Detoxifying Life

Tuesday I was pruning tomatoes in my neighborhood's community garden when a woman walked by and exclaimed, "Wow! You've got to tell me what you feed your tomatoes!" I tried to hide my satisfaction as I explained that I didn't feed them anything, and that I use a method of pruning and training the vines to create large, healthy plants that yield large, healthy fruit. I'm pretty sure she had no idea what the hell I was talking about, but she stood and gazed at the palm-sized leaves of my plants a little longer before moving on down the sidewalk. I went back to my tomatoes, and allowed myself to feel a little bit of pride as I took in their large, sturdy stalks, their enormous leaves, and big, vibrant flowers. I considered her comment, and realized that many people did not think big, healthy plants could grow without the use of weed-killers, commercial fertilizers, and other toxic chemicals. Then I considered the areas of my and Jake's (my partner) lives besides our garden that we have removed chemicals, like our kitchen, bathroom, and laundry.

Earlier last week, our shower's drain became so sluggish that after a shower, a person was up to their ankles in water. I think this is second in annoyance only to the shower heads that have no water pressure, so I tended to it by first mixing some baking soda and salt 1/2 and 1/2 in a bowl. I then removed the plug from our drain, and, using a teaspoon, slowly emptied the salt/soda mixture into the drain hole. Then, just like in science class in middle school, I poured a few cups of white vinegar down the hole and watched the volcanic eruption clear our drain without using some awful 'foaming snake' that would contaminate our local water, stink up our bathroom and burn our eyes and mouths if we inhaled it. I ran a pot of boiling water down the drain in 20 minutes, and wa-la! No more clogged drain.

This change from using the stuff in the grocery store to unclog our drains, clean our laundry, clean our bodies, and de-stink our toilet bowl didn't happen overnight- it was a gradual process that has evolved over years of us researching, reading, learning, and becoming aware of how our bodies really feel in the presence of certain substances. I know now that during the winter, my skin changes and becomes highly irritable from the dryness of the season, learned from years of rashes, itching, and discomfort. It took me a long time to realize what I could do to combat this seasonal change, and although I can't necessarily change my body's reaction to the winter climate, I can give it the tools it needs to stay healthy and well while it is being challenged. 

It has been incredibly difficult for Jake and I to get out of the old pattern of  "I buy this, I know where it is, I don't have to think about it...," to being highly suspicious consumers. We read every label, ask questions when purchasing from local vendors, and do our homework- if we hear about a product or an ingredient that we aren't sure about, we look it up. This has helped us feel better about our environment, both immediate and more extended, and has helped us to feel more in control of our own health. I also feel that it has made us even more sensitive to manufactured scents and dyes than we would ever have been before; there are lots of products available at Meijer that we cruise right by these days, but used to buy regularly not that long ago. The biggest part of changing our lifestyle to adapt towards a healthier, cleaner, less-toxic environment has been getting educated about what is actually in a lot of the stuff put on grocery shelves. Without the right information, a consumer can never make choices that are void of bias created by advertising and the media.