I am now homeschooling (it’s a long story), so I am constantly on the search for new learning ideas. I decided to help Monster build a terrarium using only materials gathered from our backyard (except for the jar).
Like most major holidays, Easter is typically filled with plastic, sugar and waste. Hand-dyed hard-boiled eggs have given way to plastic shells that are eventually tossed in landfills. Homemade treats have been replaced by sugary junk that resembles dollar store toys more than real food. And the legend of the Easter Bunny has come to life in the form of a giant polyester costume. This year, I am trying my best to have a natural, eco-friendly Easter by minimizing the waste and concentrating more on homemade gifts and treats.
In celebration of Earth Day, Circle of Moms is trying to find the top 25 Eco-Friendly Moms. Â And of course I would love to be included! Â Click here to vote…
When you are a parent trying to help your children lead a green and healthy lifestyle, the most important thing you can do is to change the way your family eats. That means choosing whole, natural, organic (and preferably local) foods. That also means you will need to do a lot of cooking at home.
Several months ago I talked about using homemade deodorant in My Safe and Natural Pregnancy Beauty Routine. Â I have been using it for more than six months now and I love it! Â I even convinced my husband to give it a try and now it is all he will use. Â
My husband and I have been having a disagreement over spreadable butter. He doesn’t like the taste of butter (sometimes I wonder how I married him!) and he doesn’t like how hard it is to spread when it comes out of the refrigerator. I, on the other hand, love butter and have no problem waiting for the butter to soften or even popping it in the microwave for 10 seconds. And then it hit me. I can make my own butter spread!
If you are a new or expecting parent, you have more than likely already been confronted with the diapering dilemma. Conventional disposable diapers typically contain a ton of toxic chemicals – found in the form of dyes, plastics, fragrances, chlorine bleach and absorbent polymer gels. These ingredients have been linked to things like skin irritations, respiratory problems and even cancer. To be completely sure about what goes on your baby’s skin, you can make your own diapering products.
We are in a new house and have a beautiful 1,800 square foot piece of land available for the organic garden of our dreams. My last and only other garden consisted of two 4×8 raised beds, so I obviously have quite a bit of planning to do to prepare for such a large amount of space. And I don’t have much time to do it. The time to plant things like onions and lettuce is coming up in just a week or two. Here is my plan for this year’s garden.
When Monster was just a few weeks old, he suffered from a really bad case of diaper rash complete with pain and bleeding. Although my primary concern was making him better, I was also concerned about the ingredients found in conventional diaper rash cream. I wanted to heal and soothe his rash without exposing him to toxins. So I was delighted to find California Baby’s Calming Diaper Rash Cream.
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and love in the air. So why not bring a little green into the bedroom! Couples who choose all-natural, non-toxic lubricants do themselves and the earth a big favor.
Yesterday I locked myself out of my car. While waiting for a towing company to come break us into the car, I braced myself for a painful hour with a sometimes impatient 4-year-old. But once again Monster surprised me with his imagination and patience! He carefully carried rocks, two at a time, from a nearby garden and formed the most amazing rock pictures of his family (Mommy, Daddy and Monster, in that order).
The two biggest things that I look for when choosing a laundry detergent is that it is non-toxic and packaged without plastic. Happily, Seventh Generation has a product that meets both of my requirements – their Free & Clear Natural Powdered Laundry Detergent.
Valentine’s Day is yet another one of those holidays that has the potential for excess and waste. Skip the cheap trinkets and artificial candies, and instead show your love with handmade gifts and all-natural sweets. Or better yet, celebrate the holiday by spending quality time with your loved ones.
We just moved into a new house with two extra bathrooms so I found myself in need of new toilet brushes. I was convinced that I would never find a plastic-free alternative. So I started researching ways to clean toilets without a special toilet brush. There weren’t very many options that didn’t involve sticking my hands in the bowl or using toxic cleaners.
One of my resolutions for the new year is to spend more quality time with my son (who has requested to be called Monster in my posts from now on). During the warmer months, we love to spend time outdoors hiking or playing at a local park. But now that the weather is painfully cold, we have decided that our quality time should consist of board games, cooking and crafts. Each week I will attempt to post the results of our crafts and cooking activities.
I went for years wishing that I could make homemade bread, but never tried it because it seemed too hard and time-consuming. Then, I finally broke down and bought a bread maker. But every loaf I made came out tough and flavorless. So the bread machine sat in my cupboard for another couple of years before I finally tried to do it by hand.
During my research for this site, I have come across a number of fantastic blogs. Here is a list of my favorites (sorted by category and in alphabetical order).
I already talked about my green changes in 2010 but now I need to address what changes I would like to make in 2011. My first list was actually much longer than this one but I decided to cut it down and make it more manageable (and more likely to get done). As you can see, being green is a process. Even I (a self-proclaimed green mom) have a long way to go and an endless list of green changes that I can make.
Being green is an ongoing process. So I am constantly making new changes to try to conserve resources and reduce toxins. Here are 10 changes that I made in 2010.
I wasn’t always a crafty person. Every Christmas, I used to buy ornaments and decorations and boxes of processed cookies. But I recently realized how fun and satisfying it is to make things by hand. And an added bonus is the look in my son’s eyes as he delicately paints a salt dough ornament or collects pinecones from our yard for his handmade wreath.