Every Time ... that you put bleach in your washing machine

... consider capturing some of the water that drains from the first rinse cycle and using it to wash your kitchen and bathroom floors and fixtures.

The first rinse contains very little dirt, and enough soap and bleach to clean and disinfect. Why send all those harmful chemicals down the drain, only to fill a bucket with more to clean floors, tiles, sinks, toilet?

(... and PLEASE use as little bleach as possible. It's deadly stuff to us and to marine life (all life, in fact). In our apartment we have a mold condition that I have never been able to clean up other than using chlorine bleach. And we do not purchase disposable sponges, but instead use squares ripped from old bathtowels to wash dishes, wipe down food prep surfaces, etc. Killing bacteria on these cloths is important. I have tried boiling them to disinfect but they just look so dirty and dingy with coffee & grease stains that anyone besides me would think I'm using filthy rags to wash dishes and wipe the cutting board. So I use perhaps 1/4 cup of bleach per week and then reuse some of it for surface cleaning)

Every Time ... that you purchase body soap -- or toothpaste, or shampoo!!

Every time you choose a product for your shower or bath or aprés-bain, consider whether it contains petroleum-derived ingredients (such as "mineral" oil, paraffin, petrolatum), and whether it is contained in a plastic jar or tube (also a product of the oil industry). Consider that liquid products such as "body wash" cost much more in carbon fuel emissions to ship, because of the weight of the water that is included, than do solid or powdered dry products.

In my quest to consume as few plastics as possible, in (of all places) my local Rite Aid drug store, I recently made a very happy discovery in "South of France" French-milled bar soap. (They also make glycerine soaps, and I will try one soon.) The soap is packaged in unprinted recyclable cardboard, and is olive oil and plant-derived glycerin based. No animal testing involved. The brand was almost sold out (not surprising at four bucks and change for two bars) so between the two scents left on the shelves I chose Lavender.

When I unwrapped the soap I remembered a hint about soap products that was taught to me by a facialist many years ago. Soaps have an alkline pH factor -- some stronger and some more neutral. To test whether the alkalinity of a soap is tolerable to your skin, give it a little lick -- if it "bites" it is too alkaline.

My South of France lavendar soap has NO bite. It is a lovely, gentle cleanser. So I decided to try it as toothpaste. And shampoo. It works great as a tooth and hair cleanser as well as a body and face wash. Just rub your toothbrush on the bar, or rub the bar itself on your wet hair (then splash on a little more water and lather up).

"South of France" soap is made not in France but in Greensboro, North Carolina. Check out their product line, but Every Time consider whether you really need to buy any of the stuff that comes in plastic bottles made from evil oil.

Follow-up on December 8, 2011:

Another great brand, though twice as expensive, is Dr. Bronner's bar soaps in great natural scents. The "plus" of Dr. Bronner's is that it is (1) organic and (2) most ingredients are Fair Trade.

Spill, Baby, Spill (LOOK IN THE MIRROR)

From this morning's NY Times:

The latest effort to contain the oil spill that has poured millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico encountered a setback 5,000 feet underwater, officials said Saturday, meaning oil will continue gushing into the ocean for at least several more days, and possibly months.

This will be the worst man-made environmental disaster of my lifetime. My prayer is that it is never exceeded in anyone's lifetime.

Poisoned water will spread into the Gulf Stream, up the Atlantic seaboard, across the ocean. We have mainlined an overdose.

This is so sad; when I think of marine life, of generations future, of the vanity, selfishness and greed of our human race ... my throat clamps up and my heart physically hurts.

The oil companies do not have bottom-line responsibility here; there would be no oil industry without our demand for petroleum products. Do not point at BP and Big Oil. Let's each of us, instead, look in the mirror and NOTICE OUR OWN ADDICTION ...

• every time we start up a fossil-fuel-fired engine.
  
• every time we place a small order on the internet and, like pathetically stupid royalty, have a truck burn fuel to deliver, for our convenience, a small box directly to our doorstep
  
• every time we order take-out food that arrives in plastic containers
  
• every time we purchase shampoo, hand cream, laundry soap, bottled water, children's toys, household items that are contained in plastic.
  
• every time we use a disposable plastic pen (or, worse, throw away a pen for which we could, instead, purchase a refill) or lighter.
  
• every time we purchase or don clothing made with polyester fiber
  

A quick web search for "petroleum-derived products" turns up this page from Ranken Energy Corporation, an oil exploration company. "A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)":

One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like...

Solvents	Diesel fuel	Motor Oil	Bearing Grease
Ink	Floor Wax	Ballpoint Pens	Football Cleats
Upholstery	Sweaters	Boats	Insecticides
Bicycle Tires	Sports Car Bodies	Nail Polish	Fishing lures
Dresses	Tires	Golf Bags	Perfumes
Cassettes	Dishwasher parts	Tool Boxes	Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet	Caulking	Petroleum Jelly	Transparent Tape
CD Player	Faucet Washers	Antiseptics	Clothesline
Curtains	Food Preservatives	Basketballs	Soap
Vitamin Capsules	Antihistamines	Purses	Shoes
Dashboards	Cortisone	Deodorant	Footballs
Putty	Dyes	Panty Hose	Refrigerant
Percolators	Life Jackets	Rubbing Alcohol	Linings
Skis	TV Cabinets	Shag Rugs	Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks	Car Battery Cases	Epoxy	Paint
Mops	Slacks	Insect Repellent	Oil Filters
Umbrellas	Yarn	Fertilizers	Hair Coloring
Roofing	Toilet Seats	Fishing Rods	Lipstick
Denture Adhesive	Linoleum	Ice Cube Trays	Synthetic Rubber
Speakers	Plastic Wood	Electric Blankets	Glycerin
Tennis Rackets	Rubber Cement	Fishing Boots	Dice

I suggest we shock ourselves about how Green we really are NOT compared to how Green we like to think we are, by studying this entire list.

I suggest that any one of us who does nothing to protest ocean-floor drilling has a barrel of spilled oil on our conscience.

And I suggest we look in the mirror, and assess our own role in using, and disposing, thoughtlessly and often needlessly, the products derived from oil drilling. Every time we use something. Every time we toss something in the trash. Daily. Every minute. Every time.

Every time ... Sweep before you Vacuum

If you sweep first you will then vacuum less. The benefits of implementing this tip are manifold:

Economic/Practical

• save money on vacuum bags, especially if you have furry animals around the house
  
• be more likely to notice and retrieve small items that have fallen to the floor

Health

• burn more calories
  
• subject your household members' nervous systems to less mechanical noise pollution

Green

• less bags used, therefore less energy and raw materials used to manufacture vacuum bags
  
• less energy used and pollution produced by shipping vacuum bags to stores
  
• less frequent (possibly carbon-burning) trips to the store to get vacuum bags
  
• less electricity burned due to reduced vacuuming time
  
• less waste produced because less bags in the waste stream
  
• your vacuum will last longer, saving additional materials, energy and waste

Mental and Emotional Health

• rhythmic activity is beneficial and therapeutic
  
• sweeping (like many other household "chores") can be enjoyed as an interlude that lends itself well to calm planning, letting suppressed thoughts and emotions surface, meditation or free-wheeling thought

Metaphysical *

• the act of sweeping one's path in front of one physically aids in keeping one's path through life clean and clear on the astral plane, which is something only you can do for yourself and which one gets better at with practice **

* look for a post some day soon on my decision to include metaphysical observations, learning and personal experience and theory in this blog

** I was lucky to have a dream once in which I was crossing a plane of light, on foot, deliberately and patiently and meditatively sweeping just in front of myself before taking the next step. This 5-second dream was actually a huge vision for me.