Refillable Soap

I'm not big into endorsing products or companies, but there's a new local store, Indigo, that's all about promoting "green solutions for a healthy home" (that's their tagline). I've only been there once, because I don't own a house and most of the stuff in the store is geared toward people who want to install bamboo floors or something.

But I subscribe to their e-newsletter, and was stoked yesterday to see the following in the newest: "What's big and blue and helps you re-use your old soap containers? The Soap Shack's bulk refill barrels, of course! ... Come by and fill 'er up -- bring whatever container you want; we just charge by the ounce. In stock now: Parsley Plus, Apricot Dishmate, and Ecos Free and Clear Laundry Soap."

I used to buy all my dish and hand soap bulk when I lived in L.A., but there hasn't been anywhere to do so in Gainesville until now. It's great -- I'll be able to use less plastic and buy eco-friendly soap all at once. I'm especially excited about the laundry detergent. The past few months I've been using white vinegar with a tablespoon or so of liquid detergent with each load at my friend Jenn's suggestion, but it'd be great to switch to nice eco-friendly soap.

Right to Dry Movement

No, it doesn't involve Jack Kevorkian.

Some homeowners' associations forbid residents from drying laundry on a clothesline, because it's just so darn plebeian, I guess, to save energy while exposing the world to your wet clothing. But, according to the AP, some people are fighting back with what's being cleverly dubbed "the right to dry movement." And evidently some states are now passing laws that forbid any organization from banning outdoors clotheslines.

I wish things like this didn't have to be legislated, but I also wish homeowners' associations would get their noses out of everyone's business. Thus: go, right-to-dry people!