Belated Earth Day Rant

Currently Reading: I'm up to Ch 22 on Thin Ice:) I may finish it today. In case you missed it, this book is definitely a Recommended Read:)

Word Count: 500. See above for reason (grin!)


In a sarcastic, ha-ha way, I am amused by all the 'go green' bandwagon. No, I'm not opposed to saving the planet; I'm just flabbergasted by certain products which are disappearing from the grocery shelves.

Specifially...the REFILL items!

Back in the 90's, 'Less is More' was splashed across the marketing campaigns, and especially in the laundry department. Suddenly, you could simply refill your Tide and Downey bottles, and it was waaaay cheaper than to buy another actual bottle of detergent! But first Tide changed their formula; prices shot up; the Sam's Choice version of Tide disappeared. So I switched to another brand. Then that brand (don't even remember what it was now) changed it's formula, and added different scents, fabric softner, and the price went up. Now I use a third brand, and spend about $7-8 a month on the 'Big Bottle', refilling my smaller, more managable bottle every week.

Same with my Downey bottle. I buy the generic, refill carton (resembling a large milk carton) and it lasts me 1-2 months. When my bottle gets too icky, then I buy a new one. But when I went looking for the refill carton last week, I had to hunt for several minutes to find it, tucked waaaay back on a lower shelf, and behind the regular bottles!

If we're soooo environmentally conscious, why are/have the refill containers disappeared? Is it all tied to economics?

"Oh...if we restock the cheaper refill containers, our profit margin will decrease. We need consumers to keep buying the more expensive, no-so-environmentally-friendly containers. Maybe they won't notice."

I'm about to start calling the manager to request my items be stocked on the shelves. I don't know if it will do any good, but I can at least try! And the nearest Sam's Club is an hour away. I let my membership lapse when we moved to a town w/o one.

Anyone else have an Earth Day gripe? The little bit I try to do is getting harder and harder to implement.

Big Day for W!
Signed him up for Kindergarten today! He went off to have his eyes and hearing checked while Mom was getting writer's cramp, filling out all the damn forms! Where's those return address label? And why do I need to keep filling in the same info on form after form? Can't I just put 'see enrollment form for info' about address, date of birth, phone number, and parent info?' He also got to have milk and a cookie. Did I get one? No. They should provide nourishment for parents with hand cramps:)

Afterwards, we went down to the kindergarten room to find his friends I and L. Once we found the right room, I knocked and asked if we could enter for a moment. The teacher smiled and waved us in...and all of a sudden there was a collective "W! W's here!" I and L rushed over, and two kids were in his Head Start class came over and hugged him! The poor kid was so overwhelmed by that much attention so fast, he hid behind me!

The teacher invited us to look around, but W was ready to bolt. And L said, "I gotta tell you something: If you get in trouble, you have to sit over there," and pointed to a place by the teacher's desk. I'm guessing she has first-hand knowledge??

As we left the building and walked toward the car, W chattered happily about seeing B and L2, as well as I and L1, and how they could play together next year on the playground. He was a little disappointed he didn't have his regular school today, but now he can say he knows where his new classroom will be next year!