The Non-Consumer Advocate

I received this question from Non-Consumer Advocate reader Jeff:

Katy,

Do you typically buy natural health and beauty products, nontoxic household and laundry cleaners, and either organic or local foods? Such items are appropriate for a green lifestyle, but they can be budget-busters. I’m generally willing to pay extra for earth-friendly and healthful goods, but staying the course can be tough when money’s tight. I’m hoping you and maybe some of your friends and fans can offer some insights.

Jeff,

Good question. I have given up all my toxic cleaning supplies, (I put them on craigslist for free and they were gone faster than you can say, “yummy, yummy chemicals!”) but that doesn’t mean I’m now spending a fortune on green cleaners.

Here’s my dark and dirty secret — I mostly just clean with water and occasionally a squirt of dish soap. (That’s how I mop my kitchen floor, which is pine.) When I’m about to launder the hand towel in the bathroom, I wet it first and wipe out the sink. When I’m washing the bathroom towels, I’ll wet one and give the bathroom floor a quick swipe. No fuss, no muss.

I’m also saving the earth from excessive cleaning supplies by not cleaning that often. I highly doubt I’ll be on my death bed and wish I’d spent more time keeping my house in a constant state of immaculate-itude. Keeping a perfectly clean house is a fallacy and a poor priority in my eyes.

For laundry detergent, I make my own from Fels Naptha Soap, washing soda and borax. It sounds like a pain, but it only takes a few minutes, and works great. I also use the borax as a cleanser for the kitchen sink and bathtub. I have tried baking soda in the past, but the elbow grease required is beyond my patience.

I am currently using up a Costco container of dishwasher detergent that does contain phosphates. But I will be more mindful with the next purchase.

And beauty products? Well . . . beauty like mine doesn’t come in a box. Seriously though, I rarely wear makeup and have next-to-no beauty regime. I am a low maintenance gal.

I have however been coloring my hair over the past year or so, and I do so with a nasty chemical-laden box of drugstore hair dye. This is one of my few vanities, as my natural hair color was dragging me down. In an ideal world, I would cherish the dishwater blond strands that emerge from my scalp. But such is not the case.

Organic and local foods? Ahh . . . here is where I’m going to look pretty bad. I do not feel that I am in a financial situation to be buying 100% organic food. I hardly buy any prepackaged foods, so we’re pretty good in the preservatives department, but I rarely make the organic food choices. I do have a small kitchen garden planted with tomatoes, lettuce, peas, blueberries, raspberries, cabbage, garlic, cucumbers and radishes. I use no chemicals.

I heard from a neighbor yesterday that a farmer’s market is going to be opening a few blocks up from the house. I plan on making it part of my rounds. (I am essentially somewhat lazy, and need things to be convenient in order to incorporate them into my rotation.) There is also a New Seasons natural grocery store that will be opening two blocks from my house in 2010. This store sells all kinds of wonderful natural and organic food and does have terrific sales, which I will be incorporating into my food gathering routine.

I only buy beef a time or two per year, and this is as much an environmental decision as it is a health one. We eat meatless meals around two-three times per week.

So Jeff . . . I guess I am a mixture of good and bad. I often make the green choice, but not always. I am extremely focused on paying off all personal debt, and I feel that buying the green marketed products can be a barrier to this goal. Really though, I wish all produce were organic and earth friendly and that I never had to make these choices.

Are you struggling over buying the green products while also striving to make smart financial decisions? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Have a question for Katy and The Non-Consumer Advocate community? Send your questions to nonconsumer@comcast.net.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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