3 Great Nontoxic Household Cleaners You Can Make 'Today

White vinegar and baking soda are great nontoxic cleaning ingredients

Eliminating toxic substances from my home is the core of my healthy living plan. Processed food, household cleaners, and personal care items contain tons of harmful chemical ingredients including formaldehyde, preservatives, petroleum derivatives, BHA, parabens, phthalates, chemicals in fragrance, VOCs,and artificial colors. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to a wide variety of autoimmune illnesses, fibromyalgia, lupus, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.

Changing my lifestyle truly changed my life. I recovered from fibromyalgia and have stayed healthy since I started eating real food instead of processed food and switched to safer 
household products,

Cleaning products are especially problematical because we spread them on surfaces all over our homes, get them on our skin, and breathe the toxic ingredients into our lungs where they circulate throughout the body with the potential to damage every organ in the body.

You can buy nontoxic laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, automatic dishwasher tabs, all-purpose spray cleaners, and liquid hand soap at Target and Walmart from companies like Seventh Generation and Method.

You can also make your own cleaning products from inexpensive ingredients like plain white vinegar and baking soda. Here are three of my favorites:

All-Purpose Cleaner

All Purpose Cleaner

Mix equal parts of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle.That's it!

Use this mixture to clean countertops, mirrors, appliances, chrome, faucets, and anything else you would normally clean with a commercial all-purpose cleaner. Spray the solution on the surface you want to clean. Wipe it off with paper towels or a micro fiber cloth. No rinsing needed. Be sure to use a micro fiber cloth when cleaning mirrors, glass, and chrome. It will leave them clean and shiny without leaving behind paper residue. You can buy large jugs of inexpensive vinegar at any big box store or supermarket.  

Interesting factoid: Vinegar contains 5 % acetic acid which kills bacteria and viruses. Vinegar is such an effective germ killer that it is used in many hospital high risk neonatal units to protect vulnerable newborns from exposure to both germs and harsh chemicals.

Tile Floor Cleaner

Tile Floor Cleaner

I have quarry tile floors in my kitchen, den, sunroom, and foyer. I love the natural swirly look of the tile that makes me feel like I'm walking across stones on a creek bed. I don't love that the floors need heavy duty cleaning because this area gets a lot of foot traffic.I experimented with various combinations of ingredients and the one I settled on keeps my floors cleaner than any commercial product I have ever used.

Buy an inexpensive one gallon pitcher with a lid.Fill it half full with warm water. Add 1 Tbs of mild nontoxic dish detergent and 1/2 c baking soda and stir. Add 1/2 c of plain white vinegar. Warning: fizzing will occur! I put my pitcher in the laundry room sink while I'm making this so if it bubbles over, no problem. Go do something else while you wait for it to quit fizzing. After the bubbling subsides,slowly add more warm water to finish filling the pitcher. Stir as you add the rest of the water. You can use your favorite mop and just pour a little of the solution on the floor and mop away. I use a mop that has a pump sprayer, a reservoir to add the cleaning solution, and a micro fiber cleaning pad that can be tossed in the washing machine after each use. It is easy to fill the mop reservoir with the solution since my pitcher has a nice pouring spout. Put the lid on the pitcher when you are done and store any leftover solution for your next mopping task. After you mop the floor with this solution, go over the floor again with a clean damp mop using plain water.Your floors will be sparkling clean and fresh. 

Wood Cleaner

This mixture is great for cleaning and restoring scratched wooden surfaces.Use it on tabletops, furniture, doors, or any wooden object in need of a little TLC. I have used it to make 30 year old rocking chairs look brand new and to erase all the scratches on a dining table I purchased at a huge discount because it had been a floor sample. I used some on the scratched closet door pictured below. The scratches disappeared as soon as I put the solution on the door.

To make the wood cleaner: Mix 3/4 of a cup of canola oil with 1/4 of a cup of white vinegar. Apply to the marred wooden surface with a clean rag, micro fiber cloth, or a paper towel. Leave the mixture on for at least an hour. You can leave it on overnight if you want. Buff with a clean dry cloth.The wood usually soaks up most of the mixture so there may be little or no residue of the oil to wipe off as you buff. If you are unsure about using this on a specific type of wood or a treasured family antique, do a test run first. Apply some of the mixture to an inconspicuous spot on the back or underside of the piece of furniture and leave overnight to see if you like the results before doing the entire piece of furniture.

Before using wood cleaner

After using wood cleaner

Want to join my online community?

Like my Facebook page Practical Priorities 

Follow my blog  Practical Priorities

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Subscribe to my YouTube channel Kathy K. Norman

Connect with me on LinkedIn  Kathy K. Norman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

Visit my website Kathy K. Norman

3 Great Nontoxic Household Cleaner Recipes

White vinegar and baking soda are great nontoxic cleaning ingredients

Eliminating toxic substances from my home is the core of my healthy living plan. Processed food, household cleaners, and personal care items contain tons of harmful chemical ingredients including formaldehyde, preservatives, petroleum derivatives, BHA, parabens, phthalates, chemicals in fragrance, VOCs,and artificial colors. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to a wide variety of autoimmune illnesses, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.

Changing my lifestyle truly changed my life. I recovered from fibromyalgia and have stayed healthy since I started eating real food instead of processed food and switched to safer 
household products,

Cleaning products are especially problematical because we spread them on surfaces all over our homes, get them on our skin, and breathe the toxic ingredients into our lungs where they circulate throughout the body with the potential to damage every organ in the body.

You can buy nontoxic laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, automatic dishwasher tabs, all-purpose spray cleaners, and liquid hand soap at Target and Walmart from companies like Seventh Generation and Method.

You can also make your own cleaning products from inexpensive ingredients like vinegar and baking soda. Here are three of my favorites:

All-Purpose Cleaner

All Purpose Cleaner

Mix equal parts of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. That's it!

Use this mixture to clean countertops, mirrors, appliances, chrome, faucets, and anything else you would normally clean with a commercial all-purpose cleaner. Spray the solution on the surface you want to clean. Wipe it off with paper towels or a micro fiber cloth. No rinsing needed. Be sure to use a micro fiber cloth when cleaning mirrors and chrome. It will leave them clean and shiny without leaving behind paper residue. You can buy large jugs of inexpensive vinegar at any big box store or supermarket.  

Interesting factoid:  Vinegar contains 5 % acetic acid which kills bacteria and viruses. Vinegar is such an effective germ killer that it is used in many hospital high risk neonatal units to protect vulnerable newborns from exposure to both germs and harsh chemicals.

Tile Floor Cleaner

Tile Floor Cleaner

I have quarry tile floors in my kitchen, den, sunroom, and foyer. I love the natural swirly look of the tile that makes me feel like I'm walking across stones on a creek bed. I don't love that the floors need heavy duty cleaning because this area gets a lot of foot traffic. I experimented with various combinations of ingredients and the one I settled on keeps my floors cleaner than any commercial product I have ever used.

Buy an inexpensive one gallon pitcher with a lid. Fill it half full with warm water. Add 1 Tbs of mild nontoxic dish detergent and 1/2 c baking soda and stir. Add 1/2 c of plain white vinegar. Warning: fizzing will occur! After the bubbling subsides, slowly add more warm water to finish filling the pitcher. Stir as you add the rest of the water. You can use your favorite mop and just pour a little of the solution on the floor and mop away. I use a mop that has a pump sprayer, a reservoir to add your own cleaning solution, and a micro fiber cleaning pad that can be tossed in the washing machine after each use. It is easy to fill the mop reservoir with the solution since my pitcher has a nice pouring spout. Put the lid on the pitcher when you are done and store any leftover solution for your next mopping task. After you mop the floor with this solution, go over the floor again with a clean damp mop using only water.Your floors will be sparkling clean and fresh. 

Wood Cleaner

This mixture is great for cleaning and restoring scratched wooden surfaces. Use it on tabletops, furniture, doors, or any wooden object in need of a little TLC. I have used it to make 30 year old rocking chairs look brand new and to erase all the scratches on a dining table I purchased at a huge discount because it had been a floor sample. I used some on the scratched closet door pictured below. The scratches disappeared as soon as I put the solution on the door.

To make the wood cleaner: Mix 3/4 of a cup of canola oil with 1/4 of a cup of white vinegar. Apply to the marred wooden surface with a clean rag, micro fiber cloth, or a paper towel. Leave the mixture on for at least an hour. You can leave it on overnight. Buff with a clean dry cloth.The wood usually soaks up most of the mixture so there may be little or no residue of the oil to wipe off as you buff. If you are unsure about using this on a specific type of wood or a treasured family antique, do a test run first. Apply some to an inconspicuous spot on the back or underside of the piece of furniture and leave overnight to see if you like the results before doing the entire piece of furniture.

Before using wood cleaner

After using wood cleaner

Want to join my online community?

Like my Facebook page Practical Priorities 

Follow my blog  Practical Priorities

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Connect with me on LinkedIn  Kathy K. Norman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

How to Clean Your Entire Bathroom without Toxic Chemicals

I don't use commercially produced cleaning products that are full of toxic chemicals. Keeping harmful chemicals out of my home environment is one of the main strategies in my healthy living plan. Daily exposure to these chemicals has been linked to numerous diseases.Every time we touch a surface covered in one of these products or breathe in the fumes that linger in the air after using them, we expose ourselves to unacceptable health risks.

So how do I clean something that needs as much scrubbing as a bathroom?


Dusting

Use a Swiffer duster, microfiber cloth, or similar product on wood cabinets and light fixtures. This type of tool efficiently collects dust. Swiffer and other companies that make this type of duster also market scented sprays to use with the dusting tool. Do not purchase these.The scents and propellants used in the aerosol cans are full of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Besides, the duster by itself works great.


Mirrors, Sinks, and Surfaces

Make your own all-purpose cleaner. Put equal amounts of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray the homemade mixture over the surface you want to clean.Scrub and wipe off with paper towels, a clean sponge, or a clean cloth. No rinsing is required. Use a clean micro fiber cloth to wipe off mirrors to avoid streaking. This is great for mirrors, sinks, faucets, countertops, doorknobs, light switches, etc. Vinegar kills most household germs as effectively as commercial products full of toxic chemicals. 


Shower and Tub

Use the homemade all-purpose cleaner on faucets and the outside surfaces of the shower and tub. To cut through soap scum on the inside of the shower, buy a dishwashing sponge with a handle that can be filled with liquid. Fill the handle reservoir with equal parts of dishwashing soap and plain white vinegar. Use a biodegradable soap like Castille or one of the organic dishwashing liquids made by companies like Method and Seventh Generation. Scrub the shower walls with the sponge and rinse. 


Whirlpool Tub Jets

Jets need to be cleaned once a month to prevent the buildup of gunk. Have you ever settled into your whirlpool tub anticipating a relaxing bath only to be slimed by gunk shooting out from the jets when you hit the on switch? Use the following mixture once a month to clean the jets and you will never be slimed again.

Fill the tub with warm water until all of the jets are completely covered with water.
Add 2 cups of borax, 1 cup of baking soda, and 2 quarts of white vinegar to the water.
Turn on the jets and let them run for 30 minutes.
Turn off the jets and drain the tub.
Use paper towels to wipe up all of the gunk that has come out of the jets.
Fill the tub with enough cold water to cover the jets and run the jets for 30 minutes.
Drain the tub and wipe up any remaining residue.
Spray vinegar and water all-purpose cleaner inside the tub and wipe with paper towels or a microfiber cloth to leave the tub clean and sparkling.


Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Buy a 16 ounce or larger squirt bottle or thoroughly rinse an empty dishwashing liquid bottle. Use a funnel to put these ingredients in the bottle in this order: 3 tablespoons of baking soda, 1/3 cup of Castille biodegradable soap or an organic dishwashing liquid. Add warm water to fill the rest of a 16 ounce bottle and shake to mix ingredients. If using a larger size bottle, add 2 cups of water.

Squirt underneath the rim and on the inside surfaces of the toilet bowl. Scrub with your favorite toilet bowl brush and flush to rinse. Castille soap is made from olive oil. It can be purchased from Amazon.com or other online retailers. It can also be found at health food stores and camping and hiking stores. It is used by hikers because it is organic and biodegradable and will not harm the environment. I rarely use scented products because most of the time the scents are bound to the product with toxic VOCs. The scented forms of Castille add natural oils like peppermint and lavender to create a light scent. Castille soap may seem expensive at first: around $7.00 for an 8 ounce bottle. However, you can make four 16 ounce batches of toilet bowl cleaner from one 8 ounce bottle for a cost of under $2.00 per batch. It is difficult to find commercially made toilet bowl cleaner for this price. And the homemade version works great and is free of toxic chemicals.

Tile Floors

I like to use a steam cleaner that only requires water for routine cleaning of my tile floors. The brand I have is a vacuum/steamer combo so I can do both tasks at the same time. 

When I feel my tile floors need a more heavy duty cleaning, this is what I use. 

Mix the following ingredients in a one gallon plastic pitcher with a pouring spout:

2 teaspoons of Castille soap or organic liquid dish soap
½ cup of baking soda
1 gallon of warm water
½ cup of white vinegar

Put the liquid dish soap, baking soda and half the warm water into the pitcher and mix well with a large spoon. Then add the vinegar.The mixture will bubble up and foam when you add the vinegar. Wait for the foam to subside before adding the rest of the water.

Pour the mixture into a mop that has a reservoir for adding your own cleaning mixture. I like the Libman mop. It has a plastic container that is easy to fill and a washable microfiber pad that you attach to the bottom of the mop. There are several brands of this type of mop so you can chose whichever one you prefer.  

Vacuum the floors to get up any loose dirt. Mop with the homemade floor cleaner. Use your favorite clean mop to rinse the floors with plain water.This system of cleaning my tile floors is nontoxic and it works better than any commercial cleaning product I have ever used.


Want to join my online community?

Follow my blog  Practical Priorities

Like my Facebook page Practical Priorities 

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Connect with me on LinkedIn  Kathy K. Norman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

Visit my website www.kathyknorman.com

H is for Healing

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

Eat real food for healthy living.

"Four of the top ten causes of death today are chronic diseases with well-established links to diet: coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer." - Michael Pollan

Eight years ago I would have shrugged my shoulders and said, "Who cares?" when reading that quote by Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of In Defense of Food. I ate whatever I wanted without a single thought to the possible impact on my well-being.

Then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a terrible chronic illness with a broad spectrum of symptoms including severe pain and debilitating fatigue. Suddenly, I was extremely interested in creating a healthier lifestyle. I was desperate to find something that might make me feel better.I was willing to make any changes to my diet and lifestyle that held even the tiniest possibility of improving my symptoms.

I researched what causes illness and how healing occurs. I learned that we live in a toxic world.The food we eat and the household products we use either contribute to our health and well-being or leave our bodies vulnerable to contracting all kinds of diseases. Toxic ingredients in household products and processed food has been linked to the onset of numerous autoimmune diseases and disorders like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rheumatoid arthritis,and Sjogren's disease.

Based on what I learned, I developed ten strategies for creating a healthier life.The top three changes I made were:

• I quit using household products full of harmful chemicals.
• I stopped eating most highly processed food.
• I started eating real food with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

I was only hoping to find a way to feel better. I was amazed when I completely recovered. I have had no fibromyalgia symptoms since December of 2012. I continue to follow the strategies that helped me recover to maintain my health and well-being.

Now I read that Michael Pollan quote and applaud. I have firsthand proof that the food we eat and the products we use in our homes and on our bodies can either contribute to disease or lead to healing.

Want to join my online community?

Follow my blog  Practical Priorities

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Like my Facebook page Practical Priorities 

Connect with me on LinkedIn  Kathy K. Norman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

Visit my website www.kathyknorman.com

E is for Eliminate 3 Toxic Things Now

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

Eat real food like quinoa patties and avocado instead of processed food.

Making healthy living a priority is compromised by our exposure to toxic food, chemicals, people, and mindsets. We can minimize the damage by making smart choices for our body, soul, mind, and spirit every day.

Where do we start? There are 3 toxic things most people are exposed to on a daily basis. Eliminating these potentially harmful substances from our home environment is a good way to move toward a healthier life. Many of these toxic chemicals are linked to a wide variety of illnesses including most autoimmune diseases and many types of cancer.

Highly Processed Food

Food that is manufactured in a plant is often made with ingredients that adversely affect our health.Some of the worst offenders are artificial colors, nitrates and nitrites, high fructose corn syrup, BHA and BHT preservatives, MSG, artificial sweeteners, and the trans fats found in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.

Eat real food instead. Focus on nuts, fruits, and vegetables that have a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Try this. Set a target goal of at least 80-90% of your diet being composed of real food. Eliminate processed food a little at a time until you reach your goal. Try real food recipes like quinoa patties and fresh avocado.

Check out this post for a cool video on how to peel an avocado A is for Avocado

Try this recipe for Quinoa Kale Patties. Once you get the hang of these you can add different vegetables and seasonings to change up the taste. Just keep the amount of quinoa to vegetables the same.Try spinach instead of kale, add a finely chopped carrot, use purple onion instead of yellow, use chopped bell peppers instead of jalapeno if you want to reduce the spiciness..Quinoa Kale Patties

Household Cleaners Full  of Chemicals

Residue from the products we use to clean our homes stays on the surfaces on which they are used, gets on our skin, and is inhaled through our lungs. Anything made with an artificial fragrance pollutes the air in your home. Perfume, air fresheners, and many cleaning products contain artificial fragrances.These products are made with toxic volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), phthalates, and many other harmful chemicals. You breathe in everything you put into the air in your home and it all eventually ends up in your bloodstream causing damage to your health on a cellular level. 

Use non toxic natural cleaners like vinegar and baking soda instead. You can make your own all-purpose cleaner by mixing half white vinegar and half warm water in a spray bottle. Or buy organic cleaners made without toxic ingredients.Two brands to check out are Seventh Generation and Method. 

Personal Care Items with Potentially Harmful Ingredients

Think of how many personal care items you use each day: perfume, cosmetics, antiperspirants, shampoo, sunscreen, lotions.Do you know what ingredients you are slathering and spraying on your body? Many of these items contain petroleum derived ingredients, VOCs, parabens, aluminum compounds, oxybenzone, and other harmful chemical ingredients. Permanent hair dye often contains coal tar and formaldehyde. 

Look for organic mineral based and fragrance free products instead. Reduce the number of  
personal care products you use and know what is in the products you do use. Use more natural versions of your favorite cosmetics. Consider embracing your natural look instead of dying your hair. Check out this recent post on a good option for nail polish.  
Safer Nail Polish 



Want to join my online community?

Follow my blog  Practical Priorities

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Like my Facebook page Practical Priorities 

Connect with me on LinkedIn  Kathy K. Norman

Subscribe to my YouTube channel Kathy K. Norman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

Visit my website www.kathyknorman.com

3 Ways to Eliminate Chemicals in the New Year

Let it Snow

Happy New Year! After an unusually warm December which included temps in the 70s during Christmas week, the high is only in the 40s today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe we'll see snow before spring arrives.

There is nothing like looking at all the lovely empty spaces on a brand new calendar to inspire me with the possibilities waiting in 2016. I celebrated three years of being symptom free from fibromyalia last month. I'm excited about how many people are recovering from fibro and other autoimmune diseases after making these same lifestyle changes.

I got as many chemicals as possible out of my home, stopped eating processed food, and started eating real food full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Some people thrive on change. Others are overwhelmed by just the thought of changing daily living routines that have become second nature over decades. Many of you have asked me, "Where is the best place to start?"

A few observations. Don't try to change everything at once. It will drive you nuts and you'll end up not changing anything. It took me over a year to figure out what I needed to do and shift my lifestyle into a healthier mode. Make changes at your own pace. Pick the area that you think will be the easiest for you.

If you are ready to give it a go, here are three ideas for ways to jump start living a healthier chemical free life in the new year.


SODA

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may call it soda, soft drinks, or pop. Here in the south we call every soft drink coke even if it's Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew. Whatever you call it, here's the 411. Researchers have linked consuming soda to obesity, kidney disease, elevated blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, some types of cancer, asthma, reproductive issues, tooth decay, diabetes, bone weakness, suppressed immune system disorders, and tissue damage on a cellular level.Read the ingredients label. We are drinking chemicals in a can every time we consume it.

I quit drinking soda cold turkey. Some people have more success cutting back gradually. Tea, coffee, and water are great substitutes. I've always liked hot tea. I used to just plop a tea bag in a cup of hot water.Now I enjoy discovering new blends.I didn't know there were so many choices of teas. My current faves are Ceylon, Darjeeling, Irish Breakfast, Nilgiri, Oolong, and Russian Caravan.

I know several people who have experienced reduced pain and reduced inflammation just from cutting out soda and not doing a single other thing. 


SCENTS

How can something that smells so good be so bad? The delightful smell is not the problem. It is the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used to bind the scent to the product that is harmful. The VOCs release the scent into the air so that every time we breathe in the scent we are also breathing in the VOCs which wreak havoc on our bodies at a cellular level. VOCs have been linked to all kinds of disease processes. 

I know people who have recovered from recurrent migraine headaches, constant sinus problems, joint pain, and a lot of other chronic conditions simply by eliminating scented products from their daily routines.

Scented products are an easy category of potentially harmful chemical substances to get out of our home environments. Some are obvious like perfume, scented candles, and air fresheners. Other not so obvious products that may contain scents with harmful VOCs are makeup, laundry detergent, cleaning products, soap, and hairspray.Fortunately there are unscented VOC free varieties of all of these products.

Try this. Ditch the obvious sources of VOCs like perfume and air fresheners right away while you are looking for substitutes for the not so obvious products. Replace those a little at a time. If your laundry detergent is scented, look for an unscented brand the next time you need detergent. Replace cleaning products and personal grooming products with a scent free version if needed as you run out of your current ones.


SMOKING

By now everyone who hasn't been living in cave for the past fifty years knows that smoking has been linked to all kinds of health problems including a wide variety of cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking lowers your risk for diseases and can add years to your life." Interested in more info? Check this out What Smoking Does to Your Body 

If you don't smoke or used to smoke but have quit, then you have already taken a giant step toward living a chemical free life. Eating all of the organic healthy food in the world won't counteract the harmful effects of the hundreds of known toxins found in cigarette smoke. If you are a smoker, talk to your physician about options for smoking cessation programs. If you are not a smoker, protect yourself from second hand smoke by not allowing anyone to smoke inside your home. 


Start by picking just one way you would like to improve your health this year. Set your own pace for making changes and go for it. Changing my lifestyle literally changed my life. Here's to a healthier you in 2016. 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
                                              - Irish Blessing

Want to stay connected?

Like my Facebook page: Practical Healing in a Toxic World  to find lots of practical ways to move toward a healthy life.The page has recipes, tips on chemical free living, fibromyalgia facts, and spiritual encouragement. 

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3

Recovery: Happy Third Anniversary To Me!

Yesterday was a happy milestone for me. On Sunday, December 6, I celebrated three years of freedom from fibromyalgia. When I was first diagnosed with this horrible disease, I never anticipated writing those words. Every doctor I saw and everything I read about fibromyalgia sent discouraging messages my way:

"There is no cure." 
"This will last for the rest of your life."
"Get used to feeling horrible every day."
:"You will have to adjust to your new norm of being chronically ill."

For the first year, I muddled along trying to cope with the symptoms that overwhelmed me.I had severe constant pain. I was tried on all the medicines used to moderate the pain but I had side effects and couldn't take any of them. I had unremitting fatigue, pain in multiple joint and muscle groups, insomnia, an inability to concentrate, and spiking pain in my knees, elbows, back, legs, hands, neck, and hips.I was barely able to complete the simplest tasks of daily life. It wasn't long before I tumbled into depression at the thought of feeling that awful for the rest of my life.

At first, I kept hoping that maybe I would wake up one day and miraculously feel better. But an entire year went by, and the symptoms were getting worse each day. After that first year, I finally climbed out of the fibro fog long enough to ask myself, "Now what?"  I had two choices: resign myself to living the rest of my life as a semi-invalid, or start looking for better ways to cope. I read everything I could find on chronic illness, in general, and fibromyalgia in particular. My laptop became my constant companion. The internet was both a blessing and a curse.There was endless information available but how in the world was I supposed to find the right path for me in the middle of such a deluge of data?

I am a person of faith, so I prayed for spiritual guidance as I continued my research. Slowly a sensible plan that seemed logical to me began to emerge. I decided my filter for trying different therapies would be, "First do no harm."  Some of the suggestions I read about were bizarre, potentially dangerous, or came with too little information about possible complications. Whatever I tried also needed to be practical. I didn't have the energy or resources to implement exotic and unrealistic ideas.

I kept seeing one thing over and over again that intrigued me.Some researchers are studying the possibility that fibromyalgia and other autoimmune diseases may be triggered by exposure to toxic chemicals that are ubiquitous in our modern world. They are in our environment and in things we use every day like cleaning products, makeup, personal grooming products, and processed foods 

I couldn't do much about the chemicals that were in the environment outside. But I could certainly work on the ones I was being exposed to in my own home. The plan I eventually developed required me to be willing to change a lot of things in my lifestyle, but there was nothing about it that could harm me.  

I made three primary lifestyle changes:

I eliminated as many potentially harmful chemicals as possible from my home.

I stopped eating most processed food.

I started eating whole food with lots of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.


This was a process that took time. I had to look for less toxic cleaning products, personal grooming items, and makeup to use. I became an avid label reader of all the products I used. I read ingredient labels on food packages.I stopped eating things that came in boxes that listed preservatives, artificial dyes, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and other potentially harmful substances as ingredients. I learned which real foods are the most nutritious. I eventually added other secondary steps: movement, resetting my sleep pattern, adjusting my focus, removing toxic people and situations from my daily life, and surrounding myself with a support group of encouraging people.

My expectations were extremely low. I was simply looking for a way to survive living with a chronic illness. My depression over being so sick improved as soon as I became proactive and started looking for ways to cope. My symptoms were still there but I felt less helpless once I started looking for possibilities. It took almost a year to figure out everything I needed to do. Six weeks after I had all the pieces of the puzzle in place, the totally unexpected happened. 

My symptoms had been improving a little each day for a year. I still had pain and fatigue but it was not as severe as it had been previously. On the morning of December 6, 2012, I woke up, got out of bed, and was sleepily staggering toward the bathroom when I suddenly noticed something quite astounding: my fibromyalgia symptoms were completely gone. I had no pain, no fatigue, none of the other symptoms that had plagued me for three years. I was shocked, amazed, and beyond grateful. Every morning since that day, I wake up counting my blessings and giving thanks to God for this surprising gift.

I was extremely ill for three years. Yesterday, I celebrated my third year of being symptom free. I was told that I would never be well. I want to encourage you that recovery from fibromyalgia is possible. If that sounds too good to be true, I completely agree. I wouldn't believe it myself, except for this: it happened to me. 

Want to stay connected?

Like my Facebook page: Practical Healing in a Toxic World  to find lots of practical ways to move toward a healthy life.The page has recipes, tips on chemical free living, fibromyalgia facts, and spiritual encouragement. 

Follow me on Twitter  @KathyKNorman

Check out my Pinterest boards KathyKNorman3