Photo by Declan TM

In the seventeen months Green and Chic Blog has been in existence, I have written a few posts that has stood the test of time.  These are still the most searched and visited posts since I started blogging.  I recently edited  a few of these posts to give them a bit of a “face lift” for my new readers.

“I have a headache!” – A word about perfumes was one of my first posts in the “Chemicals to Avoid” series. I wrote this post out of frustration due to constant exposure to artificial presumes, scents and fragrances that gives me terrible migraines.

Petroleum jelly possible cancer risk is sort of a controversial subject because we don’t know for sure if petroleum jelly actually causes cancer, but there are other good reasons to avoid products with petroleum jelly and mineral oil.

Alternatives to fabric softeners Did you know that commercial fabric softeners is one of the most toxic household products used today?  This post goes into why that’s the case, and what you can use as a safer (and cheaper) alternative.

Out of these three, is there anything that stands out to you? I will continue to revise some of my older posts in the coming weeks so stay tuned via RSS or email.

After reading this and similar blogs and websites, maybe you’ve decided to throw out all of your toxic cleaning products. Perhaps you discovered that your artificially scented laundry detergent gave your baby a rash, or you made the decision to stop using perfume or cologne because you or others in your presence may be allergic to it.  Now that you decided you want to clean out your home and makeup bags from such products, what do you do with them?

Some people are tempted to flush them down the toilet or just throw them in the trash. A better and more eco friendly option would be to give them to someone who will use them.  You may not want them, but others may want or need these items, and may not have the same choices we do.

After a little decluttering in my home, I have given away (mostly unused or gently used) household and cosemetic products away on Craigslist, Freecycle, and local organizations.

Contact your local homeless shelters, woman’s shelters (or safe homes), or non-profit organizations to see if they have a need for anything you have to offer.  These days the need is great and anything you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Any drain cleaners went to my local hazardous waste disposal site because products such as Drano and Liquid Plumber are some of the most toxic household chemicals around.

There are plenty of alternative products you can buy now-a-days but the Treehugging Family blog has a list of 25 safe, non-toxic house made cleaning supplies.

Related posts:   
Plastics in the news again
Fire retardants found in toddlers blood

“California today launched the most comprehensive program of any state to evaluate, label and, in some cases, ban industrial chemicals that are linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other deadly effects on human health.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new legislation to shift the state away from a scattershot approach in which bills targeting hazardous chemicals in products such as jewelry, baby bottles, toys, mattresses, computers and cosmetics have passed or failed depending on the intensity of the lobbying and media attention.”

“….two new laws are designed to encompass 80,000 chemicals now in circulation…”

Source: California launches broad effort to control hazardous chemicals

Interesting four page article on products in the home. (Part 1) Products derived from natural, nontoxic ingredients — once seen as fringe — are now mainstream.