The Difficulties of Being The Green Mommy Of A Birthday Girl

My daughter's birthday is in a few days.  (I am still in denial that she will be 2!)  Being a Green Mom can be difficult for people trying to get her a gift.  Sometimes I feel like it might be easier on people if I just told them not to get her anything.  I see and hear their confusion of what they can actually get her.

I have certain things I do not want my child's toys to be.  I don't want them to be plastic, painted with toxic paints, or stuffed animals that are treated with chemicals to make them flame resistant.

Is that so hard?  YES!  It seems as though everything in the stores is something I don't want my daughter to have.  Oh wait, almost all of it is.  It would be so much easier if the people in charge of regulating what is safe for kids would actually do just that.

For those in the same boat as I am trying to find safe items, I have found some things that work.  I love Melissa and Doug products.  They are wooden and they use non-toxic paints.  They also have an amazing customer service.  TreeHaus is another brand of wooden items that I recently found.  They are BPA and Phthalates free.  One of the items that I LOVE that we got my daughter for her birthday is the Discovery Kids Cardboard House.  It is made of recycled paper and comes with a complete house design on the outside to be colored in. For stuffed animals miYim Organic stuffed animals are my favorite.

I know that as my daughter grows older and starts to understand what's available out there I will have to explain to her why we don't have what other kids have.  Thankfully her favorite thing in the world are her books and I hope that never changes!

It is difficult, but keeping the chemicals out of my daughter's life is so worth the hassle!

Till next blog.............

I Saved How Much On Diapers???!!!

Recently my almost 2 year old decided she wanted to start using the potty.  Well, after the potty books and videos I provided, she decided she wanted to use the potty.

We went to the store and bought the potty, actually two.  One was the Baby Bjorn potty seat.  It is PVC and BPA free plastic and the design is great.  The other was the actual potty seat that is a part of the big toilet seat in her bathroom.  It has the magnet that pulls her little seat into the lid for big people to use the bathroom.

She had made an effort a few months back to potty train but had changed her mind.  I heard that this is very common and to just back off and they will eventually do it.  

Well now came the time when she had an interest again.  Hurray!  Let's go.

At first I would just keep her naked throughout the day.  That was a piece of advise that for sure worked well.  But at some point my child has to have clothing on to be able to leave the house!

We went to the store in a very grandiose way.  It was the biggest thing ever, let's go pick out big girl underpants!  Her eyes were beaming and she was so proud.  After they were washed she sat there and looked at them all trying to pick out which would be her first pair to wear.

There is something very powerful about the big girl underpants.  They are too important not to do it right.  She has been dry in them and very proud to be so.  She knows that accidents will happen and that we always leave the house with an extra pair, so far so good though.

I have used cloth diapers on her since the beginning.  I read articles on the environmental impact, 6000 diapers in a landfill that do not fully compose, and knew I didn't want that.  Really didn't seem like my convenience was worth that.  Also the array of chemicals that are in disposable diapers that are just not safe for your baby.  To this day my daughter has not had a diaper rash!  I was also told that it was much easier to potty train a child in cloth diapers since they feel the wet.  There is no wicking away the moisture from their skin.  From what I have experienced it seems to be true.

So now I wanted to see what the saving would be on the cost of my cloth diapers vs the disposables.

I was told by someone that they spent an average of $70 a month on the disposables.  It would have cost me $1680 for the last 24 months for disposables at that price.   I have 14 Bum Genius adjustable diapers.  I only got 14 because the idea of letting more than that sit grossed me out.  They were $36 for 2 on the website I bought them on, so my investment was $252.  I have also purchased 2 packs of my eco-friendly disposable diapers, Natures Babycare, in the last 24 months.  (Nobody wants you washing diapers at there house when you travel!) The cost was $39 for 108 diapers each time.  So the total for my diapers for the last 24 months is $330.
So I have saved $1350 on diapers in the last 24 months!

Hurray!

I have saved money, been kind to the environment, and kept the chemicals away from my child that I did not want touching her and possibly harming her.  It's a win, win.

I have had alot of people ask me if it was gross to use cloth diapers.  Really, no.  You have to change them and deal with it anyway.  I do recommend getting the Bum Genius sprayer for the toilet.  That will help tremendously!

Till next blog....

BPA Free Canned Foods

I have such a limited amount of canned foods in my house.  I try to buy everything I can in glass jars and bottles.  The cans used to store foods have linings that contain BPA.  If you think about the shelf life of a canned item, do you really want that food to be sitting in a BPA lined can for that long before you eat it?

For those of who don't know what BPA is here is an idea:

Bisphenol A is considered an endocrine disruptor because it mimics estrogen, a natural hormone, and may fool the body by stimulating reactions that are unnecessary and potentially harmful.

Scientists have linked bisphenol A (BPA) to a higher incidence of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities in adults as well as brain and hormone development problems in fetuses and young children. Other tests have shown that bisphenol A can promote human breast cancer cell growth, decrease sperm counts in rats, and cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men.

Bisphenol A is considered an endocrine disruptor because it mimics estrogen, a natural hormone, and may fool the body by stimulating reactions that are unnecessary and potentially harmful.

Scientists have linked bisphenol A (BPA) to a higher incidence of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities in adults as well as brain and hormone development problems in fetuses and young children. Other tests have shown that bisphenol A can promote human breast cancer cell growth, decrease sperm counts in rats, and cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men.

Doesn't sound like something you really want in your food, does it?  

The companies actually could all do their canning without BPA but it would costs about 2.2 cents more to do so.  I say do it and let me pay that 2.2 cents more per item.  I would much rather pay more to be safe than to worry about my family ingesting BPA, but unfortunately the companies don't see it that way.

I have searched and emailed companies of products that are not sold in glass jars or bottles and have come up with some products that are canned without BPA.  

Eden Organics.  They have actually been using BPA free cans since 1999!

Vital Choice cans it's MSC certified salmon as well as tuna, sardines and mackerel with BPA free liners.

Oregon's Choice uses BPA cans for their Albacore and will in the next two years move all their canned fish to BPA free.

Wild Planet uses BPA free packaging for its Skipjack Tuna and its Albacore Tuna products.  They also choose smaller fish in order to make its "Lower in Mercury" claim.

Native Forest and Native Factor brands canned goods are in BPA free cans.

Muir Glen stated that they are in the process of finding a BPA free alternative for their canned tomatoes. 

There it is.  The list is short.  Hopefully companies will jump on board and find a BPA free way of canning their products.  I know for me it is a deal breaker.  I don't want BPA.

Till Next Blog....

Hurray for Vinegar and Baking Soda!

I was going out to the garden when I noticed an algae type mold or something on the metal of the screened patio.  It has been there and I kept forgetting to clean it, and honestly wasn't sure what to clean it with. 

Since I clean the entire house with vinegar and baking soda I thought I would give it a shot and see if it would clean this.  I sprinkled the baking soda on the metal and sprayed the vinegar on top.  I let it bubble up for a couple minutes, got my microfiber cloth and went to work.

I was blown away!

It cleaned the green mess away, with ease.  The metal on the screen looks brand new!  My husband even came outside and couldn't believe how good it cleaned.  

I have been using vinegar and baking soda for a while now to clean the house since I do not want any chemicals near me or my family.  I am thrilled to see that it works for things more difficult to clean!  I am going to try it on everything!!

Hurray for vinegar and baking soda!

Oh and did I mention how inexpensive they are?

Till next blog........

Buying From a Local Organic Farm

For the last year I have been buying our meats from a local Farm. I was told by a friend of mine about it and was completely interested.  I buy all organic food for my family and the idea of buying organic meats from a local farm where I could actually know exactly where my food comes from and who was growing it was something I had to check out.

 All of the animals on the farm are grassfed, never administered antibiotics or hormones.  There is not a need for them since the animals are not eating things they are not supposed to.  The cows eat grass, not grains.  The chickens follow the cows in movable coops.  The animals aren't living in stalls, force fed, standing in filth.  They are roaming around as they were intended.

We actually get to see our food walking around and growing every time we go.  For the last couple of months we were able to see the progression of our Thanksgiving turkey growing when we would go to pick up our orders.  We just recently picked up our beautiful 15lb turkey and I knew the bird we were taking home was free of any of the chemicals I do not want my family eating.

There are similar farms and ranches all over.  If you search online in your area or ask around at your local farmers market you will find one.  Not only are you getting healthy food for your family, but you are supporting a local, small business.

Give it a shot.  On top of the great food we get, my daughter loves visiting the farm and seeing the animals!

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Grocery Store Frustration!

Today I ran to my local grocery store to grab a few things.  One of the things I needed was liquid hand soap.  I thought it would be simple to find at least one that didn't have any fragrance and wasn't anti-bacterial.  Surely there would be one that didn't have dangerous chemicals.  WRONG!  I stood there in the aisle searching but everything had some fruit or woodsy scent and every one was anti-bacterial.  I even went to the small section of the store that  had organic products and while they were less toxic they all contained fragrance!

Is it possible that all the people in the world need fragrance to cover up their scent and the scent of their house?  I was so completely blown away that there was not ONE unscented soap anywhere.  Do people not understand that most all fragrances in products are dangerous and should not be used.   Do they not understand that anti-bacterial products contain Triclosan which is an endocrine disruptor and has toxic hormonal effects.  Especially if you are using them with warm water which opens your pores and welcomes all those chemicals right into your system.

I guess I will be making the trip to my Whole Foods tomorrow  to get my unscented, non anti-bacterial soap that cleans my family's hands just fine without any harmful chemicals.

Thanks for letting my rant!

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