For the small price of refusing to buy gas on this one arbitrarily chosen day (or sometimes chosen weekend), you effectively decrease the profits of oil companies.

Actually, you inflate your own sense of eco-righteousness.  That is about all that you will accomplish.

Gas prices will stay the same (despite the false claims of previous years causing gas prices to fall $.30 overnight).  This “event” is a total sham.

I have never played along with the gas out, even during my years writing this blog as “Green Grounded” when I yearned to be the most environmentally-friendly gal in town.

Why did I avoid this annual boycott?

Think about it.  Who are we joking to think we are changing anything with this method?

Even the originators of this email suggest fueling up on the 14th, or on the 16th.   Fuel away!  Fill your car overflowing with glorious liquid gold (not the cheese) with abandon!  The oil companies will feel our wrath on the 15th, however, when suddenly their sales are all dried up!

Gandhi said something about being the change, right?  Not staging a one-day protest where you simply put off doing a chore you will happily oblige to the day after.

I feel the same way about Earth Hour, realizing I simply spent the hours before cooking my dinner, therefore using the same energy, simply earlier.

Last year, I even had someone in my life lecture me about how rad it was to participate in some lame boycott of work.  I think it was on a Thursday.  The point had something to do with solidarity for the Occupy Wallstreet movement, except you got to sit on your butt at home and pretend you were doing something that mattered.  The truth is, if you are truly a part of the 99% and are tripping over how screwed you are financially because of the 1%, you likely do not have the luxury of “calling in” to work and playing on the internet all day.  You have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and a JOB TO KEEP when job security does not exist.*  Apparently, the day and event were so lame, I can no longer find a trace of it on Facebook (there was a page for it) or Google.

Do not hear me wrong.  I am not a fan of status quo.

I do not believe we are helpless to make a difference.

I do not believe that things are OK in this country.  To the contrary, our entire culture, from the smallest to the government, is severely damaged.

Back to the primary point of this post, do you want to make a difference in gas prices?

Change your life.  Be the change.  That is the only way to make a statement.

Take public transportation.  Not the day of the gas out.  Every day.  (NYC rules at this.)

When you have to drive, think out your day and make sure you take the most efficient route, driving as little as possible.  Think out your groceries for the week and make only one trip to the store for everything you need.  Walk or ride a bicycle to work.  Stop driving your damn SUV and get a compact car.  These are the only ways demand goes down.

Frankly, the economics there are still junky.  If you think that by driving demand down (as mentioned in the directly above suggestions) will drive prices down, you are still wrong.

Those who need gas will buy gas.  Period.  Therefore, we rely on it.  Period.  The oil companies will then charge what they wish.  Period.  Ask Europe.

Really.  I am simply tire of the gimme attitude of people, the entitlement of thinking everything needs to be cheap and footed by someone else,** and the logic that you can run your mouth and make a difference.  (I have to love the irony of my last statement.)

Save yourself the “gas out” effort and your dignity.  If you want a change in the culture, BE the change already.  I don’t want to hear about it.  Show me.

With love and gratitude,

Ashley Sue

*  Honestly, I almost felt like anyone who participated in that should be able to be fired.  You don’t want to work today to stick it to “the man”?  Well, good job.  You have actually only truly crippled the mom and pop businesses out there who need workers, deliveries, and efficiency simply to stay afloat.  You have proven your job does not mean that much to you, during a time when a deeply painful number of people are unemployed and would be thrilled to take your place.  Job very well done, Sport.

** This is one of my favorite hyper-local posts I’ve ever written.  I still stick by every single word of it and feel good great about how I voted.  The day after that post aired, I got SLAUGHTERED on Twitter by the local young, liberal progressives.  Slaughtered.  A couple of them had really solid points of compassion they mentioned (tornado victims in downtown Raleigh), but I still think the bond was wrong.  Of course, plenty of strangers had a slew of shitty comments directed at me on Twitter, but no one had the capacity to have a conversation with me on the blog.  The hits were huge, and everyone’s vocal consensus was what an asshole I am.  Whatever.  I reread the post, and I would still print it out and put it all over Raleigh if they put up another bond proposal… which they surely will next year because it is what they do.  And again, it will pass, because that is what this city does.  Just with no help from me.

Slowly, it became a way of what the internet is – preaching to the choir.  Rambling to a crowd of people who perfectly agree with me used to see productive… and then I grew up.

Then it became an awakening that so many people want to do what they can, but get really tired of the condescension they feel from the “green” gurus who tell them they are still failing to do their part.

“American Pickle”, which has also been “Green Grounded” (and something else, I am sure), served to let me vent anger toward advertising and mindlessness in our society.

It has allowed me to show gratitude for new ideas and products and eco-advocates in our world.

My sad, sad absence of consistency since 2010, however, has shown more about my flailing desire to find my “voice” with this blog.

I have stressed whether or not to kill this blog off, and always find reasons to keep it up.  Is using energy on it greener, or killing it?  Death to American Pickle would certainly be greener to my wallet.  Hehae.  Still, I know clearly that it is not death to this, my first voice, my first blog, my extension from my time at WNCN NBC 17, which gave me a platform and understanding of social media back in 2007 when my amazing boss, Maryann Balbo, and a social media expert, Terry Heaton, encouraged me to create this part of myself online.

If it were not for this gift, I would have missed out on a very rewarding experience and personal growths through Facebook, Twitter, and other blogs that I have since created and nurtured.

I just felt the need to address that.  I am more than aware, painfully so, that I have been lackluster in keeping this once successful blog up.  For the three of you that stumble across these last posts and those to come…

Thank you.

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

Being vegan back in the early 2000s exposed me to the toxic ingredients (or at least controversial ones) in our everyday beauty regiment.

As I delved into a “greener” lifestyle for work and passion back in 2007, I saw clearer than ever how stuffy some people are about their natural choices.  A lot of people chirping about how they use clay for toothpaste and boasting arrogantly of how they do not use soap or shampoo is a large reason some people turn away from “green”.  Besides, who wants to smell like a hippy?

In walks Ashley (not me), who is anything but grungy, stinky, dirty.  No, this chic glows.  She is beautiful, she is elegant, she is lovely.  She is modest, she is meek, and she is graceful.  Not pretentious, not boastful, not an annoying hippy.

She is also one of the very first blogs I ever followed, as I was captivated to learn how she and her beau were learning to build a life together, as environmentally and healthfully as possible, in a tiny space.  I watched her explore being newly married, feeling like an adult, having her own baby, and explore her career.

Ashley inspired me when she stopped using shampoo.  In fact, not only did she stop using shampoo, but she enjoyed the experience so much, she shared her experience and tips over several posts.

I committed myself.  I bought a jumbo bag of Arm & Hammer from Costco, and a big jug of apple cider vinegar.

Here are the highlights from my two months with no ‘poo in my ‘do:

• Hanging out with friends and realizing I had a large, dried clump of baking soda inside my ear.
• I told my girl Sara about my attempt.  Her reply was something like she tried it too, but gave up after a week or something.  It was not working for her.
• Realizing while I was shopping I had dried baking soda stuck behind my ear.
• A slightly dry scalp.
• A house that smelled overtaken by tea tree oil.  My husband was really overwhelmed by it… and the cat kept hiding from me and running past the bathroom (I swear, I only used three drops per shampoo!).
• Hair that for several days on end would appear really greasy… and I could find little relief from it.
• Getting random whiffs of vinegar throughout the day – no matter how long and hard I rinsed my hair.
• Gummy gunk coating my razor as I would shave in the shower after treating my hair – the gumminess was the same color as the apple cider vinegar (and only appeared when I used it) and killed my blades AS I WOULD BE SHAVING.  Never happened before, and never happened now that I stopped using it.

All of these good times culminated in the final straw.  Literally.  My hair looked like the dried straw that would be stuck in my hair after an autumn hayride.

I gave up.  My newly layered locks were impossible to style, and the ends looked like a bad 80′s hair band rocker (think Kip Winger).  Further, I rarely ever actually blow-dry and style my hair, so whatever I use better help it dry beautifully with some shape on its own.

I did enjoy one amazing perk from the experience:  my hair had a ton of volume!  I am a big hair kinda gal (hello, Dolly!), and regular shampoo and conditioner products seem to weight it down (boo). In the end, the cons just won out.

While no shampoo did not work for me, it does work beautifully and magically for some people.  Like Ashley.

I, on the contrary, instantly felt at home as I used lathery suds once again, and felt my fingers slip silkily through my conditioned hair.

Have you tried it – for any reasonable length of time?  Any thoughts?

Before you sneer, seriously, ignore my lack of joy with the results, but dive into Ashley’s posts.  You will want to try it to decide for yourself!

Shampooingly yours,

Ashley Sue

Then Clorox paved the mainstream way of trying to convince us the make a truly “green” cleaning line, and names like Seventh Generation became everyday brands.

Living that middle ground as I do, I took several years and bought only Shaklee, Seventh Generation, Ecover, and the like.  I spent bundles of Marc’s and my money toward these products, and often to find myself itchy, my dishes still dirty, and my bathtub still grimy.

This past with pricey alternative cleaners explains why I was at Wal-Mart (yes) this week buying Comet.  Gimme that bleachy teal powder that would turn tar snowy white!

I grabbed the 2x Comet (twice the white and half the elbow grease!) when I saw it:

The cutest little bird, letting me know it was my “Good Friend”, or in french, “Bon Ami”.  A powder cleanser, just like coment, but “America’s Original Natural Home Cleaner”.

“Cleans your home without dye, perfume or chlorine”.
“Sprinkle Scrub Rinse!”
“Before cleaning turned ‘chemical,’ there was Bon Ami.”

They say they have a simple purpose, “to return your home to a natural state of clean.”

Biodegradable, hypo-allergenic (and those commercial cleaners you buy are NOT), Bon Ami is made of “five simple ingredients”:

• Limestone
• Feldspar
• Biodegradable Cleaning Agents (from coconut and corn)
• Soda Ash
• Baking Soda

Technically, would “biodegradable cleaning agents” not count as more than one ingredient?  That reminds me of idiots on Pinterest who say their cake is only three ingredients… but one of them is a box of cake mix which has eight ingredients and multiple preservatives itself.

Anyhow, Bon Ami is still far less harsh and far more natural than what I showed up to buy.  Plus, for less than a dollar, what do I have to lose?

I got both.  No better way to test something out, right, than to have the tried-and-true on standby to make everything pearly if the natural product fails.  I likely would have bought Bar Keepers Friend, which was between the two products, but it was sold out.  I hear it is fantastic, too, though.

Any experience with this cute little chickadee?

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

PS.  No, we still have no fridge.  The old one is sitting in the middle of our kitchen floor, and we should have one by tomorrow night.  Oh, I hope, because the random coolers and tote bins of food sitting on our porch is a little janky.

Buckwheat honey, however, is absolutely amazing.  The flavor is much bolder than a lot of honey varieties, and from a bit of internet research, I see that buckwheat honey is praised for its high mineral content and healthful benefits.  Dr. Oz approved.

Not all buckwheat honey is created equal, though.

My Grandma and I took a trip to Virginia last Autumn and stopped at Brady’s Farmers Market in Hillsville.  Seriously, while I have been to much larger farmers markets, I have been to none as hospitable or with such a slammin’ selection as Brady’s.

courtesy of bradysproduce.webs.com

Jars of honey, sorghum and molasses lined a wall, and the prices were unbeatable.  Literally, the same size jar of honey in Raleigh cost me $10 while Brady’s had them for under $5.  The selection was insane, so I grabbed one of my favorites as well as tried two new varieties: Avocado Honey and Buckwheat.

While the Avocado was about as flavorful and impressive as good ol’ grocery store clover honey or alfalfa (boooooooooring), the Buckwheat punched our taste buds in the face with a WHAM!  It was scrumptious.

Do not think you have to like buckwheat to like this honey.  Buckwheat pancakes have been something we merely tolerate on rare, forced occasions… but this honey?  Divine.

Previously, Marc and I always kept two jars of honey on hand.  I preferred Water Tupelo as a(n easier to find) variety, Marc preferred Sourwood (which I am not a fan of).  Now, we both are bigger fans of Buckwheat.

Thought I would share those two nuggets of information in case you are cruising through Hillsville, Virginia or you are searching new honey varieties.

When we ran out, we desperately wanted to replace it, though.  Not living anywhere near Hillsville (like, hours and hours away), I hoped Google would cure our thirst.  The few brands I found online were incredibly expensive to buy and ship (boo) except a brand I found online at either VitaCost or Vitamin Shoppe.  This buckwheat was a big disappointment.  It was thick and opaque, which my Google research said it often is.  The flavor was much more full of pollen and hive tidbits than what I found at Brady’s.  In fact, it was downright gritty in flavor and texture in my throat in comparison.

So, now we seek affordable, super dark, amber-brown, buckwheat honey, completely translucent, like looking through a beautiful, dark craft beer.  When I see that, I will know to expect more of the incredible, extraordinary flavor of our buckwheat honey.

Cheers!

Ashley Sue

courtesy of bradysproduce.webs.com

In my effort to make a post a day, every day for October, I chose to take Sunday off.  God rested, my brain was fried, and we were processing deer. Three deer.

Somewhere along the way of processing deer, we realized our refrigerator is not working correctly.

Actually, we were making ice cream cones last week and noticed the ice cream was not hard.  I ended up serving sweet, sugary soup in bowls with an ice cream cone upside down on top.  The freezer was not defrosting at all, so we emptied the entire appliance, turning it off, and using a hair dryer to thaw the coils and unit.  Problem solved.

Or not.  Yesterday, after being able to put all of the food back in the fridge and freezer from the coolers, and putting a lot of baggies of freshly cut deer in the freezer, we saw the freezer was frosted over again completely and the fridge is not cooling at all.

Sheesh.

Hours of research let us know our appliance either needs a new defrost heater, defrost timer, or defrost thermostat.  We could spend all of today testing the three components to figure out which to replace, but then again, we would have to hope that was the only issue.

Is a 1994 model refrigerator worth repairing, or do we go ahead and buy a whole new appliance?

Our current model is far from energy efficient, and we already knew we would likely have to replace the 18-year-old appliance within the next two years.  Putting $100 into a repair is cheaper than a whole new model, but at the cost of running the unit and potential of something else going wrong, we would simply be delaying the inevitable.  Unfortunately for Marc, it will have to happen during his hunting season.

Now the real hunt begins.  We need certain dimensions (naturally), we want black, and we want a bottom freezer.  Oh, and we want it to be as affordable as possible.

Sears Outlet offers quite a few options in our price range and with our specifications.  They are all refurbished / reconditioned models though, and I have no idea how to feel about that.  Part of me thinks, “Great, a broken but repaired piece of garbage,” while another part of me thinks, “Oh, new units break within the first six months all the time, so this is one that did and had the problem rectified.”  Ugh, I just do not know.

Appliances today are often made with far better energy standards than they were in 1994, so we are bound to be more efficient.  All of the models we have researched so far are Energy Star.  Truly energy-saving options are cost prohibitive for us, however, just like we realized with our hot water heater.

In the next couple days, we will have to make some sort of a decision.  All I currently know is that I have heard from too many others that Samsung kitchen appliances breakdown entirely too quickly.  I really have no other idea where to start from here.

Research will eat much of my day.  If you have any ideas, we would love your tips on what we need to consider in such a big purchase.

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

PS.  The environmental research does not stop with deciding what to buy or repair.  You still have to figure out where to get rid of your old unit.  Remember, your city likely will not pickup your “white goods” (large appliances) without you arranging a pickup and owing a fee (usually around $50).  Recycling is a better option, as you can find a scrap metal recycler in your community, and you can make a handful of money off of taking it there.  Or, your local power coop or utility services may offer a “reward” incentive for allowing them to come take your appliance for reuse.

I know not everyone who will read this subscribes to Christianity, but as someone who does, I realized long ago that “living green” so often becomes it’s own version of worship.

The pride and arrogance over all I do to make the world greener, all I know that others seem to be figuring out, all that I teach other and judge them for not doing, and all the things I realized I still did not know that I had to gobble up to reach the pinnacle of green zen…

My search for “Green Grounded” was anything but grounded.  I had made an idol of being green.

So where is the balance?

Another writer deals with this, too, as her family lives “on the crunchier side” as well as has a child that is allergic to plastic:

It’s avoiding all the baggage that comes along with it. It’s avoiding the dogma. The theology of the earth as giver and creator. The “save the earth!” slogans. The idea that more than one child per family is unduly burdening our ecosystem. The explicit understanding that we’re all part of one big cosmic happy place, and that anyone who subscribes to the idea that there’s one true way is just bringing everyone down.

How do we make our difference, live our truth, support the ecosystem and community, all while keeping our eyes and hearts focused on the bigger-yet picture?

Any thoughts on living a balance?

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

All the same, fluoride is something we Americans are taught to revere.  And we cannot escape it.

From a young age, we get fluoride treatments from the dentist and hear all of these commercials about how great this toothpaste brand and that mouthwash is because of the cavity-fighting fluoride.  Heck, the CDC hails fluoridation of water as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.

Fluoride, however, is linked to cancer, bone fractures and weakness, low sperm count, endocrinology issues, and more.  According to FluorideAlert.org,

While the health impact of these exposures remains poorly understood, research shows that comparable doses cause serious health conditions in areas of the world with widespread fluoride poisoning…

…In terms of acute toxicity (i.e., the dose that can cause immediate toxic consequences), fluoride is more toxic than lead, but slightly less toxic than arsenic. This is why fluoride has long been used in rodenticides and pesticides to kill pests like rats and insects. It is also why accidents involving over-ingestion of fluoridated dental products-including fluoride gels, fluoride supplements, and fluoridated water-can cause serious poisoning incidents, including death.

Many proponents argue that since the fluoridation of water, dating back to WWII, tooth decay has dropped by over 50%.  Dental health is first and foremost the reason so many proponents support forced and coerced use of the toxic chemical addition to our drinking water.  (I love my dentist though for being the one to bring to my attention that not all dentist believe fluoride is safe in such levels or uses.)

Some cities are fighting back, however, such as Oliver Springs, Tennessee, and are putting the debate on the ballot.

Some citizens fear that what is good for one’s teeth may harm the rest of the body.

“It has a warning saying the chemical is known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm,” said Tim Crisp, a resident and water department employee as he addressed the Oliver Springs Water Board…

…  Oliver Springs Mayor Chris Hepler said he has concerns.

“There was a time the doctor would recommend you the best brand of cigarettes to smoke. Times have changed,” Hepler said.

So many scary chemicals and questionable ingredients are in our hygiene products, shampoos, hand soaps, lotions and makeup.  As far as first world, industrialized nations go, this seems largely to be an issue exclusive to America.

Is it because we Americans just do not care?  The cheaper it is, we will buy it without questioning what is in it?

Is it because our government is more callous than others?  The cheaper it is to make, we will convince our society it must be safe?

Is it because the other nations are too cautious?  Until we prove it is safe, we must assume it is dangerous?

Throughout much of Europe, a number of controversial ingredients are banned for use that are smattered throughout many of our everyday items.

Case and point, fluoride.  Even the water filter I bought to get out the fluoride started sending out warnings that their filter no longer removes the substance from our water (and perhaps it never did).

I use toothpaste from Trader Joe’s that is fluoride-free.**  Some people even make their own paste.  This is small in comparison to having to drink it all day, every day, however.

A Facebook group exists as well to promote advocacy to the issue (and I thank my Uncle Timmy who voices advocacy over controversial government-based issues for how I learned of the group).

What are your thoughts?  I get that none of us know the full science, so our thoughts are just that.  I feel like with so many other things, however, our government has coerced us into being their long term science experiment.

By the way, please remember this post only discusses the potential health aspects of fluoride.  I did not bother to dig into the environmental and ecosystem concerns.  Any article, post, or editorial should act as a starting point for your own research, however, and give you one key to deciding your own stance.

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

* I promise, if you know me, you know I rarely if ever rely on sensationalism to sell, but as unsexy as so many health and environmental topics are, fluoride?  I mean, really?  Fluoride?  I have no idea what is less sexy to read about than fluoride.  Still, the issue seems very relevant to our lives.

**  For some reason, they also carry a second variety of their toothpaste, which is mint-flavored and has fluoride.  This makes me sad, as I would far prefer to have mint flavor, but their fluoride-free tubes are licorice.  Not a fan of licorice, but you get used to it.

Call 811 before you dig.

I choose this as today’s topic because it is a simple but very important reminder, as we are now in Autumn.  If you are anything like us, you either already started your fall gardening or will soon.

Indeed, while our vegetables are winding down again until Spring, we ripped out two rose bushes and planted a lantana and weigela to our yard this week.  Later this month, we will plant heucharas and transplant daylilies.

We also have, like you, pipes and cables all under our yard.  Some are feet below, while others are perhaps a foot below.  Cable lines, power lines, natural gas pipes, water lines, sewage, and more.

One simple call to 811 makes sure you do not hit the natural gas line and have your whole neighborhood shut down while the city fixes your oops.  It makes sure you don’t get your cable cut off with one whack of your shovel.

Our first summer here, when digging a spot to plant our tomatoes, we accidentally came very close to chopping through some sort of cable that was only a couple inches underground and in a weird place in the middle of our yard.  I thought it was a root.  Oops!

Further, calling 811 with a couple weeks notice of your gardening plans insures you will not mess up and have to pay large fines and fees to the city or cable company for endangering your neighbors or just having to repair you (or your neighbor’s) television and internet services.

Within a couple days of your planned landscaping, guys from the city will come out with something that looks like one of those metal detectors you see men combing the beach with.  As their device registers that it is over a line, it shoots spray paint across your lawn where the lines are.  Before you know it, your yard is a maze of mapped out green, red, white, yellow, orange, and blue zigs.  Each color is a different kind of line, which you can find out from the city’s website.

So, there is your heads up.  Calling 811 to do this is actually NC law before you do any landscaping, renovation, or even post-digging for putting in a mailbox.

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/ProclamationDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1640

http://nc811.org/homepage.htm

http://www.co.currituck.nc.us/water-call-before-you-dig.cfm

*************

Also, feel free to have your soil tested:

http://www.raleighpublicrecord.org/news/2011/05/03/test-that-soil-raleigh-gardeners/

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

Months ago I wrote how Marc and I were hunting a mattress for our bedroom.  In fact, in the ever-rotating cycle of furniture Marc and I have always lived, we also knew the time had come to replace the creaky, jabby blue vinyl pullout in the guest room with an actual mattress.

First up, we wanted a new bed.  My Kingsdown mattress had been given to me in 2000, and as great as a company as they are, the mattress had just taken a beating and a flattening over the years.  At the age of 30-something, our joints were starting to hurt all the time.

Hunting and hunting and hunting, we finally chose a NovaForm Deluxe Comfort 12″ memory foam.  NovaForm has several lines, and from reviews, we quickly knew to avoid their low-line models.  We felt good about the order, and I can say since we pulled our mattress from the box (crazy), our joints feel great.  I even got excited and bought memory foam pillows.

NovaForm:  How green is the mattress, and how healthy is memory foam? 

No doubt, we likely lost a lot of points in both areas.  The latex mattress I had sworn for years I wanted costs thousands, and the organic cotton mattress was not much better.  Further, I feared Marc or I suddenly getting a latex allergy and our mattress having to go, or the cotton mattress becoming lumpy and painful within a year.

Specs to consider:

• Meets the requirements of 16 CFR Part 1633-Federal flammability (open flame) standards
• Cover: 100% polyester, quilted gold basket weave
• Top layer: 2.5″ of premium NutraFresh™ memory foam
• Middle layer: 2.5″ of sculpted air channel foam
• Base layer of mattress: 7″ of durable, premium base foam
• 100% hypoallergenic foam
• Great for platform beds and slatted frames
• Memory foam made in the USA

As you see, I was a fan of the foam and mattress being made in the USA.*  Also, goodbye box-spring.  Ours was making noise, and the cheap metal frames that come with beds was sagging.  So we have a great platform now, too!

Points of concern are always the flame-retardant materials and chemicals used, as well as wondering what exactly this foam and “NutraFresh” component is made of.  The gases offset for years on any mattress, and for six to eight hours a night, we directly have our nose and lungs attached to these chemicals.

In fact, I have no idea what the smell is, but when we took it out of the box and plastic wrapping, the entire back of the house wreaked of some plasticized chemical smell.  We had to close the bedroom door for three days, open the window, and set fans throughout the room to keep the air moving.  After three days, we could smell it still a bit but chose to sleep on it anyhow.

Environmental and Health Assessment:

When cost is a fact, and in this economy it definitely is, you figure out the best you can.  NovaForm seems like it was our answer, and since the initial smell of it dissipated, we have really enjoyed it.

Goodnight Sleepstore House Brand:  How green is the mattress, and how healthy?

Alas, one of our hand-me-down couches has been Craigslisted out (to a man who literally bought our rather nice couch solely for his 95 lbs German Shepherd to enjoy), the pullout is now our main upstairs couch, and we have two new twin mattresses for guests!

For couples staying with us, the twin beds may not be their preferred arrangement.  Still, the bunk bed frames were Marc and Chris’s as children, and we keep them trundled.  Space is conserved in the tiny room, and the second bed can be set up in the art studio as a second guest room for certain occasions (like for Mom and Dad Bull during hunting season, or if we have a couple guests who happen not to be a “couple”).

Honestly, I have nothing to say regarding the eco-factor nor the health factor of this mattress.  It is a standard mattress, petroleum products, coil springs, flame retardant and such.  Still, the store did us very right, we had a Groupon that a dear friend had given us after that first post I wrote, and we got two quality mattresses at a crazy good steal deal.

Seriously, I have slept on the twin mattresses more than once already, and I am impressed!  If it were not for how great the store was and my friend’s generosity, we would have not been able to afford mattresses half this nice!

**************************

I still keep my eye out for organic bedding, though I often find that to be nearly as illusive as a truly “green” mattress option.

Any ideas you have for others in the market for a sound night of sleep?

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

*Yes, “Memory foam made in the USA” is not the same as the whole mattress being made here.  Whatever.  Denial, OK?