Whisker (0s):

Today's episode is sponsored by Whisker makers of the Litter Robot, the self cleaning litter box for cat families who do not need one more gross chore on their list. Because You know how every stage of parenting comes with a whole new category of cleanup, right? First it's the pump parts and then the dirty diapers you're getting used to. And when you're starting solid foods, suddenly you're scraping sweet potato out of crevices of the highchair that you never knew existed, right? But for cat parents adding daily litter box duty on top of all of that, that is a lot. And honestly, it's the litter box part. The thing that always made me hesitate about cats, not the cat, the litter, the scooping, the smell, the whole daily maintenance situation. And that's why Litter Robot by Whisker makes so much sense. It automatically cycles after every use. So you're not scooping every day and you're not handling waste like you would with a regular litter box. I especially love the No Contact Benefit Litter Robot handles the dirty work so that nobody in the house has to be assigned daily litter duty. And with the Whisker app, you can stay on top of things without thinking about litter all day. The app can notify you about your unit, like completed clean cycles, litter and drawer levels, or when the unit needs attention. So whether you already have a cat or you're thinking about getting one, or you just want one less household chore to manage Whisker helps Take Litter Box duty off of your daily list, maintain your cat's litter while focusing on your family. Learn more about Whisker litter robot models and their starter kits today so that you can get set up for this busy season of parenting. Take an additional $50 off bundles with the code weaning when you shop Whisker dot com slash weaning. That's an additional $50 off bundles with code weaning at Whisker dot com slash weaning.

Ezpz (1m 54s):

Real quick before we start today's episode, ezpz, just increased my discount code. This is a flash sale definitely worth mentioning because normally my EZPZ code is good for 15% off all their feeding gear. But now through Thursday, June 18, the Code BABYLED gets you 30% off when you shop@ezpzfun.com. So if your baby just started Solid Foods or you're gearing up to get there and you're standing in your kitchen wondering like, do I really need to buy all this stuff? No, you don't need every baby feeding product on the internet, but a few smart pieces can make the process so much easier. The Ezpz kits are a wonderful option. They've got a pre feeding kit. If your baby's 3, 4, 5 months age, they've got a learning to eat kit, which is everything you need to start solid foods. You can bundle kit one and two together and save an extra 30% off, which is insane. I just bought a ton of the Kit one and two bundled together. It's like my new go-to baby shower gift. Check it out@ezpzfun.com/babyled. Again that code BABYLED works for 30% off, but the sale ends Thursday, June 18. This is for us purchases only. Head to Ezpzfun.com/babyled to save 30% before Thursday, June 18.

Branch Basics (3m 11s):

Ironically, the products that we bring in our home to clean are sometimes the most toxic products in our entire home. So we came out with a formula that basically replaced every single cleaning product in your home. We wanted one for all. Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietician, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby led weaning here on the baby led weaning with Katie Ferraro podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, giving you the confidence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby led weaning. Have you ever looked at your baby after a meal and thought, how in the world is there avocado in your ear? There's oatmeal on the wall, there's pasta on the floor. I swear you only took three bites that actually got in your mouth. The food mess is one of the biggest reasons that parents hesitate when they think about doing baby led weaning. Not because you don't want your baby to explore food, not because you want or expect your meal times are gonna be spotless, but because the cleanup can feel relentless. And here's the thing, the goal of baby led weaning is not to prevent the mess because getting messy is part of how your baby learns how to eat, right? They're touching the food and smelling it and squishing it and dropping it and exploring that food before they fully figure out how to eat it. And just because the mess is normal, it doesn't mean though that you need to feel buried by it. In today's episode, we're gonna be talking about how to clean up the food mess without bringing harsh, toxic cleaning products into the spaces where your baby eats, crawls, touches, and literally puts everything in their mouth. Today I'm joined by Allison Evans. She's the co-founder of Branch Basics. So Branch Basics is a company that makes non-toxic household cleaners that actually work on real life. Baby led weaning food mess. I'm talking highchair trays, counters, floors, even my boys white baseball pants. That really was like literally the game changer for me. But the bibs, the sticky hands, all the places where food ends up when your baby is learning how to eat. I have used Branch Basics in my own home for years. I'm an affiliate for them because I've literally tried every other non-toxic household cleaning product and I admire what they're doing. But they don't actually get the baby led weaning mess out the branch. Basics one is different. Their concentrate can be diluted into different bottles. So you basically kind of create these different non-toxic household cleaners all from one soap concentrate their oxygen boost. That's the one that changed my life with the boys. Baseball pants really, really works on stubborn food stains. I'm talking turmeric, spaghetti sauces like avocado, you name it. It's gonna come out with the Branch Basics product. So if you do want to try Branch Basics, you can get 15% off their starter kits with the affiliate discount code Katie 15 if you go to branch basics.com,

Katie Ferraro (5m 56s):

my conversation with Allison, we had it a while back, but you might hear a few small references from an earlier time. But the message that she has is still so relevant. So your baby is supposed to make a mess while they're learning how to eat. But there are safe simple ways to clean it up to make your life easier. So with no further ado, here's my conversation with Allison Evans. We're talking about non-toxic household cleaners that actually clean the food mess up.

Allison Evans (6m 24s):

Hi Katie, thanks for having me. I'm super excited to be here.

Katie Ferraro (6m 27s):

Okay, I have been a massive fan of Branch basics ever since I found out about you guys about two years ago that I am so excited. I have like so many questions to ask you. But first, could you tell us the litter bit of background about yourself? What inspired you to create branch basics with all natural ingredients?

Allison Evans (6m 41s):

Oh my gosh, you're so sweet. Right back at you. I could ask you a million questions about being a mom of seven under six. So yeah, so what inspired Branch basics We, what did not inspire it was that, you know, we wanted to grow up and sell soap, right? We were never,

Katie Ferraro (6m 57s):

That's not what you said you wanted to do when you grow up.

Allison Evans (7m 0s):

Exactly. You know, some people are out there and they, they see an opportunity. I think it's awesome. That was not us. We were super naive when it came to the business side and we were excessive on passion when it came to educating people on removing toxic products for from their home. And that really went back to my health And I, I'd like to claim that I'm kind of the glue that brought the three founders together. So my aunt and my best friend and myself are the co-founders of the company. Back in middle school. I had a period, it never came back. This is gonna be a really nutshell story. In high school I went to a fertility specialist diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome cyst all over my ovaries, told I would be on birth control indefinitely. There was nothing I could do about it.

Allison Evans (7m 40s):

Fast forward to college, still on birth control, came down with this mysterious illness that most resembled ms. And I was on a slew of drugs throughout college and basically told that there was nothing I could do about it. My Aunt Marilee comes in the picture and she starts talking to me about toxins inside the things that I put on and around my body and how I needed to remove these things in order to achieve my best version of myself. And that my body had this amazing propensity to heal but I needed to get out of its way. So I had nothing to lose except for all the drugs I was on and the pain that I was in. And I did, I tossed the toxins is now what we kind of call this campaign, this evergreen campaign. So after feeling a ton better in just a few weeks, Kelly, my best friend who was my roommate in college, she and I decided to move out and live with Mary in the hill country in Texas.

Allison Evans (8m 25s):

And that is the, that was the summer of 2009 and our lives would never be the same. We got out there and we really experienced what we like to call the power of pure and we chose whole organic foods. We got rid of pesticides and EMFs and we grounded and drank juice and just kind of got back to basics. And we decided that summer we wanted to put Marilee's brain on the internet. And I left that summer feeling better than I had in years all the cysts. After a year I went back to that doctor, all the cysts were gone. I was, was able to naturally conceive both of my two toddler girls and now we're just on a mission to help others feel better.

Katie Ferraro (9m 2s):

Okay. Part of my ignorance, I don't know what EMFs are,

Allison Evans (9m 4s):

Electromagnetic fields, so just excess exposure to cell phones and we're all about turning your phone on airplane at night and not, you know, having electronics around us all the time 'cause it can just kind of slow down our body's ability to heal.

Katie Ferraro (9m 17s):

So how did your relationship with your best friend in Marilee then evolve into like let's go build a soap company?

Allison Evans (9m 22s):

Yeah, so that summer in 2009 when I was in just horrific shape health wise, I left that summer, I was off all my prescription medications, my back pain was gone, loss of motor skills was gone and you know, I was on fire 'cause I couldn't believe that just switching to Whole Foods and getting rid of pesticides and synthetic fragrances and toxic cleaning products could make that big of a difference in my health. And then my best friend Kelly, she was kind of, we always say either you're either sick or smart to open up your eyes to this lifestyle. I was the sick one, she was the smart one. So all the things that she had, you know, experienced her whole life or most of her life like PMS and dry skin and itchy eyes and headaches, all they, they all just disappeared.

Allison Evans (10m 2s):

And so we were just on fire and we wanted to tell everybody about this. So that's when the three of us decided okay, we're gonna be an information company. But we found that people were overwhelmed when it came to where do I start, how do I start this healthy living train? And so we started with cleaning products because everybody cleans. And Ironically the products that we bring in our home to clean are sometimes the most toxic products in our entire home, right? I mean it's just it, the irony is just like tangible there. And so we were all about helping people remove these toxins but then they had nothing to replace them with. So we came out with a formula that basically replaced every single cleaning product in your home, from your dishwashing detergent to your laundry detergent to your body soap.

Allison Evans (10m 46s):

We wanted one for all.

Katie Ferraro (10m 47s):

So all this month on my podcast I'm interviewing female founders of companies related to feeding and I'm sure people are like, well then why do you have a cleaning products company on your podcast? But because it is so interlinked because you know one of the biggest issues you did baby led weaning with you two girls, you know that the mess is a concern. And I always remind parents the goal with baby led weaning is not to prevent the mess because getting messy is part of learning how to eat. But we can certainly do a lot of things to minimize the mess. So I was curious if you could share with us some ways that you use branch basics products in your house in and around like the area of food mess.

Allison Evans (11m 21s):

Absolutely. And I will add to that, that we feel is even more important than just minimizing or you know, taking care of the mess is actually minimizing the exposure to toxic chemicals that sometimes come, that often come from the use of these conventional cleaning products around your children. And I think that's a big thing. And we have this rise in asthma and allergies and skin issues and just respiratory impairments and on a parts per million parts per billion level. Like we are creating a toxic soup in our home when we are using these products every single day. So that we are always putting human health above efficacy. Although we like to say that branch basics really has kind of tackled both so ways that we use branch basics in our home, it would actually be easier to say where we don't use it because we use it for everything.

Allison Evans (12m 9s):

So when it comes to baby led weaning, which I did with both of my children, I have a four and a 2-year-old who are incredible eaters, no pickiness in my house, which is such a blessing besides little stages here and there. But I mean even just washing the produce, we use branch basics and then of course we wash their hands and branch basics. And if you're not familiar with branch basics, I just wanna take a second to describe that. We sell a concentrated version of soap and then we sell empty bottles that go along with the concentrate. So each of the empty bottles, we have a foaming hand soap, an all purpose, a window and glass, a bathroom cleaner, a laundry soap. So you use the concentrate in to fill the bottles and there's fill lines and then you, you top it off with water.

Allison Evans (12m 51s):

So there's different dilution for different cleaning needs. So it's one product for pretty much everything. So clean the kids' hands, clean the produce, stick 'em in their chair. And I've always really embraced the mess and kind of let my kids go wild. It's good for sensory, you know, improvement as well. And then I typically start cleaning and even involve them as they grow older in cleaning their mess. 'cause I, I'm a big believer in having them see just the process of what it takes from start to finish. I also love Montessori methods. So I really like, I'm all about the setup, the experience and then the cleanup. And I love involving the kids and we have a ton of customers who are really big about involving their kids in the cleanup process and it's all safe.

Allison Evans (13m 31s):

So we would clean the high chair, they can be in it, the table, the floor, if it's a wood floor, we always, you know, recommend using just a small amount of product and then just wiping up so it doesn't sit to like strip a stain off of a wood floor. And then of course is the hardest part, which is their clothes if the baby is not de clothed before, before feasting. And so what I typically do is take their clothes off if they're super messy and I will spot treat the stains. And we also sell something called oxygen boost,

Branch Basics (13m 60s):

which is like the dynamic duo when it comes to stain removal. So I'll spot the treat the stain and then I'll get the litter scoop, it comes in a powder version and scoop some oxygen boost on some really tough areas and kind of agitate with my fingers. And then I will typically throw that garment in with the rest of the wash on cold. And by the time it's washed and comes out of the dryer, there's no stain we, we kind of claim that there's not a stain we haven't been able to remove. Oh and I can verify that like I'm talking you guys we're talking turmeric, paprika, marinara sauce. I use the branch basic six products. I use it in much the same way I, you guys have that little brush too, I have that for using the oxygen boost. I kind of will do the same thing to agitate it and I'll let it, I usually let it sit for the litter bit before I do the laundry. But I mean you know seven kids, you're like doing laundry constantly. But I do think like the key is in the timing. Like especially with food mess, right? You've got to get to it when it's wet. Like there's nothing like dried oatmeal or dried yogurt. I don't care how good your products are, it's much easier to clean it when that mess is wet. So can I ask you, do you use the all purpose cleaner for the highchair and the table? Is that what product we're talking about? I do for cleaning Food Mess, I do, yes. I use all purpose and I really wanna emphasize that you don't have to have exact proportions. So if your bathroom's cleaner is closer to you and you have it, just use that. We have more concentrate in the bathroom cleaner so it's better for toilets and tubs and such. But honestly in order to stretch the concentrate and not, you know, use as much, I often don't even fill to the fill lines even in the all purpose. Like I'll just use three quarters or something. It, you don't have to be exact. So you're one of those people that has to be exact. I'm giving you permission to not be that One. Oh I was gonna ask you that actually because one thing I love about it is you get one bottle of concentrate and I penciled this out again, I'm like a very frugal mom. You end up saving money. Not only are you removing all of the toxins and getting a product that actually works and even smells good, which a lot of non-toxic products don't, but you're saving money because you're not having to buy all of these different cleaners. You're using the same concentrate as Allison explained and then you just dilute it with your water. Now question I always use the filtered water at our house. Do the branch basics products, do they perform better if you use filtered water or is that a recommendation or did I just make that up? No, you did not make that up. Absolutely. In fact we, we recommend the highest of the high is the distilled water. Okay. So that you're not having any sort of hard water issue or any really what's happening is that it's preventing buildup as you're treating. If you're spot treating something or even spraying a counter or a window, a lot of times you can have buildup from minerals in the water. And so if you use distilled water then it's devoid of those things. You know, one thing I learned speaking of like concentration ratios. So when you get your branch basics products right, you get a bottle in the starter kits, you get a bottle of the concentrate, which depending upon how much cleaning you do can last a really long time. Then you get the different bottles and then you build it yourself. Basically. I, I like to say, oh my gosh, look at me, I'm making soap. Like I pour the concentrated, I pour the water in. I never realized, so the streak free, which is basically like their equivalent of Windex, like I didn't realize there's like a drop of soap in there and it's all water. And I was like why have I been paying $5 for freaking Windex when it's just a drop of soap and it's magical like and also you can give it to your kids. My kids love cleaning the windows with the branch basic six products and I'm like there's only one drop of soap in there. I don't even care if they like waste it 'cause it's mostly water. No, exactly. And then some people may be thinking, oh well what's the point? You're just selling something with just a drop of your product. It works. It does. It's the hugest difference. Water versus a bottle with water plus a drop is amazing. If you see streaks we always say add water, it's, you need to dilute it down. And I wanna go back to the stains really quick Katie. Yeah because this is important. I think I wanna emphasize like if, if your child has just eaten and you're spot treating something, that is when you're gonna have the most success and just quickly spot treating and throwing it in. But I am with you. I am all about the soaking. Especially because I don't have the capacity even just with two kids to always get it off of them and spot treat and do things. I mean they're already running around the house with messy hand, you know, all the things. So of course I do clean their hands first before I clean their clothes. I will admit that. But I sometimes will go three or four days and I'll have a pile of stained clothes and I will gather those things. I will stop up a sink in my bathroom 'cause I don't have a sink in my laundry room. And I will put a scoop of oxygen boost in the sink and I'll use cold water because you don't wanna set a stain with warm water. So cold water, a scoop of oxygen boost and a cap full of the concentrate, which is equivalent to about a teaspoon. And I will just submerge all of those clothes in that sink sometimes for two days. I mean I have, as a busy mom and an entrepreneur, like I've been known to leave it in sometimes for three or four days. And I'll go back the next day and I'll, I'll lift it up and if the stain is still there I'll just dunk it back under and like run after the kit. Yeah or hit it with the brush for a second. Yeah, Exactly. And then what I'll do is I'll ring it out and throw it in the wash with the rest and and that's a really good way to get like stubborn stains that you haven't had a chance to get out.

KiwiCo (18m 44s):

Hey, we're gonna take a quick break but I'll be right back. Last summer I had this like epiphany moment where I looked around and I realized my kids are basically doing the same three things on repeat snack argue screens. And I remember thinking, okay, how are you supposed to make summer feel fun and adventurous without turning it into a full-time job for myself? And that's why this year I am very grateful for KiwiCo Kiwi CO's Summer adventure series has been such a lifesaver in our house. So KiwiCo delivers kits directly to your house that are, in my opinion, a godsend because again, I don't have all day to figure out stuff that we're going to be doing. We're doing the make and play kits because they came to my house in KiwiCo said we are, what I love is how they instantly turn into an activity that actually sticks. So we opened up one crate, the kids get absorbed, they're trying something new, they get stuck, they figure it out again without asking me and without me needing to like swoop in and fix it or figure everything out. And then they wanted to take it outside and they kept going and they're like, mom watch mom watch. Which I'm sorry, that's like my favorite type of like mom, mom, mom, mom, mom for the summer. I love that noise as long as they want me to watch something that they actually put together by themselves. This summer adventure series is designed to get kids outside and exploring and away from screens. They get six hands on projects over six weeks with fun activities that go with each one. And it's super convenient because KiwiCo does the legwork for you. You can even choose to get all of the crates delivered at once or you can have them arrive like kind of drip over a period of six weeks. So if you want to build the best summer ever, do check out KiwiCo, get $10 off your summer adventure series at KiwiCo.Com/summer promo code weaning, that's KIW i.com/summer promo code weaning for $10 off.

Branch Basics (20m 47s):

And we did a whole blog post for our audience on how to use branch basics non-toxic cleaners in and around food mess. And so one thing I experimented with a lot was using the oxygen boost, which is like literally it's like magical powder. I don't, I know what's in it is good for you but like I, it's like this stuff is magic. You can also use it in your dishwasher. So I do do that actually and it's really amazing. You can either like sprinkle it all over your dishes or actually even put the litter of it in the dishwasher, the dishwasher container thing where the soap goes. Could you talk the litter bit about using the oxygen boost or even just branch basic products in general for dishes because I've only used it in the dishwasher, but I understand there's other things you can do as well. Yes, absolutely. So dishes I would say is what the product was mainly kind of made for in terms of everyday use. So I personally have not used anything except for our product for the past 10 years dishes. So my husband and I we're just in a routine where there's a bunch of dirty dishes, we'll kind of spray everything around the sink, that's all, you know, they're all dirty. And then I'll just rinse with water and usually things slide right off and I'll just put 'em in the dishwasher. We actually went a year and a half or two without a dishwasher and so I would just hand wash by spraying. Now some people kind of still have this mentality of filling up a sink with water, which is great, I've just never been that kind of dish washing person. But you could do that, you can add a cat full of the concentrate into the, the sink full of water and dirty dishes and then bring each one out and kind of rinse it and then it's something else. People sometimes prefer our CEO is this way, he likes to do the foaming pump on the dishes. So it's just a matter of which method you're using branch basics. But we highly recommend that you replace your conventional, especially if it's conventional. But even these non-toxic green cleaning products or dish washing products contain chemicals that you do not wanna be ingesting even in a really small amount. So, and then for the dishwasher, our product is not specifically made for the dishwasher, I would say that is the one use that we are really missing around the house, although we are formulating something from the dish for the dishwasher specifically. So stay tuned. But for now a lot of people will open up the container compartment where the dish washing liquid will go and they'll fill it with maybe half to three quarter scoop of oxygen boost and then, I don't know, maybe a half of a cap full. As you can tell, I don't really measure super well and I don't personally do this, but I love that you don't have to, this is making me feel so Much better. Yeah, you don't, you don't. The litter bit of concentrate in there and then just start the dishwasher. A lot of PE people also will spray their dishes once the dishwasher is full and then sprinkle the litter, the litter, bit of oxygen boost on top and then shut the dishwasher and wash. I will say that the success of this method depends a lot on the hardness of your water. So I am living on a, well we have pretty like tough calcium deposit buildup and so I personally do not use branch basics in this this way. But a lot of people have great success with it. I love the foaming hand wash. The foaming hand wash bottle is like, I think it's $5 for extra bottle and I just bought a ton of 'em. They're in every single bathroom, they're in the laundry room and then now I just use it as dish soap too. So I was gonna ask you if that was okay, but it sounds like it is. Absolutely. That's what a lot of, But I like to pump, I don't like to spray, I like to pump when I'm doing dishes, so Yeah, no our, I know our CEO is always making fun of us. He's like, y'all spray your dishes. I'm like, yeah. He's like, you gotta pump it. Okay, I have another question though. So when it comes to the bottle, so the starter kits come standard with plastic bottles, which is always like, oh my gosh, in feeding people, you know we're always like, oh, the a a P says you shouldn't be using additives including plastic around foods and feeding. So we're always like conscientious of trying to move

Katie Ferraro (23m 60s):

away from plastic in feeding. But what I love is you can go on the branch basics website and I do this every time I get someone the starter kit, I also get them the glass bottles and if you guys have kids, the glass bottles come with these amazing rubber bumpers on 'em. So I'll let my kids use the glass bottles all the time. The glass bottles are awesome though. And they're like actually like look nice too. I mean I I, again, you know, your cleaning products are usually like hide underneath the sink. But I love your guys branding. I, again, it's one of those products you can feel good about using and then using around your kids, which I wanted to go back to something you said earlier, which is like without naming other brands or brand bashing like you did imply that there are other brands that are out there kind of masquerading as clean and green products. We see this in skincare, we see this in food. How do you guys source your ingredients and how can consumers be assured that they truly are clean and green and safe to use around their babies?

Allison Evans (24m 46s):

Oh, that's a great question. Yeah, we'll never name other brands, but I will say the thing that differentiates our product from others is our ingredient list. And first of all, if you have a cleaning product and you cannot find an ingredient list on the bottle because the law actually says that, you know it's not required. But if you can't find it, you need to take out that cleaning product because it is, it is toxic and every single cleaning product should have every single ingredient inside that bottle. You're inhaling these, these, these particulates in the air where they're being absorbed through our skin. So in our opinion there's never a a reason to hide them if there is caution warning or danger on the cleaning product, if you see either of those three words, any of those three words, they need to be tossed because those three words are actually, they're not just kind of like cutesy, oh I think we should slap this on there.

Allison Evans (25m 32s):

They actually are triggered by certain ingredients that exist inside the product. Legally, any sort of fragrant product, you better be able to turn the ingredient, the bottle around, look at the ingredient list. If you smell peppermint, you need to see the word peppermint oil. If you smell lavender, you need to see lavender oil. If you smell these things but then you see the word fragrance or parfum, you need to toss that toxin because those are endocrine disrupting chemicals. They were created in a lab, they're a concoction of any of 3,100 chemicals that we're grandfathered in and they do not belong in your home or in our bodies.

Katie Ferraro (26m 2s):

But sorry, can those products still be marketed as like clean? I mean it's the same in food. Like so much of the front of the package is the advertising and if you actually turn it over and read the ingredient list and like I know my way around a food label but I never knew that like I should be reading the ingredient list of my cleaning products. 'cause it's like honestly sometimes if it's green or they say they're clean, I'm just like oh they must be, that's not true.

Allison Evans (26m 20s):

Absolutely I know And that that's what's so deceiving. And I, I would even argue that some of the non-toxic green cleaners have more toxic chemicals in the conventional ones. The words green and non-toxic or completely unregulated. So if you see that or if you see, you know, a sweet little grandma with great scents or some leaves, I mean it does not mean that it's healthy or safe. And then I would say the thing that differentiates us from even the cleanest of other products on the market, other green cleaners is our preservative action. So we actually used chamomile to preserve our product. It took 18 months and over a hundred iterations of reformulating our product back in 2016 to come up with a product that met our quality standards was efficacious.

Allison Evans (27m 2s):

And yeah kind of passed all of the, the branch basics like check boxes. So that's a big thing. A lot of products will, will contain things like sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate. And these are quote unquote, you know, healthy preservatives that just didn't pass our test because they create irritation in the lungs or in the skin. Yeah, so we, it's really, we're all about human health, prioritizing human health first and then it has to work because let's face it, we can have the cleanest product on the market but if it's not gonna get your stains out, not gonna clean your house, people aren't gonna come back for more. So that's what's so great is we really can competently say that we do perform like conventional cleaners.

Katie Ferraro (27m 38s):

And so for the audience members who are listening and to be honest, it's mostly moms but these are the people that go to the store and pick out the foods that the baby eats, pick out the skincare that goes on the babies in the family's body, pick out the cleaning products that clean the house. What tips do you have for our moms if they're interested in making that change from their regular toxic household cleaners and chemicals they're currently using? What's that first step that they need to do in order to move towards a more non-toxic lifestyle?

Allison Evans (28m 3s):

I love that it's lead. This is actually the perfect setup for the one of the things that we always say and it's, it's not about buying branch basics. That is not, I hope that this is not, you know, the, the takeaway here, the takeaway if I were to to choose one is that we need to remove the toxins from our home. So you can clean your home with vinegar. I mean it smells like salad dressing, it doesn't work as well but it's way better than cleaning your home with toxic chemicals. So it's all about removal and even just the act of removing these toxic products, these synthetic fragrance endocrine disrupting cleaners or ones that are disinfectant that actually contain pesticides that are neurologically harming ourselves. Our children's developing brains. We don't wanna have any sort of like disinfectant with an EPA registered pesticide, which you will be able to see the EPA registered dietitian on the bottle if you look at your disinfectant.

Allison Evans (28m 52s):

So get those out of your home and this act of removal alone will drastically improve your air quality just like that. So that is the takeaway. And then when it comes to replacing, there are definitely better alternatives out there on the market. We would say that we are probably the cleanest and most efficacious, but our whole thing is go around your entire house, not just your kitchen. We're talking drawers and underneath cabinets and in your laundry room. That's a big area where a lot of people keep a lot of toxic cleaners and we have a whole kind of campaign on our website called Toss the toxins and it takes you step by step through removing toxins from your home.

Katie Ferraro (29m 30s):

And I have to admit, it wasn't always like a top priority for me. Like I'm really, as a dietician, I'm super interested in food and then, but the more I've been in this business, you know, I think that what goes on and around your baby's body is just as important as what we put in in it. And I've been a fan of branch basics. I am an affiliate for you guys and I really love the products and standby them, but I've learned so much from your toss the toxins campaign and have done that very thing. Like we just cleaned out our garage over spring break 'cause we didn't go anywhere. So it's like we're gonna spring clean and the amount of just like stuff from like previous owners, I don't even know what it was like literally like skull and cross bone stuff all over the place. It was like why is this even in our house? Like the kids could get into it but like we don't actively need it. And I have learned so much from you guys about just reading the labels of all the things that are in your house.

Katie Ferraro (30m 10s):

Whereas previously I'll admit like I only cared about the food stuff. I do really think that this other layer is so important and you guys do such a wonderful job of educating about where toxins are located in your typical household.

Allison Evans (30m 21s):

Hmm Katie, I love that so much and I, I could just, you know, get emotional thinking about all the people that have written in daily testimonials of how they have changed their diet. They're taking supplements, they're doing all these things, but the eczema is still there. The persistent headaches are still there, the allergy shots are still there. These issue, even behavioral disorder issues, mental health issues because like I said, these toxic chemicals can actually change our brain chemistry. And so once they toss the toxins and usually I'll, I'm gonna be honest, it's usually one problem child in the home and that's kind of this, this consistent pattern we're seeing. And so they'll do all these things for this one child and all of a sudden they're like, oh my husband hasn't had a seasonal allergies. Oh my other kid doesn't really have to have the eczema cream.

Allison Evans (31m 2s):

So it's, I what you're doing is you're improving the health of your entire family. It's like the best form of preventative healthcare to not just look at diet. 'cause we are all about diet. I mean that is that we are all about it. If you go to our website you'll see it's all about tossing the toxins in your food as well. But I, I think a lot of people are missing the environmental aspect. So it's such a blessing that you've kind of woken up and done done this for your family.

Katie Ferraro (31m 24s):

And it's one of those things too that I have to be honest, it has to be affordable and feasible.

Branch Basics (31m 28s):

And so I think what it really came down for me was when I made the switch to branch basics was like yes, this is the best choice toxin wise, but there is at some point you have to consider like the cost considerations. It actually saves you money to switch to branch basics. And for me that sealed the deal and you can be like, oh my gosh, I can't believe you wouldn't be totally concerned about toxins. I just, I have to admit like I don't have that problem child, I didn't have a reason, I don't feel bad, I don't have autoimmune diseases, I don't, but I do now value the importance of having okay, non-toxic products and something like literally it goes on the table and then your baby eats off of the table. I mean ideally they should be eating off of a plate but you know, they eat off of everything like that chemical that comes in contact with it shouldn't be harmful to my baby 'cause it's gonna get transferred to my baby 'cause they put everything in their mouth. Exactly. And you know, it's not about just these, these reactions that happen overnight. 'cause you are so blessed to have children with great constitutions and a lot of families, you know, aren't, aren't in that situation. But we have to remember that these, these chemicals actually bioaccumulate So they will actually store in our organs over time. And as morbid and kind of negatives, this sounds like cancer doesn't form overnight when you're 50 or 60 or whatever. And so what we're doing as moms and each really anyone listening is we are really investing in long-term health and it is affordable. I mean, I'm gonna gonna hit that as well because once you buy the concentrate you and the, and the empty bottles, you start with the starter kit and you never buy an empty bottle again. So typical families spend about 500 to $600 a year on cleaning products and if you're on our subscription method model and you're getting a new concentrate every month or every two months, you're not coming even anywhere close to spending that kind of money. So tell us where we can go to learn more about branch basics. Yeah, so we are all over Instagram. You'll see my face, my best friend, co-founder, and her beautiful face Kelly. And we are always just hopping on and giving tips on how we live our lives. We're literally not doing anything other than living our lives and just sometimes turning our phones around and showing it. So it's really fun to, to educate people on. But yeah, that's just at Branch Basics. And then www.branchbasics.com, we have articles and articles and articles of just all free, all about removing toxins from your life. And our mission really was, you know, to prevent people from one day saying, why didn't someone tell me this? Because that's how I felt when merrily opened my eyes to the negative effects of toxic chemicals in our diet and then in our home. So yeah, and if you wanna reach me, Allison at branch basics.com and I'm happy to answer any specific questions. Well, thank you so much for your time. This was super informative. I really appreciate it. You're so welcome Katie. Thanks for having me. I hope you guys enjoyed that conversation with Allison Evans. I think her story is so inspiring. I do have to say their products are amazing. I use them every day in my own household, also from my own infant feeding practice. If you wanna check out the branch basics starter kit, again, that code is Katie 15 for 15% off@branchbasics.com.

Katie Ferraro (34m 20s):

I will put a link to all of the references and resources that Allison mentioned in today's conversation on the show notes, which you can find@blwpodcast.com/122. And a special thank you to our partners at AirWave Media. If you like podcasts that feature food and science and using your brain, check out some of the podcasts from AirWave Media. We're online@blwpodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you next time. Bye now.

Columbia (34m 53s):

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