Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Overly Sanitary vs. Saving The Planet


I am known to be one to watch television, quite a lot of television actually, and I actually quite like commercials (good ones anyways, and ones they don't play 1,000 times so they drive you crazy) and I started noticing a trend in commercials and new products on the market. well two trends actually the first being Green, of course. and the second being what I can only call "overly sanitary" from swiffer mops to dryer sheets... is it really necessary?


lets start with the big ones.


1. Swiffer Mops - Now I use a swiffer, I love it, its really clean and I have a thing to be able to see the dirt I've just removed, its like a sense of accomplishment or something - but at the same time you have to put new pads on the "mop" every time you use them. you throw them away after you're done and without research I still say with a fine amount of certainty that those pads are not either compostable or biodegradable and they end up sitting in landfills.

Alternative: Real Old fashioned mops with the yarn or sponge heads; you do need a bucket of water and some kind of soap though.

Necessity: High


2. Dryer Sheets - now is the need to "fluff" your clothes or make them smell nice really all that important? does the static bother you that much? cause I gotta tell you, I haven't been using dryer sheets for months now; my clothes still smell good from my laundry detergent, i dont find I need them "fluffed" and I've never been shocked by static.

Alternative: Don't use them. OR I have seen a new product where you stick this "thing" in your dryer (im thinking its magnetic) for about 3-4 months and it acts as a dryer sheet each time you run your dryer. i believe its made out of plastic which is normally recyclable

Necessity: low


3. Paper Towels - I am totally a hypocrite on the subject of paper towels. they are the worst thing on the planet, yet I do use them, there is a sanitary aspect there, you use your towel or sponge that you've also used to wipe up raw meat, fresh vegetables I mean it just can't be sanitary. but your killing innocent trees; couldn't we wash our towels more often and have designated sponges?

Alternative: sponges, towels, and cloth napkins

Necessity: medium


4. Floss - I thought of this one the other night as I go on about these "cleaning" products I never stopped to think outside of the box. Floss- we need/use a new piece (usually pick a strand longer than needed) every time we floss and then throw it away. now my argument is this whole "disposable" idea however I don't know what happens to floss. its relatively almost microscopic; even if wasn't biodegradable i don't know if it would have any harm on the environment but its an interesting thought, isn't it?

Alternative: rotting teeth

Necessity: HIGH


5. Toilet Paper - again, like the floss, its on the same level however this isn't about the waste this is about the creation; do we really need to kill trees so we can wipe our bums? surely there are better alternatives out there, I'm not for the idea of using a cloth and rewashing them and the idea of a bidet is just different -- but whatever the alternative is going to be is going to be different than what we are used to.

Alternative: cloths, bidets and -- not using anything.

Necessity: high


those are my ideas. the end. can you think of any others?

7 comments:

  1. i use too much toilet paper, too much floss, and too many paper towels and i know i could be conserving. (I don't use dryer sheets.) And i'm ready to give away my swiffer mop because i don't like those pads. And i'm quite sure i will soon be getting a Shark steam cleaner! At least i hope so after watching the informercial. I want one badly.

    But i think about how many jobs i might be saving too. And right now jobs are more important.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw this show where the people used wash cloths for toilet paper. Each one in the family got one cloth per day.
    This is just NOT for me!!
    However, I am certain my husband and daughter eat toilet paper because I am always buying it -in huge quantities.

    I use dryer sheets in the colder weather or I get stuff sticking together and my hair stands straight up from static. Im not always prompt in taking stuff out of the dryer, so it helps with the wrinkles.

    I use re-usable/washable rags for my swiffer mopper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yeah I know I use too much floss I need large strands because I hate when I cant wrap it around my fingers enough times to keep it from slipping.

    shark steam cleaner? for your clothes? or floors...it cant be for your beautiful hardwood floors...

    yeah ive seen where people have used the wash cloths and thats just weird, at least get one everytime you use the restroom, or i guess the bidet is kind of a classy way

    ReplyDelete
  4. the steam cleaner is for my floors! It's supposed to be okay for hardwoods, but i'm not sure about REAL hardwoods so i will mostly just use it on the tile and i'll do a test in the closets on the hardwoods to see how it works. If i use it on th hardwoods i wouldn't do it but maybe twice a year. I'm afraid they will get warped. This is assuming that Brian bought me one! LOL.

    oooh, wash cloths, Grits. That sounds so gross. People have jobs making toilet paper. We need to keep people in their jobs, so keep using gobs of it! That's my take on it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i think our planet is more important than jobs. because we will all die if we dont save the planet and jobs wont matter anyways.

    i would be SERIOUSLY cautious about using that on your floors for real hardwoods - it does NOT sound like a good idea AT all. water/steam should never come in contact with hardwood floors... i would actually contact who you got the flooring from (the manufacturer) and ask them before you ask the shark people..

    ReplyDelete
  6. where did you get your floors from? i'll do it for you : ) i'll pull the designer connections haha

    ReplyDelete