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Do green eco-friendly products really work?
Have you considered trying a new “green” product or DIY recipe and wonder if it’s worth your money and if it will even work? Yeah, me too!
A lot of the time, they are a great idea and worth every penny, but at other times, we give it a try and find out it was a waste of both time and money!
So how do you know which one is which? How do you decide if it’s worth trying or skipping?
Sadly sometimes we just can’t know. But, if you’re on the fence about these 10 items, here’s a green product heads up…
5 Green or Eco-friendly Products that Aren’t Worth Your Time or Money:
- Forget DIY Dryer Cloths or Sponges
Yes, I tried it. It’s messy, time consuming and you still have to use either a commercial fabric softener or spend a ton of time making (a mess!) your own. The project comes with disposable packaging, chemicals, and things that eventually end up in the trash. Dryer balls are an awesome eco-friendly solution and they have no mess, no chemicals, and good ones are also compostable. They’re on my “must have” list! See my full post on dryer balls here: “What are Laundry Dryer Balls and Do They Work?”
- Forget Cloth Make-up Rounds or Squares
Those little eye-socket rounds are convenient, but are they really necessary or do you have another cloth that will work just as well? I use old baby burp cloths and washcloths. I guess you could DIY them into rounds, but I find they work just as well cut into squares or rectangles. So, don’t waste your money buying specialty items or at least buy good, compostable ones that will last you a long, long time.
- Forget Task-Specific Cleaners
Please, please, please do not spend a ton of money on “green cleaners” from the grocery store. Most of them are greenwashed and are mostly unneeded.For most cleaning jobs, you only need 5 basic and completely natural cleaning “ingredients” to clean your whole house. Read my post on natural cleaning and find out how I do it: “How to Green Clean Your Whole House With only 5 Natural products!”
- Forget ETSY Un-Papertowel Rolls
I’m sorry if this one hurts your feelings, but they really are unnecessary. Sure, they look great and I suppose if you really need things to look perfect and color-coordinated, go ahead and buy them. But remember our goal is to buy less and dispose of less, so are you going to be OK when they get they get stained and messy? Dark colored cloth napkins can be used for years then reused for cleaning cloths and composted once they are useless.See my post on cloth napkins here: “5 Fantastic & Eco-Friendly Reasons to Switch to Cloth Napkins”
- Forget Biodegradable Trash Bags
If you use standard trash collection pick-up, your expensive biodegradable bag is probably headed straight to a landfill where nothing breaks down. Landfills are meant to be an airtight environment and are designed to keep the elements out, including those needed for decomposition. So despite how good they might make us feel, biodegradable trash bags really don’t really work and are not worth your money!
Looking for more reviews? Check out these posts: Green Reviews from Darlene
Now on the flip-side, here are some products that I really don’t want to live without…
5 Green Products That Really Work and Are SO Worth Your Money:
- Dryer Balls
I love dryer balls! They’re soft, cheap, last for years AND they really WORK! Want to try some? Here’s a link to the ones I have been using for years: Woolzies
- Lemon Essential Oil (or another citrus EO like orange)
This is one of my FAVORITE essential oils because it removes “all things sticky” like nothing else I’ve ever used. It is way better than GooGone and does it easily. I keep orange EO in my laundry room to scent my dryer balls and I find that it works almost as well as lemon EO to remove adhesive stickiness. It also has a ton of other uses, so for me is a staple product! My favorite brand is from Poofy Organics because it’s inexpensive and certified organic! See it here: Poofy Organics Lemon Essential Oil
- Liquid Castile Soap
Love my castile soap. I use it for everything: dishes, hand soap, floors, shaving, and even shampoo in a pinch! See my review post on Quinn’s Brand and how my family uses castile soap every day here: “Quinn’s Castile Soap – A Greener Cleaner!”
- Menstrual Cup
I was really skeptical about the menstrual cup and until I tried it I was more than a little bit grossed out by the idea of it. BUT, now that I’ve been using it for several months, I will never go back to wasteful pads and tampons! There’s a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it, they really work great! If you’re ready to give one a try, this is my brand of choice: Lunette Menstrual Cup
- Wooden Pencil Highlighters
Wooden Pencil Highlighters work great and are one of the most zero-waste products I’ve ever tried! Based on the number of highlighters sold each August at my local Walmart, I shudder to think about the number of highlighters Americans throw away each year. Wooden highlighters work great and literally DISAPPEAR as you use them! If you have a compost pile, not a darned thing is wasted. Check out my full post review of my favorite brand here: “Product Review: ECO Highlighters by Stubby Pencil”
So that’s my list… for now. I’m sure there are some big eco-friendly ‘losers’ that I haven’t tried yet, so if you’ve had a green product FAIL, I hope you’ll stand up and name names in the comments so we know not to waste our money too!
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