This post is sponsored by Flipp App. Earth Day is April 22nd and it's a good time for us all to refocus and find new ways to be more eco-friendly. We all live different lifestyles and have different resources available to us. Regardless of where you are in your journey to live a greener lifestyle, remember that every little step we take adds up in big ways. Here are just a few simple ways that you may be able to go green this Earth Day... 1. Teach Our Children to Love the Earth - the biggest gift we can give to our children is the ability to love and respect the natural environment. Let your children help you recycle. Give them a small section of the garden to care for. Teach our children that the future of this planet depends on how well we care for it. 2. Buy Less - What items have you purchased recently that you could have lived without? That new purse? That new Lilly Pulitzer outfit from Target? That extra cloth diaper in the newest print? Think before you ... [ Read More ]
Sprout Change by The Willow Store – Cloth Diapers Review
Have you ever heard of a reversible cloth diapering system? No - that's not a typo - I meant reversible! The Sprout Change system is a one-size diaper cover that is reversible. The sweet pea color combination I received to review is a sweet pale pink and pale green. It comes with a hemp insert that is super absorbent and allows for a trim fitting diaper. Depending on which side (color) is on the outside you can snap the diaper in side snap fashion or front snap fashion. There are no rise or waist snap adjustments which helps keep the diaper trim. Instead it has an inner elastic with easy to adjust buttons that allow you to fit the diaper to your babies exact size. The Sprout Change system fits most babies from 8lbs to 40lbs. I personally love that there are no pockets to stuff and no snaps to adjust - a very easy and simple system! The Willow Store also offers other great products: Training pants Organic wipes Pre-folds Nursing pads Feminine pads and panty ... [ Read More ]
Plan a Green Halloween & Costume Swap
In a little over a month it will be one of my favorite days of the year - Halloween! I've always enjoyed dressing up and trick-or-treating when I was little. I remember being so sad when I was in first and second grade because I couldn't go trick-or-treating - in first grade I had pneumonia and was actually in the hospital. Then in second grade I was sick again but luckily was not hospitalized that year. I was the oldest child and my brother was so cute and sweet that he would trick-or-treat for the both of us - being sure he would tell everyone that his big sister was sick at home. When we were a little older we spent most of our Halloween nights with our good family friends and used his HUGE neighborhood to stock up on candy for the year! I remember one of the last years we all went out I even dressed like Madonna (circa 1980's) - which wasn't too far away from my normal clothes but it gave me an excuse to cake on the make-up. Now as a parent we have our own traditions. ... [ Read More ]
How to Have an Eco-Positive Period
Yes - that's right - I'm going to talk about our menstrual cycles and the environment! Inappropriate - who the hell cares - it's my time of the month and I'm allowed to talk about anything I want! (Sipping my glass of wine) Ahhhh - so much better! I decided that since it was that time of the month I would take this opportunity to talk about the health and environmental concerns of using disposable feminine products. I'm really the LAST person to talk to you about this though - because I'm still using disposables! That's right - The Eco Chicstill uses PLASTIC TAMPONS and occasionally a few pads! Don't be hating, after-all it's my time of the month and I just may come hunt you down! And do what? Probably pour you a glass of wine too because misery loves company. Anyways - back on the topic at hand. The Facts: Just like disposable diapers, disposable feminine products like pads and tampons are not healthy for us. Pads contain SAP very similar to what is found in ... [ Read More ]
How Can I Recycle…
Giveaway alert! See bottom of post to enter to win a Go Green Trio from Litter Free Lunch. Giveaway ended. ECO-ngratulations mphin278. If I was a series type of blogger I would start a new series on 'How can I recycle...?' But as you all know my regular columns don't EVER happen regularly! LOL! The question today is "How can I recycle sandwich bags and old plastic storage containers?" Kids across America have 2 choices at school these days. 1) Eat the cafeteria food (which my son actually enjoys), or 2) pack their lunch. For kids (or parents) who opt to pack their lunches they can create about 67lbs of garbage each school yearfrom their lunchboxes alone! Think about all those pre-packaged lunch kits, baggies, juice pouches, napkins, and plastic cutlery that they trash every day! While some of these items might be recycleable most schools (at least where we are in FL) don't have established recycling programs in the cafeterias. How many fundraisers does your kids school ... [ Read More ]
I Support 100% Reusable Cloth Diapers for All Babies
As I continue my cloth diaper journey over this past year I have become associated with many wonderful companies, organizations and people who support the modern cloth diaper revolution. I'm still trying to decide how I can best serve the cause and bring cloth diapers into more homes. One way I have began advocating cloth diapers is through the Real Diaper Association (RDA). I am in the process of becoming an RDA Circle Leader...an advocate for cloth diapers in the community. The RDA is a non-profit organization who works with parents all across the US to encourage the use of reusable cloth diapers 100% of the time! I like to say that I use cloth diapers 99.99% of the time...and I cringe every time I put Lil' B in a hard, crunchy sposie. My commitment to cloth diapers is primarily an environmental commitment. Research shows that cloth diapers are far better for the environment than disposables. Even though you will use slightly more water for washing...your babies ... [ Read More ]
Eco-Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway #7
Giveaway Alert! Win a $20 gift certificate Giveaway ended from myEARTH360! Shop using the holiday coupon code below! Eco-ngratulations Jennifer T! Watch your email. You may be wondering if there are stores out there that specialize in items for the eco-junkie in your life...YES! myEARTH360 has some really unique items mixed with regular items like your reusable bottles. They have items for adults, kids, babies, and pets! Yes, they even have stuff for Fido! Their mission at myEARTH360 is to help other transition to an earth-friendlier lifestyle. For the total eco-junkie you may want to buy them a set of 4 glass drinking straws by Glass Dharma. Any guesses on how many drinking straws are trashed each day in America? On the Glass Dharma website they state that McDonald's claimed to serve over 52 million meals per day (2008 stats)....that's just in one day at one restaurant! I can't imagine how many straws are actually used each day! (I'll be researching this while on ... [ Read More ]
Eco-Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway #6
Giveaway Alert!There will be 2 winners for this giveaway! One winner will receive a Reminder Set by Bagnesia - ECO-ngratulations Cinella!; the second winner will receive a set (4) of produce bags - ECO-ngratulations Lauren! by Bagnesia. Bagnesia: a person's forgetfulness to grab their reusable bags. Like most people these days I have about 20 reusable bags from various stores around the area. I'm pretty good about remembering them when we go to the grocery store but I often forget when we go shopping anywhere else. And there are always those days you just plain forget...even at the grocery store. Bagnesia has created a product to help you remember your bags! The Bagnesia Reminder Kit includes one compact reusable bag, one door hanger, one steering wheel wrap, a clip, and a carrying pouch. Unlike the bags you are use to getting at the grocery store the Bagnesia bag is a washable nylon bag that folds up to about the size of a compact digital camera or a small wallet. It ... [ Read More ]
Eco-Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway #4
Giveaway Alert! Win a limited edition Holiday set of (2) cloth napkins from Fabkins! Giveaway ended but be sure to use coupon code CHIC15 for 15% off your purchase! ECO-ngratulations Khrystina! Watch your email. It seems like it was just yesterday that school was starting and I was talking about Fabkins awesome cloth napkins designed for kids lunches. My son has used his sports Fabkins in his lunch for 4 months now and loves them. They wash well and since his are dark blue they don't stain either. We have another brand of cloth napkins that are white and they are already dirty looking (but that's a boy thing...messy!). Well Fabkins has expanded their line to include a cute holiday set. The one's we received included a gingerbread man and a Christmas tree. They also a snowman and a stocking. For a limited time you can purchase these holiday Fabkins for $7.95 for a set of 2. At 13" x 13" they are perfect size to use as a wrapping paper for your child's small gifts. ... [ Read More ]
Every Bag Matters
Giveaway Alert! I have two giveaways with this post and two winners compliments of graze organic and ReUsies! See details for entry below. ECO-ngratulations Cinella and Tamara! Cinella just won the set of reusable bags from graze organics and Tamara won the set of reusable bags from ReUsies! Watch your email for more information! Go look in your kitchen and tell me how many boxes of plastic sandwich and snack bags you have! (Yes, that was an order...go look now!) (I'm waiting!) My pantry has one box of sandwich size bags and I plan on having that box last me the rest of the year! We are slowly breaking our baggie habit. It's much easier to break the habit with my kids and myself but I'm still working on the hubster! Did you know that the average person uses 3-4 baggies per day? Multiply that number by the number of members in your family and then multiply that by 365 days of the year and you have a really big number don't you?? (Ok...I'll wait as you write that down ... [ Read More ]