Greening Up My Act: A Sustainable Living Podcast

In our last episode of the first season of your favorite green living podcast, Tiff and Kat come clean about essential oils and whether they're worth all the hype -- or hate. Spoiler: it's complicated.

We put a lot of chapters in this episode because there's a lot of info you may want to know. Learn away!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Bought
Nothing, actually! We had essential oils already (mostly gifted).

What We Talked About:

• doTERRA Essential Oils
•  Amazon (basic search for "essential oils")
• Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Lavender Soap
  
  Sources:
• National Library of Medicine - Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents – Myth or Real Alternative?
• National Institutes of Health - Essential Oils
• NLM -  Prepubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils 
• ASPCA - The essentials of essential oils around pets 
• Cleveland Clinic - Essential Oils 101 
• Healthline - What Are Essential Oils? 
• NLM - Aromatherapy for Health Care: An Overview of Systematic Reviews 
• NLM - A Systematic Review of the Effect of Inhaled Essential Oils on Sleep
• NLM - An Overview of the Biological Effects of Some Mediterranean Essential Oils on Human Health
• The Kind Store - A Guide to Sustainable Essential Oils
• Sustainably Chic - Are Essential Oils Sustainable?
• Red List of Threatened Species

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

Join Tiffany and Kat as they spiral into a rabbit hole filled with  vegetable glycerin and citric acid and salt -- and charts tracking it all -- while Tiffany tries her hand at homemade dishwasher detergent. Spoiler alert: It doesn't go well.

But fear not! They offer an easy (and totally free) trick you can do today with your dishes that will be way more impactful than charting your way to madness. (Oh, and learn why you might want to steer away from pods - yikes). Get all the deets in this episode of your favorite green living podcast.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Bought

• Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent: Get $10 off first order

What We Mentioned

• The Spruce’s DIY detergent recipe
• Nancy Birtwhistle's recipe in Clean & Green: 101 Hints and Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Home
• Finish Quantum Powerball
• Aspen Clean detergent
• Rosey by Thrive Market Unscented Powder
• Grab Green detergent

Source Links

• NYTimes on phosphates 
• Agricultural Policy Review from Iowa State University on phosphates 
• CompoundChem.com
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Aspen Clean
• Looked up the ingredients for Finish Quantum Powerball
• Environmental Working Group for product ratings
• AttainableHome.com
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on pods
• National Library of Medicine
• Potential damage to gut health

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

Learn all about DIY all-purpose cleaner on this week's green living podcast with Tiffany and Kat. You'll save so much money with this easy recipe that you might just shit your shorts from excitement. This is one of those rare, truly sustainable and functional product winners -- you're going to want to listen in.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Bought

• Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap

Source Links

• National Library of Medicine for all-purpose cleaner definition
• Environmental Working Group all-purpose cleaner ratings and a few other products ratings
• The Spruce’s 8 best all-purpose cleaners
• Three DIY all-purpose cleaner options from Insider
• Consumer Reports for vinegar + stone countertops
• CountertopSpecialty.com for hydrogen peroxide on countertops info
• The Kitchn for castile soap definition and all-purpose cleaner recipe
• Dr Bronner’s website for info about its Castile soap
• National Library of Medicine on antibacterial properties of peppermint.
• Bob Vila for castile soap on hardwood
• Amazon and Target for prices

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

In this week's episode of your favorite green living podcast, Tiff and Kat ask big questions, like: What's the best way to clean glass? Why do women suffer more ill effects from cleaning products than men? And why do they make cleaning products like Windex so drinkable-looking? Find out!

What We Used

• Windex
• Heinz White Vinegar

Source Links

• Environmental Working Group on Windex Glass Cleaner Original
• EWG on Windex the brand
• National Capital Poison Center
• Common Cleaning Products Can Trigger Asthma Symptoms from Reuters
• How Common Household Cleaning Products Can Damage Your Lungs and Worsen COPD from LPT Medical Blog 
• Impact of Cleaning Products on Lung Health as Bad as 20 Day Cigarette Habit: Study from Newsweek
• Zenith Auto Glass's recipe on making your own windshield wiper fluid
• SC Johnson's Sustainability Report from 2013
• ClassAction.org on the lawsuit
• How Does Vinegar Affect the Environment from Greenmatters.com
• How to Clean Your Mirrors from HouseDigest.com

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

Are washable rugs actually sustainable? Tiff and Kat dive into whether or not a washable rug is worth adding to your sustainability toolbox -- or whether its possible effects are offset because we're all trained to be asshole consumers.

What We Used

• Ruggable

Source Links

• Ruggable on its sustainability
• GAIA and Changing Markets
• The Good Trade
• Treehugger for its review on Ruggable’s sustainability
• Environmental Working Group for product ratings and general chemical research and helpful list of PFAs-free products
• CNN article about a Toxic Free Future study on PFAs
• Indiana Department of Environmental Management carpet cleaning paper

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

What makes sponges bad? Find out in this harrowing episode of your new favorite green living podcast, where our intrepid heroines dive into bacteria, dishwashing, and even baby washing.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What we bought:
Sea Sponges

Other stuff:
Scrub & Throw Loofah

Resources:
Greenhive on Eco Friendly Sponges
Impactful Ninja: Are Sponges Eco-Friendly
Australian Marine Conservation Society on Sea Sponges
Council of Fashion Designers on Hemp
Common Objective on the Environmental Benchmark for Fibres
NY Magazine on Eco Friendly Alternatives to Sponges
Nature.com article on how gross kitchen sponges are
NPR on Can You Really Not Clean Your Kitchen Sponge
CNN on Your Dishwashing Sponge vs Brush
Time on How to Wash Dishes with a Sponge
Brightly on Dishwashing vs Handwashing

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

Learn what the heck green bleach is and whether or not it even works -- or is more sustainable than the old-school chlorine stuff -- in this episode of your favorite green living podcast. Plus, discover your new go-to bleach: the sun!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some the links below are paid links.

What We Bought 

• OxiClean
• Molly's Suds Oxygen Whitener

What We Mentioned 

• Charlie’s Soap
• DIY oxygen bleach, LiveSimply.me

Source Links

• ChemicalSafetyFacts.org 
• EPA (1) and EPA (2)
• American Chemical Society
• Chemosphere study
• Environmental Working Group
• The Guardian
• The Spruce
• Apartment Therapy
• OldAndIntersting.com
• Scripps Research

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

This week on your favorite green living podcast, Tiff & Kat talk about wool dryer balls to replace dryer sheets. Find out what makes a good wool dryer ball (hint: it's the sheep) and how to use them (hint: you throw them in the dryer). Another hint: go listen to episode 4 about homemade laundry detergent first to complete your set!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Bought
Wool dryer balls

What We Mentioned

• Static Eliminator Reusable Dryer Sheets
•  Seventh Generation's Natural Lavender Scent Fabric Softener
•  Ecover's Natural Fabric Softener
• A drying rack 

Sources:

• Green Detective: How Green Is It to Use Dryer Sheets vs How Green Is It to Use Wool Dryer Balls
• Whirpool on Tumble Dry
• Scientific American
• Greenlogic on Washer and Dryers energy use
• Treehugger on wool itself and mulesing
• Organic wool fact sheet from OTA

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

This week, Kat and Tiff reveal their 3-ingredient recipe for cheesecake — err, laundry detergent. This DIY laundry detergent is so easy (and sustainable!) that it might become your  gateway drug to homemade products, like it was for Tiffany. These two marketing writers also talk you through a simple way to uncover green hooey for yourself and learn the true sustainability of your household products in this green living podcast.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Recommend:

• Dish soap (Palmolive Ultra Pure + Clear Liquid Dish Soap Detergent - Fragrance Free is actually sustainable, affordable, and easy to find)
• Arm & Hammer washing soda
• Enzyme stain remover from Truly Free (this is optional but helps with stains)

If you don’t want to make your own and are a millionaire:

• Aspen Clean is great but expensive
• Dropps laundry pods

What We Mentioned:

• Nancy Birtwhistle’s book, Clean & Green: 101 Hints and Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Home
• Safer Choice label from the EPA

Source Links:

• An article from Apartment Therapy on liquid laundry detergent facts
• AZCentral: liquid detergent is up to 90% water
• Environmental Working Group for product ratings
• The Spruce’s breakdown of the chemistry of laundry detergent
• A breakdown of enzymes in detergent from Novozymes

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act

This week on your favorite green living podcast, Tiff and Kat learn about compostable trash bags -- or, more accurately, food scrap bags --  and what they can and can't do. Join as we discuss what the bags mean to cockroaches and sea turtles, and add a few new lines of "green hooey" to your dictionary.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are paid links.

What We Bought
100% Compostable Trash Bags
EcoGuard compostable 3 gallon food scrap bags

Sources:
You Asked: What Are The Most Eco-Friendly Garbage Bags?
Are biodegradable bags better than plastic? It's complicated.
Biodegradable Plastic Bags Aren't Better for the Environment

Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyact
Instagram: @greeningupmyact
Facebook: Greening Up My Act
Email us with questions: [email protected]
YouTube: Greening Up My Act