Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Inspired by others

Two of my regular blog reads (Dawn and Leigh - a new one to me) have recently written about positive changes they've made in their and their families' lives.

On Dawn's blog, she mentioned natural dish soaps and laundry soaps. I'd been wanting to switch from Joy dish soap to something more natural for a while now (especially after learning about the link between petroleum-based cleaning products and cancer [and more here]), but figured it would be too expensive or something and I never researched it. (I know, shame on me.) Dawn's post inspired me to check out prices on Seventh Generation dish soap (a vegetable-based product) and it's not that much more than what I was paying for Joy, so I got some this week and have been very happy with it so far. I feel better knowing the dishes, cups and utensils we eat and drink off of haven't been washed with chemicals and petroleum. When I stopped to think about it, it didn't make much sense to me that here I was, buying organic and free-range *to better our health) whenever possible, yet the things I was cooking with and we were eating off of could have chemical residue on them. I'm happy that it's a small change, with a good impact, that won't break the bank.

Also, I learned something interesting from Seventh Generation's web site (which is also printed on the dish soap bottle itself): "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 25 oz. bottle of petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our vegetable based product, we could save 118,700 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 6,800 U.S. homes for a year!" Amazing! Every little bit really does help make a difference. :)

And on Leigh's blog, she gave recipes for a variety of natural, inexpensive cleaning products, including one for making your own laundry soap, which I'd like to try in the near future. I've made glass, all-purpose and wood cleaners in the past, but never laundry soap. I'd like to try it, because for one reason, laundry soap is expensive. For two, I've been buying All Free and Clear which I'm sure isn't environmentally-friendly. And for three, I think I have soap build-up on my cloth diapers which is making them stink. Pee-eww. I'm a little daunted by the fact that the recipe makes 4 1/2 gallons of soap, but I think if I picked up some of those frosting tubs from the bakery at the grocery store, I'd have a good place to store it. Now I just need to figure out where to buy Fels Naptha soap and get motivated enough to just do it.

I commend both Dawn and Leigh for making positive changes for the health of their families and the earth. It's inspiring to read about others interested in doing what they can to make a difference. :)

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On an unrelated note, I've been extremely busy this week, which has been nice, but is why I haven't been blogging. I'm hoping to play catch up a bit tomorrow and fill you in on what we've been up to.

8 Comments:

At 8/02/2006 6:15 PM, Blogger Primal Mama said...

I love the 7th generation dish soap :)Glad you gave it a try too!

You should give charlies soap a try, its great for the diapers and well, every thing else too, I even put some in our carpet cleaner and shampood the carpets last week, worked great! They are so friendly and helpful when ya call too, its like talkin to an old friend, lol.

I thought I saw some of that Fels Naptha soap at the grocery store (maybe kings?) a while back, but it may have been something else, can't remember.

 
At 8/02/2006 7:04 PM, Blogger Ms. Doe said...

I love 7th Generation. I use it on my clothes. I didn't know they have it for the dishes too! Then again, I've never looked. That might be the next thing I try. I do use natural hair care (except for Head and Shoulders). I also tried natural toothpaste, but I don't think it made my breath feel fresh. I'm all about going natural, but I need fresh breath to work with the public. ;)

 
At 8/02/2006 9:13 PM, Blogger KleoPatra said...

Things to think about, to be sure. I'm a fan of Seventh Generation stuff as well. i try to go "earth friendly" as often as possible...

 
At 8/02/2006 10:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amy - good for you! I'm so proud to know (even if it's via the web we know as the intranet) crunchy goddesses like yourself who are willing to take a good, hard look at convention and challenge it. I'll have to switch dishsoaps as well!
Yes, I found Fels Naptha at my local grocery. In terms of storage: I used some empty laundry deteregent bottles and a empty (clean of course) huge kitty litter bottle to store mine. Seems to work well.
And thank you for the show of support. I really needed it today!
Love,
Leigh

 
At 8/03/2006 5:00 PM, Blogger Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

Dawn - I just might check out that Charlie's soap only because I'm starting to get tired with my pregnancy again and the idea of cooking up detergent isn't appealing to me right now. ;oP That's cool that it's so versatile.

Tiffiny - 7th Generation has some great stuff. We actually buy their disposable diapers when we choose to use sposies (for trips, etc.). They are pricey, but don't irritate Ava's bum (which is a problem we had w/ other sposies when she was little).
I use natural shampoo/conditioner and bath soap, but still use Crest toothpaste, though Ava uses Tom's of Maine. I hear ya on wanting "fresh" breath. ;)

Kleopatra - That doesn't surprise me about ya a bit. Good for you. :)

Leigh - Thank you. :) I like to give credit where credit is due. I think it's awesome that you made all of the changes that you have. It's hard to make big changes all at once, so I really think baby steps here and there is the way to go.
Not sure if I'm up for making the Fels Naptha soap now, but it's good to know the recipe is out there. And in the meantime, I do plan to get some natural laundry soap.

 
At 8/04/2006 11:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really like ECOS (http://www.ecos.com). I buy almost all of my cleaning/household products from them. They are earth friendly, non-toxic, not tested on animals, and vegan. Their Creamy Cleanser is great for soap scum on shower doors. I also really am impressed by their Every Day Stain and Odor Remover for carpet cleaning, Zainz for clothing stains, and Parsley Plus Kleener makes my kitchen smell so fresh for hours after I clean my countertops with it. Beware of their laundry soap though - they work great but don't get the Magnolia and Lilies Formula (the smell from the bottle is gagging - although once your clothes are washed, the odor is pleasant).

 
At 8/04/2006 11:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh - the other cleaning products I like are Method. When I'm in a bind, I can pick these up at Target. Check out Method's website for more info (earth friendly, non-toxic, vegan, etc).

 
At 8/05/2006 10:53 PM, Blogger Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

Vivacious Vegan - Thanks so much for all of the great cleaning info. I'm going to chk out those websites. :)

 

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