Peeing in the Shower

Text by K. Cecchini/Images by Do the Green Thing (Feature photo: Cut Your Shower by Michael Bierut

Peeing in the Shower & Other Eco-Friendly Moves I’m NOT Ready For…

While governments stall on true environmental reforms, there are a number of revisions we can make to our own lifestyles to reduce our “Eco-footprint”. But there are certain moves I’m admittedly not ready for, but I’d like to argue -or at least assuage my own guilt- that I do make smaller steps to be Eco-friendly.

So let’s get real…

Peeing in the shower. George Costanza may have been right after Elaine chastised him for his peeing in the locker room shower, “It’s all pipes; what’s the difference?!”. Although the Seinfeld cast never actually called the plumber to verify his claim, I am sure the urine ends up in the same place no matter which drain it goes down. Perhaps, though, it will take a constant drought in New York to make me multi-task in the shower. For now, I’d rather save water by shutting off the water while I shampoo my hair or shave. In addition, I embrace the use of “grey water”; I use water sitting in the sink to rinse other dishes or use excess water in the kettle or a cup to hydrate houseplants. Not for nothing, a shorter shower helps.

Green Commute I wish my day job was accessible by bicycle or public transportation, but it is not. Right now, my job is too

far away for a bike ride (it’s already a half an hour drive) and it would take about 3 or 4 times as long to take public transportation as it is far from a direct route.  I cannot move closer at this time, but I try to make a better choice on weekends and holidays; I rarely drive on the weekends as I have chosen to live in a very pedestrian friendly neighborhood and so I take advantage of doing most of my errands and outings on foot or by public transport.

Tiny, Tiny Homes I don’t even know where I would build a tiny home in my crowded metropolis. Not for nothing, I can’t imagine my husband and I living together without a weeeee little space to ourselves at times as we are acculturated to having personal space. Alternatively, I suppose our footprint cannot be too much larger than a tiny home as we live in a condo. Although it is 900+ square feet, I believe we get some green credit for sharing walls and land space with other units; it reduces heating/cooling costs and our literal square footage on the Earth.

Used Clothes I’ll admit, the one media scare that really got me was the bed bug invasion. The idea freaks me out and kept from actually walking out with a bag of fun thrift store items. However, I rationalized it this way; if I did pick up bed bugs, I’d have to throw away way so much that my impact on the environment would be way more than I purchased new clothes. Instead I donate clothing (a bit hypocritical, I admit) and try to salvage other clothes by mending or adapting clothing with my mediocre sewing skills. Since then, though, I have bought a few items from a more upscale consignment shop in my neighborhood. Hey, I’m trying…

Au Naturale It takes time to find alternatives to the products that have been integrated into our lives for years, but I am making progress. For cleaning, I mostly use vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide (but blue glass cleaners seem to be the only thing that works on mirrors). Although I use store bought make-up and there does not seem to be a safe, natural alternative to chemical sunscreen (I think nature’s version was the ozone and that’s not in my reach), but I do stick to basics like pure shea butter for dry skin, supposedly natural, unpackaged soaps, witch hazel for face toner, rubbing alcohol for pimples and homemade body scrubs or a simple wash cloth for exfoliating. Naturally, I’ve gotta hedge off aging to keep the skin I’m in…fresh.

🌏Visit Capitol Press for their Eco-Friendly Moves their NOT Ready For (with alternatives).

🌎Please share your own alternatives or expert information below.

🌏Read more on the Earth under our environment tab, including “Dear Climate…“