Laundry: Eco-Strategies

Laundry is an extremely resource-intensive pursuit: each load we throw in the wash consumes detergent, any additional inputs people opt for, water, electricity to run the washing machine, gas to heat the water (if you don't go with cold water) and ditto for the dryer, which is fueled by electricity and gas. And of course laundry consumes a lot of time, too.

Wash Day was a very literal depiction, in times past. Standards for housework escalated with the advent of "labor-saving" devices across the home, and laundry is no exception. My mother grew up in a prosperous 1920's household where each diner was assigned one large damask napkin FOR THE WEEK; monogrammed napkin rings served as ID's for them. People didn't throw clothes into the hamper just because they'd worn them once or automatically toss towels and linens in after a single use. The easiest thing you can do to save resources and time is simply be more selective about how frequently you wash items.

One of the most liberating things I learned from my mother-in-law (a frugal immigrant from Germany) is that it's fine to change bed linens every other week; she totally goes for the least laborious approach. Changing sheets biweekly does not seem to shorten lifespans or result in the Board of Health citing you for Bad Housekeeping. Likewise, if towels are assigned and freshly showered people use them, who says the towels are dirty?

Now, for the laundry. First, reduce packaging by buying detergent in a large container, and if it's "x2", that means it's concentrated, so use just HALF of what you did with the older product. My experience is that for normal loads, you can use less than they recommend. After all, their job is to maximize the amount of detergent they sell you. I never use fabric softener at all; to me it's just injecting a whole lot more chemicals into the system.

The new front-loading washers use way less water, a worthwhile upgrade if you're in the position to buy one. The clothes are more wrung out, too, so it cuts drying time. They use specially formatted detergent, in even smaller quantities than conventional washing machines, providing for even more resource reduction. I find cold water cleans just fine; other members of my family think that warm water does a better job with specific tasks. Another advantage of using cold water: clothes are less likely come out different colors or sizes than they were when you put them in!

Line-drying takes more time but has many virtues. It consumes no energy other than your own, and it reduces wear and tear on clothes and linens, so they last longer. Some people enjoy hanging their laundry outdoors; since we are paranoid about pollen, we hang everything inside. There are a variety of clever racks and gizmos to accomplish this task, though all one really needs is a horizontal pole and an extra set of hangers, along with some clothespins, perhaps. When the garments or items are mostly dry, but still just a tad moist, I run them through the dryer for 5 to 10 minutes. The wrinkles disappear - NO IRONING!

Clotheslines are actually illegal in some locales; it seems that they look too primitive for the likes of some suburbs and condo associations. If you want to join the fight for line-drying, check out LaundryList.org.

Our New Solar Lamp-Post Lantern: Sustainable Problem Solving

Most house maintenance purchases are anything but gratifying - repairing infrastructure, for example. How exciting is it to shell out $1000's of dollars, so that your roof stops leaking? Or upgrading your electrical outlets, or replacing dead appliances.... Recently we purchased something which both solved a problem and really tickles my eco-fancy, an exterior solar lamp-post lantern.

The Problem: years ago, when our sewer pipe was replaced, the workers accidentally cut the electrical line to our walkway's lantern lamp post. We put in a string of LED yard lanterns, and just left the post/lantern as a relic. Since we expect to be moving, it needed addressing, but how do you do lights when you are - thanks to worker error - effectively off-grid? We searched the internet for a solar option and voila! A few days later this lovely fixture arrived from Solar Illuminations. My husband simply took off the old lantern and replaced it with this new one.
It is so cleverly designed. The reflector multiplies the light so it really looks like there are multiple reflectors. It charges during the day and emits a blueish light after dark. It's beautiful, so adds both lovely form and sustainable function to the walkway to our house.
Solar yard lights are imperfect - they naturally depend on full sun, and this one is under a lovely spreading tree. But it generates enough light to shine a few hours in the evening and every time the lantern catches my eye, it pleases me. More than I can say for most household repairs!

Unfreezing Your Equifax Score - Thanks, GetHuman.com!

Two years ago I dutifully froze our credit scores from the Big Three: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Tons of rigmarole, and while I received a free credit report, it cost to freeze our accounts. It's touted as an Identity Theft security measure, but now I'm thinking it's mostly a revenue generator for these companies.

Recently a big transaction we're working on necessitated credit reports; the freeze worked and we needed to thaw them. At none of these sites was there any listed way to talk to anyone. Though I had original documentation of the freezes, directions for lifting them were completely missing from their websites, as was any contact information. You know those circular sites where you input your information and then it rejects you because you're not in their system? I would give them a minus 5 - on a customer service scale of 1-10. Each one sucked up about an hour of time, and then they charge $10 for each account thaw, adding up to $60.

The last one, Equifax, was the worst. In exasperation, I went to a great site, GetHuman, and found Equifax's phone number. HA!!! After a short wait, they directed me to the Equifax Freeze Line: 888 298-0045. Of course the first thing Indian Call Center Guy wanted to know was my PIN # - and of course if I'd had it, I wouldn't be calling. But in ten minutes the problem was solved. The reason for my titling this post "Unfreezing your Equifax Score" is that hopefully search engines will pick it up, and future searches will reveal this post and save people time.

So, is it worth freezing your credit scores, given that it takes time, money, and a huge hassle to undo it?

Style vs. Fashion: A Shopper's Lament

Since I love well-designed clothes, it’s remarkable to me how few I can find to actually purchase. My advice to the women’s apparel industry, whose sales have plunged as low as this year’s necklines, is to ask women what clothes they’d like to invest in, instead of trying to create clothing fads which will catch on despite a recession. A good garment industry question for us, their potential customers: which clothes do you love? What garments do you take out year after year and enjoy wearing? What are the features of your favorite styles? Garment manufacturers would get an earful!

I have always loved style, but am annoyed by fashion. Style, by my definition, is the cut of a garment, along with its quality, color, fabric, pattern, texture, intended function, and comfort. Fashion is: whatever the stores are selling at a given time.

The garment’s cut: is it attractive? Many clothes are just plain unflattering. Pants which are low-slung, showing women’s rear ends when they sit down and necklines which reveal so much cleavage that onlookers are embarrassed come to mind. Cut also takes sizing into consideration. What a hassle it is to be any size other than what the manufacturers think of as normal! Short, tall, large, small, younger, older – somehow designers think the same clothes should look great on everybody. And of course a very basic question: is it comfortable? A garment cut too high will choke, a garment cut too low will create a lot of anxiety; too tight will never do. That’s probably why capris have remained popular for many years – they are comfortable, flattering, and their length is forgiving. And of course, it’s nice if the cut is predictable, so if you find a brand which fits you well, you can trust another garment in their line will ALSO fit you. (Good luck with that one….)

Color is one of the great delights of clothing. Bright, bold are just right for some complexions; pastels work better for others. Likewise, big bold patterns might suit tall women; short women (and there are a lot of us!) avoid them. Practical shoppers know that there’s nothing easier to maintain than black. Buying a light colored anything, no matter how gorgeous, is asking for a big cleaning bill and a lot of fussing over not getting the garment dirty to begin with. The palette is controlled by the apparel industry, so if you find colors you love, don’t be surprised when they disappear for a few years.

Fabric comes in an endless variety of textures and types. Some are easier to care for than others, of course, and their eco-footprints vary as well. Some are much more comfortable than others. I am a huge fan of bamboo; it is luxuriously soft and grows quickly, requiring less input than cotton. Hemp is another environmentally friendly fabric, though hard to find. Organic cotton is better than regular cotton since it is grown without pesticides, but growing any cotton consumes great quantities of water. Tencel and rayon have lovely drape and are sourced from renewable wood. Polyester is a petroleum product, though some high-end manufacturers source it from recycled materials. Obviously clothing that requires dry-cleaning is costlier to maintain, as well as more polluting to the environment. The addition of lycra to make fabric stretchier, better fitting, and more comfortable is a stroke of genius!

Function is important. So many clothes are simply impractical. Most women I know want pockets to stash a tissue, a key, a credit card, a cell phone. People are lowering the thermostats these days – so why did bulky sweaters disappear from the earth? Why does my raincoat’shood fly backwards when it’s windy, with no fastener to keep it in place? Why doe the zippers to my winter jacket’s pockets scratch my hands every time I reach in for my gloves? And why on a bride’s Big Day are all the dresses strapless, requiring said bride to continually yank up her gown so she doesn’t accidentally expose herself? I do think designers should test drive these clothes.

Lastly, is the style flattering? I find it amazing how similar each year’s fashions are from brand to brand, pretty much all the same, as if we all want to look alike, and would all look good in the same styles. I like t-shirts which are not too tight fitting and fall, in fashion-speak, at high hip. About five years ago I found ones that were perfect and snatched them in four basic colors. They’re schleppy now, but when I went to replace them, whoa! Every single brand I tried had added a few inches of length to their t-shirts and slimmed them down so they are tighter fitting, including the petite sizes. Someone decided that they should all hit snugly at the lower hips this year. Forget it! Am I the only person in America who is not a 5’10” model? Who do they think is out there?

Maybe some smart designer will figure out there is money to be made in orders where we can give exact measurements. There is definitely a business to be made in designing clothes that are beautiful, practical, flattering, consistently sized and responsibly sourced. They would be costly, but well worth it. And of course, if anyone has found such a company, do tell.