Green Homes in the Tribune!

Check out today's Chicago Tribune to see Green Homes' tips: 5 ways to make your home healthier.  

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-healthy-high-rise-side-1026oct26,0,5310860.story

My friend Julie Deardorf, who wrote the article, covers health and fitness for the Trib.  She's also in my book club.  Well, she never comes, but she's always welcome.  Anyway, Green Homes is thrilled to lend our expertise to the subject at hand.

Julie sent an email a while back  asking for tips to make your home healthier as a sidebar to a larger story entitled "Is your highrise healthy?"  Healthy.   It's a tricky topic.  Does healthy mean green? Non-toxic?  Active?   So Catherine and I decided we'd combine all of the above.   Here, again, are Green Homes' five tips on how to make your home healthier.

1.Get rid of toxic cleaners. Why would you put on your floor something you need to lock up under the sink?

 - Simple truth, right?  There are a lot of good, all-natural cleaners out there, but we are partial to Shaklee's Get Clean products, (http://www.shaklee.net/greenhomes) which we also distribute.  They work, the company's carbon-neutral, and the stuff smells good. 

2.Buy local food. Avoid excess packaging, eat fresh food and eat together as a family.

- Try to buy like the europeans do.  Go to the market regularly, buy fresh food that's in season and build your menus around it.   And everyone's healthier and happier if you have a family dinner as often as possible. 

3.Wash your hands regularly with regular soap. Don't use anti-bacterial soap that contains chemicals such as triclosan. (Waterless hand sanitizers are OK.)

-It's the best thing you can do to stay healthy, especially if you live in cold weather climates.  And some germ exposure keeps your immune system on its toes, so to speak:  good old fashioned soap does the job just fine.  

4.Ditch the plastic food and beverage containers. Never reheat in plastic, don't use plastics No. 3, 6 & 7.

-In sum, plastic leaches dangerous chemicals when its temperature fluctuates.  Don't heat plastic in the microwave.  Don't leave plastic water bottles in the car.  And get rid of all plastics 3, 6 & 7 in your house.  It's not worth it.

5. Leave your shoes at the door. So you don't track in the pesticides and pollutants from outside.

-It's the best way to improve your home's indoor air quality.  We track in tons of toxins, dirt and pesticides that eventually turns to dust and settles on your stuff and, eventually, into your lungs.  Ick.  Take 'em off.

It's the little things.  They add up.  

-