Trying to Go Organic and All Natural

My child's father was anti-organic also that was until we went to the Dekalb's Farmer's Mkt. One visit there and he decided that since the prices were so reasonable, he could commit to buying some things that were organic.

I do not recommend the breads there because they absorb the smell of the mkt and therefore have a funny taste to them.

It's definately helpful to shop at Dekalb Farmer's Market where organic costs you pennies rather than dollars. Try looking for recipes for cleaning products to save money. It's all worth it for overall health and to live a longer life, but do what you can and make the change gradually so that your husband doesn't notice and make such a ruckus. Good luck!

Join a food co-op and you'll definitely save! Also, use cloth diapers on the little one and you'll save that money too! Then your husband will see the savings and be happy! Oh and make a lot of your own cleaners and whatnot. Things like vodka are super good and can be scented as you wish.

Google for the "Environmental Working Group" and they have a list of the "top offenders", fruits and veggies that generally have the greatest pesticide "load." You can get a good "bang for your buck" that way. Also, roadside stands and smaller farmers, even if not organic, generally have less pesticides.

Organic meat can be expensive. Keep in mind that pesticides and toxins usually stay in the animal's fat more than the muscle, so leaner meat *may* have less. (Of course, cutting back on meat is even better, but only if you get some GOOD vegetarian recipes. I don't want your husband to completely revolt.) Things like butter, that are pretty much ALL fat, that's a good choice to buy the organic alternative, rather than skim milk, that has less fat. If you can gradually scale back the meat and replace with veggies or soy, that would be about the healthiest thing to do for your family and your planet.

As far as the cleaners, not all of them work as well, which caused a little backlash in my household. Simple Green is VERY powerful stuff, though. I also had pretty good luck with "Seventh Generation" cleaners. They also make (disposable) diapers that don't use bleach (more for the environment than for your baby), and they are VERY soft. They don't have that crinkly plastic between the legs that I've found with Pampers/huggies/luvs etc. (I tried cloth diapers, but I just couldn't do it.)

Also, google for homemade cleaners. A little baking soda, lemon juice, salt, and vinegar can go a long way and save $$$. (Although the vinegar smells pretty terrible, so stock up on some lavender or citrus oils or sprays.)

Thought of something to help you and your hubby compromise on this. If you don't have a household budget, then decide one. Figure out how much to spend on groceries and other household items you want to buy natural/organic. Then you stay on budget with your purchases. You might have to make your own cleaners or go to Farmer's Markets. But if you stay under budget, then he really doesn't have a complaint. Good luck!

Maybe you should do what I do and compromise. For me personally it's just too expensive and too much of a pain to constantly seek out only organic and all natural everything (and I personally love Lysol and don't care what anyone says about it -endorsed by the Pediatric Association), so I do research online (there are tons of sites to google) and eliminate the worst things. Example -strawberries are pesticide "sponges" so it's worth the money to always buy organic ones -same for grapes and ANY produce you buy from Latin America or Asia where they continue to use pesticides that were banned here in the 70s and 80s. Certain cleaning products are worse than others, etc. This way you're doing some good, but you're not breaking the bank!

If you shop at Whole Foods your bill will be very high. We shop at the Dekalb Farmer's Market, Sevenanda, and Trader Joes. We love Rainbow Food's when we just want to go down the street. My food bill is less than half of what it was when I would shop at WF. There are articles on the internet that offer information on the best choices for organic vs non-organic foods, foods with tougher skins can be non-organic because the pesticides do not penetrate. Not sure if that is really true but information like that is offered. We get our shampoos and conditioners from Sevenanda in bulk, also dried good in bulk. You may be able to get all of your cleaning products on-line in bulk. I think I saw some on Amazon.com. I definitely saw some canned and dried foods there. Buying loads of greens, green veggies will definitely support your family's wellness. Smoothies are good too. Plenty on the internet. We belong to a meet-up playgroup, VeggieKidsAtlanta.com . They have some great info. If you have a local weekly outdoor organic market near you, you may want to shop there too because it supports local sustainability... Boric acid is often used for pest control. I have not had that problem here. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you would like more info.
Blessings!