Thursday, June 14, 2007

Is Ecover really best?

When I was on my detox diet I decided to buy some eco-friendly cleaning supplies. I thought that if I was detoxing then I should be aware not only the toxic stuff I digest, but also the stuff that I put in the air and in our clothes. I bought Ecover hand soap, dish soap, multi-purpose cleaner, and laundry detergent and fabric softener. I felt that the laundry stuff was the most important right now as it is what we put in our clothes and our clothes are on us always.

Anyways, I noticed that when I do the dishes or clean the bathroom I have to use twice as much soap or cleaner as I would with the other stuff to get the same results. So I am wondering if this stuff really is more earth-friendly. Will twice as much of the more 'friendly' chemicals do just as much damage as the 'non-friendly'?

I am also wondering how much our footprint will change when we move back to the States. Some things here are sort of forced or automatic. We do not have a car. We do not have a dryer. A lot of shops do not offer you bags or you may have to pay for them. One of our larger grocery stores offers 'points' if you bring in your own bags. And they certainly wont bag it for you! Our heating is hot water and I love that you can put it on a timer to just have it come on once or twice a day for an hour or so.

I know that when we go home we will be driving a lot more. It is just not as easy to walk places as it is here (or take the bus). I will probably still try to do some of my grocery shopping without a car, or try to pick things up on my way here or there. I plan to use my own bags. I am really used to that. I will probably get strange looks when I start to frantically pack my own bags. I'll have to get used to someone else doing it for me again. While I do miss having a dryer, I will probably just use the dryer on a lower setting for a shorter time and air dry the clothes the rest of the way (I am just tired of crunchy clothes, sometimes smelling of mould if they don't dry fast enough). I now have my 'woobie', my beloved hot water bottle. And I drink tea a LOT more, so I will utilise those methods of keeping warm rather than turning the heat up. We will see...

4 comments:

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

When you get back here I wonder if you'll like Seventh Generation or Method products. They are very inexpensive and I find that I use small amounts for them. I am looking forward to seeing you soon, too!

Steph

Life With All Boys said...

I'm with Steph. I love the Method products. GO TARGET!!!! Even my husband was really surprised at how well they work. Or should I say how much "better" they work.

Josh and Deliverance said...

OK! I will have to keep an eye out for those products!

ErinOrtlund said...

Yeah, things do change. We have a car now--but only one! I do have a dryer, but at least I realize now that it is optional, and when Will gets a bit older, I'll try to hang more stuff to dry. On the other hand, I have my own garden now, so that is better than buying produce that's been flown from other countries. So you just have to do the best you can wherever you are!