Trash and toilets.

I have used reusable bags for my shopping for over two years (maybe three?) and though I feel good about this, I always squirm when I need to purchase trash bags. They are plastic and in purchasing them I am knowingly sending them to a landfill, which is both ironic just to buy something to throw away and environmentally unfriendly. Same with toilet paper. Not only is it something that really goes to "waste" but it is even harder to pay more for the environmentally friendly kind when you see your 22 month-old trail it from the bathroom through the kitchen and into the living room.  So what to do? 

You can compost, recycle, reduce trash by purchasing things in bigger (and recycable) packaging, but it is very hard to completely remove the need for trash bags. The other day I was in the commissary (military grocery store) and I found degradable bags by Presto that didn't cost a fortune. Supposedly they degrade in 12-18 months. I impulsively bought them and  then came home and started using them.  They aren't bad, I don't have that much garbage so they haven't leaked yet. The problem is that I paid for and am using something I thought was good for the environment.  They really aren't that much better than regular trash bags.  For things to degrade, they need exposure to sunlight and oxygen, two things which are not abundant in a landfill.  Frustrated, since I had thought I had found a solution to my trash bag problem, I did a bit of research and found that the best thing you can do (once you have recycled, composted, and reduced) is to buy recycled trash bags.  This way, though the bags will still not degrade in the landfills, you at least aren't using NEW plastics.  7Th Generation sells some that are made with 65% recycled plastic and according to their website, if every family in the US would use just one of package of their bags instead of regular trash bags, then we would save 39,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat 2,200 US homes for ONE year.  I will be on the lookout for these bags the next time I hit the grocery store and update you on what I have found.

7Th Generation also sells recycled paper products, a solution to the toilet paper (and paper towel) predicament.  I have also found another company that uses recycled paper for their paper products, Marcal.  Their items are usually low cost, but some of their individually wrapped toilet tissue is wrapped in plastic, so not as environmentally friendly as purchasing individual rolls all wrapped in paper.  Green Forest also sells recycled toilet paper and paper towels.  One blogger suggested buying the 7th Generation toilet tissue in bulk; at Amazon.com you get a case of 48 for $47.99 plus shipping.  The rolls have 500 2 ply sheets.  In comparison to regular toilet paper, also at Amazon.com, you can purchase 45 rolls (5 packs of 8 rolls) of Charmin Ultra for $41.49, however you will get only 250 2-ply sheets per roll. Thus in some stores and online, it is possible to buy environmentally friendly paper products that are actually cheaper than conventional products.  

And for the curious or those picky about what comes in contact with the sensitive back end, I have found that the green forest, Marcals and 7Th Generations are all pretty soft and hold up rather well. Marcals are the least soft, but my girls like them because they have hearts. They are not as soft as a package of kleenex, but not irritating or harsh.  If you have any opinions or reviews about any of these products, I'd love to see your comments posted. I am not too picky and my kids haven't complained.

As for paper towels: the greenest option would be to only use cloth (napkins, dishtowels, rags) rather than paper products, but sometimes, for certain things, paper towels are nice to have and if you do need to use them, might as well be made from unbleached recycled paper.  

In conclusion, if you can find toilet paper made from recycled paper and trash bags made from recycled plastics, you will reduce your dependence on foreign oil, reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment.  Perhaps, you may even help your wallet!

Broken Arms, Casts and Water...

I actually forgot to post this blog entry I wrote in the middle of the summer, so here it is:

So within a week of moving into our new home, in the middle of summer, and only 2 days after discovering the local swimming area, our 4 year old broke her arm. Within 4 days, she had a new cast since she got it wet "watering" (AKA drowing) my potted vegetables on the back patio.  Being frustrated that I couldn't take all 3 kids swimming (It was about 85 degrees an 97 % humidity) and that I may have to cancel beach plans, I googled "waterproof cast cover" and found a cool product that cost less than $35. Its called a XeroSox cast cover and claims to be fully waterproof, so much so that you can fully submerge your broken appendage in the water, whether you are swimming, snorkeling or just taking a shower. I ordered it and it worked, despite that it was a bit too big.  I would not give it rave reviews because a) it was a bit too big, and we had ordered the smallest size and b) my daughter found it painful to have all of the air suctioned out of the cast.  It caused a certain amount of pressure which pained her.  Still, with waterproof tape around the top of the arm we were able to make an airtight seal that held despite not fully removing all of the air.  She was able to go to the beach and play round in the water as well as play on the slip and slide in the backyard and not have to get a third cast.  We did not brave fully submerging it underwater since it was a bit too big.

THEN, I got an e-mail from a former neighbor who told me her daughter had had a waterproof cast. I googled that and found you can line a fiberglass cast with something else than cotton. The product is called Gore Procel Cast Liner and for a small childs full arm would have cost $51 (plus $20 for next morning delivery) and a large adult full leg was about $125 (plus shipping). Of course, the Army was too cheap to use that, but if ever in the same situation, I would insist on it and probably pay for it. I bet many hospitals and orthopedic offices carry it. It would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about her ruining the cast or getting it wet.  Of course, if the break was severe and there were skin wounds involved, it would probably not work since the risk of infection would be too great.

Anyway, a heads up that hopefully none of you will need!!  

Trying to get to a 1 trash bag a week... cloth diapers and hankies

This week was Claire's birthday and we of course had a birthday party for her. This time we did not use paper or plastic cups, silverware or tablecloths. It seemed silly to be doing cloth diapers and then going and buying $20 worth of of paper or plastic party wear when I had plenty of dishes and tablecloths to go around. I did also have some biodegradeable bowls I had left over from last year's party that we used for the chili and some cake. Since we are moving in a few months, it seemed silly not to use them. We emptied their contents and threw the bowls into the composter. In any case...not a single dish was broken. I did cheat and used juice boxes... I hesitated but then thought that they were less likely to spill those since 11 kids plus babies running around tend to spill things.

It has occured to us (Eric and I) how much of a convenience-centered, throw-away society we live in. Everything is disposable... diapers, dishes, napkins, mop heads, cleaning products... etc. We spend alot of money on those products just to save a few minutes of maintenance. And the landfills grow daily. Last fall, the girls and I took a tour of the local garbage dump and recycling center. If I remember correctly, 17 tractor trailers of garbage leave their facility DAILY. Our town is not that big.... So Eric and I are shooting for having 1 garbage bag a week.

Sadly, we failed this week. We'll try again next week. Between the birthday party, cleaning out our house to get it ready to sell and finally admitting that the kids' toy chairs were beyong repair, we ended up with at least 4 trash bags and the chairs on the side of the road. But we should not have more than 1 trash bag... we recycle, we compost, we use cloth diapers and wipes, and I try to buy our dry goods from the bulk bins and in doing so, reusing the containers. Still, we have never had just 1 trash bag a week.

This is where I am going to make a plug for both cloth diapers and hankerchiefs. I love both and they really aren't that gross. Lets talk about the hankies briefly... the girls love them since I found some very pretty ones on ebay and had some cute ones (hello kitty) from when I was a little girl. They carry them around with them all day and drop them in the hamper at night. I used to find nasty kleenexes all over the house and the dog would eat them and then I'd have to pooper scoop them. Now, I don't. They just get dumped into the wash. I don't bother ironing them. Also, they don't rip and leak or ooze. The contain the mess quite nicely. If you don't have any hankies, check them out on e-bay. They are usually $1 or so for 2-3 and about that much for shipping.

Cloth diapers.... many of my friends and family thought I was insane to try cloth diapering. The only way I talked Eric into it was using pure economics. I spent $400 for 2-3 years worth of diapering. I had to practically sign a contract stating that once I purchased the BumGenuis 2.0 diapers at $18 a piece, I would use them until potty training. Eric now wishes we had used them for all of the girls. He HAS done his share of the diaper laundry and does not hesitate to change a diaper. He tells any one that this is the way to go. First of all, it is much better for the environment... we don't use that much more water. We are billed on a 3 month cycle. I checked our water bill and for the 3 months prior to Emma's birth our usage was 12. The three months before that was 10. After that our usage has stayed in the 9-12 range. I am not sure exactly how much water that is, the number simply reflects changes in our meter. Now I use soap nuts (see my entry form earlier this month- but I LOVE them) and so I don't even put chemicals in the water.

Second, the chlorine and absorbent materials they put in disposables aren't that healthy. Studies have shown that they contain dioxin which in much higher dosages is a known carcinongen. You can buy some that are chlorine free. My friend uses 7th Generation ones and they don't leak for her little girl. We used 1/2 a pack when we traveled to Belgium for the airplane ride and they worked really well. I still prefered the cloth diapers, though.

I like the cloth diapers because I can adjust the absorbency. First, you should know that I use what are called Pocket Diapers. The outside is made of a waterproofed polyester and the inside is made of a micro fleece. (Not very biodegradable- I know- but at least I'll only throw away 24- and one of my siblings will probably use them for their kids before that happens). The fleece is great since it lets the urine through to be absorbed by the insert, but at the same times prevents it from coming into contact with the babies bottom. They fasten with velcro, but have a pocket in which you stuff an absorbent insert. I have hemp and micro terry inserts. At night, I use 2 inserts. The double stuffed diaper is bulky, but Emma doesn't seem to mind since she is only sleeping. She actually doesn't seem to mind at all since she walks around the house before going to bed. With just one insert the diapers last about 3-4 hours. The key to keeping that absorbency is to wash them with the smallest amount of detergent or even better, using the soapnuts. Once they have detergent build-up, they leak. Sometimes adding a water softener (like Calgon) to the wash helps, but I have not had to do this since I started using the soapnuts. Did I say I loved Soap Nuts!?!

As for the grossness factor... I can't be the judge of your tolerance... but I presume you do wipe your baby's bottom, and so in a way are already handling the BMs. Once Emma started to eat solids (and stopped eating Soy, Wheat and Milk products) I was able to shake the BMs into the toilet. There were many months when this was not possible... and everything went into the wash. I wash the diapers 2x, once on cold and then once on hot. My washing machine is no worse for the wear. I use gloves and then wash my hands with the gloves still on to clean them. I wash my hands again, just to be sure. At some point you need to separate the insert from the rest of the diaper. I used to do it as soon as I took it off of her, but now I just do the separating in front of the laundry machine.

Another thing, I bought one size fits all diapers that fit 8lbs-35lbs. For a while, when Emma was still a newborn, Claire wore them at night (as an almost 3 year old that weighed about 31lbs) . So both my kids, 2 years 9 months apart, used the same diapers at the same time. I didn't need to worry about sizes or running to the store. As long as I do diaper laundry every 2-3 days, we have diapers.

You can find out more about cloth diapers and read reviews on different brands at http://www.diaperpin.com/. I bought the BumGenuis 2.0 from http://www.cottonbabies.com/. They made the adjustment from disposable to cloth really easy. I have since checked and they have made a 3.0 version, which is almost identical but has some minor improvements that seem to be more helpful for boys than girls (they added a waterproof strip on the top of the inside so that ther would be no leaks coming out the top- we have never had that issue). Some people swear by Fuzzi Bunz or Happy Heinys. I didn't want those since I don't want to buy multiple sizes. Now, I think I could handle most cloth diapering systems (including pre-folds, which is what most of us think of typically when we say "cloth diapers"). Though Prefolds are by far the cheapest diapering option, I still think $400 for 2-3 years of diapering isn't at all bad!

Here are some early pics of Emma in her BumGenius diapers... she was about 3-4 weeks old and maybe 9-10lbs. These are the green ones, but we also have pink, yellow and blue.

Below are some pictures I took of Emma today, wearing the same diaper... in pink. She is now 15 months old and just under 21lbs. She is on the move!

Rubber Boots and Pants

I have high energy kids... (I think had we had a calm child Eric might have had to question paternity), but towards the middle and end of winter we get some serious cabin fever. Last week, the only "warmer" days were rainy and wet. But we went outside at least 3-4 times each day to jump in puddles. And I realized that many kids here in the US don't have rubber pants. Talking with a few moms at the indoor playground (another life saver), I realized that some kids don't have rain boots either. Most do have snow boots, but not rain boots. So here is my plug for rain boots and pants.

I was born in Belgium, which despite being at the same lattitude as New Foundland, is much more temperate than the northeast US thanks to the Gulf Stream. So, it rains more, snows less. The climate is more similar to that of the middle atlantic states. Growing up we always had rubber boots and rubber pants. Playing in the rain is lots of fun. My kids love it and I love the fact that they don't ruin their clothes (or at least create another whole load of laundry each time they go outside- despite my new found love of soap nuts). Target sells cute rubber boots, so do LLBean and Landsend, both of these stores also sell the rubber pants from 2T and up, though only LL Bean sells the infant sizes.

The great thing is that they last forever and are easily passed down and around. All my girls have worn a pair of orange rubber boots that my mother had for my siblings and I. My mother still has rain pants at her house in case we forget ours or someone comes with a child, without snowpants.

Soap Nuts!!

I finally got my order of soap nuts today. When I was in Belgium, I saw a news clip about them and also read an article. They intrigued me since I was cloth diapering Emma and with three kids I do a lot of laundry. Soap nuts are dried fruit, much like figs, that come from the Chinese Soapberry Tree (Sapindus Mukorossi) and are a natural laundry detergent. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes.

So they are hypoallergenic and natural and 100% biodegradable. They are sustainable and suport rural economies and prevent the logging of the soapberry trees.

But do they work? How much do they cost?

Yes, they work. I just did my first load and I showed no mercy. The load I washed was the girls clothes. Tomatoes, markers, mud, general grey stuff on the sleeves. The tomato stains were not all gone, but they never are using my regular detergent. I have to say that they worked at least as well as Tide Clear, which is what I was using before. I am now reusing the first 2 soap nuts in a dishtowel and big wash.

How to use:

For a hot/ warm wash: place 2 soapnuts in the little bag they provided and pop in the wash.
For a cold wash: use 4 (but then they can be re-used 3-4 times)

They are safe in HE as well as regular machines. They don't really produce any suds.

You can check out more at http://www.maggiespureland.com/. That is where I purchased them.
There is supposedly a lot more you can do with them.

Now for the cost: a big bag supposedly for 200 loads, cost $34.99 and I paid $7.47 shipping- so I paid $42.46. (About 21 cents a load) The Tide Clear I usually buy costs $12.99 and they advertise it does 64 loads and that is about 20 cents a load. So the cost, including shipping is on par with what I currently use. The question remains whether I will truly get 200 loads and if I ever truly get 64 loads. I will try to keep track of the number of loads I do. Also, no need for softeners... the clothes came out beautifully!

Anyway, here are pictures of the soap nuts and some of the stains they took out:

This is how the soap nuts arrived. There was a big cotton bag to keep them all in and a smaller one in which you place them before you pop them in the wash.

Two friendly little soap nuts.

Caroline's grungy turtleneck- notice the dirt, pencil and marker marks on the sleeves.

Caroline's Turtleneck- after a warm wash with soap nuts. She has had this turtleneck for 2 years, so there were very light stains on the sleeves before hand.

Claire's shirt, notice the tomato and marker spots.

Claire's shirt -after a warm wash with soap nuts.

To Do Away with Plastics! But What About Sippy Cups?

Recently, in the news there have been articles about the dangers of polycarbonate plastics, commonly used for children's sippy cups, bottles, etc. The chemical in question is called bisphenol A and supposedly affects the reproductive organs. We decided we really didn't need the medical community to confirm it for us. If it turns out bisphenol A is harmless, we would be no worse off if we threw away (recycled) our plasticware. But if it isn't...

Anyway, the girls were fighting over the plastic stuff we had, it was used, beaten up and took up way too much cupboard space. So, we eliminated it all. I already had a nice set of pyrex storage containers we liked and the older girls just started using the regular plates we used. I had some juice glasses that had roosters on them that was just the right size for them. I did go out and buy more pyrex storage dishes.

For kitchen utensils, we use mostly wooden spoons and spatulas. I also have some stainless steel laddles and spatulas.

That left Emma, still very prone (and fond of) throwing things onto the floor and proclaiming "Uh Oh!". Porcelain plates aren't really an option right now. So I found stainless steel food preparation bowls. The ones I found (at Wegmans) had a soft plastic lid, so they could be used for storage and transportation as well. I tend to wash the lids by hand. I also use our small wooden cutting boards as plates. Eric is going to try to make her some more. You could also go to a camping store and look for a few stainless steel plates.

That still left the problem that arises when she drinks. Glass wasn't an option for everyday use. At the table, she likes to drink out of a juice glass too, but I have to help her. I searched ebay and craigslists for vintage cups, hoping to find something in silver, pewter, stainless steel, etc. Finally, I found these THERMOS sippy cups. At Target, in the camping section. The reviews were mixed... they claimed that they leaked and the inserts were hard to clean. They are expensive.

I like them. They are more sanitary, they keep her Elecare (hypoallergenic formula) cooler and therefore less likely to harbor bacteria when we are out an about. The inserts are two pieced and you just need to take them apart to clean them. They leak a bit if you don't push the little nozzle in fully, mostly when you shake the formula. They are expensive, about $15 a piece and I bought two. But considering Emma seems to be sensitive to many things, I thought it a wise decision. $30 is cheaper than in vitro treatments 30 years from now when she wants to have a baby and can't. Again, that is probably an over reaction...