Mommy Goes Green

Hand washing has been on my mind constantly - my toddler goes to preschool, my husband travels on a plane a lot and a newborn will be joining our family soon.  I’m trying to keep myself and my family as healthy as possible but reality is that winter is coming and germs are everywhere!

That being said – I wanted to remind everyone about hand sanitizer use.  Your best option is just to wash hands with soap and water – for 20 seconds.  Personally, I sing ‘happy birthday’ 2x (under my breath, of course) to make sure I wash long enough.    I’m teaching my daughter to count to 20 while washing.

If soap and water isn’t around, hand sanitizer works but make sure it’s safe and NOT ‘anti-bacterial’!  Early this year, I posted about triclosan in hand sanitizers and remember that many popular hand sanitizers have 62% ethyl alcohol which is equal to 4 shots of vodka!   Research shows that use of anti-bacterial products is contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistant bacterias.

For a great natural alternative, try using CleanWell - I have a bottle in my car and in my purse.  It’s a mix of plant essential oils and kills 99.9% of germs including MSRA, Salmonella and Staph.  I even like the lemony smell – no alcohol.  I found CleanWell at Target but it’s also available at GNC, Whole Foods, Wegmans and many other stores.