Natural, Simple, Eco, Healthy, Frugal...

A recycled photo from an early blog post.

Some of my kids are coming home today, and by the end of the week, all four of them will be here, along with their husbands and children. So, I will be quite happily occupied and may or may not show up here with a post this week.

Awhile back, Kelli asked if I'd share some of my favorite non-toxic products. Once I started this list, it took on a mind of its own and expanded to include a lot more than face and body care!

Because the whole of life eventually begins to fall in line with this way of thinking and living, I could easily expand this list to include a much broader and deeper range of things, but since I am not trying to make a master list for conscientious living, and since I have written this off the top of my head, let's just call this a start. My start.

There are lists like this in many places-- lists more thorough than mine-- but this is where I am right now, learning and growing and without any expectations for anyone else. If you have anything you're dying to add to this, please do!

So, this is a sampling of some favorite things I use, have read, enjoy, and aim for:

~use compassion
~be deliberate
~be content
~be grateful

~get fresh air and sunlight
~Weleda Rose (or Iris) face lotion
~Kiss My Face Sudz citrus bar soap
~MyChelle face lotion
~Tom's of Maine toothpaste and dental floss
~Kiss My Face spray toner
~Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap
~Gabriel lipstick
~Giovanni hair stuff
~Jason cocoa butter body lotion
~Badger lip balm and foot balm

~smile and laugh often

~do less laundry
~use a clothesline
~make homemade cleaners
~Mrs. Myers dish soap and laundry soap
~Seventh Generation carpet spot remover
~Clean House, Clean Planet
~Annie Berthold-Bond books and website (care2.com)
~buy fewer clothes
~use the cold cycle
~use the sun to bleach whites
~Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus

~Easy Green Living

~cook simply
~eat plenty of raw/living foods
~compost
~buy in bulk
~use lidded glass jars for storage
~eat slowly
~use cloth napkins
~visit farmers' markets
~use cloth shopping bags
~eat smaller portions
~go to a farm and u-pick
~grow some of your own food
~Vintage Pyrex storage containers
~unbleached wax paper bags
~unbleached parchment paper
~join a CSA
~eat real food
~Slow Food
~Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
~read Wendell Berry
~Simple, Green, Frugal, Co-op

~water-wise gardening
~decorate simply and timelessly
~no-VOC paints (remembering, though, that even lemons have VOC's)
~Elspeth's eco-house
~Noah's Garden
~A Pattern Language

~make do

~cut back
~do without
~don't buy it
~repurpose
~make it yourself
~give simple gifts
~buy used
~play the how-little-garbage-can-I-throw-away game
~don't buy bottled water
~recycle
~use cloth diapers
~Living More With Less

~Little Heathens

~drive less
~walk
~limit technology
~use fewer machines
~turn down the heat and put on a sweater
~take shorter and cooler showers and baths
~avoid using the air conditioner (it's okay to perspire a bit and to adjust)
~explore and intimately know your own backyard/neighborhood/town/local area
~ride a bike
~take mass transportation
~stay home more
~use the library
~be more people-oriented than activity-oriented
~Better Off!
~The Simple Living Guide

~share with others

~be compassionate

~use wisdom

~give to the needy

~take care of the widow/orphan/oppressed

~do good works (and don't tell anyone about them)

~Small is Beautiful