The other day I was out for lunch with my significant other (S.O.) and his mother, who was visiting from France. We went to a mom-and-pop sandwich place we frequent often, so we are on friendly terms with the owner who works behind the counter. 
 

That wasn’t the first time the outspoken restaurant owner asked this type of question. She has asked me in roundabout ways several times before. She’s also not the only person to do so. We have quite a few friends and family with small children, so I get a lot of, “So, when are you having kids?” When I gain a little weight and they jump with excitement because people think I am  WITH child. I have to inform them, “Nope, just WITH Cheeseburger!” When I say I’m nauseous, they say, “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”  Maybe I just don’t feel good.  Response to that, “Oh, you never know!” rather than, “Oh, I’m sorry, are you okay?” 

My S.O. and I fall into the non-breeding category. We are child free by choice. This is a concept many people cannot grasp. When I tell people I am not having children they give me a sad look as if my child-to-be had lived and died, and  say, “You can always adopt” or “Nancy from choir is 47 and has a five year old!” Good for her, but it’s not for me.  It’s not that I can’t have them, I don’t want to have them. I’m all for everyone else having them, don’t get me wrong. Have as many as you like. I just don’t want to be the one giving birth.  And then I get the old, “Oh, you’re the type of person who will regret not having kids.” and “Having kids was the best thing I ever did. I don’t know how I’d live without them!” Again, your story, not mine.

Just FYI, I am not a fat person. I am 5’9″ and weigh 140 pounds – see? I am not ashamed of my weight. 
I am not in shape and have a  few love handles, but what 30 plus person doesn’t ? Just anorexics or the rare naturally thin folks that everyone loves to hate.

These links are taken from the website Childfree.net to learn how to cope with the idiotic questions and comments we get from the conservative mainstream: 

You’re Being Selfish  http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_selfish.html

Preparation for Parenthood http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_prep.html

This one is from Ann Lander’s Childless Couple – very witty http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_annlanders.html

Why is it so important for you to have a baby? http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_whybaby.html

How Childless couples get the short end of the stick when it comes to benefits http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_lift.html

Couples in no-kid marriages happiest http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_couples.html

Celebrity/Notable Child-Frees http://www.childfree.net/potpourri_celebrity.html

* Article taken from Vegetarian Times at http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/672

Copyright © 2008 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. | an Active Interest Media Company

Toxic Chemicals Found in Common Scented Laundry Products, Air Fresheners

Newswise — A University of Washington study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels.

“I first got interested in this topic because people were telling me that the air fresheners in public restrooms and the scent from laundry products vented outdoors were making them sick,” said Anne Steinemann, a UW professor of civil and environmental engineering and of public affairs. “And I wanted to know, ‘What’s in these products that is causing these effects?'”

She analyzed the products to discover the chemicals’ identity.

“I was surprised by both the number and the potential toxicity of the chemicals that were found,” Steinemann said. Chemicals included acetone, the active ingredient in paint thinner and nail-polish remover; limonene, a molecule with a citrus scent; and acetaldehyde, chloromethane and 1,4-dioxane.
“Nearly 100 volatile organic compounds were emitted from these six products, and none were listed on any product label. Plus, five of the six products emitted one or more carcinogenic ‘hazardous air pollutants,’ which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to have no safe exposure level,” Steinemann said.

Her study was published online today by the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review. Steinemann chose not to disclose the brand names of the six products she tested. In a larger study of 25 cleaners, personal care products, air fresheners and laundry products, now submitted for publication, she found that many other brands contained similar chemicals.

Because manufacturers of consumer products are not required to disclose the ingredients, Steinemann analyzed the products to discover their contents. She studied three common air fresheners (a solid deodorizer disk, a liquid spray and a plug-in oil) and three laundry products (a dryer sheet, fabric softener and a detergent), selecting a top seller in each category. She bought household items at a grocery store and asked companies for samples of industrial products.

In the laboratory, each product was placed in an isolated space at room temperature and the surrounding air was analyzed for volatile organic compounds, small molecules that evaporate from the product’s surface into the air.

Results showed 58 different volatile organic compounds above a concentration of 300 micrograms per cubic meter, many of which were present in more than one of the six products. For instance, a plug-in air freshener contained more than 20 different volatile organic compounds. Of these, seven are regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. The product label lists no ingredients, and information on the Material Safety Data Sheet, required for workplace handling of chemicals, lists the contents as “mixture of perfume oils.”

This study does not address links between exposure to chemicals and health effects. However, two national surveys published by Steinemann and a colleague in 2004 and 2005 found that about 20 percent of the population reported adverse health effects from air fresheners, and about 10 percent complained of adverse effects from laundry products vented to the outdoors. Among asthmatics such complaints were roughly twice as common.

Manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients used in laundry products and air fresheners. Personal-care products and cleaners often contain similar fragrance chemicals, Steinemann said. And although cosmetics are required by the Food and Drug Administration to list ingredients, no law requires products of any kind to list chemicals used in fragrances.

“Fragrance chemicals are of particular interest because of the potential for involuntary exposure, or second-hand scents,” Steinemann said.
“Be careful if you buy products with fragrance, because you really don’t know what’s in them,” she added. “I’d like to see better labeling. In the meantime, I’d recommend that instead of air fresheners people use ventilation, and with laundry products, choose fragrance-free versions.”

The European Union recently enacted legislation requiring products to list 26 fragrance chemicals when they are present above a certain concentration in cosmetic products and detergents. No similar laws exist in the United States.
“I hope this study will raise public awareness, and reduce exposures to potentially hazardous chemicals,” said Steinemann.

I’ve been on a mission to reduce chemicals in my household and have discovered how effective natural cleaners like baking soda and vinegar are.  My toilet actually sparkled and smelled clean, especially when adding a bit of lemon juice to the cocktail. I didn’t think it was possible, since they didn’t seem strong enough in my mind. 

A victim of mass marketing, I formerly believed that only strong-smelling chemical cleaners could get rid of grease, germs and soap scum. Then I wondered just how toxic these chemical cleaners are, including supposedly harmless ones like Windex glass cleaner and Sunlight Dish soap. How toxic? Try carcinogenic and asthma-inducing. 

These facts caught my attention in Wendy Mesley’s “Chasing the Cancer Answer” on CBC’s Marketplace. Wendy was diagnosed with cancer recently and began her own research on cancer-causing products. She interviewed Mae Burrows, Executive Director of the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) located here in Vancouver. Burrows recommended the CancerSmart Consumers Guide which was researched and produced by the Society. The guide was created for consumers to more easily research the products they are buying so they are better informed of what goes into common household, beauty and food products. You can purchase the latest guide from their website for $12.60 and this money goes to support the Society since they are not-for-profit.

I couldn’t believe what I read in the Guide, just how many seemingly innocent and comforting products like Pledge (I loved the way lemon-waxy smell reminded me of my childhood when I helped my Mom clean) are incredibly toxic, containing chemicals such as isobutane, propane, butane, silicones and isoparaffinic hydrocarbon solvent. There’s also the hazardous effect on the environment to consider. All these products end up flushed away and carried via groundwater into rivers, where they can have devastating impacts on animals, birds and fish. 

More comforting smells for a lot of people are Plug-in and spray air fresheners. I get so angry at all the advertisements I see on television, trying to convince people that these air fresheners will actually “clean the air” (i.e. Febreeze), and that you need a strong, flowery smell to be clean and fresh. In actuality, the smell of clean doesn’t smell like anything. And you shouldn’t spray the air full of chemicals because these air fresheners contain formaldehyde and other chemicals that are asthma-triggers and human carcinogens.  The best way to get rid of odours is to actually clean your house, empty the kitchen garbage daily and ventilate with fresh air. 

Formaldehyde is also found in the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This is scary since all the television ads show mothers using this product for their children’s toys and furniture.

Silica is another commonly-found chemical. It is a carcinogenic when it occurs as fine, respirable dust found in some abrasive cleaners, such as Ajax with bleach, Comet Powder with Clorinol and even Sunlight Laundry Detergent. Healthy alternatives for these cleaners are baking soda, vinegar, or Vim. Laundry detergent brands that are  don’t contain silica are All, Bold and Tide.  Silica is also found in little packets that come with jewellry boxes and furniture to absorb moisture. Even though it is contained in the packets, sometimes they have holes and leak, so it’s probably best to use rubber gloves when handling.

And then there is everyday food. Many people might not expect to find such toxic compounds in the food they eat. There are so many pesticides found in fruits and vegetables. The CancerSmart Consumer Guide refers to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which screened hundreds of food samples for contaminants between 1994 and 1998. According to the Guide, some fruits and vegetables were contaminated with residues from ten or more different pesticides.

This Guide, along with other resources recommended by the LEAS website, convinced me to stop buying these chemical products and to give the all-natural ones a try. Cancer is in my family, so I’m not taking any more risks. 

More environmentally-friendly and affordable cleaning solutions can be seen on the mildly entertaining and often disgusting television show “How Clean Is Your House?”  If these natural elixirs can get the grime and feces off toilets that haven’t been cleaned in three or more years, it will work for yours.

More websites to visit are www.scorecard.org and www.environmentaldefence.ca

If you don’t have time to surf the net, here are some easy cleaning solutions for every day household cleaning using distilled vinegar.

Indoors:
-Wipe with full-strength vinegar to banish grease
-Dilute with water to remove grease and grime on mini-blinds
-Use full-strength to clean chrome fixtures and whiten grout
-Brew full-strength to clean your coffee maker or tea kettle 
-Dilute with water and use with a cloth to remove starch build-up from your iron
-Dilute with water and sprinkle on pet-stained carpet
-Mix with salt and baking soda to unclog drains
-Dilute with water and spray on mirrors and windows for a streak-free shine
-Mix with olive oil to remove glass water rings on wood furniture
-Mix with hot water and some liquid hand or dish soap to mop your floors.

And Outdoors:
-Spray full-strength to get rid of unwanted grass
-Use full-strength to clean your car’s windshield wiper blades and to remove lime stains

(Source: Kellen Communications Newswise)