Archive | natural & green RSS feed for this section

Considering God’s Creation

By on April 22, 2009 in faith & womanhood, natural & green

picture-2Today is Earth Day…a day to rejoice in the glorious creation that God has bestowed unto our care! Why should I, as a Christian, be concerned with creation care?

“God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” – Martin Luther

As Romans 1:20 says, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for knowing God.”

Isn’t that a beautiful reminder that God’s truth is communicated as we observe His glorious creation? He uses His creation to draw people out of darkness and into His marvelous light as they see His beauty displayed in His landscape. Should we not together actively seek to preserve the beauty of His creation by good stewardship? Together we can join hands and make a difference by careful decision making in our every day life.

Martin Luther continues, “Now if I believe in God’s Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, apples, as I reflect that He is Lord over all things.”

He indeed is Lord over all creation! Being concerned about His creation, the environment, is one simple way of offering up worship to our King! He entrusted this earth to man’s care from the beginning of time…let us seek together to care, grow and nurture it as He intended.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 7 }

Guest Post: Cloth Diapering 101 – Part 2

By on March 20, 2009 in bellies & babies, natural & green

cloth-diapers1

Welcome back for part 2 from Lauren discussing all the different options available for cloth diapering! To read part 1, visit here. Lauren blogs over at Cloth Diaper Diaries.

Now that we’ve covered some of the main reasons for using cloth, I’d like to break down the methods of cloth diapering.  I know that when I first began my research I was incredibly intimidated by the whole idea of everything about it: from making the initial purchase, to actually using and washing cloth diapers.  In fact, I was so intimidated and overwhelmed that I researched…and researched…and researched!  My husband finally said, “If you’re going to do this, please just do it and stop spending so much time on the internet reading about it!”  I really hope that by the end of this post I’ve helped to simplify some of what’s mystifying, and supplied you with the information and encouragement you need to make the switch yourself!

What is meant by “cloth diapering”?

To me, there are four ways to diaper a child in cloth: prefolds and covers, fitteds and covers, pockets, and all-in-ones.  I’m going to try to give a complete explanation of each style, but it won’t be as thorough as the information you can find on my cloth blog or many other places online.  If you find you still have more questions after this post, please visit my blog and look in the “Quick-Click Table of Contents” on the right-hand side of the page.  If you don’t see a tab for your question, just leave a comment or send me an email and ask – I’m always happy to help when I can!

Continue Reading →

Comments { 59 }

Guest Post: Cloth Diapering 101 – Part 1

By on March 19, 2009 in bellies & babies, natural & green

cloth-diapers

Guest post by Lauren, mother of two, who has tried practically every form of cloth diapering method on the market and offers her advice, reviews and recommendations through her blog, Cloth Diaper Diaries. Lauren has already been a huge resource for me in figuring out some diapering issues with our little people! Thanks for sharing Lauren!

When I was about three months pregnant with my daughter and my son was 16 months old, I suddenly began to think about the overwhelming cost of keeping two children in disposable diapers.  “How will we ever be able to afford that on our budget??” I frantically wondered.   So I turned back to something I had briefly mused on while pregnant with our son: cloth diapering.  I was amazed to learn how many more reasons to cloth diaper there are than just concerns for your budget!   Then, of course, I was a little stunned by all the different diapering styles and brands – it’s just so much information to absorb!  (Whoops, no pun intended!)  Today I hope to share some information with you on the why and how of cloth diapering.

There are three main reasons that people choose to cloth diaper: environmental concerns about the abundant waste caused by disposable diapers, the potential for adverse effects on a child’s health (including excessive or perpetual diaper rash) from using disposable diapers, and the tremendous expense of disposable diapers.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 29 }

BumGenius cloth diapers are redeemed!

By on February 19, 2009 in bellies & babies, frugal & simple, natural & green
BEFORE

BEFORE

I have been a faithful fan of BumGenius one size pocket diapers for the duration of the 18 months of usage they have received at our home (read more about cloth diapering and my review here). It keeps my diapering simple, convenient and easy for everyone to use (even the grandparents)! My only complaint…the elastic around the legs of the diapers wore out relatively quickly, within the first year of use. Thankfully, Cotton Diapers (the manufacturer) offers a one year warranty on these diapers. They have amazing costumer service! I returned seven of my diapers within that one year warranty and received replacements in just two days. For more information on making returns/exchanges, visit here and check out the BumGenius FAQ page. Recently, the remainder of my stock was beginning to show wear in the elastic.

They remained in excellent shape beside the legs (velcro is working perfectly and fabric is still very soft), which was leading to more frequent leaking. I was not sure what to do, and was disappointed to think they were reaching the end of their life. Thanks to my friend, Chalon, my diapers have been redeemed! With the use of some new 1/4” elastic, small safety pins and a seam ripper (costing me a total of $2), I have been able to easily replace the elastic in my diapers and they now look brand new! Praise the Lord! You don’t know how excited I am! The Lord is providing all our basic needs…isn’t that awesome?

Find a step by step picture tutorial of the process of replacing the elastic here. The only requirement is very basic sewing skills, and then again, you can do it easily by hand as well!

AFTER

AFTER

So if there is any other fellow BG diaper users out there, don’t give up too quickly! If you are considering cloth diapering, I give another vote to these diapers if you are willing to put a little effort into them (hanging them to dry is a good way to preserve their life as well). They are the second cheapest option for diapering beyond prefolds while remaining more convenient and softer on the babies bottom. I still have yet to see how well they fit on a newborn, as we started Karis on them at four months (thus the reason I have prefolds for our baby). They will fit your little one all the way through to potty training! Karis can wear one of diapers for at least 3 hours (often times up to 5 hours) without any leaking problems! I have tried a few other one size diapers (Happy Heiny’s, Haute Pockets), and BG diapers surpass them all!

Further Resources

Recommended Cloth Diaper Detergents
Bum Genius FAQ Page

Comments { 49 }

Truly Natural Mascara Options

By on February 18, 2009 in natural & green

mascaraBlessings asked: Do you wear mascara and if so what brand? I remember a blog post about mineral makeup but use maybelline mascara, and since it’s gone, I thought I would ask if you have a better brand or alternative.

Yes, I do wear mascara, and have been in pursuit of finding a truly natural alternative, but have been quite stumped. Your question got me motivated to dig deep and find the best options.

I have been surprised to see how many mascara options are available that claim to be “natural” and yet still contain parabens of all varieties. Natural brands such as EccoBella, BareEssentuals mascara, and Palladio.

Parabens (such as methyl­paraben and propylparaben) are synthetic preservatives and studies link them with cancer, endocrine dis­rup­tion and hor­mone mim­icry, developmental and reproductive toxicity, aller­gies and skin tox­i­c­ity, tissue irri­ta­tion, and tox­i­c­ity to var­i­ous organs, to name a few.

As mascara is the easiest of skin products to quickly enter and be absorbed into the body through the eyes, it is definitely something worthwhile to consider finding a safe paraben free alternative. Check out your ingredient lists carefully and always refer to the Skin Deep Database.

I have been doing various research and have found the following options to be your best choices. Please note that these natural mascaras are not waterproof.  Companies use plastics and high alcohol content to achieve this effect. Prices range from $14-18 per tube, which is actually quite reasonable since the standard brand I have bought in the past was at least $9-10 and lasts for approximately 6 months for me. Remember, the least amount of ingredients listed on a label the better, and they should be readable! ;)

Origins Lash Loving Mascara
Tarte Lash Hugger Natural Mascara – (read reviews on this product here)
RealPurity Mascara
Earth’s Beauty Mascara
Sun Coat Naturals

The majority of these mascaras can be found online through Natural Solutions, a great source for truly natural cosmetic products.

Further Reading

How Safe is Your Mascara? - most standard mascara brands are compared

I would love to hear if any of you have tried these safe alternatives? What do you recommend? Remember…double check your ingredient list before making a recommendation!

Comments { 57 }

Composting Begins!

By on February 12, 2009 in natural & green

composting-bin

One of my new year goals is off and running! Our composting bin is set up and ready to go. Composting is a great means of cutting back on garbage while making some wonderful soil for your garden! A simple way to being a good steward and not letting anything go to waste! My Grandma told me this is the key to her lucious tomato plants producing an abundant crop. I kept it simple and purchased the composting bin that Azure Standard now offers (just under $40 for the set) as we are very limited in our condo with no back yard beyond a deck. It had very simple instructions and came with everything including the container, worms, moss, and paper. It did not exactly fit under my kitchen sink  (it was so close, but the garbage disposal was in the way), so we are keeping a small plastic container under the sink to collect organic scraps throughout the day, and the composting bin in the garage. At the end of the day we dump the matter into the bin, and start again! All’s I have to do now is feed these little worms 1/2 lb of food scraps each day!

Further Reading

Worm Composting in a trash can - Tammy’s shares about her composting method. Great if you have the space!

Any tips on composting you want to send my way?

Comments { 31 }

Natural Diaper Rash Solutions

By on January 29, 2009 in bellies & babies, natural & green

babyWho likes to see their baby suffering with a diaper rash? We have been plagued with frequent diaper rashes on my little Karis’ bottom for a long time. I have been determined to find a natural solution to this issue. I have tried a lot of various natural cremes (Weleda, Burt’s Bees, etc) without too much success…

UPDATE: Why look for a natural alternative in the first place? Your traditional Desitin and other store brands (including dusting powders) contains methylparaben, talc and fragrance (which is a friendly alternative word for phthalates). Studies link these ingredients with bioaccumulation in humans and wildlife, cancer, endocrine disruption and hormone mimicry, allergies and skin toxicity, tissue irritation, and toxicity to various organs, to name a few. Talc especially is known for being commonly contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.

Two keys I have found to avoiding and dealing with rashes is to change diapers frequently, and making sure the bottom is dry completely after changing. I recommend having a hair dryer near your changing table to speed up this process!

Continue Reading →

Comments { 82 }

Safe Kitchen Storage

By on January 5, 2009 in natural & green, recipes & kitchen tips

I am in new year cleaning and nesting mode lately. I love reorganizing and simplifying at the beginning of the new year. I have talked previously about the ease and safety of using glass canning jars for all your kitchen storage. They work great for all varieties of leftovers for the fridge, leftovers for the freezer,  and for general food and grain storage. I absolutely love glass storage! Canning jars are very frugal to come by, and they are simple and elegant. You can find them in Pint, Quart, half gallon, and gallon sizes (Azure Standard also carries the gallon size). Craigslist, goodwill and garage sales are great places to find used jars for the best prices.

I like to save all glass jars from store-bought purchases so I have multiple sizes and shapes, but the standard wide mouth canning jar is best for ease of removing contents (avoid the narrow mouth jars if possible – just too difficult!). Wide mouth also gives the ability to stack them more easily in the refrigerator. Just this past week I stumbled upon the product I have been looking for awhile…plastic wide mouth jar lids! Yes, this is the solution to the natural rusting process that takes place with the standard metal canning lids and rings, and this simplifies it into one lid rather than two pieces. You should have seen my excitement!

Where to find? You can find these nifty plastic lids at Fred Meyers in the canning section along with all their other canning supplies. The cost? Just over $3 for a box of 8 lids. You can also find them online at Amazon:8 Pk Wide Mouth Plastic Caps. Note: these are not to be used for canning, but only for storage purposes. And don’t worry about the plastic – it’s a #5 plastic and does not come in contact with your food unless you fill your jars completely to the brim.

I highly recommend this product as a means of getting simplified and organized in your kitchen storage this year!

Comments { 16 }

Frugal & Green Gift Wrapping Ideas

By on December 12, 2008 in frugal & simple, natural & green

The average family will have a living room full of Christmas wrapping paper this year…all headed for the trash pile? Why not consider a more sustainable, frugal and re-usable alternative? Include the kids in being creative and giving a little more thought and love into each gift.

Alternative Wrapping Ideas

1. Brown Paper Bags – reuse brown paper bags from the grocery store. Turn them inside out, wrap your gift and decorate with your children’s hand prints, sponge paint, or various art work. If you have a larger gift, cut the paper bags flat and tape two or more together. Cut a potato in half and cut out a stencil or design, dip into paint and have fun! Write a poem or special quote on the outside. Use twine or hemp to tie it. Here is a great idea for using simple stickers to decorate the exterior of your package as displayed below.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 15 }

Plastic or Wooden Cutting Boards?

By on December 4, 2008 in natural & green, recipes & kitchen tips

Cutting boards are kitchen essentials! For everything from cutting, chopping, dicing and every other food preparation. I have been a long time user of plastic cutting board, that is, until recently. Why is that? Have you every considered that using plastic cutting boards might just be the easiest way to actually eat plastic? If your cutting boards look anything like mine, they get nicked, cut and scratched. Guess where all the plastic shards end up? And those lovely little nicks and cuts are a favorite nesting spot for bacteria to grow. Hard plastics can contain bisphenol A, which makes plastic strong but can damage the reproductive system, disrupt hormones, mimics estrogen, and is linked to bread and prostate cancer. Sound appetizing?

Consider a better alternative…wooden cutting boards. My dad built me a fabulous sturdy cutting board last Christmas and I am now using it primarily. I love it! It is so much more solid, doesn’t slide around the counter as you put it to use, and cleans easily!

Continue Reading →

Comments { 53 }