EL PASO -- Recently, I ran out of laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid and decided it was time to take the plunge and shell out a couple more bucks for environmentally friendly products.
When I opened the bottles, the first thing that hit me was ...nothing. We've come to expect a generous whiff of pine or lemon, or "After the Rain," whatever that is. But of course, there's nothing that says our cleaners have to be fragrant. My parents' generation didn't have this luxury; the house used to smell like ammonia. So the absence of cleaner scent is a blessing, really.

Do they get the job done? My new detergent is from one of the smaller but better-known green brands, and my new dishwashing liquid is part of a new line by the leading manufacturer of bleach. They handled just like my old cleaners and cleaned just as well. But if you think the ingredient lists in these products will be easier to read than those of their non-green equivalents, you are in for a surprise.