Organic Detergent

I have to admit that laundry detergents are among the common household items that I buy on auto pilot.  Whenever Nards tells me we need detergent while we're at the supermarket, we'd head to the household cleaners aisle and get two to three refills.  I knew at that time that it was a major water pollutant that kills plants and fish, and that it contains harsh chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive disorders.

At a kiosk in Trinoma that sells organic and green items where I get my Messy Bessy stuff, I finally found locally made organic detergent.  They carried three brands, but I was told that Plantex Green was the best.  It comes in 1kg boxes at Php125 each.  I think it's a tad bit more expensive that the usual commercial brands, but it's a small price to pay for the sake of Mother Earth and good health.

So far, I like it!  It cleans clothes well, and they come out delicately fragrant.  It's economical too, because I use slightly less per load as I normally do with our previous brand.

It's now a staple on our grocery list.  I hope you can add it to yours.

Earth Hour 2010

Looking for something to do for Earth Hour? Check out this link of Top Ways to Spend Earth Hour 2010.

The Story of Bottled Water

For me, there are two simple ways to be eco-friendly in our daily lives: refuse plastic (bottles and bags) and bringing your own reusable water container and ecobags.

Usually, when my husband and I go grocery shopping we accumulate minimum of twenty plastic bags in assorted sizes (think of the little plastic bags they put butter in, and another one for soaps, then the ones for meats and poultry - it all adds up!).  Since 2007, we've made it a habit to bring ecobags (minimum of three, maximum of ten) with us wherever we go, and I feel that we've at least reduced the amount of plastic in landfills even by a very very small percent.

If we can, we also avoid buying drinks in plastic bottles.  I hope you can do the same.

Incidentally, my husband found this interesting short film.  I hope it helps in lessening our bottled water and plastic consumption.