Issues > July/August 2006 (#115) > Household Tips from The Green Guide to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

Household Tips from The Green Guide to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

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Shower/Bath

16. Low-flow showerheads, such as 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.

17. 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 companies that avoid synthetic chemicals such as Dr. Bronner's and Aubrey Organics and shampoos by Terressentials and Tom's of Maine. See The Green Guide's Product Report on Shampoo and Soap and Shampoo: Personal Best for more options.

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

19. 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 make 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 to Avoid in Personal Care Products.

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