Of colds, cooties and disposable towels (and Friday tip for inexpensive elegance)

With cold and flu season just around the corner, there’s bound to be lots of talk about how to prevent the spread of germs. And just like your mummy, Health Canada says washing your hands will go a long way to preventing transmission of illness.

I'm with them on that. But what to do when it comes to drying your hands at home? Our collective fear of cooties may be behind the launch of a disposable hand towel from Kleenex . It’s marketed as a convenient and hygienic alternative to cloth towels. Made from ink-, dye- and fragrance-free papers, the sheets come in a pop-up dispenser. A box of 60 sells for about $3.50.

While I agree that paper towels are useful in public (I detest all air dryers except the one made by Dyson), I don’t think I’m ready to use disposables in the home. I tend to change my hand towels fairly regularly anyway. Instead of heavier towels that take a while to dry, I use plain white linen towels that I pick up at flea markets and thrift shops. I also use mismatched, over-sized table napkins found at the same kinds of spots. They’re cheap, easy to store and to my mind, easy to keep clean. I just throw a bunch in the wash once a week and dry them outside in summer and on an indoor line in winter. Do I iron them? Of course not! But I do sometimes spray them with homemade lavender linen water.

If you are really concerned about keeping towels separate during flu season, you could divide up linens, sew on monogrammed initials for each member of the family and give each person one hook in the bath or powder room. Speaking of - check out the classic coat hooks from Lee Valley Tools. Very pretty, no?

I don’t know, maybe after four kids, I’ve just developed a lassez-faire attitude towards all this. What do you think?

Bruised blue is the new black

Dear Reader, I know I've been remiss this week in not posting more. Blame it on the fact that on Monday, on my way to Rogers TV in Richmond Hill, laden with goodies that I'll be showing at the Fall Home Show, I went head over heels down my front steps. Miraculously, none of my stuff for the home show was broken, but my ankle is swollen to the size of a grapefruit and my legs look  like ground beef. Plus my ribs hurt. Not pretty. So I've been nursing my wounds quietly (well, not that quietly, says my family) so I'll be ready for my home show appearances, starting tomorrow. Come down and see me - and don't forget that Friday is Toronto Star Day. You can see Colin & Justin, Mark Cullen, Ellen Moorhouse and moi at the casalife StyleLab. See you there - I'll be the one NOT wearing high heels!

Lean, green, clean machines

I recently got the chance to visit the Bosch home appliance facility in New Bern, North Carolina, (check out the clever mural of one of the buildings at left) and learn about some of the green initiatives it has taken in both the design and manufacture of its products. Why should we care? Because, according to Bosch, the typical Canadian family creates more than 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually through its use of electricity, much of which comes from inefficient home appliances.

The tour was fascinating, and not just because New Bern is nestled in lovely countryside (and yes, there was a visit to a Target store). Bosch has been touting its green credentials. So I eager to see if the company also walks the walk. Here’s what I learned.

Bosch was the first manufacturer in the world to discontinue the use of CFCs in the production of refrigerators. It identifies itself as the only Canadian home appliance manufacturer with Energy Star qualifications on its full line of the washers, refrigerators and dishwashers. Typically, the company manufactures in the area in which products are sold — that reduces emissions from transportation. The majority of product manufactured in New Bern goes to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada (although a small number get shipped overseas to the tiny market across the pond that wants North American-sized – read ginormo ­ — appliances).

The New Bern plant has International Organization for Standardization certification, meaning it meets a global standard for minimizing pollution. It uses reusable and recyclable materials, recycles all wood, glass, and paper and insists suppliers adhere to similar environmental policies. Product is shipped to and from retailers in reusable crates. There are clever touches in the manufacturing process; waste energy from furnaces is recycled to provide about 99 per cent of the heat required to dry products.

To me, one of the most striking examples was the replacement of an 18,000 pound metal die-cast —used to stamp out range tops, ­with a laser-cut process that resulted in a 36 per cent reduction in waste.

This led to an interesting discussion with a couple of Bosch engineers. Currently, the process works because the company is producing a premium product in smaller runs. If Bosch’s volume grows significantly, the company will have to decide whether to stick with the more environmentally correct process or switch to one that’s more cost-efficient but less eco-friendly. Given that the scenario is hypothetical, I did not ask for an official response, but I got the sense that there’s no turning back on sustainability for Bosch.

In terms of design, Bosch’s new Vision washers and dryers (both Energy Star) are good examples of energy efficiency. The washers have sensors that analyze the wash cycle and automatically adjust water, temperature and suds level. According to Bosch, the washers use 70 per cent less water per load than the industry average. Vision dryers also sense moisture throughout the cycle to lower the energy usage. Plus, they’re pretty (see pic below).

Kanye West - design maven

You may look at my picture and decide that I'm a slightly frumpy middle-aged mom type. Not true - I'm actually an incredibly style-savvy, culturally literate women of a certain age who's totally in touch with pop culture. Why else would I have been lurking aorund Kanye West's website? Yes, I was too! While there, I learned - much to my surprise - that the dude is a design hound! It just goes to show - you shouldn't judge people by their appearances. Check out his blog. Just try to ignore the pics of young ladies in their underwear. (I wouldn't mine so much if the eye candy was equal opportunity - what about a pic of Daniel Craig in his tighty-whities?)