I had never really listened to podcasts until I was pregnant. I was suddenly so curious about the changes happening in my body and with my baby every week that I found a weekly update pregnancy podcast I loved. After she was born I figured there had to podcasts about motherhood and started there. Since then I have found several others I enjoy listening to, and hope to continue to find more. If you have any great ones you listen to let me know.

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Personally, I have felt like podcasts can be a way to improve my overall wellness as they seem to help me calm down when I am stressed but not make me feel unproductive. I love to listen while I do laundry, dishes, eat, or while I’m on a walk. I tend to be a stressor, and it is very beneficial for me to have ways to help when I can feel my stress rising. Haha which might be my current life as finals start next week, this might explain this post and all the podcasts I have been listening to. Beneath I am going to list my current favorite podcasts I have been listening to lately.

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The Mom Hour

-This is definitely my favorite podcast and the one I listen to most frequently. I found it when Thea was a few months old and listen to it consistently, especially walking too and from school every day. I find it very uplifting and relatable, and if I am in need of a mood change this can help me. It is also enjoyable to listen to while I do dishes or laundry. I love that it is two mom’s talking about their everyday lives and things that apply to all mom’s.

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Minimal-ish: realistic minimalism

I found this podcast a few weeks ago and have been flying through her episodes because I really like them. If binging podcasts is a thing, I am binging these. These episodes are full of real life, and also real helpful solutions from health, cleaning your house, decluttering , budgeting, body image, and so many more topics.

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The Wellness Mama

I have listened to a few of these podcasts and I will say that I do find them enjoyable and informative. I do struggle to. want to listen to lots of the topics though because they seem a bit too far into the holistic side of things where I prefer to stay kind of in the middle. I am choosy when I look through her podcasts and blog but I do like the information she gives, it can just be overwhelming at the beginning of a journey to greater wellness and non-toxic living.

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Non-Toxic Pursuits

I just found this podcast and really like all of the episodes I have listened to. Unfortunately she only has 7 episodes and hasn’t done a new podcast in almost 2 years. So they still have some great information, but you probably won’t be getting a long-term favorite podcast out of Non-Toxic Pursuits.

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Unruffled

I have only listened to a couple of her short episodes, but I am so excited to utilize this podcast more in the future. Janet Lansbury runs the podcast, she seems to be most well known for her parenting books and belief in respectful parenting. Her episodes are full of specific listeners questions about parenting and her advice on how to help. I love that there are resources out there like this podcast for parents, because just like my babe is currently trying to figure out how to be a toddler I’m trying to figure out how to be a toddler mama and we both are going to learn and grow from it.

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As I have started to search for ways to help clear out the toxins in my kitchen I have began to feel uncomfortable with the Teflon pans I own. The Oxford Dictionary defines Teflon as “a tough synthetic resin made by polymerizing tetrafluoroethylene, chiefly used to coat nonstick cooking utensils and to make seals and bearings.” Teflon is especially thought to be most harmful once your non-stick pans are scratched or flaking. I have sheepishly looked at my HORRIBLY scratched old college pans and thought that this is a change we could stand to make sooner rather than later. There are a lot of big purchases we are holding off making while living in a little apartment, and many of those are to improve our kitchen because they take up more room and are expensive investments.

While searching online I have felt that stainless steel and cast iron pots and pans seem to be the best and hardiest out there. Unfortunately for me, I have never cooked with either. I have always had non-stick pans I got from Ross before I started college which have been fine, but have gotten quite beat up and warped over the years. We were a bit minimalistic on our wedding registry and didn’t even register for pots and pans because I already had some. What I have learned is that sometimes cost does represent quality, and sometimes it is smart to put the expensive higher quality items on a registry just in case you get it, if not there is usually a discount associated with having it on a registry.

For those who have bought a nice set of pots and pans you’ll probably agree with me when I say gosh they are expensive. I’ve searched for hours on Amazon and had just resigned myself to the fact that we would not be getting any until we have more money. Then the other day I saw that there was a very highly rated 10.5 inch cast iron pan for 15 dollars. I decided to just go for it, and see how it works for us. Obviously I am slightly terrified as I have never really worked with one, and they definitely require some different TLC other pans do not, so I am just going to share the things we have done to prepare ours for use.

1. Wash with hot soapy water
2. Dry completely with towel
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
4. Cover entire surface of pan (inside, outside, bottom, handle) with a very thin layer of oil of choosing (I wiped with paper towel after to make sure it was smooth and thin). I chose olive oil because that is what I like to cook with, many suggest oils like canola or shortening but I have been trying to cook with healthier oils and didn’t want those covering everything I make.
5. Place pan upside down in oven for 1 hour on top shelf, with a cookie sheet on the shelf beneath to catch any drips
6. Turn off oven after the hour and allow pan and oven to cool down together

After that initial wash I have learned that you should not use soap unless you are going to redo the steps I just listed above, but you should just try to use hot water and a scrub brush to clean out the pan. Once finished washing dry off the pan, place it back on the stove and heat it up until it is completely dry so it does not rust (this is very important, also make sure you do not accidentally leave it on a wet spot on your stove once you’re done). You then rub a thin layer of oil all over the pan again with a paper towel and it should be ready to use the next time you need it.

**Some things I have learned:

Make sure before you season it that the oil is very thin, be sure that you use the paper towel to wipe down every single part of the pan. The parts I missed on the wipe down, got a bit too much oil on them and were super sticky. Also don’t be afraid or embarrassed to research as you use it, I’m constantly googling what I should or should not do with my pan. So far I really like it, although I have not gotten brave enough to get rid of my non-stick pan yet. I am hoping as it continues to get more seasoned and non-stick that I will have the confidence to do just that. I also have never had a pan that I could stick in the oven, and after using it to make a cobbler the other day I think my husband and I are both hooked. I’m sure that I will continue to learn and improve my cooking in Cast Iron as I continue to use this pan, and I can’t wait to see how much I use this pan.

Also do not feel bad if this is a step you are not ready to make or if you are currently living your life with all Teflon pans. Please understand that everything else I own is scratched Teflon, and that although I do intend to replace them it will probably be one at a time. Also from what I saw it appears that Teflon is most dangerous when being used at too high of a heat, or once they are scratched/flaking flaking. So if you use non-stick pans make sure you are using the correct utensils with them that will not scratch them and are cooking on low-medium heat. Obviously by the state of mine I am very guilty of ignoring this no metal instruction (sorry Mom), and cannot be trusted with metal utensils.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nonstick-cookware-safety#section4

When baby girl was a newborn we discovered Huggies Natural Wipes in big refill bags on Amazon, and found them to be very affordable and easy to pull out of the box. Unfortunately, when I went to reorder them a few months ago on Amazon I found that they’ve stopped selling them and that individual sellers have them listed for more than double what we were paying. This has caused us to be on a wipe search (although I actually did find them back on a few days ago so maybe they’ll be back for good).

My list of needs in baby wipes

-Don’t cause irritation or rashes

-Unscented/fragrance-free

-Affordable

-Clean ingredients (specifically no phthalates, parabens, or fragrance)

-Preferably in refillable packs as we already have containers to put them in

-Easy to peel apart and get one out at a time, we hate it when they are difficult and a handful comes out

-Thick enough that they don’t just tear apart

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Kinds we have tried

Huggies natural: Easy to pull only one out of the container, thick, soft (we always bought them on amazon, but they stopped selling them for a while so we needed another option we like)

Abby & Finn: Very wet, clean ingredients

Pampers: Too thin, tear apart

Hello Bello: Very hard to get out of the container and peel apart, clean ingredients

Target up and up Sensitive Skin: Very soft, easy to pull out, clean ingredients

Target cloud island: Difficult to pull out, I hate how they smell (my husband said he hasn’t noticed a scent but it bothers me)

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We quite like being able to order wipes online as we are getting low especially where we know we get them so quickly with prime, but I truthfully could not find any with the ingredients I wanted for the price I liked on Amazon. Then I saw the ingredients in the Babyganics wipes and was sold…until I read their reviews, oh my gosh there were so many complaints of black mold being on the wipes. No thank you. I decided to continue my search. I ended up on Target’s website, and saw they were having a sale on diapers and wipes so I decided to just start looking through their ingredients lists on the different wipes they sell. I was happily surprised to find that they have two of their baby store brands that have wipes with good ingredients. These are Up and Up Sensitive Skin wipes and Cloud Island Wipes. I ended up ordering some of both to figure out which we prefer and am really hopeful that one of them will work out for us.

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After trying both we had a favorite by far. The Up and Up Sensitive Skin Wipes (this distinction is important as these have much better ingredients than both the unscented version, and scented version of Up and Up wipes) are fantastic. Like we loved them. Also can I just mention that it is only $12.39 for 736 wipes. Just for reference one of the most highly talked about natural wipes right now are called Water Wipes, they cost $42.99 for 720 wipes. For me, that’s just not affordable. These may have a few more ingredients than water wipes, but I have been very happy with their quality, price, and the ingredients they chose not to include.

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Seriously after changing her the first time with the Up and Up wipes I knew they were a winner, but had to wait a while to make sure they didn’t cause a reaction or anything. They are so soft, didn’t have any apparent smell to me, and were SO EASY to get out of the container…finally (haha you might have noticed that is important to us). I also love the ingredients. Unfortunately as we all know there is currently a shortage in many things, and these are included in that so we haven’t been able to buy more in a few weeks. We were very grateful to see our Huggies Natural Wipes back on Amazon to get us through the next bit until we can get more. If you have been looking for a gentle baby wipe with clean ingredients I highly suggest trying the Up and Up brand (just make sure you check ingredients between their different scents, I felt like sensitive skin were the cleanest). I will list the ingredients below because I couldn’t find them on the website, so I got them off the package.

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Up and Up Sensitive Skin Baby Wipes Ingredients

Purified Water

Citric Acid

Decyl Glucoside

Sodium Citrate

Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

Gluconic Acid

Sodium Benzoate

Lately I have been trying to create a good habit for myself to help ease stress. I hate dirty dishes, the smell they bring to my house and how sloppy they make my kitchen look. Unfortunately dishes pile up so quickly and I find it hard to always have them under control. This really does affect me though, and I can tell a difference in myself when my dishes are done or if they are just messy in my sink. Something I started trying to do lately is to do them either when my husband is getting my baby ready for bed or after I put her in bed if it was my turn, or on nights like tonight he did them while I got her in bed.

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When I am consistent to do this each night there aren’t as many dishes, and they aren’t as gross or caked on. This literally brings me peace, funny as it may sound.  My new favorite thing to do once my sink is empty is to pour baking soda all over the sink with a few drops of lemon and lime essential oils and give it a good scrub. Not only does this get my sink looking clean and sparkly, but it smells DIVINE and the smell spreads throughout my little apartment. I have only recently bought essential oils and because most of mine are photosensitive I haven’t even tried to use them on my body and am just using them in recipes around my house. (Disclaimer: I definitely still use a disinfectant to clean out my sink if raw meat ever touches it, I’m not trying to say that this nightly sink scrub disinfects)

By far this has been my favorite use for them. Also I have found that if my sink is getting stained (ours is white and porcelain) sometimes the baking soda and lemon essential oil can help remove that stain without me having to bleach it. After doing this routine for several days in a row, I decided there might be a better way to use less of both product yet still have it be effective. I poured some baking soda in a jar with probably about 10 drops of essential oil and just shook it up until it was all mixed together and now I just shake some of the mixture into my sink every time it is clear of dishes and do the scrub down. This has worked great and uses a lot less essential oils, but still smells really good. I will say that the scent is not as long lasting, but for most everyday uses it has still worked well. If I want it to be really strong one day I can still just do the baking soda with however much essential oils I want on it.

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For those with essential oil questions, truthfully I am not your girl. I am still very hesitant when using them and am always looking things up as you definitely have to be careful what you use them for especially around babies and pets. I am extra careful because I have a baby, and have never used them topically. I also was very overwhelmed because there are so many different brands that sell essential oils, and different claims about them. I found a brand I am happy with that I will link here if you are interested, as I know I was definitely curious what brands people were using when I was researching. So if you like the idea of the sink scrub and have not used essential oils before, please do your own research before using them so you can know which will be safe to use in your own home.

One of my favorite baby purchases I have made was a set of popsicle molds. I bought these with hopes that I could make some breast milk popsicles when my girl started to teeth. Little did I know she would not pop her first tooth until after her first birthday, so instead we just got to start using these babies for fun. I started off just pouring pumped breast milk in the molds which she loved. The last time I made them like that my brother almost ate one thinking it was a yogurt pop or something so they look pretty legit, luckily I was able to warn him before he tried it.

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Then as she started to have more foods she had tried I started mixing up fruit into them. If it was something like frozen blueberries, apples, or bananas I would add some water or breast milk until it blended well. I also started to add in some yogurt on the tip to make it a special treat sometimes. The thing I quickly realized was that these do not have to be sweet. One day I was sitting with my babe while she ate it and she handed me her popsicle for a quick lick, and to my surprise it was not sweet at all. Like I had to work to not look a bit horrified, yet she was going to town. Some fruits have made sweeter popsicles than others, but I love that she can enjoy her treat without it needing any extra sugar like the store bought ones would have.

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Most of the time I just use some frozen fruit (whatever kind I have at the time), frozen spinach, and water or milk. I use my magic bullet most of the time just because you really don’t need very much with how small these popsicles are. The mold has 4 popsicles in it, so it is nice to be able to make multiple at one time. I always just take it out of the freezer and run the specific popsicle I am pulling out under warm water until I can pop it out. I have never had an issue with them cracking or getting stuck by doing that.

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They are super easy and affordable to make, and slightly calms my often anxious self to know exactly what she is eating and to be able to make her treats without breaking the bank. It also makes me feel better about life when she tosses said popsicle across the room and can no longer eat it because I know I can make more. The popsicle mold was a great purchase at only $7.99 on Amazon, and we have been able to use them countless times.

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Haha I also will say as a slight warning that you do need to make sure you put the stick in securely until it is all the way on because I definitely didn’t one time and sprayed a raspberry smoothie all over my countertop and floor. Baby girl loves them so sometimes we’ll do them just for fun, but usually we save them for the hard nights if she isn’t feeling well or has been teething. Right now while we are basically self-quarantined I have been really grateful to have them because this week baby girl decided she’d like to grow in her first two molars. So as you can imagine we are all stir crazy, and she is quite whiny which is not super normal for her. I don’t really have the option to be running out to Walmart to grab all of the teething essentials so I am so glad I could just whip up a batch of these to help ease her pain when we need them.

When I made my order on Thrive Market and bought this detergent I had only been using my Branch Basics for a few weeks, and truthfully felt a bit silly ordering more detergent when I had just found one that I liked. Yet, it was sooo cheap, has great ingredients (which are shown in the picture below), and fabulous reviews so I just had to try it.

I haven’t used powder laundry detergent in years, but I have truly had zero issues with it. I have never felt like we have any leftover powder on our clothes and everything has still felt clean and has not irritated our skin. The peppermint smell is very refreshing  and makes me enjoy doing laundry. I don’t use this all the time, but especially where my other detergent is completely unscented I like being able to use this one if I know I have a load of stinky towels or dirtier laundry that needs a little more scent control.

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The smell is quite strong when you open the container, but once the clothes have gone through the wash it is very rare I can still smell the peppermint as I am putting them in the dryer. By then they just smell clean and fresh but not like any particular scent. I love having this as an option, especially when I don’t know how often I will be able to buy Branch Basics because of overall cost. They also have an unscented version I plan on trying, and lavender that a lot of people seem to love.

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My only complaint about this detergent is that it is only available on the Thrive Market Website (which I love), but don’t make orders on very often. I also slightly worry about finding something I love so much on a specific site that isn’t sold anywhere else, so I am glad to know that it is very similar to Molly’s Suds if I’m ever no longer able to get it (although Molly’s is not quite as cost effective).

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Currently because of the virus, their shipping times are a lot longer than normal but once things calm down I plan on buying more of the peppermint scent and the unscented so I can stock up. Something I love is that I actually can stock up a bit on this detergent because it is seriously SO CHEAP. The peppermint scent is $7.99 for 70 loads and the Fragrance free bag is $5.99 for 70 loads. That is essentially only 8-11 cents per load which is a ridiculously good deal for store bought detergent. When I was buying my Gain pods I was paying  22 cents per pod, so double. I love this new detergent because it is so much better for my family to use because of the clean ingredients and costs half the price we were already spending. So many people fear the switch to more natural products because of cost, but I am determined to find and help others understand that there are great products available at affordable prices.

Update at bottom of post.

I have been using the same face lotion for the last 3 years. I was having some sudden issues with acne a few years ago when a friend suggested that I use CeraVe and that is what I have had ever since. I would say I lean more towards having a dry face than oily, although sometimes my T-zone will get a bit shiny. Honestly I have just kind of dealt with the same issues with my skin and still have random breakouts quite frequently. I have heard a lot of really good things about using Jojoba oil instead of a moisturizer on the face, so I am excited to try and see if it helps my skin. I have heard of several other oils that can be used on the face that are not supposed to clog pores, but Jojoba sounded like the best for my skin type. If you try a face oil do some research to see what oil will work best for your skin.

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I honestly have not been super happy with my skin for several years, but after having a very unhelpful visit to a dermatologist I am always nervous to make any changes with my simple skin care routine. I was told when visiting a dermatologist for my first time at 18 years old that because I was an adult I have hormonal acne and my only option was medication. I was about to move out of state to serve a mission for my church, and couldn’t be starting a new medication without being able to follow up. I was frustrated that he didn’t have any other suggestions or advice for me and have just kind of hoped it would go away since then. I am very good to wash my face twice a day and always moisturize, but still have random breakouts. I also really struggle with not touching my face (it’s a work in progress).

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I decided to look up my face wash and lotion and see how the ingredients in them rated and if it was finally time to be looking for new products. Both products rate a 7 out of 10 on the Think Dirty App (0 is best, and 10 is worst), so I think this is a good reason for me to finally try to find something that works better.

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After using jojoba oil instead of a face moisturizer for a couple of months I am happy with it. I will not lie and tell you that my acne is cured, and my skin is completely clear but it is a clean ingredient and it has worked for me. So far I prefer to keep my jojoba oil on my face plain, but occasionally I will put a bit of frankincense essential oil in it as well (I have noticed zero differences from this though, and I really dislike the scent so I don’t do it often). I was sure that using an oil would give me super oily skin or crazy bad breakouts (like when I tried using coconut oil as a moisturizer in high school), but it actually hasn’t. I use this both morning and night and just do the amount of drops that makes my face feel moisturized (usually 3-5 drops for my combination/dry skin). I do feel like it took a little bit of time for my skin to adjust and recognize that this was it’s new way to moisturize, but I now like it. I also like that it’s such a versatile product I can use the extra oil on my hands to run through the ends of my hair or on my arms.

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I should also mention that this route has been beneficial for our budget as well. The bottle I bought was $7.76 for organic jojoba oil and I started using it in the middle of January and still have quite a bit left in my bottle. My face lotion wasn’t crazy expensive like some are, but this oil is definitely less than I was spending and seems to last longer.

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I am still struggling with finding a clean face wash that doesn’t make me break out terribly and right now am back on my CeraVe face wash after trying a different kind and getting a big dry rash on my cheek. I am hoping to build up my courage to try an oil cleanse as well, but I have yet to do it yet as I’m trying to allow my cheek to heal before adding in anything new.

UPDATE 6/13/20: I am no longer using this product. I truthfully felt like I really liked it initially, but after swapping out several of my face products ended up getting a horrible rash all over my right cheek which quickly turned into a case of eczema (I think-it was right during this crazy Corona Virus time when I wasn’t wanting to go to the doctor unless really necessary). I still don’t know if it was this or the face wash I tried that caused this but I ditched them both because it was terrible and my face looked AWFUL for over a month and I haven’t been able to convince myself to try it again and see if it was the Jojoba oil. This has not been the perfect solution for me, but I know it works great for some people!

Last semester I did an internship working in a small gym for women. I worked as a Kidfit instructor, and was able to help out with fun exercise routines with 3-5 year old’s while their mom’s went to a workout class. While working there I started hearing a lot about High Fitness (which I had literally never even heard of before).

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They taught several High Fitness classes at the facility, but I was never able to attend one. I did get to see some of the moves and saw how much these huge classes of women seemed to enjoy the workout and it made me curious. High fitness involves current fun and upbeat music and set moves to each song. “Think Old School Aerobics meets HIIT training” is how the website describes it.

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The women in these classes would come out drenched in sweat so it is obviously a really good workout, but they would also be laughing and singing and looking like they were having a genuinely good time. These also seemed to be the classes that were filled to maximum numbers. Since than I have wanted to try High Fitness, but am not currently at a point where I want to be paying for a gym membership. I excitedly went home and looking up High Fitness workouts on YouTube, and to my dismay realized there were none. Now if you know me well you would realize that in order for me to go home and look this up, it must have looked awesome because I am not the most coordinated or athletic person. High Fitness is a very highly regulated workout because of music laws, and the two founders have to be very careful to not break those rules. Because of this it is only taught by certified instructors, and each class is listed on the HIGH Fitness website. If you go to it there are some that are offered for free in churches and such but unfortunately I didn’t get to one before everything closed for COVD-19.

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Then the other day I saw a notification that the High Fitness owners put up 45 minutes worth of High Fitness Instruction on their YouTube channel so people are able to still workout during this quarantine. I was so excited to finally be able to try it. HOLY COW it was hard and so fun. I kept wanting to quit, but made myself go the full time so I could really experience the full workout and know which songs are my favorite. I hope to continue this at home, and to start going to some classes after things begin to open again because it is a great workout and it is also fun with the current music and moves.

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Obviously since I am new to High Fitness I am still learning the moves, but I think it will only become more fun as I know the moves and can go along with the instructors easier. I have now done the class 3 times and I am loving it! The first time was definitely still the most intense as the other two times I have done it with my toddler running around the family room with me. I love that it is easily accessible in my home, and I now have a lot more confidence that I would enjoy going to a High Fitness class after participating in their YouTube workout. If you have been interested in trying HIGH fitness but haven’t done it yet you should definitely try their online workout right now and see if you like it!

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I have recently been writing a literature review for one of my college courses about the lack of regulation on cosmetics in the United States. As I have read countless studies and articles I have determined a few ingredients that I hope to phase out of the products I buy. The ones that are most important to me at this point are parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and fragrance although I am sure this list will continue to grow. I definitely would suggest doing your own research on these ingredients and making your own choices according to what you feel is best or possible right now. Just because I am trying to phase these ingredients out does not mean I am able to do it quickly, especially as good alternatives to products I already use and like are not always easy to fine. This is not meant to make anyone feel guilty, but just to be informative and let you know the journey we have taken with diaper brands over the last 16 months.

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Around baby girl’s first birthday she suddenly jumped two diaper sizes in about a month and our diaper cost increased significantly. I decided to start looking for more affordable options. I have since found out that apparently I am picky about diapers.

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Pampers: I felt these were sized too small and didn’t seem to last us long enough when she was a newborn, they were much smaller than Huggies in the same size and girlfriend got chunky fast.

Huggies Little Snugglers: These were my favorites for a long time because I loved how they fit her and how long we could keep her in one size, but these are the ones that became more expensive and I ended up learning they had ingredients I no longer wanted to use.

Abby & Finn: I thought they were adorable and soft, and I truly had high hopes for them, but either we ordered too small of a sample size (I have heard they do run smaller) or they just didn’t work for us because baby girl leaked out of almost every single diaper. Loved the ingredients! This was my first time trying diapers that were made with better ingredients! I also felt like they were a more affordable clean option.

Costco’s Kirkland diapers: These one’s I’m still kind of on the edge about, they are a lot more affordable than other brands but I felt like they were kind of rough and she peed out wearing these basically every night. After changing the sheets every single day for weeks, I decided to try a different brand.

Hello Bello: I really liked these. They are very soft, thin, and cute. The first time we got them I thought there was no way they would be absorbent enough because they are seriously thin, but we only have leaks on the days where she sleeps longer than normal (like 14 hours-so I would say they do their job). I love the ingredients they choose to leave out of the diapers and generally trust the company and love their other baby products. Unfortunately we hated the wipes so we quit their subscription after the first month, spending 70 dollars a month seemed like a high price especially when we don’t like their wipes!

Mama Bear Gentle Touch Diapers: These are the diapers we are currently using! I have heard great things about the regular Mama Bear diapers (Amazon brand) but unfortunately had never tried them yet, well now that I needed a new brand as our Hello Bello box was almost gone I looked them up and found they only say they are chlorine, fragrance, and latex free. Parabens and phthalates are the two biggest chemicals I’m trying to get out of my home first so I decided to go with their gentle version to see what we think of it instead. They are made without perfume, fragrance, lotion, parabens, and phthalates. I love how affordable they are, and that I can choose to buy a little pack to try them out before committing to a big box.

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After using the Mama Bear Gentle Touch Diapers for a couple of weeks now I can say that I have been very impressed by them. They are just as soft as Hello Bello and very similarly sized. The elastic all seems great and soft on her, and they don’t seem to be irritating. They are also very nondescript diapers and are either white or have faint little polka dots which is helpful under light colored onesies. I am so grateful we decided to try them because they are so much cheaper than what we have been paying. For reference we were spending $23.94 for 74 Hello Bello diapers when we bought them at Walmart. That is about 32 cents per diaper. When we just ordered the big box of Mama Bear Gentle diapers we spent $28.64 for 148 diapers, which is about 19 cents per diaper. Diaper costs add up quickly so this feels like a fantastic deal, especially with the quality of ingredients. I totally get that different diapers work different for every baby, but I would highly suggest trying them out!

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SV3XWZ7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Right now there is a lot of panic and overall fear about the Coronavirus, and while I have tried to keep myself calm and educated about it for the most part, yesterday I felt my panic starting to rise. I know that there are a lot of things I can’t control, so I am trying to keep control in the areas I have influence over. One way that has brought me a bit of peace in keeping my own environment cleaner and safer is something I am going to share today.

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A couple of months ago I saw an article online about washing produce and kind of chuckled to myself, thinking we all wash our fruits and vegetables the same way. Well I watched it and it turns out I do not wash my produce like them so I started searching and apparently there are quite a few ways people wash produce. I generally just do a quick rinse under my tap water and call it good, and usually don’t even rinse things like avocados, oranges, or bananas that I will not be eating the peel of. I always just figured I was rinsing the dirt of my food, but as I started looking into the subject a little bit more I learned that we should also be trying to wash off pesticides, bugs, bacteria, dirt, and basically anything else our food has come into contact with. I’ve always been a bit of a germaphobe, which is definitely not my favorite quality about myself. But having been a person who has gotten sick VERY easily all my life, I take germs and sicknesses pretty seriously.

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Well the idea of doing a produce wash had been on my mind for a while but I hadn’t taken the time to do it, and eyed my produce slightly warily every time I did my quick water rinse. I finally decided to try it on a day when I didn’t have a very busy morning and can tell you it was a bit fun. It made me get my dishes all finished because I needed an empty sink so that was a helpful start to my morning. I also had to give the sink a good scrub down which always feels good!

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When researching I found a lot of different ways people wash produce, and I think a lot of it depends on personal preference and budget so if you are not interested in the ways I mention please don’t think they are the only option. I found two different affordable ways to wash produce that I was interested in. The first was with baking soda, and the second was with vinegar. I have tried both, mainly depending on which product I have and have now been doing a produce wash for the last two months.

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For the baking soda wash I poured about 4 tablespoons of baking soda into my clean sink and filled it up with cold water. I then put my produce in the wash for about 10 minutes, rinsed everything, and then laid them out to dry completely.

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For the vinegar wash I took about 1-2 cups of white vinegar and poured it in my clean sink and filled it up the rest of the way with cold water. My produce then sat for 10 minutes, I rinsed all of it, and laid everything out to dry completely.

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There are certain fruits and vegetables that I have heard do not work great in a produce wash, so I have not tried this with small soft berries, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. and just wash those as I use them. I also try to put thin skinned produce like tomatoes or peaches in for only half of the time. It is also extremely important to lay out all of the produce making sure nothing is touching until it is completely dry. This is going to help it all last longer. I like to lay a towel on my counter with one of my cooling racks on top so I can just lay the produce on the cooling rack and the water has a place to go.

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 I ended up going on Amazon and looking up reusable bags to store produce in so I could have a clean place to put all of my now clean produce. I ended up getting a pack that I have liked so far. They have helped keep my produce fresh at least a little bit longer and I love that I can throw them in my washing machine. I would suggest putting all of them in a garment bag though if you are washing with anything Velcro because a bib caught on one of our bags and looks like it may not hold up great. I will definitely say that if these continue to be as helpful as they were in the first week of buying them I am going to be so glad I bought them. I am seriously always throwing away produce, I just can’t use as fast as I think I’ll be able to. Since I bought the bags though I haven’t had to throw away nearly as much produce

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I have seriously loved doing this, it really isn’t that time consuming and gives me a much better idea of how much produce I have in my fridge as I am constantly forgetting what I have bought. I also find that I am much quicker to eat my produce when it has been washed so this is beneficial to save me time, and help my family eat healthier. I enjoy having a bit more piece of mind in knowing that my produce is cleaner than it was.