The Organic, Green Bathroom

When the accountant and I built our house we planned on installing a glass shower door in our bathroom. So far the expense of that has been out of our reach so we are using a shower curtain. I was pregnant when we purchased it and had been reading a lot of "green" books. So we ended up purchasing a PVC free liner and an organic cotton curtain, both from target. Now what is so bad about PVC you might ask. Here is what I found out in my research. PVC is usually a hard plastic like those found in a newer house's water pipes. What makes it dangerous is when it is made flexible. How do they do this you might ask? Add Phthalate (DEHP).  Phthalates have been proven to cause a range of birth defects in lab animals, damage to the nervous system, respiratory and reproductive systems. I can't fix the fact that I have soft flexible PVC water piping but I can change my shower curtain liner! Incidentally I drink filtered water only, but that is a story for another day.

We cut costs and went organic with our soap, shampoo and body wash too. I use Dr Bronners Castile Soap for body wash and the accountant uses it as his shampoo. We buy it in the gallon size to save money because I use it for so much stuff! I buy mine through Amazon.com. It is the cheapest I have found it yet. Because it is concentrated you can mix it with other things or water it down. I water it down for cleaning but not when using it for body wash and shampoo. (warning, it has a thin texture not the thickness you might be used to with other body washes, shampoos.)

For hand soap we use glycerin based Avalon organics. It smells wonderful and is good for you! I buy it on sale from Whole Foods or buy online through vitacost.com when I am ordering my vitamins. (they charge flat rate shipping so it is only a good deal to buy through them when buying in large quantities)

Toothpaste is the flouride  free type by Toms of Maine. Trader Joe's sells it for around three dollars a tube. Which seems like a lot but think about all the chemicals you put in your mouth with regular toothpaste. Some of which even have Triclosan in the ingredients! Amazon has a great price of 6 tubs for $14.94.!