There, I said it. I have green guilt. I've tried to "go green" with only limited success. After experiment for two years, I have come to certain conclusions.
1) Vinegar and Water does work better on glass and mirrors than Windex. Since it is much cheaper to use, I've completely switched. Plus one on the green side.
2) Vinegar works very well as a fabric softener and no, your clothes won't smell like vinegar. Another positive on the green side.
3) While I like line drying my clothes, no matter what I do, they are more stiff than I like, so I end up tumbling them in the dryer for five minutes. Since I am saving energy, I'll call this a positive on the green side, but barely.
4) Green dishwasher powders/liquids don't work as well in my hard-water area. I finally switched back to my beloved Cascade Complete after much disappointing experimentation with environmentally "responsible" dishwasher powders. Negative mark on the green side.
5) Baking soda, vinegar and water don't help me keep my kitchen sink or my shower clean enough. I've gone back to Comet and the white sink is white! I'm sorry, but it is wonderful to have a white sink and a white shower! Negative mark on the green side.
6) Biokleen works really well for wiping counters and tables and the like. I have no temptation to go back to 409. Positive mark on the green side.
7) I've gone back to Tide with Bleach after using Charlie's Soap for quite some time and MY WHITES ARE WHITE again. Negative mark on the green side.
Added to the negative column, I still use regular face soap, body soap, and shampoos. I still use non-green cosmetics and clothing. All of this would not be a problem, except for I am as susceptible to the green message as anyone else. I feel like I should do more, but at this point I'm doing all I can do and it will have to be good enough.
