Today was shopping phase #1. Because heavy metals are in so many things, I have to change the majority of the products I'm using to prevent more metals from poisoning me again. That means food, cleaning products, makeup, body care products, etc. Since I expect this to take a while (and be quite pricey) I've broken it up into different phases. Each time I focus on getting just a couple of different things. The goal of shopping phase #1? To replace my toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant. I grabbed my reusable shopping bag and headed to Native Roots Market (http://www.nativerootsmarket.com) to complete the task.

Now, I'm sure you're thinking this doesn't sound like a big deal. You simply don't understand, because, sweet Jesus, it was a HUGE ordeal. You know how excited you are when you get to pick out clothes for the first day of school? How you sift through everything you own, but become so overwhelmed at the thought of picking a single outfit that could determine and set the tone for the entire year? How you realize there is no possible way to choose something? How you wanna curl up in a little ball on your closet floor and rock back and forth like someone who's escaped the looney bin? That's exactly how I felt but worse. There were so many things to choose from! What if I get the wrong thing? What if I hate the way it smells? What if I end up having an allergic reaction to one of the natural ingredients? What if I have to come back and buy another expensive product that wouldn't work either and I continue to do it over and over again and don't find anything...ever? I'm not normally this neurotic, but it's taken me a while to find what products work with my difficult, thick, wavy hair and weird skin. It seems like such a small thing, but it feels like I'm going through puberty all over again.

Fortunately, I had one of my best friends, Tag, with me. He's a raging environmentalist that supports my efforts to be healthy, eat organic, attempt composting, and be an activist for everything I believe in. He was so patient and helpful. Picture me running back and forth between each shelf and attempting to read all the labels, smell everything, compare prices, and then repeating it several times more. Tag read labels to me, smelled things, and took products from me as soon as I decided on them so I couldn't change my mind. He is the epitome of helpful. I was such a wreck that I would have cried without having such a chill and patient buddy on my side raving about how much better things will be with me feeling better.

I left Native Roots with more than I meant to, but who can resist a getting a couple snacks when they're about to have a nervous breakdown in the soap section? Not me, dear reader. Here's the breakdown of what I bought:

-2 Clif Kids Organic Twisted Fruitropes
-paraben & aluminum free deodorant
-mini bottle of all natural shampoo
-fluoride free mouthwash
-tea tree oil conditioner
-lip butter (locally made!)
-cruelty free, fluoride free mint toothpaste
-1.87 lb. of brown bismati rice
-waste minimizing toothbrush (that's handle is made of flax!)
-non-bleached, chlorine free baking cups (the ones for muffins & cupcakes)

All of this booty totaled $53.49. That's not too shabby. I definitely need to figure out where I'm going to be pulling money from to fund these healthier, but undeniably more expensive items. Definitely more on that to come. (I welcome any & all ideas on the matter, though.) You can expect reviews on each product very soonish. But for now, I'm gonna go brush my teeth without fluoride being anywhere near my mouth.