❓
Penny for your thoughts

😍
An eco-alternative to polyurethane foam

😺
Unabashedly Book Rich™

✨
Stay delighted

We haven’t sent out a poll since (checks calendar) 2022, so I think we’re long overdue. I love reading your newsletter replies, getting inquiries on which mattress to buy or paint manufacturer to go with, and chitchatting with you about pop culture, playlists, and PFAS, since all three topics make their way into the newsletter with relative frequency. But that only connects me to a fraction of Sway readers. I’d love to know what’s most interesting and important to you in the world of healthy homes. If you have a moment, let a gal know!

🌵 California will not phase out PFAS, aka “forever chemicals” from non-stick cookware and other categories (including children’s products).

Absolute boo to this. See my extended thoughts on California Senate Bill (SB) 682 from a few weeks ago and the (presumably) profits-driven PFAS/pop culture clash surrounding it. Did celebrity chefs FR kill this bill? Anyway, let’s stay optimistic and call this a setback on state-level PFAS policy.

~

🌹 Roses come last, because I don’t want to leave this section on a dark note. Behold, an eco-driven alternative to longtime Sway nemesis, polyurethane foam! Wallpaper mag called EcoLattice’s 3D-printed foam “upholstered furniture’s less toxic future.”

Innovation in this space is THRILLING because the furniture industry is frankly very stuck and stagnant when it comes to polyurethane foam. It’s ubiquitous in furniture production and in dire need of an affordable, health and planet-centric alternative. CertiPUR-US emerged as a popular certification for better-for-you polyurethane foam, but the organization itself is funded and overseen by the polyurethane foam industry, so hardly a panacea for the problem. From Sway’s launch in 2022, we’ve indicated natural latex as a superior option for health, but it’s difficult to find in furniture, and very spendy.

The future of upholstered furniture is bright! Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of scalable solutions to polyurethane foam.

Being Book Rich™. Thanks to my local library, the Little Libraries around my neighborhood, and a literary friend who loves to give/lend from her collection (hi, Lauren!) I have an autumn stack that will last me months & months, and it cost me zero dollars. I won’t bore you with another love letter to the library, or the modern day village, but dang I’m feeling fortunate that we have systems and communities that give us free access to endless things to read. Here’s your official invitation to take a low-spend (supporting local bookshops!) or no-spend approach to stacking your nightstand or e-reader (via Libby, of course). As someone who has spent rather prolifically on books in the past, this reformed reader feels goooood.

Using what we have. In an effort to declutter, I’ve pulled all my half-used moisturizers, serums and random bottles of conditioner out of the bathroom cabinet and I’m USING THEM UP. Radical, I know. Not only is it a delight to realize I’m NOT actually out of toothpaste, but it is beyond satisfying to clear out space in various drawers and cabinets and get closer to a truly “capsule” collection of lotions and potions. 

…even the good stuff. Questionable conditioners aside, I’m also emptying my cabinets of little treasures I’ve been hoarding for special occasions. Three-year old twisty beeswax pillars I thought I’d use for a party? Welcome to weeknight dinner! Life is short, burn the candle (beeswax, please 😉) and use the good linens for no reason at all. 

Noticing delights: And when you light that candle, give yourself a moment to really appreciate its splendor. This is one of the happiness hacks from Dr. Laurie Santos who teaches “The Science of Well-Being” at Yale. Which you can take for free. Anyway, this is a quick reminder to let yourself savorrrr something this week, even if it’s your once-a-week takeout or the magnificence of the night sky before bed. Life is full of little delights, sometimes we’re so mired in our routines that we lose sight of them.

~

Happy Friday,
Jennifer @ Sway