My worry over being clean while being green, part 1

First, a little update for you all - since I turned off my a/c, my NES bill went down by 30%! This is very good for my pockets!

Now, on to this week's topic: being clean.

First of all, I've always been a little manic about being clean. When I was in elementary school, there were these two boys who smelled simply awful, and I was not very nice to them about it - I vividly remember telling them, in front of everyone, to stand behind me in line because they had to be downwind. I was not (nor am I, actually), a very discreet person. I don't like other people being dirty and I don't like being dirty myself. My dad is a pretty smelly person, and my dogs are pretty smelly, too. Trying to eliminate the smells and dirt around me is a losing battle that I continue to fight, and part of that fight for me has always been showering at least once a day, wearing deodorant like a madwoman and spending Sundays cleaning. I talked before about being sweaty; maybe this is where my being clean paranoia comes from? I'm extra-paranoid because I've always found myself to not be very clean? I'm not sure.

Anyhow, several things have conspired lately to have me thinking about being clean in a bigger sense than just me.

A while back, there was news of Cate Blanchett taking two-minute showers and foregoing hair-washing in an effort to conserve water and therefore be earth-friendly. I thought about it, and although i generally take short showers, I have started experimenting with only showering every other day... and it is actually okay. I wash my face in the morning and put my hair back or in a braid, and I don't find that I smell or that I look gross. Maybe this is because I do nothing but sit in an office chair all day - not moving equals not sweating. Maybe it's because i've finally made it out of greasy-gross adolescence. Maybe it's because, like with the a/c, winter makes it easier. Whatever it is, I'm doing okay with alternating days.

Another factor may be the new dog in my life, Madeline. Now, Georgia, who we've had since I was 10, has never really smelled. Sure, she'll lay in the sun every so often and come away stinking, but in general she's never had that signature dog-smell. Madeline, however, definitely smells. It's sort of a dog smell, but it's also sort of unique to her. I love cuddling with her, so maybe i've gotten used to it, but maybe overall i'm just getting less manic about being so hyper-clean all the time.

In October, Slate ran a story on why being really clean can cause problems. I've always agreed with this in theory (of course, not with any actual science or self-research to back it up) - I've heard that kids who grow up on farms are less likely to develop allergies, etc. I think that being so manic about it is akin to a lot of other manias - if we'd just let go and be sensible about things, we would be better off in the end. I mean, living in the city has sort of encouraged me to let go. I track in black sooty stuff every day and so trying to keep my floors clean all the time would just be insane. And with two dogs in the house, it's just not possible to keep the place free of hair - mine or theirs!

So with that, I bid you a hearty adieu this Friday - I'll be back tomorrow with a follow-up to this, to tell you about my obsession with green cleaning products and how much happier I am with them!