Shari Becker's Home Page

In my last entry, I confessed that my neurotic obsessive compulsive behavior propels my quest to keep our family as healthy and green as possible. Now I'm going to tell you a little about what we're doing in our home.

1) We buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever we can, and we only buy the dirty dozen in organic form. This year, we joined an organic produce delivery service. We pay a flat fee for a box, and it is filled with seasonal produce. It isn't always exactly what we would choose for ourselves, but we have found ourselves eating fruits and vegetables we might not have otherwise tried.

Over the years I've come to realize that I have to be realistic about what my kids eat. It is very hard to control what my kids eat at their friends' houses, their relatives' houses and in restaurants (within reason). And frankly, I'd much rather they eat fruit than candy. So, we're stringent in our home and more lenient in other people's homes.

2) We buy organic meats and dairy products. Consumer Reports actually did a report on this in 2006. They felt that humans simply don't need the additional growth hormones or antibiotics used in regular meat and dairy products. My husband and I agree. Our older daughter is extremely tall, too, and the last thing we want to feed her is growth hormones, which could accelerate puberty. What's more, the price is coming down and accessibility is going up.

3) We have begun to rid ourselves of plastic food-related items. The girls now have metal sippy cups and utensils, but there is still much more to purge. I haven't quite figured out how to feed my toddler on ceramic dishes, and I can't imagine getting rid of all my Tupperware. And what's up with melamine anyway? Is it safe? Is it even plastic? Still, we're moving in the right direction.

4) We have switched to cloth diapers and menstrual pads. I know what you're thinking -- gross, right? Well actually, not at all. Both required some getting used to and both required coming up with a system, but it all works -- better than disposables mostly. Our little one had serious diaper rash that would not go away until we switched to cloth, and we are never desperate for diapers anymore because when we run out, we just do a load of laundry.

5) We compost. I'll admit that we haven't quite gotten this down pat. Our composter is full of food that has not yet broken down, but we're excited about the prospect of creating our own garden fertilizer. I do love my flowers ....

6) We use non-toxic organic fertilizer and weed inhibitors in our garden. One product we use is called Cock-a-Doodle Doo fertilizer. It smells a little funny, and it is chicken dung, but it is 100 percent non-toxic and safe for the environment.

7) We use cloth bags at our grocery store. You can buy these for $1.00 each! Just throw 'em in your trunk and leave them there. They are actually bigger and better than the disposable bags you get for free.

8) We bought a small, gas efficient car for my husband's commute rather than the SUVs and minivans our friends and family tell us we so desperately need.

9) I have given up make-up and nail polish (most of the time), and I buy most of my products after researching their toxicity levels in the Skin Deep Database. I'm not going to tell you that I don't miss my deep purple favorite toe nail polish, and I certainly wouldn't go to a wedding or business meeting completely bare-faced, but honestly, life is a lot simpler when I'm not worrying about getting my make up on or whether my polish is chipped. Ask me to give up my Curly Sexy hair gel, and that's another story. I have yet to find a natural product that keeps my hair both curly, and well ... curly.

10) We are investing in UV rashguard shirts for the whole family because as it turns out, the chemicals in sunscreens are almost as bad for you as the sun itself And research in this area is actually so complicated and unclear that I have turned to homeopathy to heal the migraine I gave myself trying to find the safest sunscreens out there. (For now, I'm sticking with the physical barriers, nano particles and all ...)

Looking up at the list, it does seem like a lot. But the truth is that it has all been so easy, and I feel good about it. I know my family is healthier for it, too. Since we've begun composting and using cloth diapers, we have cut our trash load in half. We take our metal bottles with us wherever we go, and we'll now hopefully be using less gas as we get there. Most importantly though, we are setting an example for our kids. We are teaching them about how to treat their bodies and their world and that is neither crazy nor neurotic.

I grew up in Canada - a social democracy that apparently takes care of its people. I trusted the system. Heck, my Dad still believes in the system. ("If the President of the United States thinks war is the right thing to do, we need to trust him..." Don't even get me started on this one.)

A few years ago, someone sent me an article about the "dirty dozen," the 12 fruits and vegetables most heavily poisoned by pesticides. I realized that food I was eating everyday was covered in chemicals used to kill other living organisms, and suddenly I wasn't so sure about the system.

At first, everyone thought I was a little crazy ... a little neurotic. And I'll admit that I probably am a little of both. I'll admit, too, that I suffer from obsessive compulsive research habits especially in areas that matter to me. And I'll admit that my own mortality issues feed into this OCD behavior.

My father scoffed at my spending habits on organic products, and my in-laws rolled their eyes when I wouldn't feed my kids regular strawberries (the worst of the dirty dozen.) I began to check out the Environmental Working Group's website for information about food. But it turns out that their site is about a whole lot more than just food - it is about our water, our cosmetic products, the petroleum industry and more.

I realized that the system is failing us because it supports profit to the detriment of the people. Our cosmetic products, the very items we use to clean ourselves and maintain our hygiene, are filled with cancer-causing, hormone disrupting, DNA altering chemicals. Our water is filled with rocket fuel, arsenic, and lead. Plastic products leach even more nasty chemicals into our bodies. And then there is the environment, which everyone now knows is in trouble thanks to Al Gore.

And yes, it is enough to make you crazy. It is enough to make you neurotic. It is easier to go with the flow, and it is certainly easier to not worry about it. But I feel a responsibility to take care of myself and my family and to do my part in trying to repair a sick planet. And if tapping into that part of my OCD brain is what propels me, then so be it.