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How do I live with lead paint & a young child?

Dear Julia You may stop worrying about the lead paint in your old home. I know: this is easier said then done, but I promise you that your situation is manageable! I have almost always chosen (with having way too much knowledge about heavy metals, neurotoxins, and old houses) to live in old houses. Why?…
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Painted Turtle Wooden Rattle

Colorhouse Paint

How to find healthier paints

Why does finding healthy paint matter? Paint and finish don’t just add colour to a room or a new baby crib, they can also release smelly, irritating, and toxic substances into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that paints and finishes are one of the top culprits in polluting our indoor air and…
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DIY Natural Facepaint

How to Make Safer Face Paints for Kids Wanna make face paint that doesn’t contain artificial food colouring (which is made of coal tar dye), synthetic fragrances, or other dangerous ingredients? Here’s a basic recipe. 2 teaspoons of organic cornstarch 1 teaspoon of natural, zinc-oxide based diaper cream or straight zinc-oxide cream Natural, organic food dyes. (See below…
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How do I find a nontoxic baby crib that doesn’t cost a fortune?

Congratulations Rebecca! As you know from the book, furniture is the biggest polluter in most homes and a new baby’s bedroom is likely already the most polluted in the home. Luckily, yes, there are cheaper alternatives than a new wood crib. Furniture Furniture is the most significant source of formaldehyde exposure in your home. In…
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Four household polluters & how to fix indoor air pollution problems

Four household polluters that you can do something about   Our indoor air is significantly more polluted than outdoor air and this is even true in most big cities. The bad news is that since we spend by far most of our days (about 90%) indoors, where the pollution is 5 to 7 times worse…
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Your home is polluted. Why is indoor air quality so bad?

Why Is Our Indoor Air So Polluted? In most of our homes, the answer to this question is, “because we have made it that way.” The pollution most often comes from things we bring into the house that release their chemical ingredients into the air of our home. Furniture, stinky cleaning supplies, paints, or any…
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How to keep kids busy without resorting to screens PART TWO

“You know how little kids always love to play with the cardboard boxes at Christmas? Well, it works in the summer and with older children too! The bigger the boxes the better – check with your local appliance store if they have any empty fridge or freezer boxes that they don’t mind parting with. Then…
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Spice it Up

There isn’t a hispanic cupboard in the world that doesn’t contain Sazon. Not one. My mother cooked with it. As did hers. As ubiquitous as salt, Sazon is the Spanish version of…well, salt. I never read its ingredients, as I would always mindlessly toss a box of Sazon in my grocery trolley as one might…
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How to get better, healthier sleep for your baby & child

Sleep. Ah. It can seem so allusive for parents of young children. Yet, increasingly we are understanding just how important it is. Sleep is a time of regeneration and growth for all humans and a time of great brain plasticity and development, especially for babies. Sleep is also a particularly vulnerable time. As one doctor…
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How to find a safe mattress?

Thank you Chris for being such a thoughtful green papa. I can relate to the difficult leap from going from a crib (or co-sleeper) sized mattress to a child (i.e. adult) size one and the corresponding price jump. In my experience, it is possible to find a truly natural (READ: nontoxic) crib mattress for around…
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The Basics on how to Green, Clean, & Organize any Room & Home

How to Get a Clean, Green, & Organized Home The air in your house is already 5 to 7 times worse than outdoor air. Children are more susceptible to the toxic air in a home as they breathe in 50% more air per pound of body weight than adults do and are less able to…
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Sixteen Green Faux Pas for 2016

We are all afraid of the green police. You know, those people who go around being more righteous than thou and shaming us lesser mortals for our shortcomings. At The Green Mama, we implore people to judge less (especially themselves): just start somewhere, just do something, and, gosh, have a little fun along the way….
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Fiften Green Faux Pas for 2015

We are all afraid of the green police. You know, those people who go around being more righteous than thou and shaming us lesser mortals for our shortcomings. At The Green Mama, we implore people to judge less (especially themselves): just start somewhere, just do something, and, gosh, have a little fun along the way….
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The Real Threat of Indoor Air Pollution & How to Keep Your Family Safe

Background on the Issue The quality of air inside our homes can be many times worse (on average, 2 to 5 times worse, according to the EPA) than outside air. And because on average we spend 90% of our time indoors, most of that time in our homes, we are quite susceptible to the air…
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