Monday, August 30, 2010

It's Not Easy Being Green...Or Is It?


Having our son this past February has caused me to step back and really evaluate my consumer ways. This little baby so precious and small had begun to create waste even before he was born and doubled our household garbage within weeks of his birth. I remember sitting on the couch about a week before my scheduled C-section pulling tags and sticky labels off baby clothes in preparation for washing. I couldn't believe the packaging and even after I sorted through what could be recycled I was left with a pile of trash.

I have to admit though that when it came to shopping for my soon to arrive baby environmentally conscious products and packaging didn't matter to me. I was a mama on the prowl for the cutest, softest, most adorable, and lush baby swag I could find. I even spoke to several mamas during my pregnancy about CD'ing but I was convinced that even though disposables were not optimal they were what was best for me. But the irony is that most parents including myself would say they value the environment and want to do what's best for it and best for their children. Of course actions speak louder than words and I was well on my way to leaving little Magnus a legacy of trash.

Once I delved into CD'ing a greener way of thinking began to creep into other areas of my home and life. As we were unable to use fabric softener with our CD's I began to read about the long list of unnecessary and even harmful ingredients in dryer sheets and now we do without for all our laundry. We use wool dryer balls and yes our clothing isn't as soft as it once was but that is something we can live with. Also we now use cloth baby wipes for Magnus's little tushy. Cloth baby wipes only made sense as we throw them in the hamper with the CD's and no longer need a garbage in Magnus's room. We line dry more clothing and of course our CD's. I am thinking about cloth napkins, and researching greener cleaning and beauty products. A few days ago I ordered some Mama Cloth (yes, insert any eye rolls here, lol) as the waste from sanitary pads was bugging me. Ladies, just think about the waste we have each month multiplied by our "child bearing years"and then some. I'll let you know how it goes.

I encourage everyone to take the time to research and investigate some greener options for yourselves. Really, I'm not a modern hippie, just a convenience loving, sometimes lazy, chubby little mama that wants to be a better parent by greening up her lifestyle and home.

Green Mama...well trying to be ;-)






5 comments:

  1. Agreed 100%

    My Monkey's CDs has inspired us to go a little greener as well. We CD, cloth wipe, and I just purchased a Diva Cup and Mama Cloth. I'm even going so far as requesting eco friendly wooden or cloth toys for his first birthday.

    I'm followig your blog now and looking forward to reading more. I've just started up on Blogger so fllow me too, please.

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  2. Totally with you Amy. I've always had a nagging voice in the back of my head about our planet, but since having Elinor that voice has moved to the forefront. We use hand-me-downs as much as possible and buy almost all of her other clothing and toys used. We have a store here called Once Upon a Child which is all used clothing, toys and gear and it's all clean and in good shape. The price is a bonus, but our main motivation is eco-friendliness. We requested that all of Elinor's shower and birthday presents be used or otherwise eco-friendly. And the cloth diapering on our own (instead of a service) just hasn't been hard at all. We also use cloth wipes that we wash with her diapers (we just cut up an old jersey bedsheet - works beautifully) and it's so much better on her bum. We are always looking for other ideas too! Happy to see you have a blog - it's a nice way to cyber-stalk you guys :)

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  3. Thanks for the comments Katie and Jen! It's amazing how these little ones inspire us. I did order and have received my Mama Cloth and will blog about that (I'm actually looking forward to getting my next period). I'm making cloth napkins and trying to remember to bring my reusable bags with me to the store. It's all the little things that add up.

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  4. I'm working my way out of disposable wipes (baby's bedroom isn't close enough to the bathroom to do cloth wipes... and so far the solutions for bottoms I've tried I haven't loved) and am working my way out of disposable mama stuff. (I can't waste my money and won't let myself order mama cloth and DC until I use up the stock I have).
    It is neat to see our generation turning the tide of culture into one that considers our planet!

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  5. Hey Amy, I just got a Lunette (like a Diva Cup but for different body types -- http://www.lunette.com/) a few months ago and am LOVING it! MUCH cleaner and healthier than pads and tampons, and you don't have to change it as frequently, either.

    I am actually thinking of making some mama cloth for myself to use as pantyliners and overnight pads, because my heavy flow requires backup even with the Lunette. I think I am going to buy a few to start out with and then use them as a template or change them based on what I like/don't like about them. I would love to know about your experience! Where did you get yours from and what brand are they? How are you liking them?

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