Try Coth!

You want to be more eco-savvy and more thrifty. However you are not sure if you could really handle cloth diapering. As my sister says, "there's just some things that you spend the money on...." However, you know it would save a lot of money, and you would be contributing to a cleaner world for your children.

The most frightening aspect of trying cloth diapers is the initial expense. In order to give cloth a fair try, you need at least 2 days of worth of diapers. This initial expense could be over $200 and is sometimes closer to $400. Enter Nicki's Diapers, a fabulous online store with all sorts of cloth diapering and natural/green baby items. Nicki's offers a 15 day trial plan. You can purchase cloth diapers without fear! This plan lets you give cloth diapering a fair shot, without worrying that you spent to much money on items you won't continue to use! Check it out!
http://nickisdiapers.com/pages/15DayWash.php If you do not like cloth diapering, or worse like it, but the diapers that you picked do not fit properly, you can send the ones that you tried, back! You can either exchange them or purchase other items.

I know that you'll love cloth, but just in case you can now try it without fear.

Reusable shopping bags: Making the latest fad, practical

As a green mama, I am all for reusable shopping bags. For years, I have been agonizing over my collection of disposable shopping bags. I would recycle the plastic ones, when I would remember. I would use paper, and place the paper sacks in my home recycling. However, I always felt like I was still generating too much trash. I tried using my own reusable bags, but sales personnel wouldn’t know what to do. Some clerks even told me they could not use my bags, I had to take their plastic ones. All kinds of silly reasons stood in my way. The new reusable shopping bag fad has been great. Suddenly a concept that I had been trying to use for years, is now mainstream. Stores are even offering coupons if you remember your reusable bags. So, what’s my problem....

REMEMBERING my BAGS!

This busy green mama doesn’t have the brain power to remember to get a bunch of bags into the car, every time she wants to go shopping. So, I have discovered some strategies to insure that I have at least one bag in the car, most times I get to a store.

1. Bags always need to be in the car

Busy mamas could potentially stop at the store any time of any day. Try to keep a few bags in the trunk of your car all of the time.

2. Bags need to be in the car, not the house

Try to place your reusable bags with your purse, etc after using them. This way, the next time you head out the door, you will take the bags along.

3. Bags need to be accessible

Busy mamas frequently forget to check the trunk, when bustling kids out of carseats and into shopping carriages. I have found that if I keep at least one bag on the floor by the carseat, I usually remember to bring it along on short/quick grocery stops.

4. Bags don’t need to be of the same store

Originally, I felt guilty bringing one stores bag into the other store. Then I found the answer. I purchased bags that are not store specific. We have reusable bags that support our favorite sports teams, etc....

And, when all else fails, it’s ok if you forget your bags. Simply recycle the shopping bags you bring home, by reusing or placing in your home recylcling.

Cloth diaper wetbags, not just for cloth diapers...

CLOTH DIAPER WETBAGS... Sooo many uses!

Soon after we started cloth diapering, my husband began to complain that we were using way too many ziplock baggies and trash bags, to contain our diapers. There had to be a better way. So I investigated the web and found wetbags. There are several sights that sell drawstring and zippered water-proof bags for diapers. I promptly bought two large ones and two smaller sized ones for the diaper bag. We immediately stopped using ziploc baggies and felt better about our trash reduction.

A few weeks after purchasing them, we discovered all kinds of new uses. We brought our wetbags to the pool. They are the perfect bag to carry home wet bathing suits. This enabled keeping towels, etc dry without needing plastic bags. Soon we were substituting our wetbags anywhere we used plastic bags with clothing and textiles. We've even used them to keep shoes separate from clothes in the suitcase.

We now use our wetbag in every instance that we would have used a plastic grocery bag. Now that we no longer get plastic groceries bags at the store, it is great to have a reusable alternative. Purchase one and try it out for yourself!

You can find wetbags at these sites...
http://www.thestorkwearhouse.com/bagstotesdeod.htm
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/other.htm#mommystouchtote

The Countertop Compost Crock

To all of you mamas who have a garden, here is one way to reduce your trash and save money on fertilizer. Counter top composting is a quick and easy way to conserve resources.

Being a green mama, I try to minimize the amount of trash that I generate. Cooking meals made of natural ingredients, fruits, and veggies can generate a lot of organic waste. Rather than throwing it in the trash, try composting. You don't need a fancy crock, a tupperware with a lid will work to start. Each day throw in your banana peels, apple cores, and broccoli stems. Once it's full, dump your waste into a corner of the garden. In the spring, mix the soil from your compost pile throughout the entire garden space. You'll find you spend less money on fertilizers and have better soil composition.

When composting, be sure to follow a few simple guidelines. Only include plant material into your compost container. Starches can be included since these are plant based. Pasta, rice, bread, etc can be added to your compost. Animal products should not be composted. Meat/fish and animal fats do not readily break down and will attract all manner of insects. Avoid placing these into your compost crock. While plant oils do break down and do exist in plant materials, I do not recommend placing large concentrations of oil into your compost crock. If you deep fry using veggie/plant oil, I would discourage you from pouring the oil into your compost. They tend to be tough to break down. However, post-dinner scraps that were cooked in a small amount of plant oil can be added to your compost, as long as they are plant based. Remember, no meats!

Counter top composting is quick and easy. This is one of those positive things you can do that doesn't take a lot of time or energy. After dumping my crock into the garden, I rinse it out, and pour the rinse water into my potted plants (they love it). If you decide to go for a fancy crock, I recommend the ones from Gardner's Supply Company. They have these nifty carbon filters in the lids that help with decomp odors. You can check out their supply at the folloing address:

http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Compost-Crock/20707,13006,default,cp.html

Happy Composting!

Imse Vimse Cloth Diaper Liners



These are awesome! Every working mom, trying to do cloth diapers, needs to try these. Diaper liners are a thin film of paper that you place inside the cloth diaper between baby's skin and the dipe. When baby poops, you peel out the liner and flush down the toilet. The poop ends up in the sewer/septic and the diaper goes into the machine. Not only do you keep sticky poop out of your washer, but there is no messy swirling or spraying the diaper in the toilet. Plus, if you are doing the swirl or spray method, you are not using any extra water to flush the liner. In fact, you'll probably save water, since the sprayer takes more water than just one flush.
I prefer the diaper liners made by Imse Vimse. I use the toddler size and cut them in half (I'm not only green, but also frugal!). If I use a liner and baby only pees, I toss the liner into the wash with the diapers. I have successfully washed the liners twice, before they fell apart beyond use. I also skip a liner based on baby's schedule (sometimes it backfires....). If your baby has a pretty set schedule, you can save by not using liners, when you know that baby's probably not going to poop.
I found these liners for $7 for a pack of 100, which I cut in half to be 200 liners. After three months time, I am 3/4 through 1 package of liners. I estimate at that rate, I'll use 6-7 packages by the time baby is potty trained (less if he trains before 2.5 years). That's less than $50 spent to make laundry and cloth diapering much easier. It's well worth it!

You can find Imse Vimse diaper liners at these sites:

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/doublers.htm
http://www.jardinediapers.com/Flushable-Liners-Imse-Vimse-p-72.html

Cloth Diapers and Daycare

It can be done! I have spent the past four weeks sending cloth diapers with my son, to daycare. If you are using cloth diapers at home, you can find daycare facilities that will allow them. I was quite surprised, when we first started scouting daycares, that every one of them agreed to take cloth diapers. Based on the type of facility you choose, the rules may be different. Check your state's childcare regulations to find the rules regarding cloth diapers in your area.
If your daycare center will not accept cloth diapers, you can still continue to use them in the evening or on the weekends. Here are a few simple tips, to help make cloth diapering a workable system for you.

#1 - purchase plenty - make sure you purchase enough cloth diapers, so that you only have to do laundry once a week. If you have to wash diapers every other day, it will become a nuisance. We working moms have very little time to spend doing extra laundry.

#2 - simplify - choose a cloth diaper that is easy to put on, take off, and wash. If the diaper requires multiple pieces to put on the baby, you won't stick with it. Not to mention, your partner may balk at the idea of having to put multiple layers of diaper onto a baby. I highly recommend an All-in-one or pocket style diaper. They resemble the shape and fit of disposables, but can be washed and reused.

#3 - diaper liners - these are an invaluable tool! Diaper liners are thin paper inserts to be placed inside your cloth diaper, against baby's skin. When baby poops, the liner catches it all. So, you simply fold up the liner, and FLUSH, yes, flush, the poop! These little suckers are invaluable at saving time with laundry and saving you from icky clean ups. Swirling diapers in the toilet is pretty gross....

#4 - leave the guilt behind - it is okay if you need to use disposables for night-time, daycare, traveling, etc. Everytime you use a cloth diaper you save money and resources. If you only use them a few times a day, or just at home, you are still helping the planet!

Cloth diapers can be easy and fun! We have purchased all types of bright colored diapers and frequently let my son sport just his dipe in public. They're sooo cute, and look like little pants. You can't say that about disposables....

Making your own baby food: it's easier than you think!

After eating all natural and all organic foods while pregnant and nursing, I could not feed my baby just anything. I have pledged to give him the best start, by feeding him healthy all natural food. He can eat whatever he wants, once he turns 18. Unfortunately, organic baby food can be expensive. It is almost double the price of regular jarred baby food. So I needed to search for an alternative. I'd heard of making your own baby food, but figured that would be difficult and time consuming. I was wrong. Making your own baby food is not only easy, but can also be done quickly.
In the beginning, I gave baby jarred food until we were sure he didn't have an allergy to single ingredients. Once he had a list of fruits and veggies that were ok, I began to make his food. I simply purchased extra veggies that we were eating for dinner. I served everyone their portions and then pureed the extras in the blender. Once I reached the desired consistency, I would pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze. I currently have a whole variety of cubes waiting in the freezer to be served. Next, I'll begin mixing multiple ingredients, to create "meal" cubes that contain both fruits and veggies or veggies and meats, etc.
To make pureed baby food all you need is a blender and ice cube trays. I purchased some of the new silicone trays and found they worked great, since you could easily pop the food cubes out. I keep my cubes in labeled ziploc baggies, right in our freezer. I tried to make my own cereal and found it was too much trouble. So I do purchase his cereal. However, I am saving money by making my own fruits and veggies. I also know exactly what goes into baby's food, when I make it, myself. This way I can be sure baby gets a variety of fruits and veggies each day in addition to whole grain cereals.
If you want to try making your own food, check out the following site for recipes and suggestions :0 Good Luck!
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/