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.
Stumble it!
Just a quick post (for now)…
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