( photo: from www.disneypins.com)

Going Green Part 11

Once I understood medically what needed to be done I proceeded to look at everything else I was doing and started to make changes. I repainted my home with zero VOC paints several are listed on the resource tab that I have used in my home and on my hand painted furniture pieces. I switched to a different detergent for washing clothing and I’m currently testing some ingredients and making my own. I feel I have more control this way of what really is in the product as well as the handcrafted soaps I make which will be on the market this fall.

I looked at all the plastic I had in the house and found that the rating system on them indicated they were not safe and which contributes to the thyroid not functioning correctly and adding to estrogen levels in the body.

I buy more organic based foods whenever possible less canned items more goat’s milk, better ingredients in my cooking. Because of my allergies and sensitivities I only buy cottons, organic clothing, and linens. Within a month there was a significant change, less headaches, less skin irritation, but I had to tackle my painting.

I was an oil painter and needed to give that up and continued to work with non-toxic acrylic, watercolor paints and have recently ventured into painting with non-toxic water based oils that have come out on the market.

Going green contributed greatly to the improvement of my health and home. And very swiftly transitioned the way I created my art and changed all of my business practices to an Eco –Friendly, sustainable company. I'm now able to create my art without the worry of getting sick like I used to and I'm able to pass this to my clients.

So what does being green mean to me it means everything. A new way of living my life, knowing that everything I do not only impacts my planet but also drastically impacts my quality of life. It has also dramatically improved the way I create my art. I have peace of mind knowing that I can work in a healthy art studio environment and that I can create art in a non-toxic way for my clients, friends and family.

Going green can be a challenge when you are faced with a health crisis and there is urgency to making these changes, but you can take small steps to making these changes by looking around your home and assessing what needs to be done and break it down into tasks. I still need to remove all the carpeting in the house a huge expense so in the meantime I get it cleaned regularly until I can make the change to some Eco flooring like cork, bamboo and some other floor options I'm considering. Changing the paint was top priority and made a drastic improvement in my breathing.

I'm still undergoing changes in my home and when I come across an item that shouldn’t' be in my home I go through my recycling steps as to which bin it should go in and off it goes to be recycled.

I still have my days when pain can get the best of me; summer is not my friend so I plan accordingly everything I need to do in my day, I take my supplements and medication religiously and give myself plenty of TLC and learn to listen to my body.

Living green is not a fad for me it is a necessity and one that impacts the world I live in. So what does going Green me to you, how does it impact your life?