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2010 brought a major environmental disaster, the B.P. oil spill.  While we at Your Daily Thread left the reporting of it to major news sources, we couldn’t help be affected by all the devastation we saw. On an individual level we wondered, what can WE actually do?  There were obvious things like drive less, donate human and pet hair trimmings to Matter of Trust, but beyond that we wondered…

Taking a look at everything around us, we realized, it’s all from oil.  Every possession was brought to us through oil and many of the products we owned include oil-by products.

We thought, what if we get the unnecessary oil out of our lives?  Things like plastics, mineral oils, Vaseline and the additional 6000 + products made from crude not used for gasoline production.  This is something that we all can do, no matter where we are.   To get started here are five recommendations to get oil based products out of your life.

• Mineral Oils: Mineral oils are found in common skin care products like Johnson and Johnson’s baby oil.  Bottom line is you don’t need it and it is nowhere near as good for your skin compared to natural and essential oils.  Get the 411 on our guide to essentials oils.

• Plastic Containers: Why store food in plastic when you can store it in glass?  I recently converted my entire food storage system to glassware and used many left over pasta sauce and jam jars in the process.  Glass Tupperware type storage is always an option too.  As always, avoid plastic water bottles and take out items are a great idea too.

• Clothing and Fabrics: Every day fabric staples like polyester and nylon are made from Petrol.  Opt for natural based fibers like hemp, organic cotton, and bamboo (or if you have to get these fibers, opt for vintage pieces that are already here anyway.

• Cleaning Products: Most mainstream products (including dish soap) often are made with petroleum by-products.  Who wants to eat on a plate cleaned with gas?  Seek out cleaners made from certifiable natural products, or even better make your own.

• Plastic Bags: If you BYOB to the grocery store are you using plastic bags for your home trash bins?  With options like biodegradable Bio-Bags (in all sizes including doggy bags) there is no need to throw any more plastic away.

Photo courtesy of  Flickr