#227 - Light A Candle, Curse The Glare

Using Only Beeswax or Soy Candles

Frickin' Blogger just ate my whole damn post and now I have to start all over again. It was good too. Really funny. But now it's late and I'm tired and tipsy so don't blame me if this sucks. Blame Blogger.

OK, rant over. Modified, shortened and unfunny version of post commencing here.


I like scented candles. Most are made from paraffin wax, which is derived from petroleum. Petroleum sucks. So I'm buying soy and/or beeswax candles instead.


Bonus points from buying from a local vendor that I found at the farmer's market.



There.



Bastards.

#200 - Crunch Time

Giving Up My Fabric Softener Entirely

As predicted by Green Bean and Wendy, I have quickly become addicted to line drying my clothes. I have gone beyond the drying rack and the garage clothesline and have added a retractable 5 string clothesline in the laundry room. Between those three options and the deck railing, damn near everything in my house is being line-dried.

*WARNING: "Duh" moment straight ahead*

wait for it.... wait for it....

Well why the hell am I still pouring fabric softener in the machine every time I wash towels? That doesn't make sense, does it? It seems silly to "soften" the towels before you purposely "crunchen" them. God, sometimes I hate being blonde.

So, even though my towel softener of choice was Seventh Generation's relatively benign liquid softener, none is always better. Eco-wise, that is.

Savings:

Back in September, I began using dryer balls to help soften the clothes, but when I still added the fabric softener (just a little) to loads with towels and pajamas. Sadly it has taken me almost two freakin' months to reach the "DUH" moment. Geez, a mind really is a terrible thing to waste, isn't it?

So my savings will be one bottle of 7G Liquid Fabric Softener (and the plastic bottle it comes in) every 6 months or so. That's two bottles of softener per year. Not a ton, but all these little changes help me to chip-chip-chip away at my plastic bottle use until one day soon I'll be down to nothing. How cool would that be? I could go head-to-head in a no-holds-barred plastic-shunning showdown against Fake Plastic Fish. Well, I'm not there yet... but someday.

Difficulty Level: 0 out of 5

Can I give things a 0 out of 5? Well, it is my blog. So, yeah. I can.

#194 - Decaffalon

Reducing My Caffeine Intake (and Output)

So have you all had a chance to read last week's article in the Washington Post about the various pharmaceuticals, disinfectants and caffeine found in tap water? I finally did and it was enlightening. or disturbing. I get those confused sometimes.

Also? Yesterday? I learned from Fake Plastic Fish that March is National Caffeine Awareness Month. Now I feel much more aware. A couple more cups of coffee and it will really sink in.

Anyhow, after reading the article and Beth's post, I decided to do my part to help reduce the concentration of chemical candies in our drinking supply. I'm going to start by reducing my caffeine intake to the bare minimum so that my caffeine output is thereby reduced.

So from here on out, I'll be drinking only half-caff morning java (give me a break - I've got two kids, I need a little morning jolt). Any coffee shop purchases will be decaf and my iced tea will also be of the decaffeinated persuasion. If I eat out, I'll opt for non-caffeinated bevvies like milk, lemonade, Sprite or cider. I wish I could tell you I'm also giving up chocolate but, well, that would be a big, fat lie. I love my chocolate and I don't care if it makes me piss cyanide, you'll never take it away from until you pry it from my cold, dead hands. And even then I will come back and haunt you. Because I'm vengeful like that.


Savings:

I'll be reducing my caffeine intake by roughly 50%. I don't know how that will affect my output, but once I get the urinalysis report back, I'll let you know. (that's a joke, btw - I don't actually do urinalysis reports for my blog. I use home blood tests, they're more reliable.)


Difficulty Level: 2 out of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

#185 - Don't Be Retarded

Avoiding the Flame-Retardant Pajamas

My apologies for the totally un-PC title, but it really does describe the change. The picture? Well, once I had a theme, I figured I'd keep it going. Besides, in the context of things, it's still funnier than showing the effects of toxic flame retardants on our environment or what melted plastic does to human skin.

According to an article from the Healthy Children Project, "Across the world, scientists are studying Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), the family of chemicals that act as flame retardants. The results of their studies are of great concern. They are finding extremely high levels of these neurotoxic, and potentially carcinogenic, chemicals in the bodies of humans and wildlife—levels far higher than those found even ten years ago."

"Animal studies have linked PBDEs to neurodevelopmental and behavioral deficits, thyroid hormone disruption, and possibly cancer. PBDEs are used more heavily in the U.S. and Canada than anywhere else in the world."

"PBDEs may impair the brain function and motor skills of children. All PBDEs disrupt thyroid hormone balance because the chemical structure of PBDEs closely resembles thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormone function is critical to proper brain development both in the womb and after birth. Newborn mice exposed to PBDEs experienced damage to their nervous systems, resulting in learning and motor deficits that worsened as the animals grew older. "

PBDEs are found in a number of household products, including flame-retardant children's pajamas. In fact, until the mid-nineties, all children's sleepwear was required by the US Federal Government to be flame-retardant. This requirement, originally enacted in the 70's, was designed to protect kids, since most pj's are made from polyester. Get the connection? Polyester is plastic. Plastic melts when it gets heated and could melt to the skin of a child. Not a pretty thought. (Now see why I chose the owl picture?)

But in the early nineties, the feds realized the hazards of PBDEs and amended the laws to allow the sale of non-PBDE treated pjs. So nowadays you have a choice. You can select baggy-style, poly-blend, flame-retardant pajamas, or bound-to-shrink-a-lot, skin-tight, hooker-lookin' pj's. Opt for the skin-tight ones.

And even though I strongly advocate buying used clothing or accepting hand-me-downs, this is definitely an exception to that rule. If you can't get pre-owned, non-flame-retardant jammies, then by all means, go hit Target and get the kids some stylin' new body-hugging sleepwear. Just be sure to return those #6 hangers they're sold on.

Now, you're thinking, "well that's wonderful that you're saving your kids from inhaling toxic chemicals, but what does that have to do with saving the environment?" To which I say "Get off my ass already, I'm getting to that.".

Scientists have now found PBDEs in Arctic polar bears. What the hell those bears were doing wearing baggy, flame-retardant pajamas, I'll never know. I mean, for Peter, Paul and Mary's sake, how often do polar bears die in house fires?!?!?!?! COME ON!

Well, apparently, they aren't. It's just that this nasty shit stays around for a long time and once it off-gases into the atmosphere, it floats around all over the globe. And the bad news is, it's not just in our jammies, it's in our furniture, computers, carpets, mattresses, draperies, etc. Basically, any household plastic or foam item that you wouldn't want bursting into flames during a fire.

There is a ton of information out there, if you want to take steps to reduce your exposure to PBDEs. I for one, am going to start with the very small step of avoiding them in my kids' pjs. Baby steps. Baby, footed-pajama steps.

#175 - Stickin' It to the Man Pan

Giving Up My Non-Stick Pans

I've had this change on my list for a while, but I just finally got around to doing the research on non-stick and I've got one thing to say:

Holy Toxicity, Batman!

According to several online resources - including the Environmental Working Group, CorpWatch, the EPA and (here's the kicker) DuPont - use of non-stick pans has the potential to release toxic fumes, including chemicals that are likely carcinogenic. Not good.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical that was recently found by the EPA to be a "likely human carcinogen". PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacturing process for non-stick pans and is also released as toxic fumes when these pans are heated to temperatures exceeding 660 F. Here's some groovy scientific info I found:

PFOA is a stable, synthetic chemical, which, when produced, lasts 50-60 years. PFOA is both water and oil resistant. It is found in dolphins, trout, polar bears, humans and many other species throughout the world - from the Arctic to the South Pacific. PFOA can cross the placenta, which is why it is even found in the bloodstreams of newborn infants. Some adverse effects of PFOA found in labratory animals studies include hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, hormone imbalance and developmental toxicity.

The most interesting (and easiest to read) information I found came from an article called "Toxic Teflon", published by the Environmental Working Group, who also released another Teflon article just last week entitled "Chemical Used In Non-Stick Cookware Continues to Prove Its Toxicity"

I could go on and on about the oodles and oodles of information I found, but I think a brief synopsis of the findings might be more helpful:


PFOA Bad.


DuPont's argument (you knew they'd have one, didn't you?) is that the PFOA is not released unless the pan reaches a temperature of around 660F degrees. DuPont stated that this is well-above the scroch point of butter and most cooking oils, so we needn't worry about the toxic fumes since no one would ever scorch butter.

Riiiigggghhhhhht. I don't know about you, but I don't use a fancy egg timer or thermometer to tell me when my food is cooked. I use a smoke detector. That, my friend, is how you know dinner is done.

Not to mention that PFOA is used during the manufacturing process and so, by purchasing new Teflon products, we are encouraging the production of more PFOA. Wonder where that all ends up. Hmmmm..... Well, I doubt the previously mentioned dolphins, trout and polar bears are cooking with Teflon so you draw your own conclusions.

And so, in the name of saving the planet and my own lungs, I hereby say goodbye to my jumbo non-stick frying pan and my non-stick omelette pan. Sianara to my professional style wok. Au revoir to my griddle and so long to the waffle maker I pilfered from my sister's kitchen last year. *sniff* I shall miss you all.

NOT!

I have my awesome, seasoned cast-iron skillets -- the ORIGINAL non-stick pan whose only side-effect would be anemia relief. And those babies work like a charm!

Now for all of you PFOA experts (and even you novices) I found a lot more information than I bargained for while researching Teflon pans. I found PFOA is found in many everyday items that we have in our homes. Honestly, I've simply run out of time to write it all up. I'll post more on this topic later. But if you just can't wait, a google search of "environmental hazards PFOA" will yield many more results than you would hope for.

Savings:

Release of toxic chemicals into our waterways and our bodies.



Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

This could be difficult if you didn't get a couple cast-iron skillets for Christmas like I did. But, I gotta tell ya, I picked up a nice 8" cast iron skillet at Goodwill last week for $5. Check your local thrift shop, garage sale, craigslist and freecycle for skillets before you buy new. Odds are you can get a nice set of pans on the cheap. And since these puppies are damn near indestructable, they should serve you for years and years and years to come.

Oh, BTW, if you find a nasty-ass, rusty old cast-iron skillet at a garage sale, buy it! You can easily clean it, season it and use it!

Bad Idea #1 - Lighten Up

Bleaching My Hair With Henna

OK, I can deal with the no manicures thing. I can deal with skipping the conditioner and wearing dirty jeans. I can even deal with my weekly "To Hell With Personal Hygiene Day". But I cannot - repeat CANNOT - deal with the fact that I am sprouting grey hair!

Call me a girly-girl if you must, but I just couldn't take looking at those silver strands another day. And give me credit for not heading down to the salon for a round of chemical highlights. Instead, I found some natural henna hair color stuff at the crunchy-granola store and gave it a try.

Tell me what you think....


Here's the before shot (I'm the big one ;-)

And here's the after shot (again, the big one):

See the difference?

Yeah, me neither. I think the only thing that got lighter was my wallet.

To add insult to ugly, the hair color kit included a pair of disposable plastic gloves and shower cap. Grrr.

#161 - Recreational Sex

(As Opposed to Pro-Creational Sex)

I'm done making babies. Waaaaaayyyyy done. Factory is closed. Not gonna reopen. Ever. Again.

Not that having children isn't a wonderful, magical thing. It's a beautiful expression of the love between a man and a woman that manifests into a screamin', cryin', poopin' miracle. But enough is enough. We've got two and I'll be damned if we're gonna have another and let ourselves get outnumbered. Besides, what's the worst thing for the planet? More people on it.

So, we're against more babies (for us, that is.... you do what you want) but we're not against sex. In fact, I'd say we're very much for sex. When the kids haven't worn us down into a state of vegetative exhaustion that is. So what's a pro-sex, anti-baby couple to do? Get some birth control, that's what.

I gave hubby a year after our last kid was born to do the snip-snip thing, which he swore up and down he would. Guess when that happened? If you guessed "never", well, you're probably married too. So after a year of being on the pill, I went to my vaginologist (makes them sound much more scientific -- as well as dare-devily, don't you think?) to check out what my options were. Turns out, some new products had become available since the last time I inquired.

After going through all the pros and cons with my doc, I finally chose Mirena, an IUD that releases very low levels of progestin directly into the uterus. The IUD is good for five years of pregnancy prevention and is 100% reversible, in case I ever go insane. There is a very minimal amount of plastic waste generated through its use - just the IUD itself and the protective package it came in. But the big advantage it has over the pill and the patch is that it doesn't any contain any synthetic estrogen. Estrogen that, when excreted through urine, ends up making its way back into our streams and rivers.

As you may or may not know, numerous studies, including those conducted by the EPA and the Canadian Fresh Water Institute, have found that increased levels of synthetic estrogen in our waters is leading to the feminization of fish. And we're not talking about handsome little metro-perchuals with stylish hairdos that carry man-purses and go to off-Broadway productions of Sunset Boulevard. We're talking about male fish who have lost the ability to fertilize eggs because their man-parts are too busy making their own eggs.

This, to me, is scary shit. If it's already impacting the fish, will our own sons or grandsons be affected too? I don't have the answers, but I sure as hell don't want to contribute to the problem.

Before you start sending me moron-mail, let me say that I know I have other options available for birth control that are even more eco-friendly. Like abstinence (I'm already married with two kids and a sports fanatic husband, claiming abstinence as our birth control feels redundant) or the rhythm method (yeah, cuz as millions and millions and millions of Catholics will tell you - that's super-reliable). But this particular form of birth control - Mirena - is the one that I felt most comfortable with. It has minimal impact on the environment and minimal impact on me.

Now I know this is a hot-button issue for a lot of folks, and I'm not gonna tell you what type, if any, birth control you should use. I'm just gonna say this: take a moment to do some research of your own, talk to your doctor, and decide what alternative is right for you and your partner. You never know, there may be new options available that you are simply unaware of.

And, as always, feel free to rant and rave about my moral depravity in the comments. I like the masochistic feel of it ;-)

#160 - Watching My Soaps

Switching From Dove to Dr. Bronner

Every time I think I'm done trading out my mainstream products for side-stream products, I run out of something and realize there are greener options available. I love these changes because 1. swapping one product for another requires no extra daily work and B. changing products is kind of like shopping, which gives me a nice little Compact fix, without the guilt.

Today's product switcheroo is my body soap. Remember when I started showering like a man? Well, I was so focused on reducing the amount of products I used, that I forgot to worry about the type of products I was using. And so I have been happily lathering up with my Dove Sensitive Skin Body Bars for several months now, unaware that the product I'm using rates a 3 (Moderate Hazard) on Skin Deep's Cosmetic Safety Database. Further aggravating the issue are the facts that Dove has not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and they test their products on animals. Bummer. I used to love Dove. You know, campaign for real beauty and all that. Something comforting about seeing chicks almost as fat and old as a normal person hocking facial cleansers.

But now I have a new love (besides the butcher). It's Dr. Bronner. No, not Dr. Bruce Bonner AKA The Incredible Hulk. Dr. Bronner, of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. I picked up a bar or Dr. B's All-One Hemp Peppermint Pure Castile Soap last week. By way of comparison, Dr. B's soap gets a Low Hazard Rating, IS a signer of the CSC and does NOT test on animals. Their products are Certified Organic and Fair Trade. They also use minimal packaging - a paper wrapper made from 90% post-consumer waste and printed with soy ink. Holy crap that's some green soap.

There is a down side though. The peppermint oil. The smell makes me want to eat the bar. Probably not the whole thing, but at least a little nibble. Between that and the Raspberry scented Burt's Bees shampoo, I feel like I should be following up with some sort of Hershey's body lotion. Seriously. Incorporating this change on the heels of Crunchy Chicken's No Waste Challenge? Probably not a good idea. I get out of the shower with a big hankerin for a peppermint mocha with extra whip. Mmmmmm.

Good God, I'm freakin' starving here. Somebody throw me a head of lettuce or something.

Savings:

Once again, saving lots of nasty chemicals that I didn't even know were in my bath bars. Also saving the additional packaging and some poor bunny's burned retinas.

Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

Saying goodbye to a product brand that I have been loyal to for so many years was actually a little difficult. Don't know why. It's not like they ever did anything for me personally. And I picked up my Dr. B's soap at the crunchy-granola store up the road, so I'm not even sure if Kroger sells it or not. And I'm ready to eat my arm. This might be more difficult than some other product changes I've made.

Day 144 - A Little Dab'll Do Ya

Using Less Goop

Big advance apology here for the short post today. I am dog tired. It is 8:48 Monday night and I can barely keep my eyes open. I have been eating like crap ('tis the season, right?) and my jogging career seems to be ending as quickly as it started, due to some serious pain and swelling in my knees. I haven't finished my holiday shopping, the Christmas Cards have yet to be signed and I'm looking at an unpacked box of decorations. It doesn't help that it was 75 out today -- not exactly a big Christmas motivator. Anyhow, if I'm totally unreadable it's only because my eyes are crossed and my head keeps flopping onto the keyboard. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog....

The idea here is simple: use less stuff. It is the basic tenet that drives The Compact and sustainable living in general. However, I'm actually narrowing the scope a bit for this post. I'm talking things like detergents, cleaning supplies, soaps, toothpaste -- you know, "goopy" things.

I've started to push the envelope and see how little goop I can get away with -- in my dishwasher or laundry machine, on my toothbrush or hair, etc. -- and still get the same results. I've found that a lot of these products do a damn fine job, using only 75% or less of whatever the instructions tell me to use.

So the next time you're squeezing something goopy out of a bottle or tube, squeeze a little less. This will stretch the life of the product and the dollar you spent to get it. Best of all, it will lessen the environmental impact of whatever you're using.

::YAWN::


Savings:

Could be calculated, but I'm too sleepy to do so. Let's call it at 25% of all my goopy products.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Using less is easy, just another habit to change. Now if only I could as easily change my newfound fudge-eating habit. Sugar overload - it'll suck the life right out of ya.

Day 134 - I'm Gonna Wash That Sodium Laureth Sulfate Right Out of My Hair

Switching to a Naturally-Derived Shampoo

I think this may actually be the last chemically-infused product in my bathroom and I'm so glad I'm finally done with it! It took me a long time to use up the last of my Redken shampoo, but it's finally all gone and I can now switch to a more environmentally-friendly alternative.

I'm not quite ready to go the homemade baking soda shampoo route, but am very excited to be switching over to another product from my new best friend: Burt, of Burt's Bees. I know, I know - BB was recently brought out by the nice folks who bring you Clorox Poison Bleach, but until you can find me a better smelling solution than BB's Very Volumizing Pomegranate, I'm sticking with it.

As with the kids' baby wash, the BB shampoo is Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate Free, Paraben Free and Phthalate Free. Although made of plastic, the bottle contains 80% post-consumer content. And, according to the label, the shampoo is not tested on animals (I'm assuming the bottle isn't either ;-).

For you hard-core plastic avoiders, Burt's Bees does make a shampoo bar, which is sold in a cardboard box. I would have picked that up to try but didn't even know it existed until I did an online search, which was after I had purchased my bottled version. If I can find a shampoo bar locally, I'll give it a try. "Shampoo Bar" -- sounds like a salon that serves drafts, doesn't it? Someone should open one. I would definitely go there. Even a drunk stylist couldn't give me a worse haircut than I already have and I'd probably tip better if I was sloshed.


Savings

Mrs. Pigpen is now down to washing her hair only four days per week. Eek. When I write it out in black and white it makes me sound gross. But really, I'm not. Or rather, I am, but not because of my hair.

So anyhow, that's about 1 teaspoon of chemical goopiness avoided per day, about 3 ounce per month, 36 ounces per year. Join me, and we'll make it 72.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Redken. Burt's Bees. As long as it gets the dirt out, I don't care about the brand name. What I do care about is the consequence of its use.

Day 129 - Virtually Spot-Free

Changing My Dishwashing Detergent

I have already switched all of my cleaning supplies and my fabric softener from chemical-laden concoctions to more earth-friendly solutions. And I have finally used up the last of my Cascade Complete Dishwasher Detergent. So now I will be replacing my mainstream Proctor & Gamble product with Tree-Hugging Seventh Generation Dishwasher Soap.

Now you may be thinking "Hey, Erin - aren't you worried that your fine china will no longer sparkle like diamonds?" My answer to that is "Last time I checked, Corelleware ain't china and if you're invited to my house for dinner, you should be much more concerned about the dog fur in your meatloaf than about the streaks on your glasses." Besides, it's better for the environment -and that takes precedence over a spot-free shine.

Just so's you know, Cascade Complete contains up to 0.5% phosphorous, in the form of phosphates. We all know phosphates are "bad", but I only recently bothered to find out why. Here, in a nutshell, is why phosphates should be avoided:

During water treatment, phosphates are often not removed properly, so the phosphates you put down the drain will likely end up back in our lakes, rivers and streams. Due to this constant addition of phosphates by humans (they are found in many detergents, as well as in manufacturing), the phosphor balance gets out of whack, which results in an increase in the growth of algae. This algae not only consumes lots of oxygen, but also prevents sunlight from penetrating the water, making it unlivable for many other organisms, like fish, tadpoles and other little swimmers.

But there's more than just the phosphate issue.

The perfumes contained within the Cascade detergent received a Proctor & Gamble Health Hazard Rating of "Moderate". You know it's bad when the manufacturer actually acknowledges an inherent risk in their own product with a threat level of 2 on a scale of 0-4. Now, call me crazy, but here's a thought: How's about leaving out the faux lemon-fresh scent and decreasing the health risk a tad? I think a lot of people would be willing to make that citrusy-scented sacrifice, don't you?

Unlike Cascade, the Seventh Generation detergent is 100% phosphate-free, poses no known health risks and is presumable safer for the environment. As an added bonus, they do not test on animals or use any animal ingredients. I'm not saying Cascade does, but they don't carry the "No Animal Testing" logo on their bottle, which makes ya wonder.

Savings:

At a concentration level of 1 gram per tablespoon and I use approximately 2 tablespoons per load, I would be saving 2 grams of phosphates per load. I wash roughly six loads per week, or 312 loads per year. That's 624 grams of unnecessary phosphates I'm saving per year.

Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Can I just tell you, I love these "replacement" changes. They are so easy to make and they don't require oodles of brain power, which I like to conserve whenever possible. I am simply swapping out one damaging product for one with a lesser environmental impact. Easy peasy.

So far, every replacement product I've tried has been a success. The only complaint I've ever had, and continue to have, is that all of these replacement products are sequestered over in the health-nut area of Kroger, rather than placed on the main shelves with their competitors. Apparently, this grouping of "like with like" is a virtually impossible task.

Day 111 - I Wanna Be Sedated

Only Take Medication When Necessary

I'b sick. I hab a head code. By doze is stuffy, by ears are plugged, by eyes are puffy and I can't breade. I deed drugs.

But as my fellow blogger at It Must Be The Vapors once posted, "You are what you don't shit". Which is a great reminder to all of us that what goes in our bodies eventually comes back out and gets flushed down the crapper. And none of us is so disconnected as to think that it just magically disappears after that. No sirree. It is then "treated" with a myriad of chemicals to ensure proper pH levels and such and then released back into our waters, lakes and oceans.

So, in an effort to save not only my liver, but also the planet, I will be refraining from my standard, self-medicating modus operandi. That is to say, I will not be popping pills left and right in an effort to unstuff, unplug and anesthetize myself into a euphoric stupor until every symptom has passed.

Instead, I will spend the days eating chicken soup with cumin and cayenne and drinking hot mulled cider. At night, when I desperately need my sleep, I will take a decongestant, but will make sure I don't take any of those multi-indication concoctions to treat symptoms I do not have.

Spare the Nyquil, save the world.


Savings:

During the course of the winter, I'll get sick probably five times (I have two snot-nosed toddlers -- be amazed that I'm not perpetually ill).

Each cold would normally have me popping two multi-symptom pills every six hours and a cold generally lasts about a week. So, that's 56 pills I would normally take, each containing a minimum of three separate active ingredients, for a total of 168 individual ingredient doses. Instead, I'll be taking a maximum of 14 decongestant-only pills, plus about 20 Tylenol.

So, to extrapolate a bit further, during the course of my five illnesses, I'll be saving 670 individual chemical doses. Wow. That stuff really adds up!


Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

Impossible? No. Pleasant? Not exactly. But you know, sometimes getting sick is a sign from your body that you need to slow down and take it easy. Rather than drugging up and trying to plow through my days as I normally would, I'll focus on getting well and just let the laundry pile up.

Day 103 - Scrub-A-Dub-Dub

Swapping Out the Kids' Babywash

I try to minimize the amount of chemicals my children are exposed to, at least within my own home. I no longer use bleach, harsh cleaning supplies or air fresheners because they contain some pretty nasty polypetrowhatnots. However, week after week, I continue to rub them down with such beauties as sodium trideceth sulfate, acrylates copolymer, polyquaternium-7, sodium benzoate and styrene/acrylates copolymer. Nothing like that clean baby smell, eh?

Starting this week, we are switching from Johnson & Johnson brand babywash to Burt's Bees wash. The ingredients are derived from natural sources, they do not test their products on animals and their bottle is made from 80% post-consumer content. Plus I gotta love an eco-friendly company that make going green easy on my brain and my pocketbook.


Savings:

We go through roughly six ounces of babywash every month, so a year's worth of J&J would be 72 ounces, or a little over a half gallon of stuff fish probably shouldn't be drinking.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Once again, I do have to post my beef with the fact that Kroger's doesn't put Burt's Bees babywash in the baby aisle with all the other washes. It has its own little ("little" being the operative word) display case hidden over by the pharmacy and the "crunchy granola" aisles. Is that really necessary? Wouldn't more people be likely to switch if the option were literally right in front of their noses?

Day Ninety-Five - Post-Compost Post

Making Changes To What I Compost

Do you remember that happy day last month when my Garden Gourmet Compost Unit arrived? I have been happily keeping a bucket o' scraps under my kitchen sink and filling it with coffee grounds, biodegradable straws, apple cores, and any other organic matter that we generate. The problem is, I haven't been as diligent as I should be and I've been sending a lot of stuff down the garbage disposal, assuming that it was a relatively benign thing to do.

But I stumbled across some interesting research that showed that using my garbage disposal is only marginally better than tossing food scraps in the trash. Egads! Here I thought I was so eco-conscious by putting organic matter down the drain and it turns out, eh, it's not really a big improvement.

The reason for this is that garbage disposals use high volumes of water, at the sink and at the sewage treatment plant. Sewage with a high organic content also has a higher Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), a measurement that gauges how many chemicals are needed to clean the sewage before it is expelled from the plant into free-running bodies of water.

So I have learned that being lazy about my food scraps gobbles up copious amounts of precious water resources AND adds more chemicals to our water system in the name of "clean" water. I simply cannot have that on my conscience. From here on out I will become a scrap Nazi. Here's the order for food disposal: People, Dog, Compost, Over the Fence (what the hell, if I can do it with 10 pounds of dog crap each week, I'm sure an occasional chicken bone won't be noticed), Disposal. That's right -- disposal is now the absolute last resort for food scraps and I have decided to never again toss food scraps into the landfill. Dammit.


Savings:

I would guess that I send about 1.5 cups worth of organic waste down the drain per day. Over the course of a year, that adds up to 547 cups of food waste that has to be treated with chemicals and diluted with more water.

Geez, I wonder if that would feed a starving family somewhere. I bet it would. Good grief, are we a wasteful society or what? Maybe I should concentrate more on reducing that waste. Well, one change a day... maybe that can be tomorrow's challenge.


Difficulty Level: 4 out of 5

Yes, folks, I truly am a Lazy American. The added burden of properly picking up and disposing of bloated goldfish crackers and unwanted french fries earns itself a 4 on my difficulty scale. And yet, I pay money to belong to a gym where I can go specifically to NOT be lazy. Sometimes, even I don't understand me.

Day Eighty-Nine - A Polished Look

Skipping the Manicure and Going Au Naturale

You've heard me bitch about my pasty-white, rosacea-covered skin and my 1980's Kristie McNichol hairdo. I'm sure I've also complained about my nearly-invisible eyebrow & eyelash set and the extra 20 pounds I carry around. But one thing you'll never hear me whine about are my nails. They are one of the few parts of my body that I actually like.

They are strong, nicely shaped and feminine. Everything I wish the rest of me was. And one of my favorite treats in the world is to get a manicure. And now that the kids are in preschool and I have four hours all to myself each week, I'd love nothing more than to go get pampered with a french manicure ever other week. I thought about this long and hard the other day while waiting to pick up the kids and enviously ogling all the other moms' pretty little pink digits. *sigh* But I've decided I won't.

According to an article published by Earth Talk, "Conventional nail polishes dispensed at most drugstores and nail salons contain a veritable witch's brew of chemicals, including toluene, which has been linked to a wide range of health issues from simple headaches and eye, ear, nose and throat irritation to nervous system disorders and damage to the liver and kidneys.

Another common yet toxic ingredient in conventional nail polish is a chemical plasticizer known as dibutyl phthalate (DBP). According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research and advocacy organization that campaigns to educate consumers about the health risks of cosmetics, studies have linked DBP to underdeveloped genitals and other reproductive system problems in newborn boys.

As such, DBP is banned from cosmetics in the European Union but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has taken no such action, even though a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found DBP and other toxic phthalates in the bloodstreams of every person they tested. Further, five percent of women tested who were of childbearing age (ages 20-40) had up to 45 times more of the chemicals in their bodies than researchers had expected to find."

And so, as with my makeup quandry, I am left wondering what awful, detrimental effects the production of nail polish and polish remover have on the environment. After all, what is bad for the body is generally bad for the Earth (and vice versa). And so, I will be skipping the salon manicure in favor of a more natural look.


Savings

At one polish change every other week, I'd easily go through a bottle of the toxic cocktail in a year... and a bottle of acetate remover as well. Imagine if I had pedicures too! I'm also saving all that money I would have otherwise spent at the salon!



Difficulty Level 1 out of 5

Not difficult, just a small bummer. Oh well, maybe I'll take that saved money and get a REAL haircut... something to at least bring me into this millenium.

Day Eighty-Eight - Shower Me With Love

Replace My Old PVC Shower Curtain With a Cloth Curtain

OK, I think I may have mentioned before that I'm not the best housekeeper in the world. In fact, I might very well be the worst, or at least really, really low on the list. This tends to result in the unintended creation of a virtual playground for mold and mildew, at least in my shower. Now I'm no scientist, but you would think if we had figured out a way to turn black oil into a shiny white sheet of plastic with grommets on top, that we'd be able to mildew-proof it as well. Apparently not. So I'm left with a really gross shower curtain that looks like it's getting its grown up Dalmatian spots.

I tried scrubbing the thing with my eco-friendly cleaning products, but the little spores just laughed at me and ripped the scrubber out of my hands. So, with a heavy heart, I removed the plastic sheet of doom, wadded it up and placed it in the trash (where its volume DOUBLED my trash output for the week) *sigh*.

And I cringe when I tell you this, but this is our third shower curtain this year. That's right, our bath is so teeny-tiny that the all that steam from hubby's long, hot showers just stagnates in there (he doesn't use the fan) and really accelerates the mold growth. Up until now, I have been replacing the curtain every quarter, like the changing of the seasons.

To make matters worse, I have always purchased the standard, cheap PVC curtains for our shower but never knew that PVC is the WORST kind of plastic, both for the environment and for your health. It is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems. Not something you want hanging around your house.

But the news is not all bad -- I have found a PVC-free, machine-washable alternative to the shower curtain dilemma! Right at Target, no less! That's right, it's a polyester (yes, I know where polyester comes from) fabric that is machine washable and 100% PVC-free! No nasty pool-liner smell from the off-gassing. No leeching of phthalates in the house or in a landfill. Plus, since it's machine washable, I won't have to throw it out when it gets all gross!

If you check online, you can find even more alternatives, like organic cotton curtains and hemp ones, but I had already tossed out our old curtain, so I needed something in a hurry. Once again, failing to plan....


Savings

Four PVC shower curtains per year, plus the little plastic bag they are packaged in. All in all, that's 17.28 ounces of plastic for each curtain, a total of 69 ounces of "poison plastic" per year. I'm glad to have it out of my house.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

It was actually easier to put up the soft fabric curtain, because it unfolds the way a curtain should. You don't have to fight with it to make it be flat. And I know that throwing it in the wash will be so much easier than trying to scrub it while it's hanging in the shower.

Day Seventy-Seven - Makeup Exam

Re-evaluating The Products I Put on My Face

OK, I know that yesterday I said I was going to stay on the topic of water conservation, but I have the attention span of a gnat and something has since trasnpired that I feel the need to blog about. This week, I broke my compact, again, and went shopping. With the fall weather in the air, I was feeling all renewed and thought I'd replace my soft pink, at-the-beach lipstick with a darker, I'm-in-the-mood-for-a-pumpkin-latte shade. So off to Target I went....

I checked out the different colors Neutrogena offered, since I recently started using their face bar in my toned-down morning routine and really like that product. Being blessed with mayonnaise-white Irish skin, I thought maybe a darker shade would make me look less Casper-like. So I tossed my new "Ruby Bliss" in the cart and checked out, happy with my purchase.

The next day I was excited to see how the new 'stick looked and slapped some on in the morning before taking the kids to preschool. I got an interesting "tingling" sensation when I applied it, but didn't give it too much thought. By noon, my lips were very chapped and had a puffy look to them. Not a pouty, "hey, you look like Angeline Jolie" look; more of a "perhaps you should seek medical attention" look. When I got home, I checked the ingredients on my Ruby Bliss. Here they are:

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 7.5%, Titanium Dioxide 1.1%

Inactive Ingredients: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Phenyl Trimethicone, Petrolatum, Polyester-4, Polyethylene, Caregin, C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters, Carnuba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax, Menthyl Lactate, Stearoylinulin, Flavor, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, BHT, Sodium Saccharin, Alumina, Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-2, Triisostearate, Methylparaben.

May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Red 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 36, Red 33 Lake, Red 27 lake, Red 20 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Red 30.


Ahhh, nothing like a litle Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2 to make a gal feel sexy. I feel pretty, oh so pretty...

I guess I could start with the fact that petrolatum has already been banned by the European Union for use in cosmetics. I could also tell you that studies have shown polyethylene can cause abnormalities in the brain development of mice. Maybe then I could then mention that a large number of those other poly-named chemicals are petroleum-based. OK, let's stop now, before it gets really scary.

Now, I'm not one of those people who is afraid to get any chemicals on myself, for fear of poisoning my body. I'm sure I did a fine job of poisoning it when I voluntarily smoked cigarettes for fifteen years. But come on, I put this shit on my face! Right on my big, fat lips! I probably end up swallowing most of it, unless I spend the day kissing hubby and kids, in which case, I'm getting it all over them! Ugh. Is nothing sacred anymore?

And then I got to thinking, as I tend to do these days, about what kind of impact the makeup industry has on our environment. I guess my concern is, what kind of waste is generated at the lipstick factory where Dr. Jekyll is concocting the latest batch of Ruby Bliss? How much of these fun chemicals end up as waste - in our landfills, or, worse yet, in our water? Is there some poor lobster out there who now is suffering from chapped, puffy lips, just so us ladies can look purdy? Do lobsters even have lips?

Fortunately for me and my white-as-bedsheet, rosacea-riddled skin, there are alternatives. Due to an increase in demand, a number of environmentally friendly cosmetic companies are popping up. These companies use all-natural, organic compounds in there formulas and, as an added bonus, most do not test their formulas on animals - and none of them test on lobsters.

Unfortunately, my budget does not allow me to run out and replace all of my cosmetics right this very minute. However, as I run out of each item, I will be replacing it with an all-natural alternative. Hopefully by then, the swelling will be down....


Savings:

I'll eliminate the demand I would otherwise create for chemical-infused-poly-techno-carcinogenriffic-face-paint and instead use my dollar to vote for the more ecologically friendly products. Who knows, maybe all-natural makeup is just what I need to eliminate the rosacea? Only time will tell.


Difficulty Level 2 out of 5

Most of these products are not currently found on the shelves of CVS and Target, so I will need to buy them online. Not a big deal for me, though, as I'm a big fan of online shopping. :-) The only downside is that it's difficult to get an accurate representation of color on a computer screen, so selecting the right shade might be hit or miss. I will definitely update you all on how this works out! Would also LOVE to hear from any of you who use these eco-products.

Day Sixty-Seven - Clearing the Air

Giving Up All My Plug-In Air Fresheners

OK, for those of you who don't know, I have a husband, two toddlers (one still in diapers and one with poor aim), a dog, a compost pail, stinky feet and have recently adopted "To Hell With Personal Hygiene Day". If ever there has been a house worthy of air-freshening, it is mine. However, I've been doing some research on the ubiquitous plug-in air freshener and now I think I smell a rat.

Turns out my little light-up frangrance wafters aren't as benign as I thought. They use an interesting mix of chemicals that work in one of the following four ways:

1. By interfering with your ability to smell by way of a nerve-deadening agent
2. By coating your nasal passages with an undetectable oil film
3. By covering up one smell with another
4. By breaking down the offensive odor

The fun chemicals used to accomplish this task include some old favorites including:

• FORMALDEHYDE - A suspected carcinogen and a strong irritant to the eyes, throat, skin and lungs
• PETROLEUM DISTILLATES - Irritates skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause fatal pulmonary edema; flammable
• P-DICHLOROBENZENE - Vapor irritating to skin, eyes and throat, causes liver damage in animal studies
• AEROSOL PROPELLANTS - Either associated with brain damage or highly flammable

Wow, and I use this stuff to make my house feel more "homey"? Ugh. I have Freecycled all my air fresheners (how the heck did I ever end up with FIFTEEN of those things anyhow?) and am now using baking soda boxes, candles and -- God forbid -- CLEANING (using natural products, of course!).

Savings:

Any time I reduce the chemical load in my home, I also reduce the chemical load in my environment. Those chemicals float around the house and then float right outside. Plus I'm saving all the plastic of the plug-ins, the electricity, the packaging and the transport. Lots of good savings. The candles I use to replace them are made here in the USA, are packaged in a recyclable glass container, the wicks are lead-free and they smell DELICIOUS. The only drawback is that they seem to make me eat more (sure, blame the candles....)

Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Another easy change to make. Out with the old and in with the new. I just need to be careful when using the candles while the little ones are running around.

Day Fifteen - A Lean, Green Cleaning Machine

Switching from chemical-filled cleaners to natural cleaners

Let me start by saying my house is FAR from the cleanest place on the block. The floors are covered with sticky lollipop residue and my dining room chairs look like they're wearing fuzzy slippers from all the dog fur that is glued to their feet. The toilets are constantly in need of scrubbing (did I mention I have a four-year-old son with bad aim?) and the mold growing in our shower has given the stall an art-deco, faux leopardskin, polka-dot kind of feel. I've dusted the house seven or eight times since we moved in and have somehow not yet gotten around to mopping the floors upstairs. Nonetheless, I sport a substantial collection of chemically-engineered cleaning products that promise to keep my home shiny and fresh.

Reading the labels on these containers would require a degree not only in chemistry but linguistics as well. I'm not sure exactly what dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride is, but I'm pretty sure it isn't something that is found naturally occuring outside a laboratory. Plus, you've got to be somewhat concerned with any container that has WARNING written all over it and SAFE STORAGE AND DISPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS. Yikes.

According to worldwatch.org, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2000, accounting for 206,636 calls. Of these, nearly two-thirds involved children under six, who can swallow or spill cleaners stored or left open inside the home.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside the typical home is on average 2-5 times more polluted than the air just outside—and in extreme cases 100 times more contaminated—largely because of household cleaners and pesticides.

And, in a 2002 U.S. Geological Survey study of contaminants in U.S. stream water, 69 percent of streams sampled contained persistent detergent metabolites, and 66 percent contained disinfectants.

Well, I've found a better way (and so have a lot of other people out there). I'm sure old timers will laugh when I talk about these revolutionary new cleaning products that include the likes of: white vinegar, borax, baking soda, lemon juice, soap and tea tree oil. Here are a few of the great new "recipes" I found online and am anxious to try out....

CREAMY SOFT SCRUBBER

Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.

WINDOW CLEANER

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups waterspray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand.

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER
1/2 tsp. washing soda
a dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

MOLD KILLER

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.

I don't know if my house will be cleaner or not, afterall, I didn't find a recipe for a solution that will rub, scrub or squegee itself off. But if YOU find one, drop me a line!

Savings:

OK, here's the real embarrassing part. I'm wracking my brain trying to remember the last time I actually purchased a cleaning product. I *think* it was in October of 2006. So.... I guess, for me personally, it's not going to be a HUGE impact. But maybe for someone who keeps a cleaner home it would be. I sould say then, that I'm reducing my household chemical output by a whopping 12 ounces. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But what if just 10% of Americans (the ones who clean as infrequently as I do) did the same? Then we'd be looking at a savings of 22,585,496 POUNDS of chemicals. Care to join me now?

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

I'm going to have to hunt around my grocery store to find out where they keep the borax and vinegar (who buys vinegar unless it's Easter anyhow?). Then I'll just replace my cleaning caddy items as they get used up. Not too hard, not too easy. I'll probably test out the recipes and when I find one I like, I'll tape it to my caddy for easy reference. The hard part will be actually cleaning the house.