Comments on: Green Parenting

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:03:18 +0000

Going green can actually save you money. For Earth Day, I wrote an entire series of things you can do. If you click my name, I think it will take you to that blog.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:03:13 +0000

One thing that I like a lot about cloth diapers is that you don’t have to fold them like clothes. We just wash them twice, dry them (outside when it is warm) and then throw them in the little hamper that we store them in. My husband and I were talking today about how we perfer to wash the diapers versus the clothes because they involve so much putting away and seperating.

By: Kandace

Kandace — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:13:32 +0000

Cloth diapers are a great advantage over disposable in many ways, but why not take it a step further? I encourage everyone to try the Diaper Free Challenge: http://diaperfreechallenge.org

More information on Elimination Communication and how it relates to environmental issues at http://cleanearthhappybaby.org

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:17:53 +0000

Shannon, I’m glad you mentioned the Clorox line of cleaners. Parents, please remember that “green” doesn’t translate into “safe” when you are talking about cleaners. Take the same precautions with your kids when using them, and continue to keep them out of reach or in a secure cabinet.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:27:35 +0000

Nobody has said anything about cleaning products yet so I just wanted to mention the new line of natural products from Clorox. You can get them anywhere and they aren’t too much more expensive than regular products. They work good and smell great. Plus I think every store now carries some “green” brand of laundry detergent, hand soap, ect. We also have been buying biodegradable baby wipes. Both Target and Walmart have brands in their stores. Although the Target by my house in Apple Valley does not carry them! Bringing reusable bags to the store is also another easy and very cheap thing to do. You can get them anywhere now. I leave mine in the car or I tend to forget them. I think people are under the impression that it’s expensive to “go green” but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to remodel your house there are plenty of easy changes you can do that make a big impact.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:05:09 +0000

Nice article, thanks.

We’ve made a lot of changes in our lifestyle, but not so much for the noble reason of saving the environment, but because of the need to save money on one income. =) Helping the environment is a bonus.

We love cloth diapers and find them very easy. We have joined a CSA this year (Community Supported Agriculture) and are really looking forward to our organic vegetables and fruit.

My husband also decided that we spent too much money on paper towels and napkins, so he bought some white shop- type towels, and now that’s all we use. He washes them once or twice a month and it saves us a bunch of money! Its nice to cut back on the amount of garbage we make too!

We’re looking forward to the Living Green Expo (but why does it have to be the same weekend as the Festival of Nations AND the Cinco de May celebration on the West side of St. Paul— every single year!)?

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:01:17 +0000

Jackie ~ Thanks for sharing about the diodegradable diapers from Target, and it is fantastic that they work! If a disposable works, but costs more, I would still use it. My son’s daycare won’t do cloth diapers, at least that was the case a few years ago, so those would be a good alternative.

By: claudia

claudia — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:29:09 +0000

I would say that we are middle of the road - not very green, but conscious enough to make some green choices. Frankly, we choose what’s easiest for us - like using only canvas bags at gorcery and hardware stores and not treating our lawn with pesticides. We eat mostly (but not all) organic and fair trade and consume less meat than the average American household. We don’t do fast food, but that is more about nutrition (though one could argue the issues go hand in hand.) My kids are much more in tune with the environment than I was at their age.

As for lightbulbs - we made a good faith effort and must’ve gotten a rotten bunch because the light they cast is horribly ugly. I replaced a conventional bulb w/ a green one in a reading lamp in our living room and it makes the person sitting by it look nauseous, not to mention it does not give off enough light for me to read comfortably by it, either. I would appreciate tips about this particular issue.

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:48:13 +0000

We love cloth diapers! Unlike Athena, though, we use the local service that picks up our poopy cloths and delivers clean ones each week. I have heard that cloth diapers are easy to launder, and I keep toying with the idea of switching to washing my own. I justify what feels like an extravagance to have the service (despite that it is still cheaper than disposable diapers) in knowing that the amount of water the service companies use to wash diapers in bulk is less than the amount of water used to launder them at home, so it helps the environment in that sense. Of course, they use a huge van to drive around town delivering diapers, so maybe the environmental impact is still the same overall.

Erin - I think you are normal. We replace our normal lightbulbs with the efficient ones only once the normal ones burn out.

By: jackie

jackie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:17:33 +0000

I used cloth on my older son for 2 reasons - cost savings and his sensitivity to the plastics in the disposables. The added benefit to the environment was just a bonus. With my second son his build was so different the cloth ones leaked every time. So I found a natural brand at Target - Natures Babycare - that I would recommend(they cost less at Target than on diapers.com). This time environment/natural was a priority. Yes they are more expensive than the huge box of Pampers, but they totally biodegrade in something like 3 months and have no funky chemicals in them, even the packaging can be recycled - and they don’t leak. This same brand also has other baby care items like lotions, wipes and soaps.