Jeneration Eden

Category: Bedrooms

  • Winter Wisdom

    Winter Wisdom

     

     

     

    This blog first ran on the Premier Pediatrics website.

    Just when we’d finally gotten used to the fall weather, it seems that Old Man Winter is nipping at our toes. This will mean some chilly days playing outdoors, but, if your family is anything like mine, it also means plenty of hot chocolate and hanging out inside.

    While I’m hoping that my clan’s movie nights, card games and indoor basketball tournaments (yes, we have those) are all entertaining, I know that there’s another aspect of our experience indoors that is of utmost importance: the quality of the air in our home. The stuff we breathe in, day in and day out, affects our health and, considering how much time we’ll be spending indoors, the stuff better be clean. Southerners are not off the hook; even if your kids are often in bathing suits while others are in snowsuits, you still go home, sleep at home and spend lots of time in your home.

    According to the EPA, indoor air is many times more toxic than outdoor air — a result of products in our homes and toxics we bring in. So make it your business to defy those odds and make your home as sweet as it can be — naturally. These tips will help you do just that…

     

    TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF IN THE HOUSE

    I’ve always instinctively hated the idea of tracking whatever was on the bottom of my shoes into my kids’ bedrooms, but once I learned what might actually be on the bottom of said shoes, I realized I was factually on target. Bacteria is just the start; our soles can be laden with, among other things, pesticides and herbicides, heavy metals, gasoline and coal tar. These contaminants, which are linked to cancer and neurological problems, can be brought into the home where they become dust particles and are then breathed in, as well as absorbed through the skin. Young children are regularly on the floor and are therefore more apt to come into contact with whatever has settled there. Additionally, carpets are especially perfect resting grounds for these toxicants. So leave your shoes – and all the junk that’s on them – near the front door and keep your air and floors free from unhealthy substances.

    AVOID CONVENTIONAL AIR FRESHENERS

    Who doesn’t want a fresh-smelling home? But don’t hand me “Mountain Fresh Scent” in a can or any of those wall plug-ins. I’d go for pure cinnamon, coffee grinds or essential oils over hormone disruptors and respiratory toxicants any day…and you should too. Conventional air fresheners either mask smells by coating your nasal-passages (ugh) or spew out none other than endocrine disrupting phthalates, carcinogenic formaldehyde, unhealthy petroleum distillates and a host of other goodies. So ditch the synthetic chems for lavender sachets or bowls of odor-absorbing baking soda and the air in your home will be fresh…and healthy.

    SWITCH OVER ONE CLEANING PRODUCT

    It’s been many moons since my laundry room cabinet was stocked with bottles containing brightly colored liquids for all of the many cleaning jobs in my home. Long ago I did away with jugs that say “Caution” or “Harmful if Swallowed.” My secret weapon is now a vinegar and water combo. I use it for everything – kitchen, bathrooms, floors, you name it. But I appreciate that, although it’s effective and totally safe, not everyone feels comfortable using vinegar to clean an entire home. With that in mind, it would still be very worthwhile to choose one of your cleaners – say, your toilet bowl cleaner (which can be particularly caustic and dangerous) or your sink cleaner (which is likely full of respiratory toxicants) – and switch it over for a 1 cup vinegar to 1 cup water combo (you can even do a 1/2 cup vinegar to 1 cup water mix if you’re still a bit vinegar-shy). It’s effective, the smell dissipates within minutes and your kids will be breathing in many less toxicants even for this single change.

    AIR OUT YOUR DRY CLEANING

    The chemicals that are used for dry cleaning – specifically perchloroethylene (perc) – can be some nasty stuff. Perc can irritate the eye/nose/throat/skin and, with high levels of exposure, can lead to neurological problems, In addition, perc has been labeled a likely human carcinogen. If possible, dry clean your clothes at a “wet-cleaning” shop or one that utilizes CO2. If your dry-cleaner touts itself as organic, be sure to ask what they use in place of perc. But if a conventional dry cleaner is your only option, pull the plastic off of freshly dry-cleaned clothes and air them out for a few hours before bringing them inside. Otherwise the chemicals that might still be emitting underneath the plastic could contaminate the air in your home.

    OPEN YOUR WINDOWS

    You’d have to be at the mouth of a coal-burning factory for the air outside your home to be more toxic than the air indoors. Which is why opening windows, even for just a short time every day, can really improve the air quality in your home. Just as Mom always said, there really is a benefit to getting some “fresh air.” Even when the thermometer dips into those unhappy numbers, buck up and open up. It’s one of the great defenses against unhealthy air buildup in the home.

  • Windex with your Latte, Anyone?

    Windex with your Latte, Anyone?

    Every time you spray your windows with a conventional cleaner, you’re contaminating the air in your home. Each time you spritz the stuff, you’re letting loose a whole army of toxic chemicals that can negatively impact your children’s health.

    And by the way, your lungs ain’t getting off scott-free either.

    Take this very morning. After my alarm woke me up (and by alarm I mean my 7 year-old), I helped whip four kids into shape, took one of them to the eye doctor, talked shop with the PTA president and did a pretty hefty supermarket run.

    So, by 10:15, I’d lived a whole day and I just wanted to relax with a cup of coffee.

    You can then imagine my annoyance – no, my pissed-off-ness – when, as I sat down, latte in front of me, the guy with the rag starts spraying the glass table with, you guessed it, Windex.

    The smell of the neon stuff is awful, obviously. But that was just the tip of the ‘ole iceberg for my detail-oriented self. I mean hell, I didn’t want to breathe in ammonium hydroxide and ethanolamine this AM! I wanted my coffee without respiratory toxicants, thank you. And back to that telltale smell that offends even the least neurotic out there. That’s a mashup of “nonspecific” synthetic chemicals – aka skin irritants and neurotoxins.  And those will mess with anyone, Type A or otherwise.

    As for the non-coffee drinking set? Your children are the most vulnerable to those very worrisome chemicals because, pound for pound, they breathe in more air than you and are still developing. The risks they face from inhaling these toxicants regularly are real and that’s without even mentioning the possibility of accidental ingestion.

    But don’t worry, it’s never too late to make changes, and this one’s simple. Herewith, a DIY non-toxic window cleaner:

    • 2 cups water

    • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

    • 1/2 teaspoon natural dish soap

    Combine the ingredients in a bottle and spray away. Wipe down with a newspaper or a microfiber cloth. If you think the vinegar scent might offend tiny noses, open the windows or grab a non-toxic glass cleaner online or in your local market. Green Shield Organic Glass Cleaner and Whole Foods Market Glass Cleaner are two great options.

    So, if I do nothing in this post other than to get you to consider swapping your chemical window and glass cleaner for a non-toxic version, I’ll sleep well tonight. And if you actually make the change, your kids will too.

     

     

  • Greening Up Baby in the New Year

    Greening Up Baby in the New Year

     

     

     

    These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a pregnant woman who isn’t aware of the fact that the things she eats, breathes and exposes herself to can impact her developing fetus. Whether the insult is in the form of cigarette smoke or high-mercury fish, pregnant women are increasingly sensitive to the health issues associated with environmental hazards and often go to great lengths to protect an unborn child.

    This enlightened thinking, however, often ends when a baby is born. Parents are often entrenched in old habits or have never been informed otherwise; as a result, they unknowingly expose their little ones to toxic substances on a daily basis.

    Infants are extremely susceptible to environmental toxicants: pound for pound they breathe in more air than adults; they’re continuously developing, leaving many windows of opportunity for outside exposures to affect their insides; and they can’t detoxify well. This means that using conventional cleaning products for jobs as innocent-seeming as getting stains out of a crib sheet, washing a baby bottle or cleaning a high chair can contribute to dermatitis, respiratory problems and even long-term health worries including cancer.

    Well, the new year is upon us and it’s the perfect time to make changes. I know — you’ve already resolved to watch your waistline and get 8 hours of sleep a night. And while I can’t fully help you with those resolutions at the moment (other than to tell you that the package of Oreos is not actually calling your name and that you really don’t need to watch a midnight airing of “Wedding Crashers” again), I can definitely tell you what you need to easily “clean up and green up” a day in the life of your babe. So add that vow to your list – for the sake of your child – and his new year will be healthier for it.

    Check out this collection of non-toxic, effective cleaning products you can easily buy for your home. As a rule, you should always test products in a small area before you use them freely. Once that goes well, you can go ahead and knock this New Years’ resolution out of the park.

    imagesOne thing on which we can all agree – a new baby is messy business. From top to, uh, bottom, there’s no telling what a given day will bring. Without getting too detailed, that onesie that was so fresh first thing in the morning might be rather less so at night (or heck, even half an hour later). But baby stains can be quickly tackled in a safe and effective way with OxiClean Laundry Baby Stain Soaker. Follow the directions on the package for pretreating your baby’s clothes – you can even add it to the wash after soaking – and you’ll be able to salvage plenty of those adorable baby gifts.

    images-2As often as my mom told me to “nap when the baby naps,” I found that advice much easier said than done. That’s because when my children slept, I finally had time to get stuff done – stuff like laundry. So, once the baby is fast asleep, gather all those onesies, cloth diapers, crib sheets and hooded towels and throw them into the machine with non-toxic detergent. The Honest Co.’s 4-in-1 laundry packs provide safe, mineral-based cleaning without caustic ingredients. Another great company is Green Shield Organic. Their brand new Organic Baby Laundry Detergent – Free & Clear is unscented and free of dyes and harsh chemicals. So hurry up and get that laundry load in and then maybe you catch a few zzzzs…

    imgresBottles and pacifiers are all the rage in a home with a new baby. I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of nursing; I nursed my own 4 kids for a year each. But I also know that every mom’s story is different and that the majority of us will use bottles, whether often or sporadically (’cause hey, even the most diehard nursing moms want to go to the movies at some point, don’t they?!?!). So then begins the cycle of bottle using and washing, over and over again. According to many sources, including WebMD, if your water supply is reliably safe, there’s no need to regularly sterilize bottles, nipples and pacifiers after the first time. But there is a need to use non-toxic dish washing soap and warm water. For this, I recommend Better Life’s Dish It Out, scent-free dish soap. 100% plant derived, it’s a great choice for cleaning bottles (and all the dishes in your sink)! As for when the pacifier hits the floor? Check out Dapple’s Pacifier Wipes. They’re safe and convenient – great to use at home or on the go.

    images-4Your baby’s nursery should be a cozy, healthy space, free from harsh toxicants. So even if you’ve already chosen the organic crib mattress, natural rug and solid wood blocks, you need to make sure that you clean the room safely so that there’s no build-up of harmful chemicals in the air. Make sure that you open windows for ventilation and regularly use a Dry Swiffer dampened with a bit of water to get rid of dust on the entire floor. But when the cute striped area rug gets splattered on and the hardwood floor is really looking less than pristine, turn to Martha Stewart for help. Her Clean Carpet Stain Remover and Clean Wood Floor Cleaner can get you through those “spottier” days safely and easily.

    images-5Considering how often a baby will chow down as he’s growing up, you’re going to want to make sure that his highchair tray is so clean that he can, well, eat off of it. After a particularly “fun” meal, it’s often best to detach the tray, dump the leftovers and rub it down in the sink with Dish It Out or Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Soap Baby Mild. But sometimes you just want to spritz, wipe and walk away. In that case, beware of conventional spray cleaners that can leave chemical residues that might get ingested by your child. So what to use? I can’t deny that a DIY formula of around 1 part distilled white vinegar to 7-9 parts water (no exact measurements required) will always be my favorite for its safety and efficacy. But, as your baby gets older and is exposed to the whole gamut of veggies and fruits, including citrus, you can use Aussan Natural Nursery All Purpose Cleaner. It’s botanical ingredients are highchair – and kid – friendly.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Paint it Green

    Paint it Green

     

     

     

    This post first ran on Wellroundedny.com 

    Lemon Sorbet. A tart and yummy dessert, yes, but also the sweet yellow color my husband and I chose when planning our first nursery, 12 1/2 years ago (ok fine, I chose it and he said something along the lines of “Yes Jen, it’s great!”). In any case, as you can deduce from the noncommittal shade, we didn’t know the gender of the first Eden child, but, unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing we didn’t know.

    During those heady days of my first pregnancy, I was totally green — and by that I don’t mean nauseous or environmentally aware. In fact, quite the opposite on both fronts; I never had a smidge of morning sickness and I was woefully unsophisticated when it came to the potential hazards of nursery painting. I knew that household paints no longer contained lead and I knew not to be the one to actually take brush to wall (the smell would be unpleasant and ladder climbing was low on my to-do list). But there was quite a bit more that I didn’t know and, over time, I learned of the many nasty chemicals in conventional paint, ones that could be unhealthy for mother-to-be and for baby as well, even as the shade looks pretty on the wall.

    Toluene, formaldehyde, benzene. These toxicants are just a few of the many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that were once necessary to the performance of paint. They invisibly vaporize in liquid and solid form, and can offgas at differing levels for years, contributing to very poor indoor air quality. In addition, certain paints labeled “antimicrobial” or “antibacterial” may contain harmful chemicals that can emit over time as well. Many brands have replaced the above chemicals with less-toxic ingredients, but these toxicants may still be found in certain conventional paints – the kind you might buy if you don’t know better.

    But guess what – now you know better! To avoid the acute symptoms of VOC exposure (headaches and dizziness) as well as the potential long term problems (cancer, nervous system issues), there is plenty you can do. Herewith, some advice for protecting you and your belly, as well as some colorful paint brand choices for the room your babe will call home.

  • “Toxic Hot Seat” — Watch and Burn

    “Toxic Hot Seat” — Watch and Burn

     

     

     

    The highlight of my week was seeing Senator Barbara Boxer, California Democrat and chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, stick it to ‘Big Chemical’ with the very simplest of questions.

    But I didn’t get that thrill at a hearing in Washington. In fact I was much closer to home, in New York City’s West Village, at the premiere of the very compelling and entertaining HBO documentary Toxic Hot Seat, co-directed by filmmakers Kirby Walker and James Redford. The film was part of DOC NYC – New York’s annual documentary film festival.

    In 90 minutes time, Toxic Hot Seat clearly and expertly unravels the history behind our country’s decades-old love affair with flame retardant chemicals and delves into the purported efficacy and dangers of those very chemicals, all the while weaving in the personal stories that triggered the movement to rid these persistent poisons from our homes, our bodies, our lives.

    Now, it’s no secret that this sort of stuff automatically gets me going; just the idea of a movie that uncorks the conversation about the toxic soup in which we all live is exciting to me. But this doc will resonate even with those who don’t readily buy into the idea that we’re all a bunch of guinea pigs in a massive, unregulated toxic experiment. The movie is not preachy or forced — it just tells a good, interesting story and offers us the added benefit of an important revelation, however frightening: that the flame retardant chemicals in our furniture, home furnishings, clothes and electronics are not only ineffective and worthless, but actually neurotoxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic, especially to children.

    Speaking of which — back to Senator Boxer’s star turn. The film takes us to a July 2012 hearing focused on whether the EPA had the authority necessary to regulate hazardous chemicals. Senator Boxer posed a direct ‘yes or no’ question: Should chemical manufacturers be required to unbiasedly prove that their products are safe for pregnant women, infants and children before they can be sold?

    Babies. Children. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, not exactly for the chemical company reps. The first representative, a marketing director from Great Lakes Solutions, a Chemtura business, struggled to muster a response (and when he did, it was begrudging and quiet) and the second, a lawyer representing big chemical interests, was unable to answer the question at all.

    This really speaks to the heart of the movie — the fact that we, the consumers, have been living at the whim and will of chemical companies seeking only profit and power, regardless of the devastating consequences. It’s not news that this happened with the tobacco industry, but most people would never dream that companies have been hurting us with basic consumer products that should be utterly harmless. Alas, many chemical companies have been doing just that: they’ve been pushing their chemicals for decades – citing flawed studies and erroneous, outdated flammability laws – and have poisoned our living rooms, our family rooms, our bedrooms.

    The movie engages a host of people who tell us this sobering tale from many angles. Among them are firefighters, most notably San Franciscans Tony Stefani (who I had the great pleasure of meeting) and Karen Kerr Stone, who have struggled with illness and loss as a result of high level toxic exposures faced by firefighters country-wide; Patricia Callahan, the award-winning Chicago Tribune investigative reporter who co-wrote “Playing with Fire,” a series which exposed, among other things, chemical industry deception; Arlene Blum, an environmental health chemist who has dedicated her life to pushing for safer chemical standards; Andrew McGuire, a burn victim and grassroots lobbyist; and Hannah Pingree, a young mother and one time politician from Maine. One of the climaxes of the movie was seeing many of these scattered players physically united in Washington, empowered by truth and connected by the common passion to push for reform in order to save lives.

    The timing of this movie could not have been more appropriate for me and my family. We are currently looking for new furniture and I’m dedicated to only buying from furniture companies that have pledged to buck the trend and not use toxic flame retardants (instead they use wool, often organic, which passes all flame tests). But the search is not easy, because most furniture companies still feel compelled to abide by the outdated flammability laws which require the use of the toxic retardants. The good news is that very soon – starting in 2014 – it will become somewhat easier to find safer furniture, as stricter guidelines and even some bans (depending on the state) on the use of toxic chemicals will be set in motion and companies will expressly have the option to opt out of abiding by old flammability laws.

    After the movie I had the honor of talking with one of the directors, Kirby Parker. We bemoaned the fact that not enough people are aware of the problem – something her movie is setting out to change. We discussed that although the fight is a tough one, and one that will not find success overnight, it is of great importance to our nation’s health. If  sweeping change is to happen, then the demand for safe homes has to be loud and clear; we all must insist on healthy spaces for ourselves and for our children. And if the groundswell develops, the furniture companies that provide us with the settings in which we live our lives will have a real impetus to leave the past – and the chemical companies – behind and institute permanent, positive change.

    Toxic Hot Seat premieres on HBO on November 25th at 9pm.

     

     

  • Where There’s Smoke, There’s Ire

    Where There’s Smoke, There’s Ire

    It’s no news that people who live with smokers are exposed to toxic second hand smoke. According to the American Lung Association, second hand smoke causes nearly 50,000 deaths per year, as well as major respiratory ailments such as lung cancer and asthma.

    But it might come as a surprise that your nicotine addicted neighbor is jeopardizing your family’s health with every puff he takes.

    I’ve always been a proponent of smoking bans in public spaces. My hometown, New York City, enacted the its first Smoke Free Air Act in 1988 and, 25 years later, smoking is now banned in bars, restaurants, beaches and parks. The laws are a true victory for New Yorkers’ short and long term health.

    But as someone who’s lived with 4 children in apartment buildings for many years, I’ve been thinking lately about the very hazardous cigarette smoke that can travel from one apartment to the next. The American Cancer Society validates these worries, indicating on their website that multi-unit housing where smoking is permitted “is a special concern.” It turns out that “tobacco smoke can move through air ducts, wall and floor cracks, elevator shafts and along crawl spaces to contaminate apartments on other floors…”

    I’ve heard inklings about multi-unit residences going smoke-free, but the concept seems to be in its nascent stage and hasn’t seen much in the way of public discourse. I was therefore thrilled to see a front page article in last Sunday’s New York Times Real Estate section about a major real estate management company’s decisions to ban smoking in its buildings.

    The article speaks of “healthier living conditions” and of the real “health hazard” of second hand smoke. There is tremendous potency in the argument that second hand smoke insidiously moving from one apartment to the next is quite a bit more than just a nuisance.  Building bylaws have been enacted for much less.

    Of course, there are obviously plenty who have cried privacy infringement and who speak of their personal rights. The way I see it? No one has the right to dangerously contaminate the air in my home. Period.

    Yes, these types of residence bans are difficult to enforce and, as the article points out, eviction is rare. But the big idea is now on the table and you can make sure that the conversation continues by talking to your building’s board and by advancing the current momentum through petitions.

    Are smokers going to find fewer and fewer places to flick their cigarettes? Hopefully. But that’s the price they have to pay so that we non-smokers don’t have to suffer the very dangerous effects of their toxic habit.