Our Crunchy Journey....

I can admit that I'm a total quack. I mean, many of my beliefs are a bit crazy and unconventional. Especially, since I grew up with a mother that's a nurse. I'm a total crunchy person. I'm green, granola, or whatever other synonym you'd like to use. 

This craze didn't belong all at once. It happened very slowly. Over time. 

I grew up on a farm surrounded by my closest family members, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name them. They were there. My grandparents had their own garden, and grew strawberries, peaches, and apples. We swam in the creek, and played outside. 

BUT, when I was a child, I loathed it all! I mean, I have wonderful memories of growing up in the country, but I was not in to working in the garden, digging potatoes, snapping green beans, and much less, cooking. I didn't grow up eating healthy. God bless my grandma and mother, because Lord knows they tried, but I just wasn't in to the fresh vegetable and healthy eating scene. 

Fast forward to when DJ and I were living in Indiana and we found out that I was pregnant. I found myself connecting with other moms on social media and my eyes were opened to a lifestyle that I thought was completely cray. Not vaccinating, cloth diapers, and even making our own baby food. 

It's probably that group that slowly opened my eyes, and I became interested in several of the topics they were discussing, because I really wanted to save money. 

Eventually, I started to replace our Hamburger Helpers and Hot Pockets with fresher foods, and began cooking. I breastfed because I knew it would save us money with not buying formula, and I even became serious about making Gretchen's baby food. And then the money saving craze continued, when I started washing and recycling our plastic baggies that we used. One time, I had a bottle rack with nothing but freshly washed ziploc bags. (Told ya I was cray.) It was at that point that I realized I was more like my grandmother than I realized. And we eventually began using cloth napkins. 

When I became pregnant with Megan, and DJ had already moved for his new job, I started digging deeper in to how we could save money. Enter cloth diapers, making my own wipes, and making our own cleaners. Over time, I just realized that a lot of the products we were using weren't as safe as companies claimed they were. 

And slowly, we just began changing out products. I was cleaning with mostly vinegar and baking soda. I started researching vaccines. I started to buy organic, non GMO, and more fruits and vegetables. I replaced our laundry detergent. 

Changes were hard and slow. It definitely didn't happen over night, and it all started because I wanted to save a dollar or two. I guess I became a total cheapskate that realized we were being exposed to toxins and products that the FDA claimed were okay and safe. 

Two and a half years ago, I started hearing about essential oils and learning even more. I realized that dryer sheets were full of carcinogens, and that burning candles was equal to being exposed to second hand smoke. (Y'all, that change was HARD!) 

We began ditching and switching. It started with dryer sheets to wool dryer balls. The girls shampoo and body wash. Toothpaste. Deodorant. Cleaning products. And eventually in to my skin care products, my shampoo, my shave gel, and getting DJ on board to switch out his products. 

Here's the deal- I get that I'm strange and that not many people will be convinced that the FDA and large corporations are feeding us garbage about what's in our products.

As I've gotten older, I've had friends my age diagnosed with breast cancer. I've had friends suffer from infertility, and I've realized that girls are developing so much younger than they use to. 

Those realizations have fueled a passion in me to do whatever I can to protect myself and my children. 

So, call me crazy, crunchy, granola, or just plain nuts. 

It's totally fine with me :)