July EcoFriendly Mama's

stokesm21 · January 2017

Starting this thread to talk eco-friendly babies, families and life with the July BMB. General discussion, questions, recommendations ... you name it! Which ones are you?

Eco-friendly (energy efficiency, sustainability, fair trade, green certified, waste reducing etc.)
Organic
Vegetarian or Vegan (and everything inbetween!)
Cruelty-free
Chemical-free

stokesm21 · January 2017

Personally I attempt all of the above except vegetarian/vegan. I not 100% anything but I'm moving more towards making better choices for my family. Not being a vegetarian/vegan kind of makes my 'cruelty-free' claim into an oxymoron but, it's just not something I feel I can give up ... yet (meat) Who knows, maybe one day.

DH and I are pretty committed to going as chemical free as possible with baby. I've done countless hours of research and it's a struggle, but thankfully I'm not the first and there are some great resources out there from Mom's who have been down this road and are sharing their knowledge. People keep wanting to buy us stuff and it's hard. Thankfully my family has thus far been really understanding but other people might not get it.

I've been using cruelty-free body products (shampoo, bodywash, make-up etc.) for a few years now. I'm generally die-hard when it comes to this. It's not only the company that has to be cruelty-free but their parent company (that owns them) as well. However, I'm sad to say I might compromise on my newest mineral foundation. The company is cruelty-free but the parent company is not. *sigh* But I'm so in love with it haha!

Does anyone have a recommendation for ecofriendly stainless steel cleaner? I have tried Method and hated it. Currently I use Weiman's spray but man, it's sooooo full of chemicals! It just works so good though!

Edit: forgot tidbits

tuxielove93 · January 2017

Pretty much all of the above, within reason, budget, and accessibility. I am a "staunch" vegan in that I don't consume any meat or dairy, but honey is not something I actively avoid, and I'm not as strict about it when it comes to beauty products and cleaning products, though I tend to go for natural/organics so they end up being cruelty free. I eat organic as much as possible as well, but not necessarily every single thing every single week. I'm working on making reusable paper towels and using old wash clothes dipped in vinegar for disinfecting wipes. Switching to using reusable containers instead of plastic baggies (I just got my own kitchen back, making this possible) I mostly clean with vinegar, and buy Seventh Generation products for laundry, dishwasher, and toilet paper. I definitely avoid using lots of chemicals as much as I can, really only cleaning with vinegar, but I'll use heavy duty stuff if it calls for it (which the mold in my washer is calling for right now). I go eco-friendly, green, and natural as much as possible for myself. Registered for Burt's Bees baby clothes, towels, and blankets that are 100% organic cotton as well

But I'm not going to reject stuff that isn't. Also registered for bum genius organic cotton reusable diapers and planet wise for all the bags and reusable wipes. Baby will be a vegan as well even though my DH isn't (but obviously I am going to breastfeed him. Some vegans are nutso).

BabyBump2 · January 2017

@kerils this is a legitimate question, and in no way am I trying to be rude. So please don't take it that way. How can you make your child be a vegan?

abmommy15 · January 2017

@stokesm21 I use the Method Stainless steel cleaner and love it but it took some practice. I've found the type of cloth I use makes all the difference. Paper towels work the best but I try to limit using them and found J-cloths work almost as well. Also wiping in circles or with the grain of the steel instead of back and forth.

We do our best to be eco-friendly and I try to limit the chemicals I clean with.
I love Method cleaning products and Dr.Bronners peppermint castille soap which I use as an all-purpose cleaner, floor cleaner and hand soap. I can't get on board with cleaning everything with vinegar because I'm ridiculous and need the fresh clean smell.

stokesm21 · January 2017

I have this great store in the nearby city that is essentially an "all of the above" list. They have a huge legend on the wall above the doors specific to what you're looking for. A pink beaker for chemical-free, a purple bunny for cruelty-free, a maple leaf for Canadian-made etc. Then all you have to do is look for the logo's on the pricing labels to see what a product qualifies as. It makes everything so much easier! They sell pretty much anything imaginable. Body care, make-up, baby items, clothes, headphones, toys, kitchenware, bedding, food ... I could go on and on. It's amazing! They have this really cool "eco-bar" where you buy a jug of eco-friendly laundry detergent, shampoo, fabric softener etc. and when you need a refill you just come back with the jug and pump the liquid out of the bar. You're reusing the same container over and over again. I only wish the store was closer but I still make a trip there every-so-often. I make sure I'm doing a haul when I do go.

DH and I live on an acre, which isn't a lot to some people, but we're also in the country. Our immediate neighbour is at least an acre away from us and we have nothing but farm land and trees to the right and behind. It's peaceful. We just finished building last spring so this year we get to start our garden boxes and grow our own veggies. Just the essentials for now then we will expand as our green thumb gets better. We're quite excited about it! I live in Canada so I am also researching some ways to continue growing in the winter. It's not impossible, but a obviously more work. DH is trying to convince me to get chickens (for eggs) but I'm not quite there yet. LOL The neighbor has some.

stokesm21 · January 2017

abmommy15 said:

@stokesm21 I use the Method Stainless steel cleaner and love it but it took some practice. I've found the type of cloth I use makes all the difference. Paper towels work the best but I try to limit using them and found J-cloths work almost as well. Also wiping in circles or with the grain of the steel instead of back and forth.

We do our best to be eco-friendly and I try to limit the chemicals I clean with.
I love Method cleaning products and Dr.Bronners peppermint castille soap which I use as an all-purpose cleaner, floor cleaner and hand soap. I can't get on board with cleaning everything with vinegar because I'm ridiculous and need the fresh clean smell.

I find that too even with the Weiman's. I have to apply with one cloth and "remove" with the other. I never could get the hang of the Method. I am sooooo in love with their almond scented hardwood floor cleaner but my current bottle is leaving serious streaks on my floor. I'm quite disappointed because I love cleaning with that stuff just for the smell. I also use their dishwasher tabs, toilet bowl cleaner and I think an all-purpose cleaner? (It's green) Oh and their granite cleaner but I'm finding the same thing with that now too, streaky.

A friend of a friend of my sister's (haha!) started a company whose cleaning products are vinegar based but they were able to make them with pretty smells. I think I'm going to give that a try. I should check out the Dr. Bronners.

supermom83 · January 2017

I am mostly Eco-friendly and Organic. I would love to be chemical-free, but I am such a clean freak and love my cleaning products so much...I've tried more natural alternatives and was not happy at all, so I'd love recommendations for more chemical-free cleaning products. I HATE the smell of vinegar so cleaning with it makes me want to gag and then I feel everything stinks of it. I've tried the seventh generation brand and did not like it.

I would say that 70% of all my meals are plant-based. I'm not 100% vegetarian, but most days I don't eat meat. I love the occasional burger and chicken too much to ever entirely give them up, but I try not to include much meat (chicken, beef and pork) in my diet for health reasons.

I would decribe myself as a poser hippie. lol I'm very much in the middle and don't take anything to the extreme. I still eat M&Ms (food coloring!!!) and buy Clorox wipes, but I also buy most of whatever I can organic and eco-friendly (including mattresses, sheets, diapers, baby products, sunblock and many more). I pick and choose my battles in regards to availability, cost and convenience.

RunRestRepeat · January 2017

I'd say I'm moderate on most of the above, except for vegetarian/vegan. We are definitely a meat-eating household. But I barely use cleaners outside of a 50-50 vinegar/water solution and I try to buy sustainable when we can. A friend is giving me her set of cloth diapers which I'm really excited about, but I'm worried about finding a daycare that will allow them so it might not work out. We'll see.

@stokesm21 Do you have a website/resource for finding cruelty-free body products?

stokesm21 · January 2017

@RunRestRepeat My favourite is Leaping Bunny. Their standards for cruelty-free certification are much stricter than PETA's. With PETA all you have to do is sign a declaration. The LB program actually investigates the companies to ensure that they are in compliance. Winners is actually a really surprising place where I am able to find cruelty-free and usually organic body-care stuff. At mine, I'm also able to find the same shampoo every time I go. It's a huge bonus because obviously it saves me money. A small bottle (250ml) regular price is $11.99 while at Winners I can get an entire litre for $14.99 (CAD)

https://www.leapingbunny.org/
https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/LeapingBunny

https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ Is also good to help keep you away from products that are toxic to your skin/health. That website is a serious eye-opener, especially with baby products. It's kind of scary once you learn it all!

As for the cloth diapers, I'm going that route as well. Have you considered disposable inserts for when at daycare? That can fix your problem. They are biodegradable and some of them can even be flushed right down the toilet. I think with the popularity of CD, daycare's are just going to have to adapt. But, if it gets to be that difficult there are still some good options out there like Honest Company and Seventh Generation although they are significantly more expensive unfortunately.

Edit: added a recommendation

RunRestRepeat · January 2017

@stokesm21 Thank you!!! I'm terrified to look up any of my products, but hopefully it will be a step in the right direction.

And I never even knew they had inserts for cloth diapers! I've got to get some research done, clearly!

tuxielove93 · January 2017

@BabyBump2 Not rude at all! I'm also hard to offend anyways. Basically in the same way that every parent chooses what foods their child eats, I'm choosing to feed my baby all vegan food. Yes, at some point they will be old enough that should they be interested in eating animal products I can't/won't stop them, but until that time they will be vegans. I don't mind going through the extra prepping of sending snacks to birthday parties, sending food along for any grandparents visits, making food ahead of time with baby sitters, etc. etc. I think my diet is the healthiest way to eat and I want to give my kids the best possible start in life, so they will be plant based babies. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain my husband's diet and why he eats stuff that they can't, but in truth I don't think it will be that hard. There is an alternative for EVERYTHING, so when daddy has goldfish, they have the vegan version. Plus if I get one of those kids who gets really into it, they may just guilt my husband into full conversion. We're still working out the kinks, and my husband agrees that I have the healthier, better for the environment, kinder to animals diet, he just likes animal products and will eat them on occasion. But he so rarely cooks them in the house, and we don't stock things like milk, eggs, or cheese. And of course I will explain it to them, why mama and they eat the way we do, probably take them to animal sanctuaries, etc. etc. All kid friendly, I'm not going to show them that super scary slaughterhouse stuff. I don't even watch that. Did that explain it? I feel like I maybe didn't explain it well. Keep asking if you're interested!

Side note in case anyone is interested: I currently have the Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book and since my m/s has gone away (or HAD) I've been working diligently to make sure I get enough of everything I need. I'm on the hunt for a breastfeeding book and a vegan baby nutrition book, so I think I may be on a lonely vegan island over here but if anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them.

@abmommy15 and @supermom83 It doesn't bother me any so I don't do it but you can always add essential oils like peppermint, lemon, or lavender to your vinegar to change the smell.

supermom83 · January 2017

@kerils One of my local June 2011 bump mom friends is a vegan and has raised her two daughters (ages 8 and 5) vegan. I'll send her a FB message asking her if she has any resources she'd recommend for you!

stokesm21 · January 2017

@RunRestRepeat Haha it is scary. I mean some of it you have to take with a grain of salt. Just because an ingredient in your product could cause cancer doesn't mean it will cause cancer. But, non-toxic options are becoming more and more affordable these days so it's an easy choice. I use Tarte for my mineral foundation, PUR for my mascara and LUSH for my moisturizer. Those I use more for their cruelty-free rather than non-toxicity but I don't believe they rate high on the scale anyways.

virginiaunicorn11 · January 2017

I'm also in camp "do the best I can." Part of why we moved to Germany was to be more eco-friendly/cut our carbon footprint - their renewable energy, recycling, and public transportation services make that easy. (Hypocrite alert: I fly fairly regularly!)

We buy local/organic when possible, but if it's not, we don't abstain. We try to keep DS chemical free, but could do better. Skincare/hygiene products are chemical free and so is laundry detergent. I need to change our dishwasher soap after this box is finished.

We buy mostly secondhand everything (most clothes, most furniture except beds, most baby items) - except we buy new appliances, and they must have the highest energy efficient rating (willing to pay more for that). We work hard not to accumulate STUFF.

I'd like to focus more on supermarket meat sources and reducing household chemicals. Beyond that-- I don't fit any label, but I'm good with our efforts.

tuxielove93 · January 2017

@supermom83 Thank you!

BabyBump2 · January 2017

@kerils, super informative!! Thank you!!

stokesm21 · January 2017

@kerils I am reading Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding. I'm quite in love with it. Kudos to you on going vegan with the kiddos and even better to say you can't/won't stop them if they end up trying non-vegan food. That's huge. But hopefully they stay clean.

I would like to think that non-vegan food wouldn't make them feel too good anyways, no?! I find the cleaner I eat, when I go back to junk or whatever it makes me feel like crap.

@supermom83 Your "poser hippie" comment is epic. I guess you could say I'm one of those as well! :P

I love it how we all vary in our ways. Some of us are more die-hard than others but we can still talk without being preachy. It's also nice learning what other people do. I find it hard to discuss such matters on regular boards.
(I'm out for the evening)

tuxielove93 · January 2017

@stokesm21 Pretty much. It sounds kind of like an evil genius plan, but in truth unless they do it intentionally when they're adults (or at least thinking and planning like adults) they probably won't like the taste of animal products/processed food and they may end up lactose intolerant due to lack of exposure. This is about the only argument my husband has to stand on, but for me the benefits of a clean diet outweigh the "negative" of being unable to eat less healthy things. Plus, as I've said to him countless times, we are going to limit them and make choices for them no matter what we do, and some of those are going to affect them for life. It's both our job as parents and unavoidable, so the best we can do is make the best/most informed decisions we can for them.

LoveLee85 · January 2017

supermom83 said:

I am mostly Eco-friendly and Organic. I would love to be chemical-free, but I am such a clean freak and love my cleaning products so much...I've tried more natural alternatives and was not happy at all, so I'd love recommendations for more chemical-free cleaning products. I HATE the smell of vinegar so cleaning with it makes me want to gag and then I feel everything stinks of it. I've tried the seventh generation brand and did not like it.

I would say that 70% of all my meals are plant-based. I'm not 100% vegetarian, but most days I don't eat meat. I love the occasional burger and chicken too much to ever entirely give them up, but I try not to include much meat (chicken, beef and pork) in my diet for health reasons.

I would decribe myself as a poser hippie. lol I'm very much in the middle and don't take anything to the extreme. I still eat M&Ms (food coloring!!!) and buy Clorox wipes, but I also buy most of whatever I can organic and eco-friendly (including mattresses, sheets, diapers, baby products, sunblock and many more). I pick and choose my battles in regards to availability, cost and convenience.

This is me exactly. ETA except I use vinegar to clean that I make smelly like lemons!!

greenbean-2 · January 2017

Great thread idea! I'm looking forward to learning from you all. The big things I focus on are:

Energy: This is a big one for me, because I spent several years doing advocacy and outreach related to climate change, and now my work deals with renewable energy. We installed solar panels, replaced all our light bulbs with LEDs, drive a hybrid/take transit, and try to buy efficient appliances whenever possible. We also installed a Nest thermostat so the heat/AC is very low when we're not home.

Food: We made a conscious decision awhile ago that we were ok spending more for food that's more sustainable. So we buy organic/local fruits and veggies whenever possible. We have a low-meat diet, and try to get more humane meat when possible (e.g. the "higher steps" at Whole Foods, or meat from a farmer's market). We also eat sustainable seafood, and buy pastured eggs and good organic milk (we did some research and not all organic milk is equal). That being said, I'm a bit of a foodie, so I make exceptions to all of this for interesting restaurants and when traveling. I'm definitely not perfect.

I would love ideas and recommendations for more natural personal care products. I have sensitive skin and since I've finally found a combo of (mainstream) products that don't irritate my skin, I'm nervous to switch things up. I've also tried aluminum free deodorant, but couldn't find a brand that didn't leave me stinky by the end of the day.

Sorry for writing a novel, but the environment is a passion of mine.

BusyZee · January 2017

I loved reading everyone's responses! I really needed this thread thanks a bunch.

i also use that ewg website @stokesm21
i love my cleaning supplies aswell but I want some better alternatives

I use method sprays but they honestly don't work that well! Is there some way to make them work?

MrsN092714 · January 2017

@supermom83 Have you heard of or tried Norwex cleaning products? I have a few that I love (their enviro cloths clean everything! I love their window cloth and their mop system)

mrscate88 · January 2017

What a fun thread, I love reading all of your experiences on this topic!

We seriously reuse and recycle everything, even creamer containers haha. We limit chemicals as much as we can, my only cleaning supplies are dawn dish soap, baking soda, and peroxide. No other cleaners allowed in this house. And I use coconut oil for most of my skin and hair care, but I do use shampoo. We'll never be vegetarian or vegan, but we buy all of our meat from our relative who is an all natural, organic ranch/farm owner.

My hubby and I always do challenges and try to see who can waste less/create less trash. Buying local fresh food and less packaged food helps cut down on trash big time!

sehp8b · January 2017

@kerils and @BabyBump2 I teach at a daycare. Two of my kids (twin boys) have a vegetarian dad because of health reasons and a kind of vegetarian mom, because it is easier to just make one meal for the two of them. Anyway, Mom did not eat meat while she was pregnant, and now the boys refuse to eat meat. Mom offers it to them, they just won't eat it. They are 16 months, and they are not picky eaters outside of this quirk.

My husband and I are in a very similar situation. I am vegetarian, but he is not. We both cook, though he has been cooking more recently (hello, exhaustion!), and he has started eating more and more vegetarian meals. Mainly, he only has meat when we go out to eat. It will be interesting to see how our children react to growing up in this environment. I will encourage a plant based diet, but I will not be surprised if they turn out to be omnivores. We shall see!

julybaby17-2 · January 2017

I'm not a big meat eater, but my husband is. He always joked that I would want meat when I became pregnant. Nope. The complete opposit!

I try not to be wasteful and not to overdo chemicals, but I'm far from perfect. I'm planning to clothe diaper and use the disposable liners. Not only are they eco-friendly, but they seem to be cost effective!

BabyBump2 · January 2017

@sehp8b that is extremely interesting!!

kat0607 · January 2017

I love reading all the responses on here!!

I *attempt* all of the above except for vegan/vegetarian. We are definitely meat eaters, but I do try to find responsibly raised meat products without added hormones and antibiotics, but it can be hard to find a reliable brand in the grocery store. A friend of mine buys her meats from a local farm so I'm definitely planning to look into that!!

I try to buy organic vegetables when I can, and I literally never buy frozen or premade food or meals (other than ice cream). I have recently been straying away from lots of chemical ingredients in cleaners and household products, but I agree with many of you that it is difficult. I've also gotten more interested in recycling and trying to eliminate as much waste as possible, which is also why we are considering cloth diapering. I've started using the Method brand (as some PP mentioned) and I don't really have an opinion on them yet, other than the smell is much more tolerable than a stronger chemical cleaner. I'm interested in incorporating essential oils into our daily routine for aromatherapy and household use, but I haven't done much research yet in regards to what is safe for baby.

Can anyone recommend essential oils safe for baby? Pre-pregnancy I used a few oils from doTERRA but that's about it.

stokesm21 · January 2017

@BusyZee I think Method is just coming off my list completely. I don't feel I should have to work hard to get a product to ... work! Haha! It's hard because this store in the city is where I will probably go for a lot of stuff. It's not a chain though, only 2 stores and they are both here (Canada) But if I do find something that is accessible outside that store I will be sure to let you know. Right now I still use the Weiman's for my stainless steel and method for the granite mostly because I just don't want to waste entire bottles haha!

SpongeWorthy · January 2017

Thanks for starting this thread! I strive to be most of these things haha. I am vegetarian, grow a small vegetable garden in the summer, compost food and yard waste, and I hope to cloth diaper. It seems like some daycares are willing to work with them and some aren't. Does anyone have any experience using cloth diapers with a daycare? The biodegradable liners are an interesting solution.

@supermom83 I LOLed at your poser hippie comment. I totally feel that way too.

@kerils Thank you for explaining your position on bringing up your kids vegan. I am wrestling with this question as well as I am the lone vegetarian in the family. DH is incredibly supportive and he only eats meat when we eat out, pretty much. My in-laws are less supportive...it feels like "the meat show" every time we go over there haha. FIL is always grilling. One of the first things he said to me after getting pregnant was, "Did the doctor tell you to start eating meat yet?"

@GreenBean That is awesome that you have solar panels! I would love to do that!

greenbean-2 · January 2017

@SpongeWorthy That's great that you have a vegetable garden! We don't have much of a yard, but our neighbors managed to grow tomatoes in a pot on their deck, so I might give that a try this summer. As for the solar panels, we were surprised how affordable they were once you factor in tax credits (which may have expired now?), so if you own your own place I encourage you to look into it. We have a south facing roof with no trees blocking it, which is pretty much ideal for solar energy. But we also live in Maryland which has its share of rainy or cloudy days, and we still produce a lot of electricity.

tuxielove93 · January 2017

@SpongeWorthy I'm pretty much in the same boat with family, although they have gotten better around me. My MIL actually went into a whole spiel about how the kid might end up allergic to things like shellfish and dairy if I don't introduce them. She's a kind woman and is genuinely just concerned, but I had to go through the whole thing with her. Also that if they are vegans they won't be eating those things anyways, so what does it matter if they are allergic? I know peanut allergies can be so intense that you can't even be in the same room, but that is rare and an allergy that severe probably won't be solved by early exposure anyways. She's the only one who has asked. I have no idea what will happen when my FIL and SMIL get wind of the veganism. They always talk about being super healthy and eating well, and they did ask me about my diet during pregnancy, but they were actually really nice about it. Then again, my FIL started mooing during a meal once....
Funny thing is, I'm starting to see the way just being around me has affected them (I only talk about it if people ask me). My mother in law repeated my spiel about baby cows and drinking milk to my SMIL at a family dinner a few weeks ago. It was cool to see that they do listen to me, at least a little bit.

stokesm21 · January 2017

GreenBean said:

As for the solar panels, we were surprised how affordable they were once you factor in tax credits (which may have expired now?), so if you own your own place I encourage you to look into it. We have a south facing roof with no trees blocking it, which is pretty much ideal for solar energy. But we also live in Maryland which has its share of rainy or cloudy days, and we still produce a lot of electricity.

My province is going through a hydro crisis right now with skyrocketing rates due to one Premier's idiot move to privatize our hydro company. People are literally having to choose between hydro and groceries. DH and I (very) thankfully are not in that boat as our house is new so everything is pretty efficient, but we just don't want to deal with it period. I mean our bill is high considering what do/don't have running but I'm not forking out a mortgage payment on hydro like some. I have looked into solar to get us completely off-grid because of this issue and just for environmental sake. We do have a tie-in program but it's bullshit. You still have to pay your hydro bill at your regular rates but you get a cheque from the gov't for the energy you produce and sell to them. We just don't want to have anything to do with them at all. We're not anti-government but self-sufficiency is definitely a goal of ours. Going solar overall isn't expensive but storing the energy is. I think I put it at $35k (CAD) here to go off-grid. It might sound like a lot to some but considering people spend that much on in-ground pools, it's pennies considering the benefits haha! Wood and pellet stoves also help with heating. Although we heat with propane due to our location (live in the country), we are getting hit with carbon taxes now and again, it's not environmentally friendly.

Unless we want to tie into the grid there are zero tax credits or incentives for us to go solar, Ontario and Alberta are the only provinces that don't have such rebates. Although considering the deteriorating state both our provinces are in at the moment, I don't know why I'm surprised. *sigh*

SpongeWorthy · January 2017

@GreenBean Thanks! We actually don't have a very big yard - our house is on 0.1 acre lol. But I got a little 4x8 raised garden bed kit from Home Depot and was determined to make something out of it! I found this thing called a Nourishmat - it's kind of like a paint by numbers for urban gardening. It's all laid out for you and you just put the seeds in the right spot. I was amazed at how well that worked the first summer and just how much production we got out of a tiny space. The next few years I kind of went with that idea but bought the seeds myself. So it can be done! It's definitely not enough to sustain us, but it's an awesome supplement.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/lz/nn5lon9gyioe.jpg

This is from our first year with the Nourishmat in 2014.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/72/hduuolw3el7c.jpg

This is from summer 2015 once all the plants got going.

kat0607 · January 2017

@SpongeWorthy wow that is awesome!! That Nourishmat is so cool, I definitely want to try that out. I don't know much about gardening but now that we're going to have our own house and yard, I definitely want to get started and this seems like a great way to do that. Those plants look beautiful!

greenbean-2 · January 2017

@SpongeWorthy That's so cool! I'll have to look into that.

@stokesm21 Wow I hadn't heard anything about the hydro issue in Canada - thanks for sharing. It's amazing the difference that policies can make, at any government level. In the US, some areas are charging so much for distribution (rather than for energy itself) that it doesn't make sense to get solar because you still have to pay a lot to utilities. We're not off grid, because we don't make quite enough energy to meet our needs and as you pointed out, batteries are expensive. But our net grid electricity use is pretty low. We've had the panels for around 6 months, so we'll have to wait and see what our yearly net grid usage is.

BusyZee · January 2017

Look at you Guys with your little vegetable patches and solar systems! I'm totally J J. (And impressed)

@SpongeWorthy yes I'm all for compost! I really hate wasting, especially food, I just feel horrible knowing that Im wasting food when there's so many people out there who need it.

Tip: Even if you don't have a compost bin, you can always use your nearest grocery store compost bins! I have started doing that

@stokesm21 yes please do let me know! I feel like I'm in a bad relationship with method just convincing myself things will get better but they won't

@kat0607 I know what you mean, it's so not easy! Im
not originally from here and I found this aspect of my life the hardest to adjust to. I always look forward to meeting my parents back home just for the fresh food, meat! Eating out is especially hard.

greenbean-2 · January 2017

@BusyZee That's a great idea about using grocery store composts. I'm jealous of cities with community wide composting (I'm looking at you, Seattle) because it makes so much sense! There's a company around here that will collect compost for you but it's very expensive. And I don't have the time/energy/patience to figure out how to do it on my own (but maybe if I started a vegetable patch and could use the soil...)

RunRestRepeat · January 2017

@SpongeWorthy It looks like the nourishmat is basically square foot gardening! I took a square foot gardening workshop this summer (too late to actually plant) But I'm hoping to get something going next spring! It really is amazing to see what you can do with a small space! Even on my tiniest apartment balcony, I always had at least 1 tomato plant and a few herbs!

caribbeanmama-2 · January 2017

RunRestRepeat said:

@SpongeWorthy It looks like the nourishmat is basically square foot gardening! I took a square foot gardening workshop this summer (too late to actually plant) But I'm hoping to get something going next spring! It really is amazing to see what you can do with a small space! Even on my tiniest apartment balcony, I always had at least 1 tomato plant and a few herbs!

Agreed! - we have a small yard too and previously were renting a house so we couldn't dig up the yard so we just bought 3 large half barrels (wooden) and grew so many vegetables we couldn't eat it all! We had several kinds of lettuces, hot peppers, lots of herbs: chives, cilantro, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, tomatoes, etc. it's awesome. Our neighbor had egglant and bell peppers - I need to try those out next time. Can't wait for summer! We get everything from the farmers market (starter shoots)- maybe next year I will try to start from seeds.

Cosigning on Method being a terrible waste of money - I still buy it but it is weak weak weak. Our cleaning lady snorts at it. We use vinegar and liquid soap for most everything. The method granite cleaner seems to do okay though.

@mrscate88 - I make my own shampoo - super easy! But it is a bit messy lol. Also, make my own baby wipes, lotion and moisturizer for baby and I, and leave in conditioner. I cloth diapered for over a year - so naturally you use non toxic detergent for the diapers and we just use the same for baby's clothes.

I was vegetarian for almost a decade - gave it up because baby had too many food allergies and I was exclusively nursing and there was nothing left for me to eat. I was vegetarian for the pregnancy though. Still nursing, so am an omnivore for now...

I researched the heck out of all the furniture for baby's room- it would have been easier to apprentice as a carpenter - it was a rabbit hole!

This thread is awesome! Composting! Solar panels! Wow!

@supermom83 funny! I call myself a closet hippie! The bedsharing and nursing an 18 month old toddler don't help my counter case lol!

greenbean-2 · January 2017

@caribbeanmama How do you make shampoo and moisturizer? I've done olive oil as a deep conditioner. I'd love to learn some new tricks.

July EcoFriendly Mama's

Re: July EcoFriendly Mama's

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