PICASSO'S COMPULSION
(or, maybe it's time to dump bad products)

This 1913 cubist sculpture, "Mandolin and Clarinet,"
was fashioned by Picasso out of scrap wood.
From  "Picasso Museum Paris"
Prestel-Verlag Publicshers

What an inspiration that Picasso! Not only was he the greatest artist of the 20th Century -- his dazzling  imagination and endless inventiveness are behind some of the most indelible images in art history -- but he was also an inveterate hoarder who liked to save everything: bits of string, scraps of paper, menus, old hats, fish bones. When a house filled with too much clutter, he moved out and bought a new home. And then he started all over again. There was a point to this compulsion. Many of the collected items ended up being transformed into exciting pieces of art. Turns out Picasso was also a great recycler.

Recycling is bigger than ever these days, and not just as a vehicle for making art. For the environmentally conscious, it is but one of a number of personal actions one can take to help the planet. The benefits of recycling include diverting tons of materials away from landfills, reducing energy costs and pollution, conserving natural resources and slowing down habitat destruction. Other steps one might consider are reducing consumption (putting need ahead of want) and dumping products that carry a danger to health and the environment. Here are a few suggestions:

1) Paper napkins. Sure they are convenient, but they are wasteful especially when you can easily replace them with cloth napkins which in addition to adding a touch of color to the table, offer the practicality of repeated use. In Europe, a custom prevailing in many homes is for each member of the family to have their own cloth napkin, easily identified by an individualized napkin holder.

2) Plastic water bottles. It used to be that the ubiquitous water bottle was the preferred accessory for urbanites on the go. They remain as popular as ever (consumption is up) but here's the drawback. More than 80 percent of the 25 billion-plus single use plastic water bottles American consumers will buy this year will end up in a landfill where it will take hundreds of years for the plastic to decompose. If those statistics are not sufficiently damning, then consider that certain plastics have been shown to leach Bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, male infertility, aggressive behavior and more. By the way, this chemical is also used in canned-food containers and while there is a movement afoot to eliminate its use from cans, doubts abound as to whether the replacement will be any better.

If not plastic, then what? Opt for a stainless steel bottle which you can carry along already filled up with water or can refill at your closest water cooler, friend's house, or sympathetic restaurant. These bottles are available in many designs and prices with some models advertising that they are free of BPA, lead, phthalates, and toxins. Healthy is always the best way to go!

3) Air fresheners. They may cover up smells but do not eliminate them. Worse, behind the sweet smell of fresheners lurks the danger of phthalates (also used in personal care products and cosmetics) and nasty chemicals such as formaldehyde ( a known human carcinogen), petroleum distillates, limonene, and others. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology released a study last year that tied air fresheners to serious lung problems, including asthma in kids. Want your house to smell nice? Then how about opening windows and letting fresh air do the job. Or roll up your sleeves and clean up with natural substances such as baking soda, vinegar and lemon. Sure beats chemicals!

4) Cleaning products. Most cleaning products on the market contain chemicals that not only have the potential to harm people but, after disposal, pose a hazard to landfills and water disposal systems. Again, why turn to chemicals when there are natural substances that will do the job just as effectively and without hurting mother nature? Like the above mentioned trio of beauties: baking soda, vinegar, and lemon.

5) Non-stick cookware/bakeware. That slick, shiny surface on nonstick pots and pans is made out of a synthetic material called perfluoroalkyl acid which has been linked to ADHD, high cholesterol and thyroid disease. This chemical also is suspected of contributing to low sperm counts and female infertility. Ideal replacements: Cast iron, glass or stainless steel.        
                                         

BEST ALL PURPOSE CLEANERS/DEODORIZERS

Baking soda, lemon, white vinegar

1) General cleaning solution: mix one part white vinegar 

and nine parts water. Use to kill bacteria and

 spores on kitchen counters and bathroom tiles

 with this added bonus: when finished, dump down the toilet 

for odor control.

2) Cut a lemon in half, sprinkle baking soda over it and

 use it to scrub dishes, pans, surfaces and stains.

3) A mix of 1 cup olive oil with 1/2 cup lemon juice is

perfect to polish hardwood furniture. For more ideas, check

this website devoted to green living:

 www.rodale.com

Photograph by Denise Blasor


Live the full life of the mind,
 exhilarated by new ideas,
intoxicated by the romance of
the unusual.

Ernest Hemingway

☛ A SIMPLE TIP: A used up paper towel need not be a one-shot deal. If not overly soiled, dry the paper towel, store it in a little bag and and keep it on hand to clean up floor spills and whatever gook you find around the house.

Photograph by Denise Blasor

"Everything he did now was for the last time -- an odd sensation. He would never come this way again and five minutes later
 taking a new bottle of gin from his cupboard, he thought: I shall never open another bottle. The actions which could be repeated became fewer and fewer. Presently there would be only one unrepeatable action left..." Graham Greene, "The Heart of the Matter."














Copyright © 2012 Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved