By Heather Dunham •
February 12, 2009
Open any pregnancy or baby book, and you’ll find that list: the baby essentials, the things you absolutely cannot live without. While many accessories are easily recognized as frivolous, certain items are truly indispensable: the basic necessities for life with a baby.
Or are they?
In this weekly series, we’ll be looking at several baby essentials that really aren’t. They may be useful in certain situations, but if money or space is tight, or if you’re just looking to simplify and reduce consumerism and waste, here’s how to get along just fine without these so-called “essentials.“
In Part 1, we questioned the crib. Part 2 bemoaned the bucket. Part 3 scrutinized the stroller. Part 4 ditched the diapers. This week, let’s scrub the tub!
By Gennefer Snowfield •
November 14, 2008
With green living, homeopathy and natural alternatives growing in popularity, soap makers are springing up around the world, concocting magical creations of coconut and lime in gleaming, glycerin-infused goodness that cleanse the body, mind and soul.
Oh, and your hands too!
Growing up in my house, ‘handmade’ soap consisted of my mother gathering up all the remaining bits of bar soap from the shower and bathtubs, tossing them into a container with some water and shaking it up. “Voila, hand soap!” she would state proudly. But her objectives were to save money, not create a luxurious lather to soothe and soften the skin. And, trust me, an acrid amalgum of Dial and Irish Spring was anything but soothing!
But today’s handmade soaps are a beneficial blend of nourishing nutrients, rich with essential oils and alleviating aromatherapy that care for the skin and calm the senses. And because they’re chemical-free, they’re an eco-friendly alternative to their caustic counterparts, making them a great way to indulge yourself and the earth.
By Kelli Best-Oliver •
September 19, 2008
One of the smallest rooms in your house is also the easiest to green. But for many people, their bathroom is a sanctuary, a place they go to relax in a hot bath or shower. You might not want a spartan existence for this place. That doesn’t mean you can’t go green. You can make your bathroom eco-friendly without sacrificing luxury by knowing a few tricks and where to shop. Find out how, after the jump…
By Joel Bittle •
May 1, 2008
As I mentioned in my KBIS Report, I was struck by the sizes of bathtubs on display at this year’s kitchen and bath trade show. Though green was king thoughout most of the convention, companies that pitch themselves as catering to a luxury market seem to be sending the message that if you have enough money to waste water in giant bathtubs, then they’d be happy to sell you some, as if money absolves you of any kind of environmental responsibility.
It’s a hard statistic to nail down, but a person uses between fifty and seventy gallons of water each time he or she takes a bath. This number includes water wasted waiting for the desired temperature as well as hot water used to return the cooling water to the desired temperature. Compare that number to a five minute shower, which uses around twenty five gallons of water, possibly half that if the shower uses a flow restrictor. Clearly, if water conservation is the main goal, a quick shower is the answer, but let’s not throw out the bathtub with the bathwater just yet.
By Beth Bader •
January 29, 2008
No doubt as a parent you’ve witnessed some odd behavior from your toddler. Things like running naked after the cat brandishing salad tongs, eating miscellaneous crusty items off the kitchen floor (but refusing good food at dinner), and even drinking her own bathwater — in great big gulps, soap and all.
While I can take a reasonable guess at what was on the kitchen floor, the actual ingredients in that soapy water were a bit of a shock. An article from the Cox New Service published early in 2007 reported that up to 57 percent of all baby soaps may contain a suspected carcinogen, 1,4-dioxane.
By Victoria Everman •
November 15, 2007
Thanksgiving is only a week away, which means the gift-giving season is in full swing. To make your seasonal shopping easier and more sustainable, I’m bringing you a series of green online stores that offer a wide variety of eco-gifts that would make anyone on your list feel appreciated. The first offering in this series was Max and Zane and now, for my second installment, I bring you Organic Style.
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Oh yeah, you read the subject of this post correctly … shopping, eek. The holiday gift season usually begins the day after Thanksgiving, a day which I intentionally avoid doing any buying. This year, shops and merchants are breaking out the good stuff (and the good deals) right after Halloween to try and help jump-start the economy again.
