Here are 8 things that are helping me stay semi-sane:

1. Home improvement projects. Since we are rarely leaving the apartment these days, I’ve been inspired to improve the inside! I splurged on these organic sheets, have been filling my home with air-purifying plants, and upgraded a few of our rugs to less toxic versions (current fave). I’ve also been doing some organizing and deep cleaning, room by room, and this activity prompted me to publish an All-Purpose Cleaner Guide.
2. Cooking. You probably know by now that I’m not much of a cook. Mostly, I find it pretty tedious, which is probably why I made New York City my home. Sun Basket takes the pressure off a few times a week, and I’ve also gone back to my old favorite cookbook for delicious, easy, vegetarian meals. If you’re cooking more than usual (and I assume you all are!), our Cookware Guide might be of particular interest right now.
   1. Not cooking! Just yesterday, I started Nutrition for Longevity meal delivery and it is so, so delicious! It’s a unique concept of pre-made breakfast and lunch and then ingredients and recipe for a simple dinner. You can use code GIMME20 for $20 off your trial box or $40 off a subscription. So far, I’m into it!For a true detox, you could also try Sakara’s Healthy Body Project , which is a four-week transformative program that includes Sakara meals, at-home fitness classes from The Sculpt Society, health coaching, and $250 in luxe gifts, including a pair of sneakers from APL. You can choose to start May 4, 11, 18, or 25. Code XOMAIA will get you 20% off this or any other Sakara meal program.
3. Squeezing in fitness. The reality is that it is VERY hard for me to muster the discipline to work out for a full hour at home. To compensate, I’m forcing myself do a session every day, but typically it’s just 20 or 30 minutes. I’m working my way through the free trials of all the online programs you guys have recommended. So far, that’s been Tracy Anderson, Melissa Wood Health, and now Yoga Glo. Next, I’ll do The Class, and then I’ll likely stop the trials and sign up for my favorite. Let me know if I’m missing an amazing one! In terms of equipment, I purchased some basic ankle weights on Amazon, and am still using wine bottles for hand weights. I did a little research on yoga mats, and decided on this brand as the best non-toxic one on the market. I love it, and would highly recommend.
   
4. Giving back. A good way to stop feeling sorry for yourself is by an act of generosity. There are so many vulnerable groups right now, and I’ve been particularly worried about the many women I know who are employed as domestic workers and are ineligible for unemployment benefits. I’ve chosen to donate to this incredible organization, and would love to hear from you about how you’re giving back–if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so.
5. Trying to keep us well. I feel more peace of mind when I’m doing basic things to keep us safe. My husband is an essential worker, so we are not entirely quarantined, and doing lots of hand-washing, wearing masks when we go out for groceries, and trying to remember to take our elderberry syrup (it’s back in stock, you guys!). Here’s a list of natural substances that kill coronavirus.
6. Getting outside. I know many of you have nice big yards, but my fellow apartment dwellers must know my pain! Even moments on our roof, watering our little carrot garden, brighten my mood. We drove about an hour outside of the city earlier in this week for a 3-mile hike and I’m determined to make that a weekly activity.
7. Trying new beauty products or treatments. Wellll, the truth is, I’m not exactly making myself more beautiful during this time. You might argue the opposite, in fact. The new habits I’ve taken on during quarantine include not shaving my armpits (something I’ve always wanted to do–it must be the Vermonter in me!) and giving no-poo another shot. Picking at my face and chewing my cuticles have become my number 1 and number 2 hobbies. One thing I have done is add this raved-about product to my simple skincare routine. I’ve also thought about dying my hair, and started looking into safer options for that. My initial research lead me to conclude that Garnier’s Olia line is perhaps the safest, although still far from truly Good Stuff.

Will you reply to this email and let me know how you’re staying sane through this? I don’t always have time to reply, but I do read every single message!

Stay sane,

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What follows are the brands I’ve found that are free of PVC. Please comment below with any others you’ve found! (There are a bunch of other considerations if you want your wallpaper to be super-green, like finding ones made of recycled papers, dyed with only soy-based inks, and so on. If I were undertaking this project, my primary concern would be finding a line that’s free of PVC, and any other eco features would be gravy.)

Coven wallpaper by Maison C.

PVC-Free Wallpaper Lines

Genevieve wallpaper from Spoonflower

1. Maison C. (my personal favorite)
2. Spoonflower
3. Ferm Living
4. Madison and Grow
5. Twenty2
6. Paper Mills
7. Flat Vernacular (avoid their mylar version)
8. Pintura
9. Eskayel

If you’re considering buying any of these lines, please check with them to confirm that the specific paper you’ve selected is free of PVC/vinyl. Some brands can even show you certifications of purity.

Non-Toxic Wallpaper Glues and Adhesives

When hanging wallpaper, you’ll also want to make sure you use a non-toxic glue, and definitely one that doesn’t contain fungicides. You can actually make this yourself with flour. There are companies that make non-toxic wallpaper glue as well, but most of them are in Europe.

The ingredient in these nontoxic pastes is methylcellulose, which the Environmental Working Group gives a 0 on the hazard scale. Here are a couple of non-toxic pastes I’ve found.

1. Auro 389 Wallpaper Paste 
2. Mister Art

Stay sane,

PS: A number of clients have also asked about VOC-free chalkboard paint. For that I like this one by Lullaby Paints.

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The post Is Most Wallpaper Toxic? appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

Recently, I’ve had a few private consulting clients ask about non-toxic carpeting. As a result, I’ve spent some time more deeply looking into this.  I hope this post helps answer the big question: Is there such thing as truly safe, non-toxic carpeting?

What Makes Carpeting Toxic?

As my dad wrote in the flooring post about our non-toxic renovation undertaking, Project One-Eleven, carpeting is problematic for a variety of reasons, including:

1. The chemicals and materials used to make the carpets and pads beneath them, including plastics, wool that’s laden with fungicides, synthetic rubber that may contain endocrine-disrupting phthalates, toxic dyes, and chemicals that are meant to repel flame, water, and stains.
2. The materials used in the carpet installation process, including glues and other adhesives that contain formaldehyde and a range of VOCs that off-gas into the home environment.
3. Carpet’s tendency that to accumulate dust mites, dirt, pesticides, and other toxins brought into our homes on our feet (and our pets’ feet!).

So Are All Carpet Bad News?

The older the carpets, the more likely they are to contain bad chemicals and pounds of accumulated junk. So I’d say that yes, old carpets are categorically bad news. But because we have some really safe options available these days, newer carpets can be a good choice for your home.

And this is important: In addition to choosing safe carpets, you should clean them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This usually involves frequent vacuuming (make sure you use a HEPA-sealed vacuum that’s RoHS certified, like the ones from Miele) and occasional steam cleaning. You also might consider investing in a robust electronic air filter.

Non-toxic Carpeting Brands

We’ve done the research on natural, non-toxic carpeting, and we found three safe brands to recommend:

Earth Weave is the gold standard among non-toxic carpeting. They simply make the very best stuff.

Earth Weave’s natural, non-toxic carpeting is made in the United States from carefully selected European wool, hemp, cotton, natural latex, and jute.

Earth Weave uses only safe dying methods for some of their colors; the other colors are natural wool hues. Even better, they don’t treat their carpets with any worrisome chemicals.

We used Earth Weave on the staircases and landings in our home in Lancaster, PA, and I’m someone who has never had a carpet (I’ve never much cared for it). I have to say that our Earth Weave carpet is beautiful, cozy, and great for my peace of mind when little kids are running up and down stairs! I’m considering carpeting the bedrooms next.

If you’d like to order Earth Weave through Gimme the Good Stuff, email suzanne@gimmethegoodstuff.org or click here. (We also offer our customers Earth Weave area rugs.)

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Nature’s Carpet’s Everest carpet from their “Dark Green” collections is made from a blend of European and New Zealand wool. It’s chemical-free with a cotton and jute backing as well as a natural rubber latex adhesive. The Aberdeen and Element carpets, also from the Dark Green collection, are made with 98% natural materials. These ones have a woven polypropylene backing. (I consider polypropylene to be an non-toxic plastic). All three carpet styles in the Dark Green category from Nature’s Carpet use un-dyed wool and do not contain any moth-proofing or flame-retardant chemicals.

Unique Carpets makes a Four Seasons collection that is less expensive than the others I’ve mentioned while still being mostly natural, with un-dyed wool from the UK and no added treatment chemicals. This carpet does have some polypropylene-based backing, although much of their backing is jute. Note that other collections from Unique Carpets are not as natural as the Four Seasons line, and I can’t call them truly non-toxic carpeting.

Non-Toxic Rug Pads & Grippers

Rug and carpet sales people always recommend that you use rug pads and/or grippers to prevent slipping, increase cushioning, prolong the life of the floor covering, and protect the floor underneath. Most of these products are at least as toxic as conventional rugs and carpets themselves, but there is a safe alternative:

Earth Weave makes natural rug pads made from a combination of wool and plant fiber. These pads contain no glues, dyes, flame retardant chemicals, or mothproofing chemicals. We also love Earth Weave’s natural rug grippers made from 100% natural latex.

Do you have experience with any of these–or other–carpet brands, or have other questions about non-toxic carpeting? Please post below!

Stay sane,

P.S. Here’s our post on choosing a non-toxic area rug.

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The post Choosing a Non-Toxic Carpet appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

If you’re looking for non-toxic rugs you may already know that most rugs can bring a lot of unwanted toxins into your home. (The international rug industry is also famous for using child labor.) This is a bummer, especially if you have babies and young kids who spend a lot of time rolling, crawling and playing on the floor.

RELATED: Non-toxic playmat for babies.

Don’t despair (and/or hate me for being the messenger of bad news, are usual!). There are some safe and beautiful non-toxic rugs out there. We’ve done the research to help you find a safe area rugs (and if you’re looking for non-toxic wall-to- wall carpeting, we wrote about that here.)

What’s Toxic About Most Rugs?

The variety of sketchy materials and chemicals that go into most rugs and related products is actually kind of crazy, and include:

• Synthetic primary materials, including plastics like polypropylene and nylon. And “natural” materials —like cotton and wool—that are not carefully sourced can be laden with pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, as well as chemicals used to process the fibers.
• In addition to the primary materials, rugs usually also include materials that are hidden from the eye but integral to the product, such as synthetic rubber that may contain endocrine-disrupting phthalates.
• Toxic dyes and other chemicals used in the dying process give area rugs their good looks. This is particularly true for conventional wool products; wool naturally resists color and has to be treated to extra harsh chemicals to achieve different colors. (Note: Companies like Earth Weave have created innovative ways of coloring wool without the worrisome chemicals.)
• Glues and other adhesives often can contain formaldehyde and other chemicals that off-gas into the home environment.
• Toxic pesticides and fungicides are common.
• Flame retardant chemicals are also common (and toxic, and not particularly effective!). For instance, nylon, polypropylene and viscose aren’t toxic in and of themselves, but they are almost always treated with fire retardants that ARE toxic.
• Rugs that boast about being stain-resistant and water-repellent often get those properties from yet another class of worrisome chemical (PFCs).

7 Companies That Make Non-toxic Rugs

Like I said, there are a lot of good non-toxic rug options out there. Rugs and carpets can be made exclusively or primarily from natural and safe materials, while still being gorgeous and durable. Also, thanks to greater awareness about child labor, you can buy from several brands that don’t support bad practices.

Here are my favorite brands for non-toxic rugs:

Earth Weave Wool Non-toxic Rugs

Earth Weave makes area rugs out of their ultra-natural wool carpet material, bound in a variety of sizes.

We sell these in our online store, and have them in our own homes, too.

(We also cover shipping for these rugs, making them more affordable than anywhere else online.)

Shop Earth Weave Rugs

ecoFiber Custom Rugs is based in Colorado and sources its rugs from Nepal. The company emphasizes natural, safe materials, sustainable practices, and no child labor. To purchase from ecoFiber, you must go through a design professional.

Hook & Loom rugs are both safe and affordable. Rugs are made from un-dyed natural wool or from recycled cotton fabric, in a variety of colors, patterns, sizes, and thicknesses.

Hook & Loom does not use any chemicals, dyes or latex in the production of their rugs, and they ship for free in minimal packaging.

Hook & Loom is based in Massachusetts and the rugs are made in carefully selected workshops in India that do not employ child labor.

2021 update: Hook & Loom has a beautiful new organic line, and we love love love it.

Shop Hook & Loom

Lorena Canals Non-toxic Rugs for Kids

Lorena Canals offers my favorite rugs for kids, though many of their designs are sophisticated enough to use elsewhere in your home.

These rugs are made entirely from naturally dyed cotton. They’re machine washable (score for parents!) and are hand-sewn in India in facilities that do not employ child labor.

The variety of colors, shapes and designs is really fun. It seems like the company is always debuting new styles, which you can now find in online store.

Shop Lorena Canals Rugs

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Merida has revived a corner of the American textile industry by producing its made-to- order rugs in a traditional mill town in Massachusetts. They make very high-quality, customizable rugs using a variety of natural materials (like wool, mohair, jute, and sisal). To purchase from Merida, you must go through a design professional.

Organic Weave rugs are the only area rugs on the market to earn GOTs certification. All rugs are handmade in India by skilled women artisans. Organic Weave sells everything from shag rugs to rugs for kids to yoga mats to organic wall-to-wall carpets. Use code GIMMEGOOD at checkout for 5% off your order. 

Shop Organic Weave Rugs

Under the Nile rugs are hand-loomed with leftover scraps from their clothing production. The durability and softness of these rugs is great for play or for decoration in baby’s room, bathrooms or any room in the house. Each rug is handmade and finished with decorative tassels on two ends.

Shop Under the Nile Rugs

Non-toxic Rug Pads & Grippers

Rug and carpet people recommend that you use rug pads and/or grippers to prevent slipping, increase cushioning, prolong the life of the floor covering, and protect the floor underneath. Most of these products are at least as toxic as conventional rugs and carpets themselves.

Thankfully, Earth Weave sells natural rug grippers made from 100% natural latex. They also offer natural rug pads made from a combination of wool and plant fiber (and no glues, dyes, flame retardant chemicals, or mothproofing chemicals). They also sell

Please comment below with brands you’ve found that make natural, non-toxic rugs!

Stay sane,

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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

This January, instead of making the usual resolutions that we’ve given up on by the end of the month, we decided to break it up by dividing some big goals into manageable chunks.

Each month, we invite you to overhaul one aspect of your life to reduce toxins, improve health, and increase your peace of mind. Our promise is that these changes will be easy to implement, helping you avoid resolution overwhelm. 

(If you’re just joining us, here is January’s mini resolution on upgrading junk foods, February’s with a medicine cabinet detox, March’s on improving indoor air quality, April’s five ways to clean up your cleaning products and May’s on making your yard non-toxic.)

A human can go for weeks without food, but without water we can only make it about a week, at best. Our bodies consist of about 70% water. Water that is free from a wide range of contaminants should be a high priority.

June marks the beginning of the warmest months of the year, and a time when we all (should!) drink more water. But even in places with “good water,” what comes out of our faucets is often contaminated with a wide range of toxins, heavy metals, and trace pharmaceuticals. This month, I invite you to invest in a filtration system that will improve your water, health, and peace of mind!

The sheer volume of water-treatment options is staggering. We offer only a limited number of filtration systems in our online store because most folks need only one of a few options. We see no need to make things more confusing!

You can learn more in our article, Do You Need a Water Filter?, but below I’ll tell you what you want to get out of your water, and then four filter options that will do that.

Filtering Your Water

The main things we want to get out of our water are as follows:

1) Chlorine

Chlorine is used to kill many biological agents, including bacterias like cryptosporidium, giardia, and cyclospora. Chlorine is incredibly effective, but chlorine in drinking water is implicated a wide variety of health problems, from cancer and heart disease to reproductive problems and more.

2) Heavy Metals

Lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, mercury, and more easily bio-accumulate in our bodies and can cause serious long-term health problems.

3) Pharmaceuticals

This is a relatively new source of toxins now found in water supplies throughout the world. Pharmaceuticals pass though those who take them and are eliminated through our urine. They are flushed and later show back up in drinking water.

4) Industrial products/byproducts

DDT, Dioxins, Percholate, Hexachlorobenzene, MtBE, PCB’s, Chromium VI and many others can now be found in the water of many towns.

5) Radioactive elements

These are now showing up in some locations. If you have them, you should of course filter them out. This usually requires reverse osmosis technology.

6) Fluoride

There is robust debate over the use of fluoride in drinking water. Some believe it to be okay while others can point to studies suggest it is a potent neurotoxin. I choose to filter it from my water.

Filtering Your Water: Choosing the Right Filter

We offer three basic types of filtration systems in our store.

1. Two-Stage KDF/GAC/carbon block filtration. These filters take care of most of the contaminants found in municipal drinking water, but they lack a fluoride filter. Choose an under-counter or counter-top model. Requirements: A hole in your countertop for the under-counter model, and a faucet with an aerator tip for the countertop model. Do you live in a city? If so, you should invest in a pre-filter for your system.
2. Three-Stage KDF/GAC/carbon block filtration. This model includes a fluoride filter. Choose an under-counter or countertop model. Requirements: A hole in your countertop for the under-counter model, and a faucet with an aerator tip for the countertop model. Do you live in a city? If so, you should invest in a pre-filter for your system.
3. ZIP Countertop Reverse Osmosis filter system. These filters are perfect for folks who cannot put a hole in their countertop and/or have the modern type faucet that will not connect to the KDF/GAC/carbon block countertop unit. They are also great for folks who may have radioactive elements in their water.

A Word About Reverse Osmosis (RO) Filtration

RO does a great job filtering water of just about everything. One of the downsides is that RO traditionally wastes 4-5 times as much water as they produce. The ZIP limits the amount of waste-water and even stores it in a special chamber so that it can be used elsewhere in the home (we use ours to water plants). RO filtration also removes beneficial dissolved minerals, so care should be taken to be sure that your diet contains these trace minerals. For most of us that is not a problem.

What About Charcoal Filtering Bottles?

Activated carbon is a great filter medium, but usually water is forced through the charcoal by the pressure in the system. When you just drop a stick of charcoal into your water bottle and head off to yoga, there is simply not enough time for any significant filtration to occur.

Finally, water also enters into our bodies when we shower and the chlorine that’s added to all municiple water sources enters with it. Chlorine can also become a gas when heated and thus get into our lungs when taking a steamy shower. To prevent this, it’s worth considering a shower and/or bath filter.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask questions.

Stay Sane,

Shop This Story

Three-Stage Under-Counter Filter (includes fluoride filtration)

$294.99Buy Now

Three-Stage Countertop Filter (includes fluoride filtration)

$220.99Buy Now

Two-Stage Under-Counter Filter (does not filter fluoride)

$220.99Buy Now

Two-Stage Countertop Water Filter (does not filter fluoride)

$140.00Buy Now

Reverse Osmosis Countertop Filter

$469.95Add to cart

Shower Filter

$69.95Buy Now

Bathtub Filter

$79.95Buy Now

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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

This January, instead of making the usual resolutions that we’ve given up on by the end of the month, we decided to break it up by dividing some big goals into manageable chunks.

Each month, we invite you to overhaul one aspect of your life to reduce toxins, improve health, and increase your peace of mind. Our promise is that these changes will be easy to implement, helping you avoid resolution overwhelm. 

(If you’re just joining us, here is January’s mini resolution on upgrading junk foods, February’s with a medicine cabinet detox, March’s on improving indoor air quality, and April’s five ways to clean up your cleaning products.)

With spring finally here…YAY!… it’s the time of year when some of us get ready for the annual rites of lawn care. That often involves a call to a lawn care specialist who will spread various “potions” on the lawn to make it green and healthy looking. That’s one way to do it. The other way is to get out there and do it yourself!

In either case, there are a few things to consider before digging in.

Lawn care done the standard, modern way is likely considerably more toxic than you might think. For decades, most commercial lawn care companies have used products that often require a recommendation that pets and children stay off the lawn for a few days after treatment! YIKES! The same goes for many of the lawn care products available to homeowners.

In layman’s terms, a lot of lawn care is done to create a thick green lawn, free from weeds…but this does not mean the grass is healthy. What’s happening is that the chemistry of these products forces the grass to grow and be green, but that is not the only way to get a great lawn. You can eliminate the toxins and have a great lawn as well.

Grass is part of a much larger web of life. To the degree that the soil beneath the grass is healthy, your lawn will be healthy. To the degree that the trillions of organisms that live beneath your lawn are healthy, the soil will be healthy.

So there are two paths to a healthy, non-toxic lawn:

1. Use potentially toxic stuff to trick the lawns in appearing healthy,
2. Properly feed the soil, thus producing a non-toxic lawn that is actually healthy.

If option #2 appeals to you, here are a few tips to give you a healthy, non-toxic lawn:

1) Over-seed.
It might seem odd to spread new grass seed into an existing lawn, but this is one of the best methods of keeping weeds down and having a healthy, non-toxic lawn.

2) Cut high.
Set your mower to leave at least four inches of grass. This greatly discourages weeds and helps retain moisture. Blades of grass gather sunlight and this feeds the roots. Strong roots = strong grass.

3) Leave it.
Use a mulching mower and leave the clipping on the lawn. Clippings turn into compost/worm food. This is good!

4) Feed it food.
The best lawn food is compost…ORGANIC compost! Spread it into your lawn with a rake or use a spreader like this one. This feeds the organisms in the lawn that help keep it healthy. Composting also helps reduce the amount of water a lawn needs.

5) Smart water.

Water early in the morning and water deeply. This causes deep root growth. Also, select a grass species that is appropriate for your climate and conditions.

6) Feed the soil, not just the grass.
Use organic fertilizers. These release nutrients slowly, giving the micro-organisms time to break them down so that the grass can actually use it. Don’t over feed!

7) Aerate.
This is nothing more than punching lots of small holes into the turf. These give underground organisms a boost and allow for deeper water and fertilizer penetration. It also stimulates grass roots into spreading. Professional lawn care companies have machines made for this task, but DIYers can start on a pair of these. Simply walk around the yard. Good for you and good for your lawn.

You might also consider hiring a lawn care service that is dedicated to using organic methods. Some of the large franchises now offer an “organic” version, but I prefer a specialist who centers their business around organic, non-toxic lawn care and really knows what they are doing.

Go Spring!

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Every New Year, I write a post about resolutions for a healthier New Year. But this year, my friend and favorite yoga teacher, Amber, has inspired a different approach. Amber wrote this article for Yoga International. Amber says, “To me, a resolution feels like another “should” in a life full of shoulds — a demand for more effort in a world already requiring so much fortitude.”

Does that sound familiar? With all of the stress that parents face today, I am sure that none of you need the added pressure of resolutions. In the spirit of our Gimme the Good Stuff motto, “Stay Sane,” let’s consider forgetting about traditional resolutions. Instead of doing more, we can set a focus on what already is, and see what happens. Those of you who practice yoga will recognize this as choosing a drishti, or focus point.

My wise friend, Amber Burke.

The Power of Setting a Focus Point

Amber reminds us that one of the definitions of resolve is “to turn into a different form when seen more clearly.” She suggests that we can resolve or bring into focus an aspect of our lives. When you choose a focus, you decide what you want to pay attention to, and you see what resolves. For example, instead of making a resolution to lose that last 10 pounds, you could focus on what you love about your body and weight now. With sustained interest and curiosity, you can see what might resolve around your weight.

Or instead of making a resolution to stop eating sweets, you can slow down and focus on the pleasure that comes from every bite and how you feel before, during, and after. Perhaps you will enjoy sweets more and therefore eat less. Or perhaps you will notice that you eat sweets when you’re upset, and you’ll see clearly that you can make another choice.

Maybe you have a desire to be kinder or more loving. You could set your focus on what you appreciate about each person or situation, and allow your attention to inspire genuine acts of kindness.

My Focus Point for This Year

My drishti for this year was inspired by a Caldwell Banker flyer I received in the mail. The flyer said, “Study shows: happy people hang out at home.” Having just returned from a busy family vacation, I was intrigued. You know that feeling of coming home and being so happy to be back? That’s what I was feeling.

A study conducted by Karen Melton of Baylor University and Ramon Zabriskie of Brigham Young University concluded that “families who hang out at home together seem to be happier than those who spend their free time bonding over activities or vacations.” Apparently, while traveling or on vacation, the brain is distracted by new information and experiences, so there is less attention available to focus on family relationships.

On the other hand, everyday experiences at home offer lots of bonding opportunities. Melton and Zabriskie say that there is something very special about good old routines. Building memories through actions that are repetitive, yet meaningful, brings families together.

So I decided to put my focus for this year on the pleasure that we find by spending time together at home. This is particularly meaningful to me during the winter, which I otherwise tend to wish away in favor of the warmer seasons. (I blame this tendency on having spent too many brutal winters in Vermont!) Focusing on enjoying family time at home helps me to savor and take full advantage of these slower-paced months.

Eight Great Ways to Enjoy Family Time at Home

If this idea of building family bonds by spending together at home resonates with you, consider these simple but powerful ideas:

1. Take on a DIY project. Kids love to help with these. I bought my grandsons measuring tapes and they love to help take measurements for projects. We also involved them in safe tasks when we were doing the renovations for Project 111.

2. Cook together. Planning and preparing meals is another thing that kids also love to do, and cooking is the kind of daily routine that Dr. Melton suggests really brings families together. I get lots of kid-friendly ideas and inspiration from books like this one. Maia loves this one by Alice Waters.

3. Plant something and tend to it together. You don’t have to do a whole garden, though that’s great. We just planted narcissus bulbs, a nice indoor option for the cold months. You can also add house plants (bonus: some of them help improve the quality of your indoor air). You can even do an indoor garden.

4. Make a list of classic movies and watch them together on rainy or snowy days. Our family favorite is The Sound of Music.

5. Have a game night. We love Pictionary, and there is a kids’ version available now. Dominoes is another family favorite. Slightly older kids can also play games that are fun for grownups–Felix, age 7, loves Hearts!

6. Make homemade gifts for upcoming birthdays and holidays. Kids love to make things, and people love to receive homemade gifts from kids. I recently got a framed drawing from my grandson, and I love looking at it on the wall of my office every day! Simple frames make it easy to frame your own stuff at home.

7. Write letters to people who live far away. My grandsons love writing me letters and they love getting a return letter. Cute stationery adds to the fun.

8. Read to each other. Classics are fun to read aloud. I find that good writing is even better when someone reads it to you. My favorite guide to read-aloud books is Jim Trelease’s Read-Aloud Handbook.

What might you focus on in 2017? We love when our readers share their thoughts and ideas. Please share your ideas or your experiences with resolutions!

To your health,

 
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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Project One-Eleven is our non-toxic home renovation project. We’re taking an old row house that’s been serving as an office and converting it back into a residence where you’ll be able to come test mattresses and other Good Stuff.

Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we’re using non-toxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible. We’re blogging about the process to share the joys and challenges of taking a non-toxic approach to home renovation.

When it came time to select our countertops for the kitchen at 111, we reviewed a bunch of options. As usually, we were balancing cost, non-toxicity/earth-friendliness, and aesthetic while choosing
among the following:

1. Formica. While Formica itself is not considered toxic, it is almost always mounted onto particle board, which emits all sorts of undesirable VOCs. Likewise, the adhesives used to adhere Formica to the particle board is full of nasty stuff, including formaldehyde.
2. Wood. There has been a resurgence in the use of wood for kitchen countertops. The industry has gone far beyond the butcher-block look that was so popular in the 1970’s, and there are some gorgeous wood countertops out there. The problem is that in order to prevent stains, mildew, and other damage to the wood, special sealers are often used…and, of course these often contain a range of toxins.
3. Copper or Stainless Steel. Although these counters are non-toxic as well as visually attractive, the cost was beyond our budget.
4. Tile. Ceramic or porcelain tile is a great non-toxic material, but experience has taught me that the upkeep of the grout joints is a bit of a pain. Grout joints also make countertops difficult to really keep clean, and we worried that our kitchen would look old before its time.
5. Concrete. I happen to love love concrete countertops. They can be customized to create a wonderful surface. And while some of the sealers needed to keep concrete countertops in good shape can be toxic, I have used beeswax with great results for some projects. There are several other nontoxic finishes that can be found at Green Building Supply. In the end, our short timeline didn’t make concrete a good option for our project.
6. Stone. For the past 20 years or so, granite has been the countertop stone choice for homeowners everywhere for good reason. It is attractive, durable, heat resistant, stain resistant, and easily maintained. Over the years the cost of some types of granite have become much more reasonable. From a toxicity viewpoint, granite only poses one potential downside: radon.

Here on the east coast, radon (the radioactive decay of radium-226) is a serious concern, and I urge you all to have the levels in your home tested. That said, there is no compelling evidence that granite countertops will significantly add to your radon load, although the studies are far from conclusive and have not been rigorous enough to rule out the possibility.
I have always been a big fan of soapstone. Geologically, it is not related to granite. It is far more resistant to heat than granite, and it is essentially impossible to stain. Unlike granite, soapstone cannot be polished to a high sheen. I am not a fan of highly polished stone countertops. They are “cold” to my eye and difficult to wipe down without leaving water marks everywhere. This is especially true of any of the darker toned granites. Soapstone only polishes to a matte finish that I happen to like.
Soapstone is more expensive than most popular granites, but because it is quite soft, the labor to cut and polish it is greatly reduced, which of course saves money and time. Because of how soft it is, anyone considering a soapstone counter should feel comfortable with the nicks and scars it quickly accumulates.

I have soapstone countertops in my full-time residence, and for Project 111, we used soapstone on all the countertops except the island.

When we were at our local granite shop, we found a gorgeous piece of Quartzite (not to be confused with man-made Quartz) that was already cut and polished to the exact dimensions of our island! It had been manufactured a year earlier, to the wrong dimensions of it’s intended home. Therefore the granite shop was happy to have us haul it away for a very nice price. Quartzite can be one of the more expensive types of stone. It is also NOT granite.

We did the installation ourselves…saving a few dollars. Don’t try it unless you have ample (wo)man-power and experience. The island was smaller than typical but Quartzite and Soapstone are very heavy. It took five strong dudes and one old guy (me) to get everything off the truck and into place.

Please ask any questions about countertops below!

Stay sane,

P.S. This space is now open! Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

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The post Safe, Non-Toxic Kitchen Countertops for Project 111 appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Project One-Eleven is our non-toxic home renovation project. We’re taking an old row house that’s been serving as an office and converting it back into a residence where you’ll be able to come test mattresses and other Good Stuff. Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we’re using non- toxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible. We’re blogging about the process to share the joys and challenges of taking a non-toxic approach to home renovation.

Once we had finished redoing the wood floors and installing kitchen cabinets, we began considering how deep of a reno we wanted to do in the two bathrooms. Actually, the third-floor bathroom was a kitchenette when we bought the place, so we knew that it would be a big project to turn this into a master bath/laundry room.

The second-floor bathroom, on the other hand, already had a tub/shower combo, complete with tiled walls. While this room wasn’t particularly pretty (basic white 4X4 wall tile), we decided to keep much of it intact because it is fundamentally very sound and didn’t present any toxins, with one major exception: vinyl floors!

The floors in both bathrooms were this hideous vinyl.

Toxic Vinyl Flooring: How Long Does it Off-Gas?

Unfortunately, the floors in both of the would-be bathrooms were vinyl, as is not unusual in many modern homes. Vinyl flooring is not only toxic, but does not age particularly well. After only a few years it can often look faded, worn, curled, and generally hideous. The ones in One-Eleven were quite “vintage”…meaning they had expired long ago. Both floors had to be replaced.

Vinyl (PVC) can off-gas for as many as twenty years, so it’s something we feel is always worth replacing. The vinyl in One-Eleven was so old (I would guess more than 30 years) that it actually had probably finished the off-gassing. Therefore, in order to get an aesthetic we liked, we only had to go over these floors with another material, rather than removing the vinyl entirely.

Non-Toxic Bathroom Floor Options

Of course, another coat of vinyl was out of the question for our project. Non-toxic flooring options include:

• Wood (learn about safe finishes here)
• Cork
• Linoleum
• Bamboo
• Stone tile
• Ceramic tile

In an area likely to experience significant exposure to water, it is easy to decide against wood. Cork is relatively water resistant, but still not the best for bathrooms. Ditto for linoleum, which, by the way, is NOT the same as vinyl flooring, although they are often confused. (True linoleum is made from natural components like linseed oil and limestone.) Bamboo might have worked for our bathroom projects, but it too can be damaged by repeated dousings.

This left us with stone tile and ceramic tile. Ceramic and stone tile are some of the least toxic materials found in modern construction. They are also attractive, durable, highly water resistant and generally timeless. If you’re doing a bathroom renovation, either one will work beautifully.

Considering the look and feel we wanted in the house, we decided on white (Carrera) hexagonal marble tile. We chose one larger, and one smaller so the bathrooms would look different.

Choosing Non-Toxic Grout and Mortar

When it came to mortar and grout, we made sure to use only unmodified products. Modified mortar and grout contain latex additives that outgas for a short while after installation; because Daylon and I were doing the installation ourselves, we definitely wanted all materials to be toxin-free.

Installing Our Non-Toxic Tile

The second-floor bathroom installation was done with a product called Ditra-mat, which is a thin, inert, non-toxic plastic grid that covers existing floors and makes an excellent subfloor for tile installations.

The3rd-floorr bathroom also had this refrigerator to contend with; we opted to lower it out the window!

Upon closer inspection, we found the structural integrity of the third-floor bathroom floor to be lacking. We decided to beef it up while providing a suitable surface for tile. We used a gypsum backer board and screwed it down with a grid pattern that resulted in a screw about every four inches. That floor is going to stay put!

We also decided to install the same tile in a 3×6 subway pattern on the walls surrounding the tub on the third floor.

In the end, we got a very durable, water resistant, non-toxic installation with a look that we loved. Here are the “after” photos of each bathroom:

We’d love to hear your thoughts, as well as your own experiences working with tile.

Stay sane!

P.S. Did you know that Project One-Eleven is now open for visitors? Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

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The post Is Ceramic Tile Toxic? Choosing Safe Bathroom Flooring for Project One-Eleven appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President

Project One-Eleven is our non-toxic home renovation project. We’re taking an old row house that’s been serving as an office and converting it back into a residence where you’ll be able to come test mattresses and other Good Stuff.

Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we’re using non-toxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible. We’re blogging about the process to share the joys and challenges of taking a non-toxic approach to home renovation.

The Non-Toxic Kitchen Cabinet Conundrum

Before: This was the kitchen when we bought the property.

Next up for Project One-Eleven was installing the cabinetry (as we’ve noted, the existing “kitchen” (more like kitchenette) was on the third floor—and we turned that one into a bathroom).

Kitchen cabinets can be a major source of VOCs, thanks to the fact that most of them are made from engineered wood products like plywood, particleboard, and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Each of these materials is made using resins called urea formaldehyde, which is classified as a carcinogen. And the resins in engineered wood products can continue to release VOCs into your home for months or even years after manufacturing in a process called “off-gassing.”

Custom Kitchen Cabinets

So what can you use instead? Well, to get truly non-toxic kitchen cabinets, you’d hire a carpenter and have them custom built of solid wood that was finished with natural oils (like linseed) or beeswax. And ideally the glue used in your cabinetry would be PureBond, as it’s the least toxic.

As you can imagine, those cabinets would be pretty expensive. The other problem you’d encounter is that the kitchen gets hot and has a lot more moisture in the air than other parts of the home. So over time, the wood would warp as a result of prolonged exposure to moisture and heat—this is another reason most companies use engineered wood.

Our Goal for Non-Toxic Kitchen Cabinets

We did all the cabinet assembly ourselves, and my dad and husband did most of the hanging.

When it came to deciding on cabinets for Project One-Eleven, we wanted to find a good balance between several factors:

1. We wanted the cabinets to have an aesthetic we liked.
2. We also wanted our kitchen cabinets to be functional and durable.
3. Then, of course, there was the toxicity and sustainability factor.
4. Finally, we wanted to keep the cost down—it’s not hard to spend $30K on cabinets, and our budget for this project wasn’t going to allow that.

Here’s what we found:

Crystal Cabinets
If money were no object, I’d have gone with Crystal Cabinets for our new kitchen. Unlike some other brands, the Crystal boxes don’t have added formaldehyde and are GREENGUARD certified. The finishes are also GREENGAURD certified. In addition, Crystal Cabinets are great from an environmental standpoint, because you can get a FSC-certified version. However, these are the top of the line when it comes to non-toxic kitchen cabinets and are priced as such.

If you choose these cabinets, make sure you get one of their wood options, rather than a laminate or veneer. And note that they do use plywood boxes, which it seems all brands do. So you’d have to order custom-made solid wood boxes from a carpenter if you didn’t want any plywood at all in your kitchen cabinets. (Again, because Crystal boxes don’t contain formaldehyde, I wouldn’t worry about this.)

IKEA
On the other end of the cost spectrum are IKEA cabinets. At first, I was dead set against this brand because I know they’re made of particleboard and assumed they were toxic. After several phone calls, I learned that IKEA cabinets are CARB 2 compliant. That means they meet the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) standards for formaldehyde emissions from engineered wood. You may also see CARB 2 compliant products labeled as “California 93120 compliant for formaldehyde” or “California Phase 2 compliant.”

While CARB 2 standards are pretty strict, GREENGUARD-compliant cabinetry (like Crystal) are still better. However, IKEA products aren’t as toxic as many other conventional brands, and all things considered, I felt like they were a reasonable option for this space. I still just didn’t love their look, though, so I thought about using IKEA cabinet boxes and adding higher-end doors (which has become a popular hack).

Semihandmade
I loved the idea of doors with a reclaimed look and we almost went with the ones from Semihandmade, a company devoted to making custom door fronts that fit on affordable IKEA boxes. The reason we ended up not getting these is because the door fronts alone were going to cost almost $10,000. That was without any sort of handles, and we still had to buy the IKEA boxes.

Moreover, using Semihandmade door fronts wouldn’t reduce the toxicity in the kitchen at all. When I first reached out to the company, they said: “While our products exceed the highest state emission standards in the country, we do still use formaldehydes in our MDF substrate as well as some solvent in our finishes. These are industry-standard practices.”

So in the end, Semihandmade doors filled the aesthetic and durability criteria, but not the cost or toxicity criteria.

Final Answer: What Cabinets Did We Choose?

In the end, we went with plain white IKEA slab cabinets. We chose VEDDINGE because they were sealed around the edges. Theoretically, this means whichever toxins are used in the resin that holds together the particleboard’s interior will be trapped inside and release fewer VOCs than cabinets with unfinished edges (like the less expensive HAGGEBY).

All told, the IKEA cabinets and boxes ran us under $4,000.

Cabinet & Drawer Pulls

Now for the hardware. I really hated all of the IKEA options and wanted something more high end to make the cheaper cabinets look better. I thought about leather handles, but my dad pointed out how gross the leather would get in a kitchen. My husband fries food a lot (in avocado oil, ‘natch), so leather pulls would be disgusting and greasy within a week. Also, leather is actually really toxic.

Here are the handles we ended up going with. Gold cabinet hardware is really trendy right now, so our choice is going to date the kitchen firmly in 2016. But we can always change the hardware when we get tired of it.

I’m hoping the IKEA cabinets aren’t emitting too much in the way of VOCs. We were really pleased that they had no smell when we took them out their boxes. But we’re also taking the following steps to reduce any VOCs from off-gassing from these cabinets, as well as other inevitable emissions:

1. Placing Moso bags throughout the kitchen and all of Project One-Eleven.
2. Airing out the kitchen by opening windows as much as possible.
3. Investing in this Austin Air Filter.
4. Testing the indoor air quality. I’m exploring ways to actually measure the contaminants in our indoor air, both in New York and Lancaster. I’ll report on this soon!

Stay sane,

P.S. If you’re wondering about the stone on top of the island, we will be blogging about that next!

P.P.S. This space is now open! Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

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The post Non-Toxic Kitchen Cabinets for Project One-Eleven appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President

Over the last few months, we’ve been blogging about Project One-Eleven, our non-toxic home renovation. Recently, one of our readers told us about her own non-toxic home renovation efforts. We were so inspired by her hard work and wisdom that we asked if we could share some of it with our readers, and she obliged.

Read on for Jocelyn’s super-savvy tips for non-toxic home renovation, as well as her top picks for the Good Stuff—home products that are safe, functional, and beautiful.

UPDATE: This nontoxic haven is for sale as of March 2017. Jocelyn’s family is relocating and so she has to sell the place. Here is the listing.

Meet Jocelyn

Jocelyn Talbot, MD

Jocelyn Talbot is a primary care doctor at The Vancouver Clinic near Portland, Oregon. She’s also a wife and mother. Jocelyn and her husband are in the homestretch of a major non-toxic home renovation, a project that has involved countless hours of research and planning. Pregnancy, motherhood, chemical sensitivities, and Celiac disease have all motivated Jocelyn to go the extra mile (or million miles!) to make the healthiest choices for her and her family.

As Jocelyn says, “I have yet to find any medical reason why toxins are good for health, and I’ve found compelling data to avoid them–so it seems like an easy call to me.” We couldn’t agree more!

Here are Jocelyn’s non-toxic renovation tips and top picks:

1. Devote time to doing research and choosing the Good Stuff.

Jocelyn and her husband learned this lesson the hard way. When they renovated their first home a few years ago, she was a medical resident working 80-hour weeks. Short on time and energy, she did no research, instead buying products off the shelf from design shops and big-box retailers.

Unfortunately, many of these products were of poor quality and full of toxins. Even her pricey, custom cabinets from a local company turned out to be made from medium-density fibreboard (MDF). Three years later, they still smell of formaldehyde, and the paint is chipping.

2…but beware of information overload!

As important as it is to do your due diligence, you’ll burn out fast if you get overwhelmed by information and options. Keep things simple by relying on only a couple of reputable sources. Jocelyn is a fan of Gimme the Good Stuff (obvi!), as well as Green Building Supply, which is also our go-to for expertise on non-toxic home renovation supplies.

3. Find local sources for handcrafted items such as furniture and cabinets.

Craftspeople can make these types of items using simple, natural materials like solid wood and zero-VOC finishes. The mass-produced versions, on the other hand, are likely to be riddled with toxins.

Use Yelp and Google reviews to vet local businesses. Ask for a list of materials and ingredients; a reputable source is transparent and knowledgeable about what they use. (If you need help understanding the materials used by a local craftsperson, Gimme the Good Stuff offers consulting services.)

Bonus: You might be surprised to find that going the local, handcrafted route can actually save money. For example, the kitchen cabinets in Jocelyn’s new home have been made by a local craftsman for less than half of what she would have paid from a national retailer!

4. Save time and money by shopping online for mass-produced items that are less likely to be toxic.

It’s a big relief to realize that you don’t have to worry about everything and go to great lengths to source a non-toxic version. Items that Jocelyn identified to be of less concern include sinks, faucets, some appliances, tile, LED light bulbs, light fixtures, light switches, outlet covers, cabinet hardware, fabrics, and subfloor material.

For major appliances, ceiling fans, and electronics, Jocelyn recommends looking for ones that do not carry a Proposition 65 warning. Retailers like Home Depot include this information for products listed on their website.

5. Don’t expect future home-buyers to pay more for your wise choices.

Jocelyn and her family are investing in creating a non-toxic home because it’s healthier for them and the environment. Jocelyn also wants to have first-hand experience that she can pass along to her patients. What she and her husband are not expecting is for their healthy choices to add significantly to the market value of their home. Sadly, most people want things like granite countertops (which may off-gas radon and are ecologically costly to mine and import), rather than Jocelyn’s pick of quartz.

6. Test for hidden dangers.

Radon gas and lead contamination were two concerns that weren’t on Jocelyn’s radar when she and her husband bought their first home. Such “hidden dangers” can have serious health consequences for children and adults.

It’s normal to want to bury your head in the sand rather than confront them, but don’t. There are ways to test for and mitigate radon, lead, asbestos, and other environmental hazards. Whether you’re considering a home or already living in one, conduct the appropriate tests.

7. Be kind to yourself.

Any renovation can be an overwhelming experience. Renovating the non-toxic way is an even bigger project. The more you know, the heavier the responsibility can feel.

Jocelyn keeps an even keel by reminding herself of her top priorities, such as making healthy choices during pregnancy and choosing non-toxic baby and kid stuff. As committed as she is to a healthy lifestyle and home environment, she finds comfort in the idea that the vast majority of people use conventional products, and they are okay. As we’re fond of saying: Stay sane!

8. Have fun!

Renovations are an opportunity to be creative. Jocelyn has discovered that non-toxic and eco-friendly choices tend to be more eclectic. Confetti-colored countertops? Beeswax-finished dining room table? Bright, stainless steel sippy cups? This is your chance to create a truly unique and beautiful home environment—enjoy it!

Jocelyn’s Good Stuff

After much research (and aesthetic consideration), Jocelyn has chosen the following products for her home:

• Floors: Bamboo from Teregren and wool carpet from Earthweave (Gimme the Good Stuff is a certified Earthweave vendor; contact John to request samples or a quote).
• Kitchen countertops: Quartz.
  
• Kitchen cabinets: Handmade from solid cherry (with formaldehyde-free plywood boxes), AFM Safecoat Acrylacq finish, and Titebond III glue by Maker’s Woodworks. They also make solid wood, non-toxic furniture.
• Faucets: ROHL and Luxier. Tip: Look for third-party certifications, such as NSF International.
• Dishes and cups: Fiestaware (free of lead and cadmium, and toddler friendly!), Duralex and LifeFactory and Innobaby.
• Cookware: All-clad, Xtrema, and Simax (made from borosilicate glass, which is safer and more durable than Pyrex)
  

  Like us, Joceyln is a fan of Xtrema nonstick cookware.

• Paint: ColorHouse.
• Appliances: National brands, with no Prop 65 warning (see Tip #4, above)
• Furniture:
  • Dining table: The Joinery.
  • Sofa: Ekla (Use coupon code GIMMEGOODSTUFF to receive 10% off your Ekla furniture purchase).
  • Chairs: Sprout San Francisco’s Como Pure Latex Glider and Opie Pure Latex Kids Chair
• Mattresses and bedding: Mulligan Mattress, Soaring Heart, and Holy Lamb.
• Window treatments and upholstery: Handmade from flame retardant-free conventional fabric and organic fabric sourced from Two Sisters Ecotextiles.
• Air purifiers: Austin Air and Honeywell MERV 13 furnace/AC filter. Tip: The filter rating is more important than the brand. MERV 13-16 filters are rated for hospital operating rooms. Now that’s clean!
• Water filters: APEC (whole house and reverse osmosis)
• HEPA vacuum: Dyson

Stay sane,

 
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The post 8 Tips for a Non-Toxic Home Renovation appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Project One-Eleven is our non-toxic home renovation project. We’re taking an old row house that’s been serving as an office and converting it back into a residence (where you’ll be able to come test mattresses and other Good Stuff!). Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we are using non-toxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible. We’re blogging about the process to share the joys and challenges of taking a non-toxic approach to home renovation.

Project One-Eleven is happening in a fairly old building (about 200 years old). In fact, by American standards, Lancaster, PA, itself is pretty old– one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. I hope you’ll all come visit once this space is complete!

Why Do Old Homes Have High Ceilings?

Like most of the East Coast, Lancaster can get very hot and humid in the summer months. Early builders designed homes with high ceilings, which allows hotter air to stay up, while slightly cooler air falls to the floor. This design was the air-conditioning technology of the day!

The ceilings in our property are 11-feet high (which is about three feet higher than those in most modern homes). We love the look of this, but one drawback is the labor involved in painting—to say nothing of how much extra paint we needed!

We were fortunate to receive donated paint for this project, and still the first estimate from a local painting company was between $20,000 and $30,000! That was beyond our budget, so we quickly decided to tackle the walls and ceilings ourselves, and to hire a pro for the trim (of which there is a ton in this place).

Before: All the trim in this property was painted this unfortunate country blue.

After(ish): Even though the kitchen is still unfinished, the white trim makes a big difference, we think.

What’s Toxic About Most Paint

You’ve probably seen a lot of paints marketed as “low-VOC,” and while these are far better than regular paint, there still is a considerable difference between low-VOC and truly non-toxic. At the very least, you should always go with a zero-VOC paint. (Read Maia’s blog post on brands she recommends).

Conventional paint contains a range of toxins (including solvents, vinyl, phthalates, and formaldehyde) that are implicated in health problems ranging from headaches to asthma to cancer. The risks are greatest when the paint is drying, but off-gassing can occur for many months to some degree.

(If you already have a home painted with conventional paint, you might consider some more general ways to clean up the air in your home.)

Milk Paint Is Non-Toxic…But Does It Work?

We were thrilled when The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company offered to donate all the paint for our project, since we’ve long wanted to try milk paint and this family business seems to be the best of the best. 

The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company makes their paint with milk protein (casein), crushed limestone, clay, earth pigments, and chalk, meaning it lacks all of the bad stuff found in most other paints, including solvents, phthalates, and formaldehyde. (Check out their Material Safety Data Sheet.)

The painter we hired was happy to use zero-VOC paint, but when we told him we were going with milk paint, he was nervous, since he’d never used it before and had apparently heard some horror stories. We agreed to get him something else to use for the trim, and decided we’d use the milk paint for the walls we were tackling ourselves.

Here’s what the milk paint looks like when mixed.

I have quite a bit of experience painting, but Daylon and I were both nervous about mixing up paint from a powder, which is always the deal with milk paints. It did take us a few times to get the hang of the mixing, but once Daylon got this inexpensive tool, the mixing part was a breeze.

As for applying the paint to the walls? I’m thrilled to say that milk paint really works! Daylon has handled most of the painting, and thanks to those tall ceilings, we had to invest in a taller ladder and a pro-level extension painting pole that made the rolling go faster and easier.

Bottom line: The paint from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company was easy to work with and looks great. I will definitely use milk paint for future painting projects.

One nice thing about using non-toxic paint is that the kids can “help” paint the walls!

Inexplicably, Daylon likes to paint in button-down shirts and corduroys. By midnight, which is when he does much of the painting, he’s usually stripped down to his skivvies. Sorry, no pictures of that!

Ecos Paint Is Good Stuff

As for the trim, Ecos Paint generously donated their 100% zero-VOC paint for our painter to use. (By the way, if you live in the Lancaster area and are in search of a good house painter, contact me for the name of the guy we used.)

Like The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company’s paints, Ecos is completely odorless, which is a huge bonus when you’ve got kids hanging around while the paint dries. This paint is free of solvents, turpentine, glycols, vinyl, formaldehyde, heavy metals, phthalates, and a bunch of other bad stuff.

Our painter says Ecos performs as well as the conventional paint he’s used to, and he in fact likes is better because it dries more quickly. We, of course, are happy that he’s not breathing in toxins while working for us.

I’d love to hear from your guys—what non-toxic wall paints have you used and how did you like them?

In the next blog we’ll discuss kitchen cabinets. You might be surprised to learn what we went with for this project.

Stay tuned and sane!

P.S. This space is now open! Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

If you liked this post, sign up for our newsletter to be alerted when we publish new content like this!

The post Non-Toxic Wall Paint for Project One-Eleven appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Project One-Eleven is our nontoxic home renovation project. We’re taking an old row house that’s been serving as an office and converting it back into a residence (where you’ll be able to come test mattresses and other Good Stuff!). Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we will use nontoxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible. We’re blogging about the process to share the joys and challenges of taking a non-toxic approach to home renovation.

For step 1 of our renovation project, we decided to restore the original wood floors. Read on for tips on removing old carpets, finishing or refinishing wood floors with nontoxic alternatives to polyurethane, and cleaning up your air quality if you are worried about existing wood floors.

First Dirty Job: Out with the Old Carpet

This hideous, toxic gray carpet covered every inch of the property.

Every inch of floor in this house– including stairs–was covered with 30-year-old carpet. Older carpets are not just ugly, they are also extra toxic. They were made and installed with chemicals that have since been found to be unhealthy and banned from more recent production, including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (which is associated with altered thyroid hormone levels, elevated cholesterol, and ADHD), PBDEs (which are shown to cause disruption of thyroid homeostasis after perinatal exposure), and PCBs (established carcinogens).

Older carpets also have had years to accumulate pounds of dust mites, dirt, pesticides, and other toxins brought in on shoes, feet, and pet’s paws. Please try not to gag when you read this: Carpet can hold up to one pound of toxin-filled dirt per square foot.

The EPA states that 80% of human exposure to pesticides happens indoors. Household dust also contains lead and other heavy metals. Older carpets are so toxic that your chances of being exposed to hazardous chemicals are up to 50 times higher in a carpeted room than outdoors.

Nails for days!

The Stanley 8-inch nail puller and chisel scraper was a life-saver.

I found a couple of guys on Craigslist to tear out the old carpet and cart it away to a recycling center, but we were left with the unenviable task of removing thousands (seemed like millions) of staples that held down the carpet pad. After my son-in-law and I tried several tools and bloodied our knuckles some, we found the Stanley 8-inch nail puller and chisel scraper. This cool little flat bar saved us days of extra work.

In with the New (Old) Wood Floors

You can see on the left what the “before” floor looked like when we took up the carpet.

Most of the floors underneath the carpet are four-inch wide planks of southern yellow pine. They were in rough shape (hence the carpet installation 30 years ago), but I knew from experience that we could revive them if we were willing to live with the “vintage distressed” look. Given the historic charm of the house, it seemed appropriate to restore the original floors, even if they are scarred. We hired a good floor-sanding outfit, and the sanding alone made the floors look so much better! (Check out the picture on the left to see what I mean.)

Non-toxic Floor Finish

Because this is a non-toxic renovation project, we did not use typical floor-finishing products like polyurethane. This type of finish emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as it is being applied and while it is curing (drying). The good news about polyurethane is that once it’s fully cured–after about two to three weeks–it is quite inert and is no longer particularly toxic. So if you are currently living with polyurethane-finished floors, don’t worry; they are unlikely to pose much of a risk.

If, like us, you have some refinishing to do, you want to reduce exposure to VOCs during the process by using a non-toxic alternative to polyurethane. To find such a product, we sought the expertise of Joel at Green Building Supply (they have proven to be such a valuable resource!).

Joel helped us choose Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus, and kindly donated some for this job. We like that Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus is made of natural oils, has no VOCs, and is virtually odorless. A huge bonus, which I know from first-hand experience, it is actually much easier and faster to install than typical polyurethane floor finish. It is finished in one coat and there are no toxic fumes.

My flooring guy was not familiar Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus and is not comfortable installing it. That means that yours truly got to do it!

Yours truly, enjoying the toxin-free floor finishing project.

Are Wood Floors Toxic?

We chose to refinish the existing wood floors in the old home we are renovating. But some of you may be considering an installation of new wood floors and want to make sure you avoid toxins when doing so.

The important thing is to choose true hardwood floors–meaning flooring that’s made from solid wood rather than composite wood (otherwise known as laminate flooring). You probably heard about the scandal involving Lumber Liquidators last year. Basically, the flooring giant was caught selling Chinese-made laminate flooring that far exceeds the legal limits of formaldehyde (a known carcinogen).

If you’re in the market for new wood floors, I would again recommend you contact Joel at Green Building Supply for guidance on choosing and installing non-toxic wood floors.

How to Detox Your Home if You Have Toxic Floors

If you are worried about the existing floors in your home, especially if they may be laminate, you will be glad to hear that there are things you can do to improve your indoor air quality.

1. Plants. Many common household plants like Boston fern, English Ivy, spider plants, and peace lilies will filter formaldehyde from indoor air.
   

   Illustration by Graham Goss

2. Moso Bags. We’ve got these all over our homes and cars. Moso Bags contain a particular bamboo charcoal that studies show to reduce formaldehyde (and other toxins) from household air.
3. Ventilate your home. Periodically opening windows to introduce clean air, and keeping indoor temps and humidity low, may help decrease the amount of flooring toxins that off-gas.
4. Electronic air filter. For truly robust, active filtration, we chose to invest in this air filter.

What’s Next for Our Project

After everything I just told you about carpets, you might be surprised to hear that we will be installing some carpet on a staircase and some landings in this home. This can be done in a with non-toxic carpeting and installation materials, so stay tuned!

But first, I’ll be blogging about wall paints next, and answering one big question: does milk paint really work?

Stay sane until then,

P.S. This space is now open! Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Here at Gimme the Good Stuff, we have decided to take on a major renovation project we call “One-Eleven.” The goal is to take an old row house that’s been serving as an office and convert it back into a residence/showroom/retail space (more on how you can use this space in a minute).

Because we’re all about the Good Stuff, we are using nontoxic and sustainable products, materials, and processes as much as possible as we complete this project.

We’ll be removing ancient carpet, restoring the original wood floors, designing and installing a kitchen, and much more. Are we brave, or crazy, or both? Time will tell! As you can see from these photos, there it’s lots to be done.

As the de-facto construction manager, I will be blogging about the process to share the joys, challenges, and successes of taking a nontoxic approach to home renovation. We expect to learn a lot. We’ll share our tips and recommend the best products as we search for them and test them out.

One-Eleven is a three-story brick row home that’s three blocks from of the heart of downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The building is about 200 years old. For the past 30+ years, it served as a judge’s office. We want to convert it back into a home, though it won’t be a traditional home (see below).

Why Lancaster? Well, it’s where we (Maia’s parents) and her brother and his family live. It’s only 3 hours from her home in Brooklyn, and Gimme the Good Stuff is headquartered in Lancaster (it’s where our warehouse for the store lives), so Maia travels here often. Also, Lancaster’s downtown is enjoying a great renaissance. Millennials have discovered its affordable charms, as have retiring boomers suffering from McMansion-fatigue. It has been likened to Brooklyn. (Then again, almost every place is now likened to Brooklyn. Sorry, but there’s only one BK!)

Planning: Where Do We Begin?

Taking on a conversion and renovation project of this size is daunting. Even though I have decades of personal and professional experience with this work, I still get intimidated—I know what I’m getting into! Fortunately, Maia’s husband, Daylon, found a program called RoomSketcher that’s helping us visualize our plans. It lets us enter the dimensions of all the rooms and then design potential layouts, which you can then view from multiple angles and tweak as needed. It’s almost like the work is already done!

How YOU Can Use This Space

As I mentioned, One-Eleven is going to be more than just a beautiful nontoxic row-home when we are done with it. While we will certainly use it for short-term stays for our family, it will also provide a unique AirBNB experience. With the ability to sleep as many as 8 people, we hope One-Eleven will be a haven of clean living, even if only for a weekend! If you’re interested in a nontoxic mattress, and want to actually sleep on one before you buy it, this will be your chance! One-Eleven will also function as a warehouse for our online store and a by-appointment retail space, where–if you live near Lancaster–you can come to purchase your favorite natural products.

Follow Our Nontoxic Renovation Journey

We have a long road ahead, but we’re excited to share the renovation process with you. First up: tackling the floors. In my next post I’ll share the dirty details of why and how to get rid of old carpet (hint: it’s really toxic, and you’ll need to deal with a lot of staples!). I’ll also talk about how to restore old wood floors with a nontoxic polyurethane alternative, which is healthier for people and the environment.

We hope that our experiences can help you understand the unique challenges that come with taking a sustainable and nontoxic approach to home renovations. We also hope that those of you who are brave/crazy will share your own experiences with nontoxic renovation and construction!

Stay sane,

P.S. You’ll hear more about these brands later, but we owe a huge thank you to the companies who have donated nontoxic materials and products for this project, including Savvy Rest, Green Building Supply, Ecos Paints, The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company, and Coyuchi.

P.S.S. This space is now open! Reserve your stay here and email Suzanne to make an appointment to come test mattresses or purchase select items from our store.

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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

After the headlines about the water woes of Flint, Michigan, many of us were reminded of how lucky we are to be able to filter our water so that we can stop contaminants before they get to us.

Should You Worry About YOUR Water?

Of course, lead-contaminated water is not a problem limited to Flint. The fact is, there are many cities and towns with lead pipes. If you are on a municipal water system anywhere in America, you stand a good chance of having pipes just like Flint’s somewhere in the system.

Besides that, almost all water in our homes/businesses flows through pipes that potentially leach other harmful chemicals. Add to that the various toxins found/added to most municipal water systems, and you realize there are very good reasons to filter your tap water.

How to Choose the Best Water Filter

Obviously, we’d all like to enjoy the best water quality possible, but the world of water-filter technology is confusing to navigate. Our readers often ask: How can I quickly learn what filter is best for my family’s needs? How can I be sure the filter I bought is doing what it claims to be doing?

I’ve been researching (and testing!) various types of water filters for decades now, so I’ll try to provide you with my understanding of this issue, and help you choose the best water filter for your family.

Types of Water Filters

The most widely available and effective water filters are as follows:

1. Carbon/activated carbon filters: Activated carbon chemically bonds with and removes some contaminants in water that is filtered through it. Some carbon filters just remove chlorine and improve taste and odor, while others remove a wide range of contaminants including lead, asbestos, mercury, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Activated carbon cannot effectively remove common “inorganic” pollutants like fluoride, arsenic, nitrate, hexavalent chromium, and perchlorate.
   There are two types of carbon filters:
   a. Granulated activated carbon (GAC) filters: These filters contain fine grains of activated carbon. Typically, they are less effective than carbon block filters (see below) because they have a smaller surface area of activated carbon.
   b. Carbon block filters: Carbon block filters are made from pulverized activated carbon that is compressed into blocks. They are typically more effective than granulated activated carbon filters because they have more surface area.
2. Ceramic filters: These do not remove chemical contaminants, but they have very small holes throughout the material that block solid contaminants such as cysts and sediments.
3. Kinetic degradation fluxion (KDF) filters: KDF is a combination of copper and zinc. It creates an electro-chemical reaction. During this reaction, electrons are transferred between molecules, and new elements are created. Some harmful contaminants are changed into harmless components. Some heavy metals–such as copper, lead, mercury and others–react to plate out onto the medium’s surface, thus being effectively removed from the water supply.
4. Distillation: Water is distilled by boiling it and capturing the steam. The steam cools back into water. Many substances are left behind and the resulting water is purer. Unfortunately, most of the dissolved beneficial minerals are absent in distilled water. Also, many feel that distilled water is considerably more caustic and will rob minerals from our bodies. Although this topic is robustly debated, we feel that this technology is not a good solution for filtering water when there are so many better, and less expensive, solutions.
5. Mechanical filters: These filters have tiny holes that remove contaminants such as cysts and sediments. They cannot remove chemical contaminants. They filter essentially the same things that ceramic filters do.
6. Reverse osmosis filters: This process pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane that blocks particles larger than water molecules. Reverse osmosis can remove many contaminants not removed by activated carbon, including arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, nitrates, and perchlorate. However, reverse osmosis does not remove chlorine, trihalomethanes, or volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Many reverse osmosis systems include an activated carbon component than can remove these other contaminants. Quality can vary tremendously in both the membrane system and the carbon filter typically used with it. Consumers should also be aware that reverse osmosis filters use 3-to-20 times more water than they produce. They waste quite a bit of water. One exception is this RO filter.

There are other types of water filtration methods out there, but the above technologies are usually the simplest and most cost effective ways improve the water quality in your home.

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Does Your Water Filter Work?

So how can we know if a particular filter manufacturer is producing effective water filters?

There are independent testing agencies that test contaminated water after it has passed through a test filter. If the filter removes all, or nearly all of the specified contaminants, it qualifies for certification. One of the best certifications is the NSF 53 Protocol. Filters that show positive results are granted certification and can be trusted, in my opinion.

What About Fluoride?

There is a significant debate about the ramifications of the use of fluoride in water. There seems to be science that lends validity to both sides of the discussion, but recent studies do suggest that fluoride may be harmful. We choose to filter the fluoride from our water, but we understand that others might take a different view, which is why we offer two options for filters.

What is the Best Water Filter?

You may have noticed that I did not talk about gravity filters like Brita in this post. Generally speaking, these types of filters reduce select chemicals and metals, but they mostly improve the appearance and taste of the water. We feel that to truly filter water, it is necessary to step up another level or two.

Most households need nothing more than a two-filter or three-filter system in order to have great, healthy water. We have found a small manufacturer to build us water filter systems that are simple, affordable, and effective. They’ve been making filters since 1989, and each system has options for either countertop or under-counter installation. These systems are NSW Protocol 53 Certified.

• The two-stage filter – Available for countertop or under-counter installation, this water filter uses KDF,granulated activated charcoal, and carbon block filters to effectively eliminate a wide variety of common contaminants, including chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals (including lead, chromium 6, mercury), iron, aluminum, hydrogen sulfide, chemicals, DBPs (disinfection by-products), THMs (trihalomethanes), HAAs (haloacetic acids), MTBE, VOCs, many pharmaceutical products, and more. This filter does NOT remove fluoride. If you want to filter fluoride from your water, you will want the three-stage filter instead. 
• The premium three-stage filter – Available for countertop or under-counter installation, our three-stage filter system is designed for municipal water that contains a high level of chloramines (chlorine combined with ammonia) and/or VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), PPCPs (pharmaceuticals, personal care products). This triple cartridge water filter includes our fluoride-removal cartridge PLUS our KDF/GAC cartridge PLUS a high performance 0.5 micron extruded multi-media carbon block cartridge.

(Each of the above filters can be easily installed in about an hour or less and require no special tools or skills beyond those found in a typical household.)

• If you can’t drill a hole in your countertop, or if you just want a reverse osmosis water filter, then the ZIP is the best one we’ve found.

The Best Water Filter for Your Bathroom

Finally, it should be noted that chlorine (found in most water supplies) is as easily absorbed through our skin as it is through our stomach. For that reason, we also use a shower filter and a bathtub filter in our home.

Stay sane,

P.S. For the next three months, for every filter we sell, we are donating $10 to the Flint Water Fund, a nonprofit that is supplying the residents of Flint with safe water.

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Written by Maia, Founder & President

We’ve written before about the toxins household furniture releases into our homes (When Furniture Attacks), but mostly have focused on upholstered furniture (check our Safe Sofa Guide for Good Stuff brands).

Toxins in Wooden Furniture

Finding nontoxic wooden furniture can actually be just as challenging as finding a nontoxic sofa, even though you don’t have to worry about flame retardants. Choosing only solid wood pieces is a great start (lots of “wooden” furniture is really made of particle board or plywood which is glued together with formaldehyde-releasing adhesives), but the finishes can be another big problem.

One area of confusion for lots of folks is around linseed oil. Is this truly a nontoxic wood finish, or just Sneaky Stuff?

Here’s the deal with linseed:

Based on our research, we feel that pure, 100% linseed oil poses little, if any, toxic threat to human health, even though it does emit an odor as it dries. Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS) on linseed oil tell us that it is non-toxic, and various other sources confirm this.

Beware of “boiled linseed oil.”

The confusion around linseed oil arrives when with “boiled linseed oil,” which is what’s found in most stores/home-centers is confused with 100% linseed oil.

Basically, there are three types of linseed oil, two of which are non-toxic.

1) Raw linseed oil is, in fact, flax seed oil. It takes a long time to dry but is entirely non-toxic.

2) The polymerized version is true “boiled” linseed oil, sometimes called “stand oil”. Stand oil is generated by heating linseed oil near 300 °C for a few days in the complete absence of air. Under these conditions, a is highly viscous product results, which provides exceptionally uniform coatings that “dry” to more elastic coatings than linseed oil itself. It also dries much more quickly (although still more slowly than toxic, commonly-used polyurethanes.) This true boiled linseed oil is also non-toxic.

3) The “boiled linseed oil” you can buy in most stores is actually mostly raw linseed oil, but with plasticizers, hardeners, and heavy metals added to make it act like true boiled oil, without the time and effort it takes to actually boil it; in other words, it’s cheap. Folks who are concerned about the toxicity of linseed oil are likely thinking of this type.

We’ve identified two sources for good linseed oil: Heritage Natural Finishes and Earthpaint.

Stay sane,

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Written by Maia, President

Thanks for your patience, you guys! We’ve finally wrapped up our research process, and I am happy to recommend four furniture companies that manufacture The Good Stuff!

Maybe you didn’t know that most upholstered furniture is teeming with noxious chemicals, but as always, I am here like a ray of sunshine–ready list some diseases that your favorite sofa can cause. What fun!

In all seriousness, there is actually some very good news about the worst chemicals in sofas. I’m talking, of course, about flame retardants, which new legislation has rendered unnecessary. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the last of these bad boys just yet–but I am hopeful that soon enough you won’t need me to tell you which sofas are safe–because they all will be.

In the meantime, check out the Safe Sofa Guide for our picks for Good, Bad, and Sneaky furniture, plus tips on other ways to reduce your exposure to flame retardants–even if you aren’t ready to buy a new couch.

Stay sane,

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Written by Maia, President

I’m working with an Atlanta-based client right now who wanted to know which paints are truly safe to use in her new home that will house her 4-year-old daughter as well as a newborn. I’m sure others of you are in the market for paint, so I thought I would share the list of Good Stuff we compiled for this client. A few notes on selecting safe wall paint:

• A “low-VOC” paint isn’t enough; there are plenty of zero-VOC choices out there.
• When selecting paints, you can look for certifications (such as Greenguard or Greenseal) which indicate that at least some of the very worst stuff has been left out of these paints. Seals can be misleading, however, because some certifying bodies rely on the manufacturer’s specs, while others do their own testing, but may check for only VOCs but do not consider other potential toxins like phthalates, flame retardants, and biocides.

As always, selecting a safe wall paint is more complicated than it should be, but from our research, here are the brands we think are the best. (Please note that you should always check with manufacturers on their ingredients and processes yourself, as formulas often change.)

The Good Stuff

Milk paints come in a variety of appealing colors.

• AMF Safecoat
• Anna Sova Latex Wall Paint
• Bioshield Clay and Casein paints
• Ecos Paints
• Green Planet Paints
• Mythic Paints
• The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company
• The Real Milk Paint Co.
• Yolo Colorhouse

Stay sane,

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We looked into dozens of mattresses that claimed to be natural, and we annoyed manufacturers by asking questions like, “are the oils used to make your latex foam cold-pressed or chemically extracted?” We added more than a dozen new terms to our glossary (a little light reading on volatile organic compounds, anyone?), and we provide lots of links where you can learn more about why having a truly natural mattress is so important.

As always, we did all this work so that you don’t have to. For the bottom line, zip on down to The Good Stuff…and then get ready to plop down $500 for a crib mattress or $3,000 for a king-sized one.

Stay sane and sleep soundly,

Mattress Shopping Guide

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