Keeping up with Fred-n-Sara

A lot of people thought (or still think) I was (am) crazy when I decided I wanted to use cloth diapers rather than the typical disposable type. But, when I found out I was pregnant, I stumbled across an article in a magazine about the environmental impact disposable diapers have. Although I can’t remember the magazine or article title, I have a few facts to share from Nicki’s Diapers website:

• Every child adds about 6500 disposable diapers to our landfills.
• Disposable diapers have little to no recycling potential and the long term effects of them on the environment remain unknown.
• Disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.
• One baby can produce up to 2 tons of landfill waste using disposable diapers.
• Each baby in disposable diapers consumes 4.5 trees (Based on only 2 years in diapers.)
• Disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it.

I am sure that everyone imagines the old cloth diapers that you have to fold and pin together then cover with rubber pants. If those were the only option, I probably wouldn’t be using them! Cloth diapers have come a long way since pins and rubber pants. Sure, those are still an option (they are called “prefolds” in the cloth diapering community), but there are so many different kinds that are more user friendly now. The most economical and user friendly diapers that I have found are the BumGenius Onse Size diapers.

They have velcro tabs and a waterproof liner so no need for pins or rubber pants. These diapers come in different colors too: I have white, blue, green, and yellow. They are also adjustable, so they are guarunteed to fit babies from 8-35 lbs, which means I shouldn’t have to go buy bigger diapers as Calvin grows. This makes them well worth the slightly higher than average price (than other cloth diapers). It also means that I am not going to be sending disposable diapers to a landfill, where they will sit for hundreds years. At the same time though, this also means I’m doing a lot more laundry. But in my mind, it’s a small sacrifice to keep our budget in tact and reduce waste we send to the landfill.

Up until recently, these couldn’t be found in stores in Akron. I purchased 4 from ebay and 12 from an online baby store. However, now Target is beginning to carry them in stores. I was thrilled when I saw them at the Target in Cuyahoga Falls! Now if I need a couple more, I don’t have to pay costly shipping.

I finally got my cloth diapers last week and began using them this weekend. Like I said, I have more laundry to do now, but other than that, I really like using cloth rather than disposable. Fred even said he doesn’t mind them, although he was a bit unsure of the idea at first. Of course, the most important part is Cal seems to like them; they are softer on his bottom, even if they are a little more bulky. So far, we’ve had no leaks or other problems, which makes my decision to use cloth diapers more sound.

People may still think I’m crazy, but I think that shelling out money each week for disposable diapers is crazy, so I’ll stick to my cloth diapers.

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So I think it’s safe to say that it’s been established that I am completely on the “Green Wagon.”  I haven’t been great about posting all the little things I or we’ve changed in our house to be more eco-friendly, but here’s a short list:

• I take reusable bags to the grocery store instead of getting a million plastic bags.  I also carry a fold up, reusable bag for other, smaller shopping trips.
• I make my own all-purpose cleaner and bathroom/soft scrub cleaner (which both work wonderfully!).
• I make my own laundry detergent(very easy to do and works better than the comercial detergent I was using).
• Instead of fabric softener, which leaves residue in your clothes, I add 1/4 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle; it works the same way and gets all the detergent out of clothes without leaving a vinegar smell.
• We are growing some vegetables (anyone want some cucumbers?  That’s about all we have so far).
• We use CFL light bulbs in most of our lamps/light fixtures.
• We started a compost bin, but we have some work to do still to get it going right.
• I have limited my paper towel consumption by using washable micro-fiber rags.
• We recycle.
• We are starting to buy things in bulk, and as the main shopper (hehe), I am trying to be more aware of the product packaging of things I buy.
• Limiting our driving: we walk to Strickland’s for ice cream! Hehe, really, all summer I think I’ve done pretty well about being more aware of when I drive and if it’s really necessary.

Of course, there are still a lot of things that I want to do, but either don’t have the resources or just haven’t started yet. Like…

• Buying more organic food: it’s so much more expensive!  Plus, the stores around me do not sell much organic.
• Limit our energy consumption; with the 3 computers and other electronic appliances, it’s very difficult to regulate this, though I am trying to keep things we aren’t using all the time unplugged.
• Conserving water; I’d like a low-flow shower head, but I’m meeting resistance on this one.
• I want an outside laundry line, but if you’ve been to our house, you’ve seen our yard…Fred is still working on plans to make this happen.
• Cut back on paper product consumption; I want to get/make some everyday cloth napkins.
• Diapers: I plan to write a post completely dedicated to cloth diapers here very soon, because I know everyone thinks I’m crazy for even considering this, but I purchased a few already and am ready to stock up for Calvin’s little messes .
• Of course, I’d love to buy a more fuel efficient car, but that’s a long way off, especially since both of our cars run well now and won’t be paid off for a while.

So, I still have some things to work on.  However, we are making progress!  A couple weeks ago, Fred and his dad installed a home-made rain barrel!  We have been having drainage problems with the water flowing out of our gutters right onto the driveway (which has enough problems without adding rain water) and seeping into our basement (another place with problems of it’s own!).  So they decided to re-route the gutter from the driveway side of the house to a rain barrel to store water for my plants.

Fred has recently added a spigot to the barrel and attached a soaker hose that he’s run through our vegetable garden.  It is working, but we still have some adjustments to make.  But it’s a good start!

Fred and I have accumulated a lot of extra “stuff.”  Since combining our single lifestyles in the past 2 years and replacing those things with better quality items (like better pots and pans!), we have a LOT of extra stuff.  On another website I follow, a while back I learned about “Freecycle.”  It’s a website/online community created to help people give away (or find) items  they don’t need anymore (or do need) for free:

“Freecycle is a website that helps connect people in their own neighborhoods with folks who want stuff and folks who want to give stuff away. And that simple concept has had some surprising side effects, like strengthening community relationships while reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills.”
-taken from “People of the Web: An Online Flea Market, Where Everything’s Free,” check it out, there’s a great video to go with the article.

There are Freecycle communities all over the country, which you can find here.  I belong to the Akron Freecycle community, which can be found on the yahoo forums, here.  People are always posting things they are looking to give away, from old musical instruments to plants to clothes.  You can also make a request, or post about something you want.  I’ve found, the easiest way to keep track of all the posts is to have them emailed to me in sets, so as not to flood my email inbox.

Recently, Fred and I gave an old working refrigerator we had gotten from a friend that we never used, to a family living without one, through Freecycle.  Not only did it feel good to help someone else, we were able to free up some space in our basement without sending a working fridge to the landfill!
While we are planning on having a garage sale soon to get rid of some of our extra things, we still plan to use Freecycle to complete our “spring cleaning” this summer (yes, we are slightly behind!).

I’ve been looking into making some more changes to lead a “green”-er lifestyle.  My latest change is something I found on greenlivingtips.com; All purpose cleaner.  This stuff is pretty good!  I have been using it for a few weeks now and it’s working very well.  I’ve used it on my counters, sink, stainless steel appliances, windows, mirrors, toilet, shower, kitchen tile, pretty much everywhere you can think of, except marble.  It’s not meant to be used on marble.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients and supplies

- 32 oz. (around 950ml) spray bottle – try to use a bottle made from recycled materials, or is recycleable. Maureen recommends #2 plastic  **I found #2 plastic bottles at the Dollar General

- water

- White distilled vinegar. It should be vinegar made from grain or plant material. Believe it or not, some is made from petroleum based (crude oil).  It gives a whole new meaning to fuel as food.

- Genuine lemongrass essential oil. Lemongrass has anti-bacterial properties. For increased disinfecting power, you can use Tea Tree oil which also ahs anti-viral and anti-fungal properties.  **I found these at the Mustard Seed Market, any health food store should have them.

- Earth friendly dishwashing liquid. This can be found in just about any supermarket. The dishwashing liquid is necessary to clean mirrors and glass streak-free.  Many commercial window/glass cleaners have chemicals of a waxy nature in them; so when you switch to vinegar/water, there will be streaking unless you have the dish detergent in your cleaner.  **Seventh Generation is a pretty good, inexpensive brand.

Method

1. Fill bottle half with water

2. Top it up with white distilled vinegar, but leave a little room for the additional ingredients and for shaking

3. Add 10-14+ drops lemongrass essential oil. Maureen says she uses around 30 drops, but started off with 14 to minimize the chance of skin irritability.

4. Add 2-3 drops of the earth friendly dishwashing liquid.

5. Cap and shake. There should be a thin layer of foamy bubbles at the top – but not too many. 

6. Label container clearly. Shake before using and store out of direct sunlight.

From what I have experienced using this cleaner, it does smell a little vinagery, but that goes away very quickly.  When I made mine, I mixed in some tea tree oil as well, for extra anti-viral/fungal umph.  I got the essential oils from the Mustard Seed Market, but any health store will have them.
Now, think about how much you spend on cleaners all the different for glass (Windex), bathroom (Scrubbing Bubbles), floors (Mr. Clean), kitchen counters (Fantastic), stainless steel cleaner (Method), and whatever other cleaners you buy.  This is an all-purpose cleaner that is pretty cheap compared to that!  The most expensive part of the cleaner is the oils, which range from $8 to $12 for a small vial, but 1 vial will make a few bottles of this cleaner anyway.  Vinegar costs next to nothing, and you probably have dish soap anyway (I recommend Seventh Generation’s soap, made with all natural products, not petroleum based ingredients).

So, for something that works well and is inexpensive, why not give it a try?

Here in Ohio, winter is raging on with endless dreary overcast days, cold nights, and threats of snow. There is hope that spring is coming, even for Ohioans, however! I’ve started getting the gardening catalogs and magazines from companies trying to sell me things. Seeing all the bright sunny plants has got me thinking about gardening this coming spring (well, that and my very good friend Michelle’s request).
Last year I started a small vegetable and herb garden behind our deck in what used to be a flower bed. Fred pulled out plants and stumps (I couldn’t have done any of my gardening without him!) and tilled the soil for me in May. I went and bought plants that I thought would be easy to grow and that we’d be able to eat/use all summer long. Then I just started planting. My garden did all right, I had some great tomato and broccoli plants. My peppers (red, green chili) and and onions were not so great. My herbs ran together; some of them were choked out while others flourished. I ended the season with mixed feelings, I enjoyed reaping the benefits, but I felt like the benefits of my garden were not great. This year I am determined to have a more successful garden in my tiny space.

Some of the ideas Fred and I have come up with for this season:

• First, I want to begin my gardening with seeds. Last year I just went to the Marc’s by our house and bought the plants I thought would do well. This year I’m planning to start in February by planting seeds in flats that I will later transplant to our garden.
• I have to research better plants to use in the small space I have; like I said, the onions and peppers did not thrive in my garden. Tomatoes are a great plant to start with, and according to www.gardenguides.com, other easy to grow crops include onions, peas, beets, rutabaga and zucchini squash.
• Along with plants, I need a better plan for my garden. This link offers suggestions to make a beginning vegetable garden successful.
• Pot our herb garden: I bought flower boxes last summer at the Seville garage sales and never used them. This year I want to plant my herbs in the boxes and mount them on the side of my deck; this will allow them to get more sun than last year, they will be confined in certain space (so the oregeno and parsley can’t take over the entire garden!), and I’ll have more room for other vegetables (and I really would love to do strawberries!). Here’s a link on starting an herb garden that I found helpful.
• With my green kick in full swing, I plan on starting a compost also. This will eventually lead to natural fertilizer for my garden. Here is a good guide to composting, FYI Until I have enough natural fertilizer, I plan to use something comercial. Here’s a good link to understanding fertilizer.

These are just the beginning of my plans to better my garden. I’ll post more ideas and links as I do more research. In the mean time, here are a few more links to helpful tips to starting your garden (Michelle, these are for you!)

Garden Guides

Gardening 101: Plan for Summer Success

How Stuff Works: Herb and Vegetable Gardening

National Gardening Association Hardiness Zone (know your local zone to grow the most successful gardens!)