Over the weekend I participated in a community yard sale. We all had a great time selling our wares. But at the end, when I was packing up, deciding what to keep and what to donate, another woman who participated in the sale was bundling up all these nice clothes that didn’t sale. As she was doing that, I overheard her say to another that she was headed to the dumpster – yes, you read that right – DUMPSTER! Needless to say, I was horrified and immediately asked her permission to take the clothing to the Goodwill for her. But what I realized was that not everyone thinks like we do as I cannot imagine tossing any wearable clothing in the trash! It just drives home the consumer-driven, disposable society we live in. Individuals buy, buy, buy with no thought to whether they really need the item or not and when they are done with it, throw it away without a second thought. My point here is that we need to talk to others and spread the message of all of us doing our parts. It’s easy and oh so important. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!! No one should ever think that throwing usable clothing in the trash is a viable option!!!!

I was totally surprised to see the list of name brand products unwilling to disclose all chemical in their products. . .many of which I have in my home. This made me realize that it is time to take the leap and completely switch to all natural products. Although I already use vinegar & water to clean my hardwood floors, I do add a splash of Windex in there to add shine. But I do have a cabinet full of other cleaners like Murphy’s OIl and Cascade (the Cascade is almost gone, so I will probably finish that out before replacing it). but It’s really time that I made the total switch to Seventh Generation on all products. Pesticides and chemicals permeate our lives, not to mention our skin, and we would be foolish to believe they have no lasing affects on our health. I am curious as to what other products are out there that people have used or any other natural recipes that have been successful on common household problems.

And another question: If we decide to go all natural. . .how should we dispose of the cleaners already in our homes?