Soyagera journey into healthier living

Okay, so why 1950? I really just chose that year because it seems like a good estimate. I’m sure chemical cleansers and petroleum-based products really became the rage following the war, with all the new-fangled technology to clean and polish. And as I’ve figured out, chemicals must make things disintegrate faster…

I’m in the middle of a huge cleaning job. (I’m taking a needed break by blogging. Don’t tell Hubs. He’s still cleaning the basement…heehee.) Hubs and I leave for our cross-country trip in a week. We’ve got a few errands left to run, a few days of work left to bear, and a few items left to buy. Today is CLEANING DAY EXTRAORDINAIRE. And since we gave up chemical cleansers months ago, we’re finding out that we need to increase a few variables in our (natural cleanser x H20) + (elbow grease) = Clean equation.

The proper equation should be
(natural cleanser X H20)+ 100(elbow grease) =Clean!

I’m not complaining. I just now see why women of the working class always had incredible arms. So far today I’ve:
-cleaned out a cooler that was getting mildew-y
-scrubbed my outdoor basement stairs and cement pad (Thank you wet Spring for the mildew you’ve brought. It’s so pretty green!)
-scrubbed my kitchen floor with a rag and a scrub brush
-scrubbed my carpeted stairs with castile soap, water, and borax using a scrub brush

And I’m worn out! I know my back will kill tomorrow. One thing that will not burn, though, is my lungs. Neither will my heart (with the pain of tossing chemical compounds into the water supply).

I suppose I should get back to work.  I’m moving on to my bathrooms and bedroom. A scrub brush is sort of a necessary tool for me, I’ve found. Do you have any natural cleaning tricks that you find magical?

From what I’ve read ABOUT this book (I haven’t read the actual text yet), it seems that the title is purely for attention-getting. And it works pretty well, no? The Vegetarian Myth is written by Lierre Keith, a former vegan, who conjectures that veganism/vegetarianism isn’t any better for the planet than a typical omnivore’s diet. Her argument is for sustainable communities, sustainable living, sustainable eating. And maybe wants to knock a few vegs off their high horses?

::putting tack and saddle away::

I’d like to read this book to see if Keith gets into a deeper argument or rouses any larger points beyond the obvious. In my personal experience, eating a meatless diet can certainly be just as harmful to your body as to the environment, and I’m not just talking about getting one’s vitamins and mineral intake down properly. I mean that there is a lot of processed vegan food out there contributing to the environmental problems just as readily as a bologna factory. This is why I have such a hard time explaining my diet to those who ask or think they understand. It’s not just about eliminating meat and cheese (though sometimes that is how to say it with brevity). It’s about eating organic, WHOLE foods and, when possible, locally produced foods.

I have a feeling that I’ll agree with many of Keith’s musings, and now I’m off to my state library’s website to see if it’s available (what’s your guess?).