Am I a slob?

OK, I admit that when it comes to cleaners and household products, I am completely out of the loop. I don’t buy them – literally. Partly because I am not such an avid house cleaner. My house is neat and tidy for the most part, but I don’t do the Saturday morning dusting and mopping that my mother always made us help her do. I try to wash out the sink after I use it, I clean the shower and toilet throughout the week by wiping them down or brushing them out. When I do dust, I just dampen a rag and wipe the dust off then wipe it dry.... why do I need a product? Am I missing something? I do buy 7th Generation Dish soap and laundry liquid. When I scrub the floor, I put some dish soap in the water. Is this a no-no? It seems to work and the floors don’t seem to mind. I am a minimalist at heart and it seems to be both a benefit to my health and my pocketbook. Again I feel like I live a life of goodness and beauty without all the dependence on these products. Does that make me a slob?
When I sold my house and moved to a furnished winter rental this past fall, it was interesting to find underneath all the sinks an array of cleaning products that scare me every time I open the door. I haven’t used them obviously and I am not clear why they should be used if ever. Since they aren’t mine, I don’t own the house, and I will leave in a few weeks, I can’t really take them to the transfer station. But how would you recycle these products? Are they considered hazardous waste? When I look at the labels I can’t help but think that they are. Does every household in America have this array of chemicals sitting under their sinks? Sometimes I think I have been living so far outside the mainstream that I am shocked when I realize how normal some very hazardous things are in American life. And still I wonder, am I a slob?
I love to sweep, don’t mind vacuuming, I wash my sheets, clear out the kitty litter box weekly and recycle it outside in the environment (I use cedar sawdust litter)and I do the dishes with dish soap. My toilet is clean, my shower doesn’t have mold, and the glass doors I squeegee down at the end of the shower. If the bathroom stinks after using it, I open the window. I do buy plastic garbage bags – but I don’t use many in a year. Maybe four or five. I recycle all my paper, plastic and glass – compost my food scraps, and don’t subscribe to magazines or newspapers. It is all pretty simple.
I know that when I lived in India and visited the villagers who did not have running water in their homes, had dirt floors, and cooked on wood fires in their kitchen areas, that their homes were spotless. They did not have all these products that we use to sterilize our environments. They actually were living with the elements. Somehow this feels like healthy ecosystem living to me.
Next blog I will take on the personal care products issues and I can tell you from this vantage point that I might still be asking the question, am I a slob?