I have been writing non-stop for a month to meet my deadline, which is almost here, but I can do it!  With such a quick turn around, you can expect to see the book in bookstores early next year.

I look forward to sharing more about the upcoming book and all of the many ways that you can create a healthier, greener home and workplace, so stay tuned for more information!  It’s a great time to sign up for the monthly newsletter where I’ll be sharing the majority of the news and events.

Thanks so much for your support – and for wanting to create a healthier home!,

Kim

Nordic Naturals offers a line of Pet Cod Liver Oil and Omega-3 Pet. It’s easy to drizzle on your dog or cat’s food – but here’s the great thing.  These products support healthy joints, skin, coat, heart, eyes and weight without the need of prescriptions.

In fact, the Pet Cod Liver Oil provides 625 mg of DHA and 410 mg of EPA per serving!

Nordic Pet’s line of products use the same methods for purity that they use for supplements for humans, too, so it’s a healthy and natural way to supplement your pet’s diet.

Learn more about pet nutrition at Nordic Pet’s educational site.

First things first.  Why do you want to prevent exposure to lead? Lead is so toxic because it can cause neurological problems, especially in children under the age of 5 as their bodies experience rapid brain development. But lead can cause problems in anyone of any age. Mood disorders, lower IQ, delayed development, fatigue, anemia…the list could go on and on. That’s why you want to avoid exposure to lead.

But here’s the thing. Lead doesn’t disappear. It’s not like other toxic chemicals in gas form that eventually disappear into the atmosphere. No, lead stays put where it is, which is why it’s so important to take proper precautions.

Homes built before 1978 could contain lead-based paints, which were legal until legislation changed the law around that time. Which means that outdoor paint could contain lead, too. If you have chipping paint on the outside of your house falling into the garden or other play areas (even if it’s new paint painted on top of lead-containing paint), you might have a lead problem. Now consider this. Children play outside and put their hands in their mouths (and even eat the dirt, every now and then!). The family pets could be roaming around in that area, tracking in dirt on their paws and also ingesting it. And if you’ve got a garden of edible foods planted in a lead-containing area, that’s not good.

Lead can also be found in the ground located far from the house.  Lead escaping from gas fumes in cars can accumulate in the dirt near the road, especially on busy roadways. So be careful about allowing children or pets to play in these areas, too. 

What to do? Well, the easiest thing is just to avoid exposure to these areas if you think that there might be a lead problem. Lead doesn’t cause problems without exposure to it, so unless you’re inhaling or ingesting or have physical contact with the area, you wont’ need to worry as much.

If you are concerned about lead exposure and want to utilize those areas of the yard, you will probably need to replace the soil. The old soil needs to come out, with fresh new soil to replace it. But you’ve got to take proper precautions when moving the soil, such as a mask and gloves.

Living a healthier, greener life isn’t always easy – and that’s because it isn’t always cheap.  Organic and all natural products can tend to be pricier, but luckily there’s a great website that offers some of the most well known organic and natural product brands for much less than you’ll pay at your neighborhood store – www.vitacost.com.

www.vitacost.com offers:

• Vitamins and supplements
• Foods
• Baby products
• Personal care products
• Pet products
• Cleaning supplies
• Even survival and outdoor gear

If you’ve already got a favorite brand that you use, such as Tom’s of Maine, Burt’s Bees or  Giovanni, check out www.vitacost.com to see how much money you can save by buying it online compared to buying it in the stores.

Trying organic and all natural products for the first time?  Then you’ll appreciate Vitacost’s 30 day money back guarantee.

What about shipping, you say? Doesn’t that eat up the savings of buying products online?  Yes, it could, but www.vitacost.com offers a flat, $4.99 shipping rate, regardless of how much you order.  So stock up and buy all of your products at once, increasing your savings and reducing the negative environmental effects of packaging and transport.

Want to know just how much you can save?  Check out these recent examples:

Giovanni shampoo (which are great, by the way!) can normally retail for close to $8.00 in stores such as Target and Ulta.  At www.vitacost.com, the price is $4.68, a savings of 41%.

Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants 4T – 5T can cost close to $20.oo normal retail in the stores.  On www.vitacost.com, the price was $10.81, a 45% savings.

Annie’s Homegrown Creamy Deluxe Elbows and Four Cheese Sauce can cost up to $4.49 at the grocery store, but at www.vitacost.com is costs $3.17, a 29% savings.

The EPA suggests the following methods to control fleas and ticks on your pet without the need of spot-on flea and tick products:

• Vacuum on a daily basis to remove flea eggs, larvae and adults.  Vacuum carpets, cushioned furniture, cracks and crevices on floors, along the baseboards and the basement.
• Steam clean carpets to kill fleas, especially where pets sleep.
• Wash all pet bedding and family bedding that pets may lie on in hot, soapy water every 2-3 weeks.
• Flea combs are very effective.  Focus on parts of the pet where the fleas tend to congregate, such as the neck and tail area.  Deposit the fleas in hot, soapy water to kill them.
• Consider keeping pets indoors.

For more information on the EPA’s recommendations on how to control fleas and ticks, visit their “Taking Care of Fleas and Ticks on Your Pet” factsheet.