Treasures by Louise

 Being a Green Consumer is not difficult  and can be cost effective and low-tech, too: Natural, Nontoxic Cleaning Here's an article from the AARP Newsletter about Non-toxic cleaners. I try to use unscented, natural cleaners since many of the highly scented cleaners affect my allergies. As described in the article, vinegar and baking soda are nice and mild. They shouldn't produce sensitivity in most folks. Vinegar even kills germs if used as described.

In the grocery store lately, there are more household cleaners that are supposed to be safer for the environment, and we have tried a few, especially since many are priced at or below the cost of similar items that are made from petroleum products. We' ve tried dish soap, laundry detergent and bathroom cleaners that are made from coconut soaps, with mild fragrances, or no fragrance at all. I have recently switched back to liquid fabric softener rather that those non-biodegradable dryer sheets that were piling up in the garbage! My most recent purchase was a natural non-chlorine fabric brightener. Since I purchased this product I was wondering what was the big deal about Chlorine Bleach? I have since found out that Chlorine is a real 'bad actor' in the environment. It is very reactive, and combines with many of the organic compounds now found in our water to make them even more toxic. I continue to look for more natural choices in consumer products. We as consumers can ...