Confessions of (seemingly) Green Mama

[kayte]

Okay.. our house is rid of unnecessary plastics; no yucky chemicals in shampoos, lotions, hand soaps; our kitchen full of organic and where possible local foods and leftovers stored in glass; toy shelves full with handmade or responsibly manufactured toys; CFL's in every light socket; a compost bin and organic veggie garden in our back yard; a hybrid in our garage with a stash of reusable bags in the trunk; even toothbrushes made from recycled yogurt containers in our bathroom; we make less than one bag a trash a week (for a family of three) and fill our recycling tub; heck, my daughter has a dress I made from a 70's tablecloth! Reduce, reuse, recycle is our mantra...

But, alas, I put phosphates in our water system everyday because I can't get rid of my dependency on CASCADE. I have tried. I have tried every greener option I can get my hands on, with rinses, without rinses and none of them have worked. I have tried. I have failed.

SO tell me I am not alone. What can't you give up?

[DrSally]

I haven't tried this yet, but I've heard good things about the Costco "environmentally friendly" dishwasher soap.

I'm way behind you though. I'm still working on gradually doing more of what you are. Kudos to you for producing so little garbage.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Paper towels are my very guilty addiction. I am crappy enough w/ keeping up with laundry that I just haven't been able to get into the rag thing. I have this rule that I can't wash them with my other clothes so they keep getting bumped off the priority list. So, I use paper towels.

Beth

[citymama]

Have you tried Trader Joes' dishwasher soap? We really love it and wouldn't trade it for Cascade or any other.

I am also guilty of using more paper towels than necessary. Thanks for the reminder as I would like to try and conserve more!

ETA how can i forget my biggest enviro vice - disposable diapers! argh!

[kayte]

Have you tried Trader Joes' dishwasher soap? We really love it and wouldn't trade it for Cascade or any other.


We don't have a Trader Joe's, sigh.. Anyone know who makes it for them?

We don't have Costco membership, but a close friend does, I will have to try and give that a go...

[jgenie]

Paper towels are my very guilty addiction. I am crappy enough w/ keeping up with laundry that I just haven't been able to get into the rag thing. I have this rule that I can't wash them with my other clothes so they keep getting bumped off the priority list. So, I use paper towels.

Beth
I keep a pop up basket under my sink to collect dirty kitchen towels, bibs, and cloth baby wipes (bought new - only used to clean DS' hands and face after eating). I have enough kitchen towels, bibs, and cloth wipes that I only wash kitchen linens once a week. This has greatly reduced the number of paper towels we use.

[maestramommy]

Trader Joes dishwasher soap doesn't seem to work with our well water, so we use Cascade.

I use Charlie's Soap for all of our laundry except cloth dipes. For that I have to use Tide HE for a week here and there. Actually it works so well I may end up using it for dipes permanently.

I use Merlin's magic for cleaning, but I have to add a little bleach for wiping down the toilets. Otherwise it just SMELLS.

We have never gotten rid of paper towels. Or paper napkins. Just too convenient right now. We have rags for cleaning and wiping, but for the occasional thing, paper towels rock.

[sste]

We use alot of "Cal-ben." Available online, shipping charges are pretty steep but the product itself is well-priced. I use it for laundry and like it. I have the dishwashing powder on hand but haven't tried it yet.

[Raidra]

You're way ahead of us, but the one thing I could never give up is Lysol wipes for the bathroom (oh, and I use Comet in the bathtub). I have this thing about bathroom germs.. gak.

[MommyAllison]

We used to use Electrasol tabs, but our county banned the sale of phosphate dishwasher detergents, so now we use ecover tabs, and honestly they work just the same for us - our dishwasher is brand new though.

For us, we have a lot of confessions - paper napkins, some paper towels, Tide laundry detergent...and much more than 1 bag of trash a week! We went down to the smallest garbage can our city offers, but it's stuffed to the brim every week...

[brittone2]

Have you tried the Ecover tabs? THey work well in my cheapy dishwasher (old, builder grade). They were highly rated in Consumer Reports too.

That said, we sometimes pick up Electrosol when it is on super sale at Costco (I think that's my last non earth friendly cleaning product too LOL). I've been weaning myself off of it though :) I also just picked up the Costco eco friendly dishwasher powder to try (at least w/ Costco, can always return if it doesn't work out). Mostly because sometimes the Electrosol is so cheap, but we certainly like and use Ecover. If I run out of Ecover, I pick up Electrosol from time to time. Hopefully the Costco one will work out.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I keep a pop up basket under my sink to collect dirty kitchen towels, bibs, and cloth baby wipes (bought new - only used to clean DS' hands and face after eating). I have enough kitchen towels, bibs, and cloth wipes that I only wash kitchen linens once a week. This has greatly reduced the number of paper towels we use.

But don't they get mildewy and nasty? That has happened to me before.

Beth

[brittone2]

But don't they get mildewy and nasty? That has happened to me before.

Beth

Not the orignal poster of that idea, but we do the same and don't have a problem. I end up washing the rags every few days so even in the south, I haven't had them get mildewy or gross. Ring out well first, obviously. I toss mine in a dishpan in the laundry room or under the sink.

[jenjunum]

I want to 3rd or 4th ecover tabs. They are wonderful. Better than any other dishwasher detergent I've used. I just bought some electrosol "finish" tabs because they were cheap and they aren't even close to as good. Going back to ecover and never looking back.

I've got to cut down on paper towels too. Maybe I'll just stop cold turkey. It get's pretty expensive too.

[pastrygirl]

Another Ecover tablet fan here! I switched from Electrosol tablets several months ago and never noticed a difference.

[pastrygirl]

But don't they get mildewy and nasty? That has happened to me before.I hand mine to dry from the faucet or dishwasher handle before I put them in a bin. I wash my kitchen linens/rags once every two weeks -- but I change them out daily if not more than once a day. Problem is, I still use paper napkins for myself even though I use cloth wipes for my son. I barely even need a napkin when eating, so I should just use his wipes, too. Never thought of that!

I also still use paper towels for cleaning the counter surfaces and stove (with my homemade cleaner :)). I should use my kitchen towels for that, too. If you do this, do you keep a separate towel stash for gunky cleaning like that vs. drying dishes and hands?

[Ceepa]

I love my paper towels. If there is something gross that needs wiping I tear off a sheet or more and don't think twice.

I like the idea of cloth diapers but DH and I never gave them too much thought when it came down to it and were content to use disposable for years. Still would.

[jgenie]

But don't they get mildewy and nasty? That has happened to me before.

Beth

I make sure they are dry before they go in the bin - I hang them around the kitchen at night and toss them in the bin in the morning.


I should use my kitchen towels for that, too. If you do this, do you keep a separate towel stash for gunky cleaning like that vs. drying dishes and hands?

I don't keep a separate stash. I figure if I'm comfortable using it in the kitchen then I'm ok with it being on my towels. I always pull out a clean towel to dry dishes especially if DH is around - he'll wipe up a spill and then try to dry dishes w/ the same towel.

[Joolsplus2]

I've run out of papertowels...now that the dog and the baby are both housetrained I don't feel I neeeeed them anymore :p
Are microfiber towels green enough? I have some higher quality, non-linty ones I adore...a dozen of those for big messies (and they are excellent for cleaning counters and the stove with a dilute spray of Charlies APC), and a random assortment of cotton ones all get shoved in a bigger kitchen drawer. And two dozen cotton napkins get shoved in a smaller drawer. I can grab one of those to dry my hands and face and drop it in the pop up hamper so no one else gets my face germs on their hands...it's really as easy as a paper towel. I hang the wet towels on the edge of the hamper to dry, drop the dry-er ones in, and haven't had a mold problem except for one we napkin dh dropped in, it's got lovely mildew art on it :wink2: I probably wash kitchen towels once or twice a week on average. It's just SO easy to have the towel hamper on the counter in the laundry room right next to the kitchen, so I can't take too much credit for going to any extra effort, I'm just sick to death of spending money and transporting paper towels from the store :wink2:

And, um, yeah, long harangue over... I can't give up my Cascade, either :ROTFLMAO:

(PS, I've learned to live with my CFL flood lights, do some moderate recycling, don't drive a lot... would have a chicken coop and a clothesline if my HOA would allow it... I'm not terribly green, but compared to my energy-guzzling neighbors, I'm a saint :loveeyes:)

[Laurel]

ITA, Cascade. Cascade is the one thing I can't find a green option for.

[wellyes]

I used to use Cascade, but my 7th Gen powder is ridiculously better for us & our hard water. Went from having a tinge of limescale on the glasses every time to having actual clean dishes after running the dishwasher.

My (seemingly) Green mom confession is that while I wash the house with vinegar and baking soda, my twice-a-month cleaning lady uses Clorox Clean-Up and SoftScrub. It's dumb, I use the non-toxic stuff for the sake of the baby, but I also like that the professional cleaner uses the "real" stuff for disinfecting. Those two things both should not be true but they are.

[alirebco]

Ditto the ecover tabs - I can't tell a difference and we were using cascade before.

[purpleeyes]

Oh, I'm glad someone posted this-I often wonder what other people refuse to give up. ;)

I use scrubbing bubbles and clorox toilet bowl cleaner in the bathroom.

I will not give up Aveda hair products, Eucerine creams or some of my makeup brands.

I bet there are more, but those I am firm about! :)

[belovedgandp]

Clorox wipes for cleaning the toilet. A gross job I hate, especially with potty training boys, and they make it tolerable.

Otherwise, we're making strides. I try to pick a mini-project every 4-6 months, so we've been gradually changing around here over the past 5 years.

[newg]

I have a question for those green mammas who don't use paper towels.....what do you do about germy messes like raw chicken water or raw meat...? I just can't give up my paper towels for that very reason.....I like being able to spray those harmful germy messes with my clorox kitchen spray and then whipe it away with a towel and throw that towel away.....I think it would just freak me out if I used a cloth towel to wipe up a chicken mess and then tossed it in a bin with other towels.

I guess I'm taking baby steps......I use dish towels when possible, method brand products when possible, reusable shopping bags....we recycle everything we are allowed to...and will be starting a garden this spring........
But I guess after reading all your posts I still have a long way to go!!!
Great job ladies!!!

[Melaine]

I have a question for those green mammas who don't use paper towels.....what do you do about germy messes like raw chicken water or raw meat...? I just can't give up my paper towels for that very reason.....

:yeahthat: I'd also like to hear how you handle that. I try to reach for the paper towels less often, but the thought of going cold turkey freaks me out!

[brittone2]

I wipe the chicken or whatever up with a towel and vinegar spray. We have tons of towels, ranging from tiny washcloth size to big ones, depending on what we're cleaning up. I toss them in the washer every few days, cold rinse and then a hot wash with soap. Sometimes I add a little vinegar to the load. I don't touch it once it is wiped up and in the bin, and it isn't going anywhere once it is in the bin. I just dump the whole dishpan of towels into the washer. No biggie for me, honestly. We're still alive years after switching to cloth only ;) I swish out the dishpan with vinegar and water every few days.

Eta: weirdo that I am, I'd be more weirded out by the Clorox kitchen spray, personally. ;)

[newg]

Okay...that makes me feel a little better! The only clorox spray I'm using is that one for sanitizing all surfaces (white bottle w/blue writing)...and I only use it when cleaning up a potential bacteria infested mess (or dd's highchair every few days)

I like the idea of using rags in the kitchen....I use them elsewhere to clean up messes, so transferring over to the kitchen shouldn't be that hard I guess.....I think it's more of a storage thing.....we have a very tiny kitchen and space is limited....so pots/pans/food take priority for space.......
Hopefully in our next house I'll be able to use more rags.

I also like the idea of using cloth napkins....I have an aunt who does this.....just has a big basket of mis matched napkins for people to use for whatever.......I think I'm going to start looking at garage sales for cloth napkins to use instead of paper napkins.....

sorry, now I"m just rambling to myself through the keyboard.....I think this is a sign I need to put the computer away and go to bed!!

[rgors]

I have a question for those green mammas who don't use paper towels.....what do you do about germy messes like raw chicken water or raw meat...? I just can't give up my paper towels for that very reason....

We are all cloth towels EXCEPT for raw chicken, draining bacon/sausage, etc. You actually should continue to use paper towels for those. I know some people do wipe that stuff up with a cloth towel and then throw it in the laundry, but doing some research on clothes washers will show you that no clothes washer can truly remove 100% of the grease. Some of the grease can potentially, over the long run, transfer to other clothing/fabrics and leave smears. (A "clean" cycle of your washer, throwing vinegar into it, *should* solve that issue... but I would rather avoid the problem in the first place.)

Some washer warranties are actually clearly voided by using them to clean greasy fabrics. Just check it, before you decide to throw chicken slime or bacon fat in your machine. :)

To the OP, Ecover Tablets or Biokleen Powder are the best green dishwashing detergent. I tried a 2lb jar of Biokleen Powder and was so impressed that I bought a bulk 50lb box and split it with a friend! (powder is cheaper than tablets and requires less packaging than tablets so I "wanted" to like the Biokleen -- and was glad I did.)

Everyone is talking about their detergents and their dishwashers but a VERY important factor in all of this is how hard or soft your water is. If you have hard water, you will need to use the recommended amt of detergent, and rinse aid, AND probably need to find a way to soften it up (check your dishwasher manual -- a few have water softening features/options). Once your water is softer in your dishwasher, you'll find that a lot of detergents will work better. I have heard of some people throwing a tablespoon of Borax (20 mule team) into the dishwasher when they run a load, because Borax is a natural water softener -- or at least so I hear. I have never tried it.

Soft water places have it lucky -- you can use only about half of the recommended amt of dishwashing detergent, rinse aid could even be optional, and the result is still lovely clean no-film dishes and glasses. :)

And finally -- it is usually important to have hot water for the detergents to work as designed and tested. You could run your faucet for a minute to get the hot water flowing first, then run your DW (save the water in a bucket for ultimate greenness :)). Else the first couple cycles of washing will be cold water and basically a waste.

HTH. I've done a lot of research on dishwashers in the last few years :)

[kayte]

I wanted to post again, lest you think we are the perfect green family, we do realize we have a lot of things to change besides our dishwashing detergent. I have a little notebook with a list things we want to accomplish and change. I also realize we can only do them one at a time, if we want the changes to stick.

I want to get better about clothes-- our fabric choices and the companies that produce them. Just last night I ran to Target to buy a shirt to wear to a birthday party. At 8.99 I know it wasn't produced with the earth in mind. (Target in general is a weakness but I am getting better about having a dialogue in my head before I make a purchase)

All of DD's clothes are hand-me-down --we are so lucky. My niece was the only grand-daughter in the family before DD came along and she was showered with clothes. (so many clothes that many come to us with the tags still on) Each season I only buy DD pjs, shoes, undies and socks. So we can afford to make better choices with what I buy for her.

I have found that the best way to ease into a new green routine is to just go cold turkey. Several years ago I went out an bought 12 white fabric napkins from WS. And I never bought another paper one. It's so much easier if you don't have a choice of anything else. And once you do it for a few weeks you realize it's not hard.

I think it's so important to forgive yourself for taking steps too--the end result is what is important. And every little bit helps. Last year we had a garden --with seeds bought at Lowes and Home Depot. Then I read Animals, Vegetable, Miracle and learned about how seeds are handled in this country. I didn't beat myself up over the first garden , just decided to do better next time. So this year's garden is seeded from Seeds of Change-- and I have learned how to save seeds from our plants to plant next year myself. And because I talked two friend into sharing an order I spent less than $10 for seeds. And we are growing LOTS of plants.

I want to get better about finding resources to recycle hard to reuse items that I don't want in a landfill. Electronics recycling has gotten so much easier in the last few years--but there are still things like worn-out shoes (though Nike does take athletic shoes without metal parts to make playground materials) and the like. I know resources are out there--and the pool is growing--they are just often hard to find. And my local resale shop is getting better about sourcing these things too.

My list of improvements to do goes on and on---use my (illegal) clothes line more than I do, get a rain cistern(DH's idea), replace the carpet in the three rooms where we still have it, organic mattresses, etc....


We are all cloth towels EXCEPT for raw chicken, draining bacon/sausage, etc.

This is what we do. We still have a roll of paper towels in our house--but it lasts about 6-7 months. And to head off temptation to grab a sheet instead of heading to get some clean towels from the dryer half way across the house when those are out--- we keep them under the kitchen sink in a tot-locked cabinet. Just that second you have to stop to get the key is enough to trigger the thought to go get the towels.

I am off to get some eclover tabs and try the warm water trick with a little borax--thanks for the suggestions and the tips!

And we are NOT giving up toilet paper--more power to the families that do... but that is one thing I am NOT budging on!

[brittone2]

Just back to add, no I would not drain bacon grease on real hand towels. Keep a single roll of paper towels stashed for that (in an inconvenient place so you won't be tempted to keep using them). That's what we do. And the roll lasts us forever as a result. I can't think of anything else I use them for. But I personally am okay w/ wiping up chicken grossness off the counter w/ cloth, because I usually spray or wipe vinegar on to disinfect anyway (and I'd be doing the same w/ paper towels).

[daisymommy]

Have you tried Ecover tabs? I think they're fabulous! And I fill my rinse dispenser with white vinegar. My dishes look the same as when I was using Cascade and Jet Dry.

As for my guilty little pleasure? My hair products. I can't find anything that works with my naturally curly hair. Sigh. I really want to make the switch, but I have a grave yard of natural products I've tried, that have failed.

[pastrygirl]

As for my guilty little pleasure? My hair products. I can't find anything that works with my naturally curly hair. Sigh. I really want to make the switch, but I have a grave yard of natural products I've tried, that have failed.Have you checked out the www.naturallycurly.com forums? This is what started me on the whole green thing, years ago. I wanted to eliminate SLS from my hair products, since it ruins curly hair. I discovered Jessicurl hair products, which are awesome. Then mineral makeup, then natural skin care... but it all started with my hair! Though... I do still use some non-green hair products, but they don't contain SLS or silicones.