With one of my New Years resolutions being to go greener, I thought I'd share with you some new items we have been utilizing in our home to be more eco-conscious. I'm a sucker for recycling and investing in reusable products. With two young children, I've been blown away by the amount of waste - ziplock bags, diapers, empty formula containers, food scraps. One of the benefits of going greener, is often saving green (money) as well!
First and foremost, if you're not using glass Pyrex containers, you don't know what you're missing. Excellent for leftovers, durable, oven and dishwasher safe, and some are leakproof. For soups, I end up using glass mason jars, but all else.. Pyrex is the way to go. I even use the smaller dish sizes as bowls for my toddler to eat from and he has yet to break one. I've always cringed at the thought of plastic, not only because it's toxic, but because unlike glass, it's absorbent. (Makes me think of those multicolored plastic Tupperware plates from my childhood.. the ones with red sauce stains within the scratches from cutlery. Eat up!) Athough they aren't cheap, there's often sales/discounted styles and colors if you take the time to shop around. I've been using Pyrex for 10+ years and won't use any other brand. www.pyrexware.com My kids use Lifefactory glass baby bottles for drinking, which also transition to a sippy cup if you purchase the sippy caps separately or a snack storage cup with a flat cap. www.lifefactory.com/collections/baby And for me personally, I use a stainless Kleen Kanteen for my water everyday and won't be seen without it.. that, and my Burt's Bees chapstick are by my side at all times. www.kleankanteen.com
Before the new year began, I jumped on the Norwex bandwagon; a company with washable cleaning rags, dust mits and mop pads. I've been loving the evirocloths for cleaning all surfaces around the house, as well as wiping down my kids after mealtime. The floor mop is ergonomically correct and with its velcro pads, you don't need a pail of water as they can be rinsed at the sink instead of ringing in a pail. The dust mit works like a charm and I've also never truly had streak free windows and mirrors until I started using the window cloths. What I love best about the Norwex products is that the fibers in the materials are naturally antibacterial and everything is machine washable. norwex.biz/en_US/shop
Something I wish I had ordered a long time ago is washable/reusable ziplock bags, especially now with children. We were disposing several of the single use ziplocks daily and everytime I felt more and more guilt knowing how wasteful we'd become. I researched a few different brands, weighing out the cost per bag, dimensions, and reviews, and decided to start with the ReZip brand (formerly Blue Avocado) and have been so pleased thus far. The quality of the bags are better than I had expected and they truly are leakproof. I would highly recommend and found the best price online through Thrive Market. Also from Thrive Market, I purchased reusable produce bags in place of the plastic bags that stores provide, and the Bees Wrap reusable sandwich wraps, which we have yet to use but have read rave reviews about. If you follow this link, you can receive 20% off your first three orders through Thrive Market. thrv.me/alexislex
And lastly, cloth diapers. Honestly, this is something I get really excited to use some days, and then other days I have zero ambition to add more laundry to my already overflowing laundry baskets. But, deep down, I know it not only saves the environment but it also saves us money. We currently spend $100-150 a month on Babyganics brand diapers between two kids under two. The cloth diapers we use are the Charlie Banana all-in-one diapers, and we've been quite pleased with their durability, absorption, and they are easy to use, clean and keep stain-free. If you're going to use cloth diapers, it only makes sense to also use cloth diaper wipes (buy or make your own) and make your own wipe wash/solution. I use water, a few drops of lavender or bergamot oil, a splash of witch hazel and the smallest amount of Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap. Some spray the solution onto a dry cloth diaper wipe before each use and others saturate several wipes at once in a container. We've used both methods depending on how often we use the cloth diapers; if just one day we use a spray bottle, but when multiple days in a row, a container with pre-miostened wipes makes sense. charliebanana.com/
Closing things out, it's almost impossible to be 100% green/eco-conscious, but I feel satisfied when I know I'm intentionally making an effort everyday. Don't hesitate to reach out for any further tips or questions; these are just a few of the bigger ways to minimize waste (as a mom) and also save money over time.
First and foremost, if you're not using glass Pyrex containers, you don't know what you're missing. Excellent for leftovers, durable, oven and dishwasher safe, and some are leakproof. For soups, I end up using glass mason jars, but all else.. Pyrex is the way to go. I even use the smaller dish sizes as bowls for my toddler to eat from and he has yet to break one. I've always cringed at the thought of plastic, not only because it's toxic, but because unlike glass, it's absorbent. (Makes me think of those multicolored plastic Tupperware plates from my childhood.. the ones with red sauce stains within the scratches from cutlery. Eat up!) Athough they aren't cheap, there's often sales/discounted styles and colors if you take the time to shop around. I've been using Pyrex for 10+ years and won't use any other brand. www.pyrexware.com My kids use Lifefactory glass baby bottles for drinking, which also transition to a sippy cup if you purchase the sippy caps separately or a snack storage cup with a flat cap. www.lifefactory.com/collections/baby And for me personally, I use a stainless Kleen Kanteen for my water everyday and won't be seen without it.. that, and my Burt's Bees chapstick are by my side at all times. www.kleankanteen.com
Before the new year began, I jumped on the Norwex bandwagon; a company with washable cleaning rags, dust mits and mop pads. I've been loving the evirocloths for cleaning all surfaces around the house, as well as wiping down my kids after mealtime. The floor mop is ergonomically correct and with its velcro pads, you don't need a pail of water as they can be rinsed at the sink instead of ringing in a pail. The dust mit works like a charm and I've also never truly had streak free windows and mirrors until I started using the window cloths. What I love best about the Norwex products is that the fibers in the materials are naturally antibacterial and everything is machine washable. norwex.biz/en_US/shop
Something I wish I had ordered a long time ago is washable/reusable ziplock bags, especially now with children. We were disposing several of the single use ziplocks daily and everytime I felt more and more guilt knowing how wasteful we'd become. I researched a few different brands, weighing out the cost per bag, dimensions, and reviews, and decided to start with the ReZip brand (formerly Blue Avocado) and have been so pleased thus far. The quality of the bags are better than I had expected and they truly are leakproof. I would highly recommend and found the best price online through Thrive Market. Also from Thrive Market, I purchased reusable produce bags in place of the plastic bags that stores provide, and the Bees Wrap reusable sandwich wraps, which we have yet to use but have read rave reviews about. If you follow this link, you can receive 20% off your first three orders through Thrive Market. thrv.me/alexislex
And lastly, cloth diapers. Honestly, this is something I get really excited to use some days, and then other days I have zero ambition to add more laundry to my already overflowing laundry baskets. But, deep down, I know it not only saves the environment but it also saves us money. We currently spend $100-150 a month on Babyganics brand diapers between two kids under two. The cloth diapers we use are the Charlie Banana all-in-one diapers, and we've been quite pleased with their durability, absorption, and they are easy to use, clean and keep stain-free. If you're going to use cloth diapers, it only makes sense to also use cloth diaper wipes (buy or make your own) and make your own wipe wash/solution. I use water, a few drops of lavender or bergamot oil, a splash of witch hazel and the smallest amount of Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap. Some spray the solution onto a dry cloth diaper wipe before each use and others saturate several wipes at once in a container. We've used both methods depending on how often we use the cloth diapers; if just one day we use a spray bottle, but when multiple days in a row, a container with pre-miostened wipes makes sense. charliebanana.com/
Closing things out, it's almost impossible to be 100% green/eco-conscious, but I feel satisfied when I know I'm intentionally making an effort everyday. Don't hesitate to reach out for any further tips or questions; these are just a few of the bigger ways to minimize waste (as a mom) and also save money over time.