Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

Every year, Americans use approximately 102.1 billion plastic bags, creating tons of landfill waste and pollution in our waterways. (www.ewg.org) 

Earth Day makes people reflect on their impact on the environment.  What are they doing right? What could they do better?

You don't have to make huge changes to make a difference.  There are little steps you can take that will add up over time, and Bumkins is here to help!  Check out the following tips below for some easy ways to make your life a little "greener."

Tips for Reducing Lunch Waste at School or Work:

• Carry your lunch in a lunch box or a reusable snack bag.
• Try a reusable container for your drinks.
• Use reusable snack bags instead of plastic bags.
• Use reusable forks, spoons and knives or wash plasticware and use it again.
• Buy food items in bulk and make individual servings using reusable containers.
• Get fun cloth napkins to wash and reuse.
• Bring a thermos or coffee mug from home to the cafe instead of using disposable cups.

Tips for Traveling Green

• Pack toiletries in reusable travel bags instead of disposable plastic bags.
• Bring a reusable water bottle and refill from water fountains instead of buying individual bottles.
• Bring reusable wet/dry bags for soiled clothes, spill-able bottles and a tote bag for groceries.
• Don't buy travel sized items, dispense product from full-sized bottles into small reusable containers like these.
• Turn off — and unplug! — lights and electronics while you're away. Turn down the thermostat. Suspend newspaper delivery and mail services.

Tips for Staying Green at Home

• Use rags or hand towels instead of paper towels or napkins.
• Use art smocks and bibs that can be washed and reused to protect clothing.
• Cut your shower time by 20% or take one fewer shower per week.
• Buy locally sourced food when possible, instead of .
• Cloth diaper your baby! The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated about 18 billion diapers are thrown into landfills every year.  
• When crafting, use reusable splat mats instead of disposable tablecloths or newspaper to protect tables and floors.
• Avoid using disposable plates, cups, silverware, napkins, etc. (Including food to-go!) 
• Minimize toilet flushing—“if it's yellow, it's mellow, if it's brown, flush it down."
• Replace your light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs, which use less energy.
• Avoid using the clothes dryer by hanging your clothes out to dry whenever possible.
• Turn off—and unplug!—lights and electronics while you're away.
• Donate unused items to thrift organizations and shop at thrift stores to buy gently used items instead of new.

(http://www.earthguardians.org/50simplethings)

Have Plastic Bags to Recycle? 

Visit PlasticFilmRecycling.org, enter your ZIP code into the search tool, and it will find the nearest place to take any unwanted plastic bags. You can also use 1800Recycling’s recycling search tool to find your closest plastic film recycler.

There's no need to go completely off the grid to help save the environment.  Making a few adjustments will add up over time, benefitting both you and the Earth.  Just by replacing disposable products with reusable ones, and reducing your consumption, you'll not only help save the environment, you'll save money—a win/win situation! a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Cloth Diapering Journey

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

Five years ago, when I was pregnant with Pumpkin and the ink on my master’s degree in environmental journalism was still wet, I tried to convince my husband we should use cloth diapers. He was not in favor and, because he would be staying home with her two days a week, I didn’t push it.

Two years later and pregnant with Peanut, I still wanted to give them a try. My reasons for using cloth had to do with the environment (billions of diapers go to the landfill each year) and baby’s health (cloth can be better for skin because they don’t have the same chemicals for absorbency, perfumes or dyes). But the way I convinced my husband to at least learn about it was the cost savings.

Peanut in her cloth diapers.

We went to a class at Zoolikins, a local natural parenting store, where we learned a bit more about the different kinds of diapers, how they work, how to wash them, etc. It all seemed doable. And while there was an investment up front, it would definitely save us money over the long run, considering we were spending at least $50 a month on diapers for Pumpkin.

Peanut came home from the hospital in disposables and, after coming out of the fog of the first few days, I was ready to make the switch. But I couldn’t remember anything with my mommy brain. I went back to the store for a refresher on cleaning the diapers and how to put them on. (In future weeks and months, I went back a couple of other times for questions about fit and found the staff at the store to be such a great resource.)

The Bumkins Snap-In-One cloth diapers looked really big on my tiny little Peanut, especially at first, but it wasn’t really a big deal. As we grew used to seeing the cloth, and she got bigger, we didn’t notice anymore. Plus, the snaps on the diapers allowed us to adjust as she grew.

The laundry routine was new for us, but we got into a habit of washing them every other night and hanging them to dry before we went to bed so they were ready to go in the morning. In the summer, especially, this was easy. In the winter, we’d sometimes need to put them in the dryer for a few minutes in the morning before packing the bag for daycare.

We kept a wet bag in her bag for school for dirty diapers, plus one in the diaper bag in my car, and a large one in her bedroom. (Every day care we toured was on board with cloth, so that also helped make the decision easy.) Once Peanut started eating solids, we put a cloth diaper sprayer in the girls’ bathroom and added a wet bag there so we wouldn’t have to transport the diapers after rinsing them. The laundry routine stayed the same.

New niece in her new cloth diaper.

For a few reasons, including Peanut being close to potty training, we stopped using cloth not long before her second birthday. I’m glad we were able to keep it up that long, and the timing worked out nicely: my sister had her first baby in February and we were able to share many of our diapers that were in good condition.

She also requested that I help teach her how to use them when I came to visit about two weeks after the baby was born. In addition to some hand-me-downs, I brought a few new items that were either favorites of mine or things I wanted but never bought myself: a soft, bamboo nursing cover that doubled as a scarf, a couple new diapers, cloth wipes (we keep these in the changing table and in the kitchen for cleaning faces and hands after meals), bandana bibs for drool and spit up, and washable nursing pads.

I know cloth diapering seems intimidating, but the experience for us was a good one. The only thing I would change would be to have started with Pumpkin. Changing up a routine while also adding a second baby is a little more difficult than it probably would have been if we’d done it from the beginning! I didn’t try to convince my sister, but I’m glad she chose the cloth route, too.

Featured Bumkins Products:

 

Egg Dyeing Using Natural Ingredients

By Carly of Carly G. Media

With Easter just a hop, skip and a jump away, we wanted to bring you a green option for enjoying the fun of coloring eggs!  Our contributor, Carly, offered up the following recipes for primary color dyes made with natural ingredients that you can find in your own kitchen.

For red dye: Take 2 beets and roughly chop. Combine with 1 quart water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid for dyeing.

For yellow dye: Heat 1 quart water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon salt in a saucepan. Add 6 tablespoons ground turmeric and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes until the turmeric dissolves.

For blue dye: Take 1 large red cabbage and shred it. Combine in a saucepan with 1 quart water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid for dyeing.

We're Back!

Welcome (back) to Bumkins’ blog! We’ve taken a bit of a break, but are excited to return to the blogging world. Make sure to check back in for posts about a variety of topics including nutrition, cloth diapering, family issues, Bumkins news and more!