Vampires, witches and ghosts have nothing on a child made of toxic chemicals and artificial ingredients. Our 100% organic cotton t-shirt is the perfect frightening Halloween accessory for your green kid. You can easily turn it into a one-of-a-kind Halloween costume by accenting it with a third eye, green hair or smears of slimy face paint.
When I asked my son what kind of party he wanted for his 5th birthday, he immediately replied, “A garden party.” He is definitely a boy after my own heart! It isn’t surprising after all of the time we spent in our garden this summer. We grew everything from spinach to pumpkins and even constructed a beautiful bean tepee which really didn’t flourish until the very end of August.
The best way to save money and go green at Halloween is to DIY. The One Part Sunshine Halloween Pinterest board has a ton of ideas for Halloween crafts, decorations and costumes, such as this jack-o-lantern idea from Martha Stewart.
Halloween is one of those holidays (like so many others) that results in a significant amount of waste. Even worse, dangerous toxins can be found in everything from the costumes and decorations to the candy and treats. Sure those gummy rats and candy eyeballs are really cool to look at but they are inevitably made in China and chock full of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.
Unless you plan to never leave the house again after your baby is born, you must have a well-stocked diaper bag. When you and your baby are at home, it is much easier to choose reusable items such as cloth diapers and cloth wipes. But cleaning up a poopy cloth diaper isn’t as simple when you are in the middle of the Cheesecake Factory.
There are so many options for school and art supplies that we can’t possibly feature them all! Â So we have put together a list of brands (to save you some…
As a former paper towel addict, I can attest to the fact that it is possible to give up paper towels. We have been on the same roll of paper towels for over a year now. Giving up paper towels is good for the environment and for your wallet. Only recently have I started using them again to make Homemade Hand Sanitizing Wipes; although, my plan is to try to use reusable cloths cut from old t-shirts for my next batch.
I am lucky that my son loves nature. His happiest times are flipping rocks over to find bugs or wandering down a path in the woods. But sometimes it’s nice to try something new or to go outside with a purpose. The following books have some great ideas for fun things to do outside with your children.
When I was growing up, my mom packed my lunch every day. Most of the other kids envied me because my lunchbox was packed with yummy treats like fruit roll-ups and Hostess cakes. Typically, I skipped the sandwich and went right to the sugar-packed goodies. I love my mom for putting things in my lunch that she knew would make me happy. But it probably has a lot to do with my current weakness for sugar and for the urgent pull I feel every time I pass a spongy cake filled with cream. Fortunately, parents today do have other options. Check out the following three ways to pack a school lunch.
So you are on your way to being a green mom or dad, but naturally you want to teach the same love of nature and the environment to your child. Reading books and talking with your children about the importance of respecting the earth is the best way to do this. During my time as a mom, I have compiled a list of my top 10 favorite picture books that teach about nature, the environment and being green.
One of the best parts of summer is being able to eat freshly-picked fruits and vegetables from my garden. For some reason, the tomatoes taste sweeter, the cucumbers are crisper and the melons are juicier. Maybe it’s because they are so fresh or maybe I am just tasting the delicious reward of all of my hard work.
Meredith from Delaware asks: I am having cushions custom-made for my window seat. What are the safest materials to use as cushion inserts? I have young children so I worry about toxins and the quality of my air.
Ashley from Florida asks: What is the best sunscreen for babies under 6 months?
When I was younger, I never gave a thought to sunscreen. I would spend my summers running around outside, building up a nice deep tan without thought to things like skin cancer or heat stroke. Now that I’m older and wiser, I don’t spend more than 15 or 30 minutes outside without some sort of sun protection. And I always protect my son. My favorite brand by far is the Badger brand of sunscreens.
When we are away from home, we can’t always find a bathroom to wash our hands. So, I rely on hand sanitizing sprays and wipes to clean hands, faces, toys, steering wheels, tables and just about anything else. Sometimes those messes include caked-on dirt or other things that a spray or gel just can’t remove. That’s when wipes come in handy. I found a couple of great recipes for homemade hand sanitizing wipes.
To my devoted husband: Happy Anniversary! We have been married 10 long years. I say “long years” not because they were bad but because a lot has happened during that time.
After a long winter, it is nice to see leaves on the trees, flowers blooming and kids running through sprinklers. Not so nice is the heat, sunburn, bug bites and green hair. When I was growing up, we rarely used sunscreen or bug spray and, when we did, it was far from natural. My son is lucky because we have access to safer and healthier options for protecting him from the not-so-great parts of summer. Here are some of my favorite green store-bought and homemade summer remedies.
I have always resisted the idea of making homemade cleaning products. I barely have the time to clean let alone make the cleaning products too. But I am slowly coming around. I still have my arsenal of tried-and-true, store-bought, green cleaners. And for some things, store-bought is all I use. However, I am realizing how easy and cheap it is to make things like furniture polish and stovetop cleaner with ingredients that you already have in your kitchen. So here is what I use for cleaning, both the store-bought and the homemade versions.
I love love love all things Dr. Bronner’s! So when the company introduced their new Organic Lavender Hand Sanitizing Spray, I was first in line to try it.
When I was a kid, I didn’t think about my mom as a real person with feelings and thoughts. She was just my mom. She was the one who gave me food, kissed my boo-boos, and spoiled me on holidays. She made sure to always stay strong for me so I almost never saw her cry or get angry with strangers. It always shocked me to hear another person refer to my mom by her real name because she was supposed to be just “Mom.” So basically, when it came to my mom, I was really selfish.