...going to the dry cleaners...

right now, i'm struggling with a life decision. stick with my regular grantwriting gig with lots of freedom & creativity (no 9 to 5er, i) or jump ship, still do good work as a grantwriter but re-enter "the business casual" world of regular schedules, stuffy clothes and office rules... the sticking point: more cha-ching. while i debate my inner demons and figure out what sort of lifestyle i truly want, i wonder about my total change in dress code. and as i think about dress code, my mind wanders to dry cleaning. in this so-called bedroom community for folks who work in manhattan, hoboken boasts (it seems) a dry cleaner on every block. stunning but makes sense. an "organic" green dry cleaner popped up this past spring. is a regular dry cleaner super toxic? is organic cleaning really better? but what's in a name?

i searched & found an article on co-op america -- here's some helpful answers:

Best Bets for Delicate Clothes

Our top recommendations for dealing with your “Dry Clean Only” clothes:

• Handwash your dry-clean-only clothes: Green living expert and Care2.com editor Annie Bond offers eco-friendly instructions on safely handwashing silk, wool, and rayon clothing.

• Use wet and liquid CO2 cleaners: Occidental College recently launched a national directory of liquid CO2 and wet cleaners. (The liquid CO2 cleaners listed do not include Solvair cleaners, which use a toxic solvent as part of their process.) Also, keep in mind that some wet cleaners, like Chicago’s Greener Cleaner, allow you to mail in your clothes and will mail them back to you wet-cleaned and pressed. Contact Greener Cleaner at 888/875-8345.

• Avoid hydrocarbon, greenearth, and solvair CO2 cleaning: Though somewhat better than perc, these methods all use toxic solvents.

• Take our handy wallet card with you: We’ve condensed all the information in this article into a portable card you can take with you. Download the PDF wallet card here.