Thursday, November 15, 2007

Am I a hippie, environmentalist, or an old lady?

A little background is necessary here...

1. I make my own laundry detergent, use vinegar for fabric softener and in place of Jet Dry
2. I use those cool reusable bags at the grocery store that are shaped like brown paper bags with handles but are made of a nylon material.
3. I will tend to tell anyone about the above two things with little to no provocation.

So, yesterday I went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items, and took in my reusable bag. These have not really caught on yet, so even the checkout people tend to look at them like they are a tad scary. So I could tell the checkout woman was already judging me thinking I'm one of those enviro"mental"ist people. To make it even more interesting, I was buying some Fels Naptha to make my laundry soap. As she was putting the soap into my bag, she paused and said, "Oh! I thought this was body soap!" I told her that no, it was what I use to make my own laundry soap. I told her how to make it. I couldn't help myself. I'm sure she didn't care. At all. But she politely asked if it lasts a long time. Goodness knows why. But I began extolling the virtues of my soap, and how wonderful vinegar is as a fabric softener. She politely nodded. She handed me my receipt, I picked up bag and started to walk away. And here's where she really blew it. She said, "I don't use Downy. I use those dryer sheets. My kid puts 5 in at a time."

I couldn't stop myself. I turned around and walked back to her, and in front of the customer she was waiting on next, I said, "Then you really need to know this. If you use fabric sheets, you need to make sure your lint trap is really clean. Wash it. Wash it with soap and water occasionally." She looked at me like I was nuts. Maybe I am. But I knew I had her when I said, "Especially if your clothes don't dry the first time you run the dryer." The light in her eyes told me that was happening. I went on, "Dryer sheets cause a build up on your lint catcher and makes the dryer work much harder, and eventually can even cause a fire."

As I walked away, I started laughing because suddenly I realized I am this conglomeration of stereotypes... hippie, environmentalist, nosy old lady... But you know, I like it.

3 comments:

Mavis said...

Were you too warm (hot) when you made those comments?

Christy said...

lol!!

Luke and Angel said...

Whatever your on....SHARE!!!