Random Rambles: What I learned this week

I've spotted a few new articles and products this week. The first came because drugstore.com is having a big sale right now. I looked at the email and then, out of curiosity,their website, to see what green products they have. I noticed one for the home I have not seen before: Eco-me. It was a home starter kit for cleaning. I checked out their website also. Has anyone tried any of their products before?

I was given the book, Vinegar, this week. In an earlier post I discussed using vinegar as a fabric softener, but not to use it for delicate fabrics because of acidic nature of the vinegar. Vicki Lansky,the author of this book, says:

Add about 1/4 cup vinegar to the last rinse in just about any kind of laundry. The acid in vinegar is oo mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static clean reducer and attacks mold and mildew. And add 1/2 cup vinegar to the wash cycle to prevent lint from clinging to clothes.

Note that these tips are referring to the use of distilled white vinegar.

I finally found organic cotton kitchen towels last week at a local store. I bought the natural color, so I didn't have to worry about any dyes. They are unbelievably soft! After washing them,they got even softer. Well worth it in the softness sense. And to know I'm washing dishes with a product that was not grown with pesticides and fertilizers or processed with petro-chemicals... nice.

And my last thought for today's post is about an article I received. "Why you should fear your sofa, baby stroller, and nursing pillow" is an interesting article that covers a bit of the history of why flame-retardant chemicals are used in products for our babies. Worth keeping an eye on the California legislature.