When we first found out that we were pregnant, we agreed that we did not want to know the gender of the baby, that way it would be a surprise to us once they arrived. That meant that in designing the nursery, we would choose a generic theme: think Winnie the Pooh, Rubber Ducks, or even Jungle Animals theme.

Since we had done a little bit of traveling, we thought, why not make the room a “world theme”? I thought of globes and maps instantly. We registered for these things at Babys R Us and the room turned out so cute. We got these “world map” sheets and these Sahara print blankets and diaper changing table cover.

These wall decals were meant to stick on the wall, but we chose to frame them instead and put them into two corners of the room:

To tie the room all together, we were blessed to work with Lorena Canals on a great rug for the room. The World Map rug is simply stunning! It is handmade and 100% natural cotton and non toxic dyes (super important factors for our kids rooms). What is great about this rug is how soft it is. The whole family loves to come in here and lay on the rug. When I first received it, I washed it right away. It fits right into a home washer and dryer and came out beautifully with no snags or tears.

I love knowing the my kids can play on this for time to come and that I can just wash it when needed! This is a must have for a nursery or play room, plus it’s huge!  Check out their website for tons of other great prints and ideas for your themed rooms!

What theme did you choose for your little one? Or are you still deciding?

-Kim

*Although I received the World Map rug in exchange for this review, all opinions are solely my own

The post Choosing a Theme for your Child’s Room appeared first on The Lavender Ladies.

You know that we love products that are free of toxic ingredients (Sulfates, Parabens, Phthalates, PEG’s, Synthetic Colors and Fragrances), etc. When I discovered that babo Botanicals®  made a 3-in-1 Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash I was really excited to try it out! I have used their Calming Body Lotion with Lavender for the last year and it’s my go to lotion for my hands before I go to bed at night.

I’ve now used the 3-in-1 Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash for my 2 year old and baby and I have to say that the smell is very calming and invigorating! I am partial to the smell of lavender, but this is not overpowering at all. It also produces a lot of bubbles, surprisingly. I didn’t think it would. So naturally my daughter loves it.

Benefits:

Pure Flower Extracts

Sulfate Free

Paraben Free

Tear Free

Hypoallergenic

Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free

No PEG’s or Mineral Oil

Works for the entire family, not just kids!

Head over to my INSTAGRAM PAGE for a chance to WIN your own bottle of  “babo BOTANICALS® Calming Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash”

Have you tried any of their products yet? If so, which ones?

-Kim

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An example of some common ingredients in your everyday shampoos would be the chemical Dimethicone (which makes hair easy to comb and lustrous).  It is in a lot of shampoos but it’s classified by the Canadian government as a possible toxin that warrants further study. Have you heard of SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) and SLES (sodium laureth sulfate)? These are harsh detergents that are responsible for making your shampoo foam up. It strips your hair of essential oils and the proteins it needs to grow healthy and strong. PEG’s or (Polyethylene Glycols) act as a hair thickening agent, but strips your hair of it’s natural moisture. Parabens prolong the shelf life of your shampoo and hair products but are chemicals known for their toxic nature. They irritate the skin and can affect your hormonal balance, which can result in hair loss.  Almost all hair products contain Alcohol, which can dry out your hair. Andour personal favorite, Synthetic Fragrance or Parfum. Many fragrances are a mix of thousands of chemicals. Many of them are irritants and cause aggregate the scalp.

The point of all of this is, is just to raise awareness of all of the chemicals that are in our beauty products. Look at the label of a bottle of your favorite hair care product. Notice all of the chemicals and fragrances in there.

Look for these when you go to buy your next hair care product:

• Shampoos that do not contain ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate (instead opt for those with a milder cleaner such as sodium lauryl sulfoaccetate and sodium lauryl sulfosuccinate. They won’t foam as much but will efficiently clean your hair.
•  Choose a Conditioner that does not contain dimethicone
• Choose a Shampoo or Conditioner with a natural fragrance such as essential oils or plant based products

Our Shampoo and Conditioner of choice is from the Ava Hair line by Ava Anderson Non Toxic. It has no harsh or toxic ingredients in it that would dry out, damage or strip our hair. It is great for everyday use and for the whole family.

DID YOU KNOW?

Annually in the U.S. we pour 350 millions of gallons of shampoo down the drain. Our wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove bacteria, not toxic chemicals. So every day, contaminated water goes back into the water supply (Mt. Sinai Hospital, Children and the Environment)

We hope you learned something new from this! Let’s all help cut down on the amount of chemicals going down the drain!

-Kim and Jamie

The post What’s In Your Shampoo? appeared first on The Lavender Ladies.

I really wanted to make my own dryer sheet “alternatives” due to the things I’ve heard about chemicals in traditional fabric softner sheets that are emitted into the air from the vents when you run your drying cycle. The chemicals emitted can cause long-term health effects (hazardous air pollutants and carcinogens! No thanks!) So why not do something about it?  You won’t be able to find any of the VOC’s listed on the dryer sheets ingredient list, but DO look out for the ingredient “fragrance” which companies can legal label….and can contain up to 200 chemicals!  Also, the ingredients in dryer sheets can coat your clothing for up to multiple washes with residue of chemicals that come in contact with your skin all day long.

If you have to use dryer sheets, at least look for “frangrance-free” or “hypoallergenic”. An even better alternative would be to buy or make your own wool dryer balls. The concept behind these are that they contain no toxic chemicals, they soften your clothes and will cut down on the drying cycle (therefore saving you money on your electric bill!) It’s ideal to have 4-6 wool dryer balls to use in the dryer…and if you want to add some “fragrance”, I suggest Essential Oils as they are organic and won’t emit VOC’s!

Here’s how to make your own wool dryer balls:

-Wool Yarn

-Pantyhose

-Acrylic Yarn or Floss

-Essential Oil (if wanted for fragrance)

  
Wrap the yarn around your hand about 10 times, then wrap it around the other way 10 times. 
   
 
Keep wrapping the wool around in different directions about 5 times each until your wool ball is about the size of a tennis ball or baseball. 

  
Cut the wool and tuck the string end into the ball somewhere. 

It took me 2 skeins to make 4 wool balls. Each one took about 10 minutes to make. Once finished, you will put each ball into the pantyhose, tied apart from each other with acrylic yarn or dental floss (Not wool, since it will felt). 

  
You will put the pantyhose into your regular loads of laundry (give it 3-4 cycles ) on hot heat and even throwing them into the dryer to make the wool balls felt. You will know they are ready when you dont see the individual string fibers anymore. The wool will felt and not separate from the ball.  

Throw all of the dryer balls into your load and you’re ready to go! You can also add a few drops of essential oil to each wool ball if you’d like a hint of frangrance. I recommend Young Living Essential Oils.

 Stay tuned for my next “Little Changes” topic!

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When I say that I’m guilty, I literally mean it. I have had this 1/2 finished soap bottle in my bathroom, but have just been waiting for it to get all used before I tried my “Germ-buster” DIY soap!

So, finally I have an empty foaming soap dispenser. Now to make my first bathroom toiletry that is free of “fragrance”, “sodium lauryl sulfates”, “PEG’s”, and synthetic dyes. (Just to name a few).

*Fragrance can be literally hidden is hundreds of ingredients in “parfum” or “fragrance”:  a “trade secret”in the industry. More than 75% of the time if you have a fragrance, you have legally hidden phthalates (THAL ates), known endocrine disruptors, that are linked with birth defects, breast cancer, infertility, liver, cancer, diabetes, obesity and now with autism and ADHD in pregnancy by Dr. Philip Landrigon, Mt Sinai, Children’s Environmental Health Center. 

* PEG’s (polyethylene glycol) are petroleum byproducts. During manufacturing process, carcinogenic contamination is created: 1,4 dioxane, which is a known human carcinogen, with liver and kidney effects.

* Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are considered carcinogens. SLES is sometimes contaminated with 1, 4 dioxane (remember from above?). You will never see 1,4 dioxane on a label, as companies are not required to list carcinogenic contaminants. (CRAZY, right??!)

*Synthetic dyes/colors are made from coal tar, which is a mixture of many chemicals, derived from petroleum. These colors may be contaminated with low levels of heavy metals and some are combined with aluminum substrate. Aluminum compounds and many heavy metals are toxic to the brain. i.e. FD&C Blue 1, Green 3, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 33.

Like I mentioned above, until very recently, these were ingredients in my soap. It is a name brand that is not that expensive. Most people probably have used this handsoap in their homes.  This week, I made the switch to a “safer” soap option:

“FOAMING GERM-BUSTING HAND SOAP”:

(What you’ll need: a foaming hand soap dispenser, liquid Castile Soap, Thieves Essential Oil Blend)

1 part Castile Soap

+

4 parts Water

+

5-10 drops Thieves Essential Oil Blend

 (You can always tweek it if it doesn’t feel right to you. Be sure you’re using a foaming pump as the Castile soaps do not work well in a regular soap pump without clogging or shooting the soap sideways or up!! (I use Thieves Essential Oil blend because it is a blend of Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Cloves and Rosemary….talk about great a great safe-guard oil!) 

This DIY hand soap avoids dangerous chemicals AND saves money! What changes can you make?

Stay tuned to the next part of the series!
-Kim

The post Little changes- (the series)…..starting with hand soap appeared first on The Lavender Ladies.

Did you know:

• that Europe bans 1,371 toxic chemicals from their personal care products and the US bans only 11?
• the FDA does not regulate the personal care products industry and hopes that cosmetic companies will do their due diligence and issue safe products?
• “safe”, “organic” and “natural” does not mean your products do not contain any toxic chemicals as well?
• 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer in their lifetime, 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys are identified with autism spectrum disorder in the US, and that Alzheimers is up 500% in the past 20 years?
• according to the President’s Cancer Panel only 10% of cancer is genetic and 90% is caused by environmental factors?  (www.AvaAndersonNonToxic.com)

So, if only 10% of cancer is genetic, and 90% is environmental, why wouldn’t you try to control what you put in (and on) your body if you have the choice? While you can’t completly control the air you breathe, you can certainly control the food you eat and the products you buy (or make!) and use.  

This is my passion. 

I will be making an air freshener with the divine smell of the Purification Essential Oil from Kim’s starter kit in my next post because I can ‘passionately’ smell my niece’s diaper pail at the moment.  Till next time!  

-Jamie

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