After moving into a new apartment that previously had cats, I remember cleaning my new bedroom with a leading spray cleaner and getting a throbbing headache after breathing in the fumes for a while. We might not think about it, but everyday household cleaners and products can contain hazardous chemicals that can be toxic to you, your children, your pets and the environment. It’s a big part of the reason why indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than the air outside. If you look on some of your cleaners you’ll find they say they’re corrosive, flammable, an irritant and/or toxic and could kill you if used or disposed of improperly. It is estimated that the average American household has 3-10 gallons of hazardous materials spread out among approximately 60 different everyday household products including cleansers, detergents, paint, pesticides and automotive solvents.

The Environmental Protection Agency gives a tour of hazardous chemicals commonly found in household products. Take a look around your house and see how many of these toxic ingredients you have that could be breathed in, spilled on your skin or accidentally ingested at any time, with fatal consequence. Just breathing in or touching small amounts of some chemicals can be extremely irritating, as well as dangerous. Ammonia, for example, is an eye irritant and can cause headaches and lung irritation. Phenol and cresol, which can be found in most disinfectants, can cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness, and kidney and liver damage. Nitrobenzene in your furniture polish can cause skin discoloration, shallow breathing, vomiting, and even death. And it’s not just your health and beauty that’s taking a hit. Ingredients in these toxic chemicals often finds its way into the environment where it can do major damage.

If you decide your home is better without toxic chemicals, dispose of them according to the EPA’s guidelines. Then do some research on safe alternatives to the lethal products you’ve been using. Luckily, we live in an age where more consumers are demanding safer products, and former hippy CEOs are happy to oblige. You can generally find safe cleaning products in your neighborhood grocery store, and if you have a health food store nearby, they’ll have a ton of safe cleaning products that actually work. Look for words like “non-toxic” and read the ingredient list. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably don’t want to breathe it.

When you thought of organic foods in the past, you might have thought of hippies eating organic granola out of an organic hemp sack. Times have changed, and organic foods are no longer only for those who follow a “natural” life. Americans spent 12.2 billion dollars on organic foods in 2004, and we all know hippies can’t buy 12.2 billion dollars in granola. Organic food sales are a rapidly growing industry to say the least.

Organic food is produced without synthetic pesticides, bioengineering, ionizing radiation, and the like. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy are from animals fed organic grain and given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic farmers emphasize use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality now and for future generations. The EPA estimates that 70% of the pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams come from non-organic farming practices using toxic, chemical-laden pesticides.

The question is: is it worth it to buy organic? Pesticides in non-organic food can be threatening to health, and “>some are said to increase the risk of cancer. At least 73 of the 300 pesticides approved by the federal government are listed as “probable” or “possible” carcinogens, and many of these pesticides are commonly used. Some people say that trace amounts of pesticides won’t harm you, but trace amounts of carcinogens are not welcome to the healthfully-eating active hipster. Some of these chemicals are thought to cause nervous system damage too, particularly in children. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid some foods altogether if they are not organic (check the list below).

So now you want to eat organic, but as a working stiff maybe you can’t afford to fill your grocery cart entirely with organic foods. Don’t fret, some foods are much more important than others to buy organic. Certain foods might contain a particularly harmful pesticide; some fruits and veggies absorb the pesticides used on them while others you can peel off the skin, leaving virtually no pesticides behind.

Foods that you should always buy organic include strawberries, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, peaches, Mexican (winter) cantaloupes, celery, apples, apricots, green beans, Chilean (winter) grapes, cucumbers, cultivated button mushrooms, and wheat.

Foods that are relatively safe to buy non-organic include bananas, mangoes, papayas, pineapple, and corn (usually genetically modified…but let’s not get into that.) If you notice in the link above, their most and least contaminated produce is tested after it’s washed and prepared. This means no matter how bad your OCD gets when you’re washing your veggies, they won’t lose their pesticide contamination.

If you cannot find organic produce, I wouldn’t avoid produce altogether. A large amount and diverse range of produce is an essential part of any healthy diet. You’re probably better off eating only non-organic fruits and vegetables than you are eating only processed foods with red #309 and blue #982. But now that you have a list to work with, try to at least find the organic foods that matter. Now don’t you feel bad for making fun of the organic granola-eating no-shower hippie? Nah, me either.

The month of October is a glorious month for American sports. Hopefully, your favorite baseball team is competing in the playoffs and World Series. Football, the most watched sport on television in America, is in full swing during October. Both basketball and hockey begin their regular seasons, and soccer and NASCAR racing head towards the playoffs. Wait, does NASCAR even have playoffs? Whatever. The real question to be asked is: Isn’t sitting around watching sports unhealthy? Not at all, and that goes for men and women.

Studies have shown that testosterone will rise in sports players before a match. However, men identify themselves so strongly with their favorite sports team that their testosterone will actually rise in anticipation of a big game too. What’s more, if your team wins, you can expect a 20% increase in testosterone. The bad news? If your team suffers a debilitating loss, you can expect a 20% decrease in testosterone. I guess it doesn’t really have to be bad news though. You did want to finish knitting that sweater and cry at the latest chic-flick, didn’t you?

The positive effect of watching sports applies to women too. At least teenage women. Teenage women today are more prone to “self-objectification”, defining themselves by how they look, than ever before. Although reading sports magazines was found to increase women’s self-objectification, it also increased their body satisfaction and lessened their risk of eating disorders, regardless of whether they participated in sports or not. Interestingly, when women watched sports on TV, the results varied according to race. When watching “lean” women sports (think gymnastics), white women’s self-objectification increased, but their sense of self-objectification did not increase when watching “non-lean” women sports (think basketball). However, women of color experienced the opposite effect, probably because of the white woman’s stereotypical preference for a smaller and thinner body type.

So sitting on your ass and watching sports does have a positive effect. I knew it. Now crack open a beer, unbutton your pants, and take a seat on the couch. There are lots of sports to watch in October.