Healthier Living

Christie grew up on an island in Lake Erie, called Put-in-Bay and is a fifth generation Island Girl. While it was a beautiful childhood, filled with walks in the woods, swims in the Lake and a small community that always looked out for her, it was also a heavily polluted Lake Erie during the time of her youth. She was raised drinking the family’s well water and also eating Lake Erie perch and walleye. Processed food was easy to come by, and store during the long winters, and at the time, items like Velveeta “cheese,” canned vegetables and white bread were part of her family’s staples.

Over twenty years ago, while Christie was teaching elementary school and raising her two daughters, Christie became ill, went into premature menopause at age 29, and was chronically tired. It was discovered she had toxic levels of mercury in her body. Her doctor’s words were “You grew up in a cesspool.” She began the long process of detoxing from the heavy metal and around the same time, her oldest, Anna became very ill. It was discovered that her ten-year-old was allergic to many foods, preservatives, and colorants. Even fluoride! Something had to change.

Christie began researching and learned the TRUTH about what is in our water, food, cleaning products and finally, body and skin care. The journey toward better health began. She replaced all her household items with more natural things, including her skin and body care. However, after years of buying these products, she realized some of them still held questionable ingredients.

She recalled how her family lived on the island for all those generations, living naturally. Before the onslaught of plastics, before the Lake was polluted. When people canned their own garden vegetable and when milk was actually milk. When the meat that was eaten was hormone-free, along with the eggs, too. The islanders lived on the island all those years without the toxic products. She recalled a medicinal salve her family had called Gramma’s Salve. It was made by her Great-Grandmother, whom Christie was named after. Whatever happened to it?

On her search for better skin care and natural remedies, Christie gathered the ingredients for this ancient salve. One winter night in 2013, she made it and that familiar healing scent came back to her. Using lavender from her gardens, this gave her confidence to make other products, as well. The best part? She could control all the ingredients.

At first, she shared the remedies with family, teachers and her students. The students were her cheerleaders and they convinced her to sell the organic concoctions. So, she did! Christie left teaching to focus full-time on the business almost 8 years ago.

Many small batches later, Your Only Earth was born and now has over 30 products, living on the mainland near Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband Tom, 5 dogs, 5 hens and one cat.

Christie wrote a book about her island girl life ! Click here to get it!