living sustainably

"I’m going to wash my hair tomorrow."

When my grandmother used to declare such things, which sounded like an event, I always thought it was rather funny. I mean – bathing is such a regular activity, why would someone have to schedule it in? But just today I caught myself thinking, "I need to wash my hair tomorrow." And I do schedule it in!

No, this is not a sign of bad hygiene. This is a sign of sustainable and healthy living practices. We don’t need to wash our hair every day. Most folks probably don’t even need to shower every day. (I mean, you are sitting at a desk all day just to drive home, eat dinner and watch TV…where in that process do you break a sweat?) Each shower costs us gallons of water…usually water that has been treated to the condition where it could be drinkable. Then there is the soap. Most folks use non-biodegradable, chemical-laden soaps. Sure it is cheaper, but think of the cost on our environment…chemicals from soaps and shampoos from every household flushed down the drain. Dilution is not the solution for pollution. And finally, just appealing to the personal – using soap on your hair and skin daily dries it out. This is not healthy for you.

Of course I’m not suggesting that we don’t take showers or use soap (ick!). I’m just suggesting you think about the products you purchase and the amount of water you use. We should each take a lesson from our grandparents.