I know what you’re thinking. You’re dreading the moment I unleash my judgement on the parent who irresponsibly allows pollution of their child’s bodies with artery-clogging sweets, over-packaged junk food, and artificially dyed and preserved confections.

Relax, that’s not how I roll. All you’ll hear from me are a few friendly pointers on how to have more fun and less guilt on October 31st. Here goes:

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Are you a humble person? So many of us answer ‘yes’, and yet our homes and possessions tell another story. One of the central pillars of personal sustainability and green living is fulfilling needs over wants, and doing so in non-material ways when possible.

Why? Because producing ‘things’ requires energy and resources, not to mention the toll it takes on the environment throughout the ‘thing’s’ production, use, maintenance, storage and disposal. But weeding out those ‘wants disguised as needs’ and finding non-material paths to fulfillment demands a certain amount of honesty, creativity and courage.

Shay Salomon, author of ‘Little House on a Small Planet’ sheds light on the growing small house movement, and how humble dwellings can offer financial relief, greater social contact, clutter-free spaces, more leisure time, and an abundant sense of home and personal fulfillment.

Sound intriguing? Try on Shay’s view via this Peak Moment interview or borrow her book from the library.

Resources

Small House Society - Some great tools and resources!

Mountain Equipment Coop Ecological Footprint Calculator - Take the test and repeat yearly to track progress and prevent footprint growth.

Carbon Zero Emissions Calculator - Just because you aren’t consuming stuff, doesn’t mean you aren’t consuming energy!

Do you live in a small house? If not, would you consider living in one?

Believe it or not, I actually passed organic chemistry in university. That, and I’m half decent at pronouncing crazy chems like Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

But, I can’t say I’m at all on top of knowing which types of plastic are okay to drink water from (is it #7 or #2?), and which symptoms are linked with which substance (does BPA cause neural damage or are VOCs guilty of disrupting hormones, or is it the other way round?). Never mind remembering which toxins are in our carpets, curtains, and yes, mattresses.

Luckily, more consumers are realizing that just because you can buy something in the store, doesn’t mean it won’t give you and your family cancer, organ damage, or migraines. The problem is, it is so dang hard to identify the culprits let alone unearth the alternatives.

Alas, one Canadian charity has come to our defence with a smorgasbord of studies, news reports, and guides to help us all detoxify our homes, lives, and bodies. In particular, Environmental Defense’s Healthy Home Checklist Guide (172 K pdf) walks you through each room in your home identifying not only the sources of nasty toxins, but also their healthier alternatives.

And if you’re not a chemist with a photographic memory, you can fall back on the guide’s trusty glossary. It’s a really swell resource. And, I’m not just saying that because I love checklists.

As for me, I plan to print off the pdf, stick it to my fridge, and work through a toxics purge in my abode. I may even take the site’s Chemical Reduction Pledge.

It’s a hefty feat, but well worth the effort to protect my hubby, myself, me pups, and our future kids. Happy detox!

Resources

Environmental Defence Toxic Nation Site