Issues > September/October 2005 (#110) > Household Tips to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

Household Tips to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

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Shower/Bath

Low-flow showerheads from companies like Oxygenics will not only cut your water usage by 20,000 gallons per year, but they'll save you 10 to 16 percent of your water heating costs.

You can be squeaky clean without antibacterial chemicals such as triclosan in soap or shampoos fragranced with phthalates that may alter hormones. Choose soaps by company's that avoid synthetic chemicals, such as Dr. Bronner's and Aubrey Organics and shampoos by Terressentials and Tom's of Maine.

See the Shampoo Product Report and "Soap and Shampoo: Personal Best."

Consider a new toilet to save water: Low-flow models such as Kohler's Rialto work effectively with a third of the water older toilets use. And stock up on recycled toilet paper and facial tissues from Seventh Generation. Buying these items in bulk saves money.

Personal Care

Sending out the kids in scary makeup for Halloween? Avoid cosmetics with ingredients like carcinogenic formaldehyde or parabens and phthalates, which may affect hormones. Keep away from petroleum-based moisturizers as well. Burt's Bees and Real Purity produce cosmetics that can scare the neighbors without risking your child's health, and for non-petroleum moisturizers, try Kathy's Family Shea Butter Lotion or Mad Gabs Body Oil.

See "Darth Vader, Dora the Explorer...or Dioxins?" and "The Dirty Dozen Ingredients in Personal Care Products."

Garage

If you're shopping for a new car, hybrids are a great way to cut down your gas consumption. Among the most fuel-efficient are the Toyota Prius, which gets 60 mpg city/51 hwy or $800 est. annual fuel costs, the Honda Civic Hybrid (47 city/48 hwy, $936 annually), and the Ford Escape Hybrid (36 city/31 hwy, $1332 annually).

To really save you gas and keep you fit in the bargain, bicycles can't be beat. Giant's Cypress LX and Gary Fisher's Nirvana are perfect for commutes while being sturdy enough to handle a dirt road, but wear a helmet, stick to bicycle paths and obey all traffic laws to keep yourself safe.

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