ve to say we’ve beloved the improve! Now we use glass straws from Strawsome.com, a set of stainless steel straws similar to these, and Bubba silicone straws. The one problem is that they actually must be rinsed straight away or they turn out to be tougher to wash. I recommend grabbing a straw brush to save lots of your self that frustration!

Pure Deodorant-Out of all of the merchandise thus far, that is the class I’ve to say has been an enormous fail for me. I do know that conventional deodorant has questionable (at finest) elements and actually wish to improve to one thing safer. However each time I attempt to swap I’m fully under-whelmed with the pure variations. Possibly I’ve odor points or possibly I simply haven’t stumbled throughout the proper protected product. When you have a pure deodorant you possibly can really advocate, please depart me a remark! Till then, I’ll persist with the boys’s Diploma that appears to work higher than the female variations on the shelf.

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Glass Meals Storage Containers- Right here’s one other class you can’t persuade me to surrender: glass storage containers. It was so good to ditch the damaged, powerful to wash plastic containers for sturdy, clear glass variations. Now I use glass-lock storage in my kitchen exclusively. My solely remorse is buying a combined set of each spherical and sq. containers. I believe sticking with simply sq. is a greater match, space-wise. These have held up nice for us for years now! I do really feel significantly better about utilizing glass from an environmental standpoint and I additionally consider the glass is safer for our well being with out the danger of leaching when heated.

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No-Poo-In the event you aren’t certain what that is, let me rapidly clue you in. No-poo means lowering or eliminating using shampoo to enhance your hair well being! Some of us additionally advocate “co-washing” (utilizing conditioner rather than shampoo) to assist restore the pure oils in your hair. That is one which I’ve tried with combined outcomes. To start with, I ought to say that my husband and my three youngsters are fully shampoo-free and have nice, wholesome hair with no points. The youngsters use this cleansing conditioner and it really works incredible to quench their dry, curly hair with out inflicting additional frizz points. My husband simply cleans his hair with water (sure, apparently he has developed to a better stage of “inexperienced” than I can aspire to). I’ve dry hair with a cussed case of dandruff that I can’t appear to eradicate with out utilizing a reasonably robust shampoo. So I can’t go no-poo at this level. I’ve been capable of in the reduction of on washing frequency to about 2-3 occasions per week and my hair does appear more healthy! So I suppose I ought to nonetheless advocate No-poo as it really works for many of my household!

I nonetheless have at the least 20 extra merchandise I’d like to speak about, so make sure you hold watching the weblog for Half 2 of this publish! I’d love to listen to your individual Crunchy product suggestions and opinions, whether or not constructive or destructive so please depart me a remark!

Do natural products actually work? My crunchy product experiments show you which are worth using and which are a waste of money.