Spring Cleaning.

I really thought I could let go, yet again, of some of my son’s toys. I have been doing regular decluttering of his things just so I can keep them in order. Anyway, I asked him if I can sell some of them, but even though he doesn’t play with them, he still didn’t want to let go of them. So I guess, I just have to dispose some of my things in the playroom this time. Yes, I also contribute to the clutter in his playroom. Who knows I might find a cordless barcode scanner in there. Kidding aside, I have to do decluttering in batches as sometimes it is just hard to let go of all the stuff at once.

Identifying Toxins In Health And Beauty Products.

Makeup/Cosmetics:
Silica/Crystalline (or Quart or Rose Quartz), Propylparaben (or Butylparaben or Methylparaben or any paraben), Aluminum Power, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance, PEG-4 Diheptanoate, BHA, D&C Red 30 Lake (this is one example of an artificial color– most come up highly toxic), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Alumina, Octinoxate, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT, Polyethylene Glycol, Manganese, Barium Sulfate, Oxybenzone, DMDM Hydantoin, Triclosan, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Steareth-21, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone.

Shampoo/Conditioner:
BHA, Fragrance, Butylparaben (and again, all of the parabens), Octinoxate, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Methylchloroisothiazolinone, DMDM Hydantoin, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate (almost anything with Laureth or Laurate in it), Cocoamide DEA, BHA, Resorcinol, P-Phenylenediamine, P-Aminophenol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Salicylic Acid, Ceteareth-12, Benzyl Alcohol, PEG-10 Sorbitan Laurate.

*Note– Don’t be taken in by “natural” products without still reading the ingredients. I did my ingredient research by looking up products with a rating of 10 (the most-toxic) and I found J/A/S/O/N shampoos in there, a supposedly natural brand!

Deodorant:
Fragrance, Ceteareth-12, Ceteareth-20, Triclosan, Coumarin, Lilial, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Limonene, Propylene Glycol, Isobutane, Benzyl Alcohol, Zinc Oxide (sunscreen grade), Eugenol, Benzyl Salicylate, Butane, Aluminum Chlorohydrate, 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor.

Bar Soap/Body Wash:
DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Ceteareth-20, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Octinoxate, Cocamide DEA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben (and all other parabens), Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coumarin, Salicylic Acid, Lyral, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cinnamal, BHT, Eugenol, Oxybenzone, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzalkonium Chloride, Hydroxycitronellal, Diazolidinyl Urea.

Skin Cleansing and Lotion:
Fragrance, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Salicylic Acid, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, PPG-2-Cetearathe-9, PEG-7 Glycerol Cocoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Geraniol, Limonene, Polysorbate-20, Laureth-23, Ceteareth-20, Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polysorbate-60, Eugenol.

Nail Polish:
Toluene, Triphenyl Phosphate, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Benzophenone-1, Dibutyl Phthalate, Aluminum Powder, Octinoxate, Barium Sulfate, Tartrazine, BHT, Formaldehyde, Oxybenzone, Alumina, Isobutylphenoxy Eopxy Resin.
Hair Styling Products (mousse, hair spray, gel, etc):

Fragrance, Retinol (Vitamin A), Octinoxate, DMDM Hydantoin, Butylparaben, Propylparaben (and again, all parabens), Triethanolamine, Polysorbate-20, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Phenoxyethanol, Polyethelene Glycol, Geraniol, Limonene, Isobutane, Propane (this one surprised me!), Diazolidinyl Urea, PEG-40.

Toothpaste:
Fragrance (hmm, a theme), Sodium Fluoride (of course, there is debate over whether this is toxic or not), Retinol (Vitamin A), Propylparaben, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, FD&C Blue 1 Aluminum Lake (another example of a coloring), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine.

Perfume/Fragranced Products:
Oxybenzone, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Fragrance, Propylparaben, Octinoxate, Diazolidinyl Urea, BHT, Lilial, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Ceteareth-20, Tartrazine, Geraniol, Citral, Lyral, Coumarin, Amylcinnamaldehyde.

You bet I am now going through our toiletries supply. Tsk tsk, too bad the baby products I thought were safe, were not actually.

{Read more: http://simpleorganic.net/identifying-and-avoiding-toxins-in-beauty-and-personal-care-products/}

My Inbox.

I love looking at my inbox now. It now looks light. Finally I am able to clean it up. Only a handful of important emails is left in there. And hopefully I can keep it that way. It has been very cluttered for the past months, I wasn’t able to delete even the spam emails. Thankfully, I found the time earlier to do so or else I would have totally forgotten the executive dashboard software that my cousin is asking me to look into. I used to be in IT but I guess, I will pass this task to DH instead.

What They Are.

{http://imgfave.com/}

On Repairs and Maintenance.

I can’t believe how pocket-draining cars and rv repairs and maintenance can be nowadays. That’s one of the main reasons why our used to be regular car maintenance has turned into once in a blue moon one. But this summer vacation, whether we like or not, the car needs to be brought to the shop for some tuning up. It’s for our safety anyway. I can only wish we have the funds to get a second car so we have an alternate.

6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook.

And this goes for Twitter and other social networking sites, as well.

Your birth date and place. Sure, you can say what day you were born, but if you provide the year and where you were born too, you’ve just given identity thieves a key to stealing your financial life, said Givens.

Vacation plans. There may be a better way to say “Rob me, please” than posting something along the lines of: “Count-down to Maui! Two days and Ritz Carlton, here we come!” on Twitter. But it’s hard to think of one. Post the photos on Facebook when you return, if you like. But don’t invite criminals in by telling them specifically when you’ll be gone.

Home address. Some 40% listed their home address on the sites; 65% didn’t even attempt to block out strangers with privacy settings. And 60% said they weren’t confident that their “friends” were really just people they know.

Confessionals. You may hate your job; lie on your taxes; or be a recreational user of illicit drugs, but this is no place to confess. Employers commonly peruse social networking sites to determine who to hire — and, sometimes, who to fire.

Password clues. If you’ve got online accounts, you’ve probably answered a dozen different security questions, telling your bank or brokerage firm your Mom’s maiden name; the church you were married in; or the name of your favorite song. Got that same stuff on the information page of your Facebook profile? Are you playing games where you and your friends “quiz” each other on the personal details of your lives? You’re giving crooks an easy way to guess your passwords.

Risky behaviors. You take your classic Camaro out for street racing, soar above the hills in a hang glider, or smoke like a chimney? Insurers are increasingly turning to the web to figure out whether their applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk, according to Insure.com.

Read more: http://summify.com/story/TZ8j1yuhtnc8ACiC/moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/devil-details/6-things-you-should-never-reveal-on-facebook/2360/.

Shopping Online.

You wouldn’t believe how much scrapping materials I shopped online. How I can resist when each kit was just a little over one dollar. It was really a steal. I have yet to download them though. I can’t stay late so I am planning to download them early in the morning. The thing is, I don’t when that will happen. Haha. I am never a morning person so this is going to be tough. If only our connection is lightning fast, I won’t have this problem. Anyway, even if I am not going out much I am glad that I am still able to get some retail therapy. Thanks to these shops in the world wide web. Now I am looking into getting some school and office supplies online, as well.

How About Skype?

{http://peppermintcreative.com/blog/}