Better Living Through Chemistry?

Okay, I'm back to therapeutic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of my anxiety/depression. In discussing my dismay at this latest turn of events, I tell people that I am frustrated that, even as I am slowly trying to reduce/eliminate the preponderance of chemicals in my home, I am back to introducing chemicals in pill form into my body everyday. I am met with questions like, "Why do you have chemicals in your home?" To which I respond, "Well, don't you?" Don't you have a cabinet full of Fantastik, 409, Comet, and the like? Well, those are full of chemicals. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a few spritzes of soapy water can clean my table and countertops just as well as chemical-and-fragrance-laden commercial cleaners. People are surprised to find that I consider those products to be troubling. It makes me seem nutty and subversive. And yet, to me, it just seems like common sense. I am not advocating poor hygiene. I am only suggesting that when perfectly good, but less toxic, options are available doesn't it just make sense to choose the less toxic option? Especially in a home with children?

We have become so accustomed to re-odorizing everything around us that we are often oblivious to the fragrant assault we are subjected to on a daily basis. At the grocery store, I used to love to walk by the laundry detergent aisle. The scents of Fresh Linen, Spring Rain, and Mountain Mist seemed so lovely and calming. Then, several months ago now, I started making my own laundry soap at home. Shortly thereafter, I began to notice something very different at the grocery store - I can't get away from the laundry detergent aisle quickly enough. My nose itches. The fragrances seem heavy and cloying and sometimes even make my head hurt. When my kids come home from Grandma's, I often have to throw all of their clothes straight into the wash. See, Grandma oh-so-thoughtfully-and-graciously never sends home dirty clothes. I, of course, appreciate this gesture immensely and NEVER EVER complain. In fact, I thank her profusely, just so you know, for her kindness. Unfortunately, the clothing is so heavily fragranced that I just really can't stand it. She doesn't read this, BTW, so my secret is safe.

I'm really not trying to be a weirdo nut-job. I like to have a clean house, and I work hard to that end. I guess we all just have a different idea of what makes us feel satisfied that things are clean. My husband knows the kitchen is clean only when it reeks of lemon-scented Lysol household cleaner. I know other moms who feel the same way when their homes smell of Fantastik or smell bleachy. Personally, I feel like my house is clean when it doesn't smell like much of anything at all. If I want to freshen up the house, I like to open some windows to let fresh air in (weather permitting, of course) instead of spraying Fresh Scent from a can. I guess my post today is kind of a "standing on my soapbox" rant - I don't mean for it to be.

I just don't necessarily buy into everything that Dow Chemical has to say about healthy living. Their goal, after all, is to sell their products. My goal is to provide the safest environment for my family. Remember Agent Orange? Okay, I don't personally remember Agent Orange because I wasn't born yet. BUT, my dad is a Vietnam Veteran and the phrase "Agent Orange" was no stranger in our home. (We also were not allowed to watch Jane Fonda movies, but that's another story. But you can see that I was not raised with my default setting programmed to "Trust the Establishment.") For the uninitiated, Agent Orange is a dioxin-containing herbicide/defoliant that was sprayed pretty indiscriminately on the jungles of Vietnam in order to make it more difficult for the enemy to use the jungle foliage as cover. Unfortunately, this led to high levels of exposures to millions of U.S. troops (and also to Vietnamese civilians), which has led to long-term (still on-going, as a matter of fact) health effects. In fact, exposure to Agent Orange is so destructive that the Veteran's Administration policy imposes no time limits for filing health claims related to the exposure. Which is to say, veterans are STILL developing health problems, cancer, diabetes, and so on, that are presumed to have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange decades ago. So, who made Agent Orange? Among others, Dow Chemical and Monsanto.

You may recognize Dow because their label is probably on most of the commercial cleaning products you have under your sink. And Monsanto is currently hi-jacking agriculture on a global scale with genetically modified organisms that get sold as "food" but ultimately destroy the soil and put small farmers out of business - slowly and systematically diminishing our choices as consumers to purchase anything BUT their products. Do you grow your own food? Where do you get the seeds? Unless you purchase from a reputable supplier who pledges not to sell GMO seeds and sells seeds from open-pollinated plants, well then chances are you bought seeds from a Monsanto subsidiary without even knowing it. Scary stuff.

So, Better Living Through Chemistry, huh? Well, I guess in some ways yes, and in some ways no. It's a line we each have to draw for ourselves and our own families. Where do YOU draw the line?