Maggie Godsil

It seems a little unnatural to give a pet a plastic toy, but there could be arguments that having pets is unnatural too! I have been buying antlers and various other animal parts for my dogs. They are obsessed! There is a local company called Safe Bones Co. (https://safebones.co/) that make a variety of bones for dogs big and small. They also have a subscription service, so you can get freshies without having to think about it. It feels good to put money into my local economy for a natural product that my dogs love! Plus look how cute their logo is!

Food waste is high in my household. I try and meal plan at the beginning of the week and only buy what I need, but unfortunately things pop up and some fresh produce goes to waste. My husband and I are also guilty of shopping online - a lot. He flies (read: breaks) drones and they always need a new part or two to fly again. A lot of our recycling runs are cardboard boxes. Unfortunately many of these products also come wrapped in plastic. Some companies are using recyclable plastics, but many still are not. It's interesting too - I think about if we would be saving any resources by purchasing more at brick-and-mortar stores. I do not know the answer - all the product is still being shipped to the store. Gas will be used either way, whether it be by me or by the mailman. Our dog poop bags for runs are compostable, so that makes me feel better about using them in the wild. Our cat liners, however, are not. We go through about one bag every two weeks. It's convenient because they fit in the litter genie, but we need to prioritize a healthy and happy environment over our personal convenience. They do have compostable cat liners and bags, so we will have to make the switch. I am being more conscious with my beauty and wellness products – I switched face washes to a recyclable bottle versus the bad plastic tube packaging. I switched to bar haircare and body wash for the shower instead of bottles. I am waiting on an order for a reusable deodorant container (see, that online shopping habit again). We could still find solutions for our electric toothbrush heads, flossers, and toothpaste tube waste. I started making my own lotion, which cuts down on waste from buying a bottle ever so often. 

I am reading that the use of aluminum-based deodorant can increase your chances of getting breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to such serious and permanent side effects, aluminum can cause a hormone imbalance (hello crying at commercials), clog pores (ingrown hairs anybody?). I am excited to switch to Myro deodorant (https://www.mymyro.com/) - there is a reusable, dishwasher-safe container that a bar fits into. The product comes in five six scents and it really doesn't cost much more than regular deodorant.