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Natural Year Challenge: One Mom's Journey

Amy's Green Challenge Cards

Are you trying the momsAWARE Natural Year Challenge? Have you started the Food Edition or the Household Edition, then grown discouraged and stopped? You're not alone. Here is some encouragement from a mom named Amy.

I started the Natural Year Challenge the first time you introduced it. I made it through quite a bit but got freaked out by the food cultures. I can see now that I was scared of what I didn't know and was afraid to try. This time, as I walk through the Challenges for home and food, my mindset is very different thanks to your encouraging words on Toxic Talk Tuesday. "It doesn't hurt to try, it's hard, it takes time" are the words I hear echoing.

I am learning so much from you, and instead of looking for encouragement from others who are on a "different journey," I am the one teaching them (I am careful not to cram it down their throats). As far as my household goes, I listened to each radio show and wrote down your tips on green cards. After that, I went back and worked on the Challenges in more detail by reading your site, finding information online, shopping, etc.

When I was on the laundry month, I posted the "laundry month cards," and when I get to the plastic month, I'll post the "plastic month cards." I am a visual learner and so are my kids. Even though two of them are too young to read, they know if they see a green card, there is a change happening and I can teach them about it. This works well for my husband too!

The momsAWARE Natural Year Challenge has helped all of us begin new habits without being overwhelmed. Thank you so much for what you have taught our family.

Quotes

"In my moldy home if I left the wet clothes in the washer they would get musty very quickly and I'd have to re-wash... Sometimes I'd run a load, go to work, and they'd be musty when I returned that evening."

– Anonymous

"I've been living in a mold-infested home for 13 months... I was going CRAZY! Finally figured it out... Just a few days of recovering in a mold-free home and I feel AMAZING!!!"

– Lauren

"Our family has been out of our home for 9 months due to mold... I am so scared and weak from all of this. We have lost friends; family members don't understand."

– Anonymous

"My daughter started having digestive problems... heart palpitations... coughing episodes... muscle/joint pain... asthma/allergies... Her doctor finally advised me to check for mold in our home."

– Anonymous

"...at age 35 or 36 I started to become allergic to everything, and I got asthma at age 36... I went to doctor after doctor after doctor and was desperate for help, but nobody could help me."

– Mia

"I'm new at this, but today I cleaned my bathroom with baking soda and vinegar. It's much better not having those strong chemical smells afterwards."

– Anonymous

"We had some water leaks in our home... we never thought we needed to clean out and remove the floor, the ceiling, or the drywall... my two small children and I have remained constantly sick for years in this home."

– Mia

"I had been struggling with headaches, head fog, breathing difficulties (unable to get a full breath), constant scalp tingling, migraines, nausea, feeling spacey/detached, and severe itchy skin."

– Anonymous

"The entire time we lived in our (mold-infested) house the kitchen sponge would get musty smelling within 3-4 days. It was so strange. I had to buy a pack of sponges nearly every week."

– Anonymous

"I started finding myself sitting on the floor in rooms of my house and not remembering how I got there, what I was doing before, or how long I had been there."

– Brenda

"I was skeptical at first that these (natural cleaning) products would work, but they work better than the stuff I buy at the store! We will soon be moving to the personal care products as well!"

– Jennifer

"My symptoms persisted and eventually turned into lethargy and depression. At the age of 26, I required a nap every evening after work."

– Jennifer

"My daughter has had many blood samples taken to test for everything imaginable and her doctor just seems puzzled. Everything comes back normal."

– Anonymous

"I have been sick for almost 6 months now and doctors were not able to figure out why. I finally put it all together after going away for vacation for a week and suddenly my symptoms were going away."

– Anonymous

"We all suffered from headaches, hormonal body temperature fluctuations, brain fog, fatigue, difficulty breathing, thrush, rashes, and yeast infections... we vacated our home two weeks ago."

– Anonymous

"I knew it was mold, but doctors kept telling me I had anxiety. I was sitting in my office and could not remember who I was talking to, or what we were talking about."

– Brenda

"Both of my sons went downhill quickly and coughed for months... They both lost their ability to read, had profound vision disturbances, and had phenomenal gastric issues."

– Lee

"We were having a lot of health problems and had been to the doctor countless times... we had large circles of slimy greenish-black mold on the bathroom ceiling, where it had caved in a few months before."

– C.

"The ERMI mold test as well as your helpful articles and Toxic Talk Tuesday programs have helped us avoid a terrible mistake in purchasing a new home."

– Angela

This site is dedicated to a true friend and mother — Barbara Dell Kessel (1929-2009)