Thanks so much for your overwhelming response to my gDiaper coupon offer!

I love gDiapers and am glad I was able to give so many of you a head start on them. While I don’t exclusively use gDiapers - I do love their covers but I often use regular cloth diapers in them. I find them to be a wonderful company, though, and a great transition diaper for those who started in disposables.

Give them a try at gdiapers.com

Hey Michelle:

I am a new subscriber to your blog, and I love it! Well most of it. The thing is ( and please don’t take offense) I think that promoting gDiapers goes totally against what your blog seems to be trying to say. I feel like you talk about frugality and sustainability and staying away from consumerism as much as possible.

G-diapers are pretty rad, Iwill give you that. But they are expensive as all get out and not really that sustainable because they have to be made from natural resources that just get tossed at the end of the change. Plus you are buying refills all the time just as you would with disposables. I read your article about the ten things you don’t need when you are having a baby and frankly these seem like they would fit on that list. I feel good old pre folds (or any reusable diaper) are the most cost efficient and the best choice for sustainability.

Maybe i am totally off base. I am relatively new to all of this ( diapering, parenting, living as green as I can etc.) I know you said you used to use cloth so you have experience with both and probably have great reasons for switching (please feel free to share).

I really really don’t want you to think I am rude, I love your site and all your great tips for living frugally and in harmony with the earth. I too am a stay at home mom with ambitions to homeschool and am always looking for ways to stretch our one small income. I am so thankful for stumbling onto your site as you are really an inspiration.

I hope my loud opinion does not irritate you too much.

Thanks for your time

Dana

Hey! Want to try out gDiapers? I love them. I don’t sell them or anything - I just love them and I am trying to spread the word. gDiapers have these great cover designs and the liners are flushable or compostable! How cool is that? And if you run out of the liners, you can throw a cloth diaper in the cover. Seriously, I’m a convert. So much so, that I emailed gDiapers - told them how much I love them, and they sent me 50 coupons for $2 off to give out to anyone I wanted. So - do you want the coupon? Just send me an email and I’ll mail it to you. What do I want in return? Healthier babies and a healthier planet. (and if you want to link or tell your friends about OI, that would be great too:-)

So email me - michelle@organicallyinclined.org - and I’ll mail out the coupon. Super easy. And I’ll post here when I run out.

Thanks!

Misha

Although that’s the first thing I’m going to suggest you do with it - put a cloth diaper on your baby or toddler’s butt. As you can see from this post, there are many reasons to do that. Not the least of which is that potty training is easier!

You can also use a cloth diaper…

…as a cleaning rag. They don’t leave streaks and are great for polishing furniture (not that I really ever do this).

…in place of a paper towel - they are superabsorbant, after all.

…as a baby spit-up cloth.

…as a breast pad when nursing - just cut them into little squares or circles.

…in a first aid kit. They are great for stopping blood, padding splints, or rolling up behind someone’s head.

…for craft projects - they are great organic batting. I have a great kneepad for the garden made with a few cloth diapers sewn inside some pretty, waterproof fabric.

…as dishtowels.

…as a pad under a baby’s butt in the bath.

That’s just a few…have another idea? Let us know!

Well, my apologies for not posting lately, but I have been a bit preoccupied…

Our sixth baby - and second girl - arrived on Oct. 3! Kiara was born at our local birthing center after about five hours of labor. She is 9 lbs 2 oz and not my biggest baby - but in the top 3! We had another natural birth - although no tub this time, which I kind of missed. But I was a little too erratic this time to stay in one place.

She was born at 7 am and we came home that night. We are happily ensconced in loafing on the couch, catching up on email and light publishing duties, and watching DVDs from Netflix!

Thanks to all the subscribers and posters who have wished us well. I will post the “official” birth story a little later.

And yes, the cloth diapering, breastfeeding and co-sleeping have begun…and I love every snuggly second of it!

Best,

Misha

This is my ode to baking soda…

I use baking soda, in combination with other items, for many things - from cleaning to medicinal purposes.  So here are the OI top ten uses for baking soda…

1. Clean your drain! Forget Draino. A 1/4 cup of baking soda chased by 2 cups of white vinegar will clean your drain out quickly. After the soda and vinegar are done foaming, pour a kettle full of boiling water down the drain to make sure it all goes through. You might need to repeat the procedure if you have a very clogged drain (teenage-girls-with-long-hair-in-the-house clogged) - if this doesn’t work, check the trap, it’s probably a stray Lego!

2. Sting and Itch Relief! While I personally love “Afterbite” (which is just ammonia) for my mosquito and black fly bites, baking soda works wonders on the chicken pox, poison ivy, bee stings and other itchy spots. Just make a paste of baking soda and water - or soak in a tub with a cup.

3. It makes a great antacid…something I am very familiar with in my 39th week of pregnancy!  Just mix a teaspoon in a glass of cold water.

4. Dip a damp toothbrush in a small amount of baking soda and brush your teeth. It’s great in a pinch, if you’ve run out of toothpaste and can’t get to the store. Or, if you are looking for a natural, inexpensive toothpaste, you can use it all the time. If you miss the minty flavor, buy a little bottle of peppermint extract in the baking aisle at the store and add a drop or two!

5. Leave a book in the rain? Sprinkle the wet pages with baking soda and leave out in the sun.

6. Sprinkle on a stale or stinky carpet, leave for a bit and then vacuum up.

7. Make into a paste and remove rust, juice, wine or coffee stains from your countertops.

8. Use as an abrasive for scrubbing your tub and toilet - instead of bleach enhanced “cleaners.” A side benefit of this is that bleach cleaners destroy the bacteria in your septic tank while baking soda helps keep your tank flowing free!

9.  Deodorant. I’ve banned the use of anti-perspirants in my house, but it’s still hard to not put something under one’s arms. A little jar filled with baking soda and capped with a lid that has holes poked in it is a perfect solution. Just put a little soda in your hand like powder and dust under your arms.  Stink-free…I promise!

10. Clean almost anything! I add baking soda to particularly smelly piles of laundry (sports uniforms and dirty diapers immediately come to mind); I sprinkle a little in the bottom of the garbage and recycling cans; I keep a little in the fridge; I sprinkle a little on my sponge before I wipe down the stove, grill, counter, toilet, shower - you name it!

For more great ideas, check out www.armhammer.com 

OK - now, I try to be as green as possible, but I will admit, that there are times when either I’ve forgotten my big tote bag, I’ve already filled it, or suddenly I am handed something in one of those dreaded plastic bags before I’ve had the chance to refuse.

It’s alright, you too, can admit to the large bag full of bags in your pantry or closet. Now, since we’ve turned over a completely green leaf, I have been much better about refusing these bags, but I still have a ton leftover from my previous life.

Here are a few things you can do with those bags, without putting them in a landfill.

1. Use them to stuff a valance. I thought this idea was genius! If you have one of those puffy valances, or are planning on getting one, just use the plastic bags to make it puffy.

2. If you buy bread - which I occasionally do - use the bag it came in to keep your own bread or muffins when you make some. If your bread came with a tag on the end - you can keep those as stitch savers on your next knitting project!

3. Use them as packing material instead of peanuts. Granted, this just passes the problem on to someone else, but if you’re sending them to someone who sends you packages once in a while (a grandparent, for example) just encourage them to send the same box and bags onto someone else, or back to you when the time comes.

4. Use them as gloves. This does doom them eventually to a death in the trash can, I’m afraid, but at least you’ve gotten several uses out of it. I’ve used plastic bags as gloves to pick up all kinds of gross things - from doggie doo to cleaning up, well, let’s just say, other messes.

5. Cloth diaper receptacles. These bags are perfect to keep in the car - or your diaper bag - and will hold a number of wet diapers in your bag until it’s time to head home.

What do you use plastic bags for? Please comment and tell us!

But I don’t have a country estate! I live in an apartment!

That’s OK - you, too, can hang some of your laundry and save yourself both cash and carbon emissions. And it’s super easy!

If you live somewhere with a backyard - just string up some clothesline (available for about 99 cents at any hardware store) and get a package of clothespins (these might cost $2). And you’re in business. Wash your clothes, in cold water of course, and then hang them up.

If you don’t have a backyard, you might have to invest in a clothes rack. You can get these at almost any warehouse-style store or hardware store. Depending on the size, they cost between $10 and $30. But I’ve gotten an entire very large load on two of them. You can also hang your clothes directly on their hangers and hang them on a dowel (or one of those garment racks) in front of a sunny window, on a deck or balcony, or by a heat source - like a radiator (but not too close!).

But I hate it when my towels and jeans feel stiff!

Well, you can do one of two things:

1. You can get over it. That’s what we do. Towels only feel stiff through the first use and jeans take just 10 minutes or so to get going, as it were.

or

2. You can spray the hanging clothes with a combination of water and fabric softener. I personally think it’s a little silly, but if it really bothers you, it’s better to spray a bit than not to hang at all!

Walk softly and carry a large bag!

First off - sorry we’re late with the TOD…life intervened…summertime, kids to camp, just didn’t get in front of the computer fast enough this morning.

Today is July 30 and the TOD is to carry a big bag with you - everywhere. And yes, I’ve even gotten my husband to carry one. His is a shopping bag I got at Shaw’s Supermarket for $1. It’s plain green and very sturdy. He carries his lunch and thermos of coffee in it to work every morning. And he actually remembers to bring the Rubbermaid containers home each night!

My bag is a large “boat tote” style bag that I received as a gift. I use it as a diaper bag (although 2.5 yr old Jack recently learned to use the potty - leaving me a small reprieve before the new baby is born in September!), purse, snack bag and carry items I buy at the farmers’ market or store in it. I find that if I have a large bag with me, I am more inclined to decline bags at stores and pack snacks from home for the kids when we’re out and about - rather than stop and buy things. My bag easily holds extra pants for Jack, a couple of apples, bananas and nectarines, a sandwich or two, a Nalgene bottle filled with water and anything else we might need.

Carry a big bag - and keep a couple extra in the car…you’ll be green with very minimal effort!

Lose your paper towels! No, really. Stop buying them - you don’t need them. With five kids, I used to use paper towels like they were going out of style. I couldn’t imagine not having a big roll of Bounty in the corner. And then my husband went to an overstock store and got two dozen terry cloth towels for $5. He hated the way the kids and I “went through” paper towels and he was even more disgusted with how much they cost per roll. After a week of using only the towels, I was hooked. Not only did they work better, nine times out of ten, I could simply rinse it out in the sink and reuse it. In fact, I liked our new system so much that I went back to that store and bought two dozen more rags to use as baby wipes. Rinsed in warm water, Jack has never had a rash - compared to the small ones he had when I used commercial baby wipes.

It does take a little time to get used to, but soon it becomes second nature - I never even think to look for a paper towel anymore. If you can’t find a good deal on towels (although I’m sure you can), you can use the cheaper end washcloths for sale at most stores, a bag of rags commonly sold at car parts stores, or old t-shirts cut into appropriate sizes (the sleeves are particularly good for this).