Though I want to be a good steward, I’ll be frank and state that I am not overly concerned about “saving the earth.” After all, it’s all going to burn one day and be replaced.

The interesting thing I’ve found about some “earth friendly” thinking is that it relates closely to “people friendly.” The anti-bacterial soap ingredient that gets into lakes and kills fish? It’s the same thing that makes me more likely to get sick by promoting bacterial resistance; the same substance, classified as a pesticide, that can make its way into breastmilk for my precious babies!

So while “being gentle to the earth” isn’t one of my main goals, being gentle to my family’s bodies is. And I’ve found those two goals overlap more often than I used to think they might.

All that is an introduction to this post on Hand Washing at Simple Organic. Very informative and practical. Anti-bacterial soap is bad for you, dear ones, and this gives a great explaination of why, with links to additional resources. It also answers the “what do I do instead?” question.