Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Off-gassing? No thanks!

Wow, so I've been a little busy the past month. Most of it I can (or will) chalk up to buying a new condo and getting set up. Moving in was easy - thanks to the generous help of my family and friend. Unpacking and finding new furniture was the challenge. We didn't bring much furniture with us, and so we had a few purchases to make. In an effort to be environmentally friendly, we've tried to buy stuff from Craigslist and new stuff made with renewable materials. Yes, we had our moments of Ikea weakness. But now that we're nearly done, I think we did alright.


This Sunday, the Washington Post had a great article discussing, briefly, ways to find sustainable furniture options. Check it out at the Post's site. A few extra things worth bringing up ... Wool rugs are better than synthetic rugs (the synthetic ones are made of petroleum products and, supposedly, can release yucky chemicals, or 'off-gas'). Besides, all you have to do is touch them to realize which is better. Soy candles are better than regular candles for the same reason (regular candles are from petroleum, they release bad stuff when they burn, etc.) Buying environmentally-friendly cleaners is nice too, although I noticed on a recent trip to the store that many of them contain ethanol. That's not so nice ... Corn releases lots of nitrogen into the air which leads to global warming etc etc. And naturally, energy-efficient bulbs and appliances are great too (just don't use them extra since your bills are so much cheaper now!).


Ok, enough proselytizing. I'll give you a poem to make up for it.


The rat smiled at the cat.
The bookie ate the cookie.
The chair entered its lair,
Where Nair dealt with the hair,
Then the Wookie said, Hey, lookie!
And CRUNCH, that was the end of that.

Princess Nijma

Princess Nijma