Green Post #3 Breastfeeding is Green!

I know a lot of you who read my blog breastfeed your children. Now you can pat yourself on the back for being green! Yeah!

Breastfeeding is green because in order to do so you do not use any resources other than your own reusable breasts! How cool is that! Formula use requires consumer waste from the containers it uses and also fuel to deliver the product across the country, not to mention all the energy used to actually make the formula.

Most of you who read or know me, know that I am a huge fan of breastfeeding--and you also know that I have had problems nursing my children. I have to supplement Graham's feedings with formula in order for him to gain the weight he is supposed to gain. Some people choose to use formula from the get-go and there are ways to be green when it comes to bottle feeding too!

Instead of using plastic bottles, which pose a risk for plastics to leach into the milk, use glass bottles! Glass is much more recyclable than plastic and is much safer for the baby. I recently read an article that reminded me that every single bit of plastic EVER made still exists and will still exist a long time after I die. That is scary!

Glass bottles are getting more popular but they are still hard to find in most markets like Target and Walmart. I found our glass ones made by Evenflo at Babies R Us for a very reasonable price. Less than $5 for 3 4 oz. bottles. Born Free makes glass bottles in addition to BPA free bottles and sippie cups but they are much more expensive. The Evenflo bottles are thick glass and if you warm up your baby's milk in the microwave (we serve ours cold from the fridge water dispenser) you don't have to worry about plastics leaching. I have kept the glass bottles in the diaper bag and haven't been worried about them breaking. I wish that I had bought more of the Evenflo glass bottles when I went to Babies R Us. I only bought 3 4oz. bottles and 3 9oz. bottles. I was hopeful at the time that I wouldn't need to supplement for long or for many feedings during the day. Babies R Us is inconvenient to get to for me so I have also bought some plastic ones too. But I kick myself all the time for making the plunge and getting more glass bottles.

Medela and Lansinoh also have BPA free bottles but they too are hard to find. This site has awesome information on BPA free baby products and companies. Evenflo and a few other companies are in the process of discontinuing their plastic bottles for BPA-free ones. I am glad that companies are willing to change their products to meet safer standards for our children. You can also call the companies whose products you use and tell them to stop using BPA!

Green Post #2 Household Cleaners

Wow! It is hard to know where to start on a post about household cleaners because it could be a very LONG one!

Being green when it comes to household cleaners can be an easy change in a physical sense but more difficult mentally. What I mean by that is that we are so accustomed to smelling harsh chemicals and equating that smell with "clean" that we perhaps are a little skeptical when it comes to using biodegradable green products for cleaning our houses.

I remember growing up with the scent of Pine Sol every Saturday so in my mind Pine Sol=CLEAN. There are so many chemicals in household cleaners that are not good for us or the earth. I know when I switched to using more earth friendly products I had to remind myself that harsh chemicals aren't necessarily better.

Avoid household cleaners with these ingredients:

Petroleum is a non-renewable resource. Paraffin, mineral oil, diethylene glycol, perchloroethylene, or butyl cellosolve are all common ingredients found in detergents or solvents and are derived from petroleum.

Phthalates (which have recently been in the news a lot) are used to maintain scents in cleaners. Phthalates have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems in lab animals. Phthalates are found in beauty products, shampoos, lotions, toys, and cleaning products. Manufacturers are not required to put "phthalates" on the label it is often under the label "fragrance" which makes it a little trickier to avoid the products with phthalates in them. I think that some companies are catching on to the danger of phthlalates in products (especially for babies) and we will soon be seeing labels letting us know that shampoos and lotions are "phthalate-free". Phthalates are also found in plastic toys that are have vinyl and PVC in them. Plastics numbered 3 are likely to have phthalates in them so you can choose to avoid those toys too.

I think your best option is to avoid products with non-specific labels of "fragrance" in them.

Phosphates/EDTA are used to soften water and increase the effectiveness of cleaning power. Phosphates effect the environment by causing more algae growth in natural water habitats which can in turn have an effect on oxygen supplies for animals. EDTA is often used as a substitute for phosphates and they are slow to breakdown in the environment. Phosphates are often found in laundry detergents.

Antibacterial chemicals in cleaners are suspected to increase bacteria resistant superbugs like MRSA. There are lots of natural antibacterial agents out there to use for cleaning (more on that).

If you are looking to buy a household cleaner that works well and has natural, biodegradable ingredients these companies have a good reputation for making cleaners that are earth friendly and work well: Method, Mrs. Meyers, and BioKleen. Those are some of my favorite companies.

If you are wanting to be EXTRA-green you can make you own products by using common household products like distilled white vinegar, essential oils, baking soda, water, and liquid soap and simply reuse the same spray bottles for each of your homemade cleaners. By making your own you are helping the environment by not purchasing more plastic that takes 10000 years to biodegrade.

Essential oils are great because they are pleasant smelling and often have their own antibacterial agents in them.

Here are a few recipes from the herb company, Nature's Sunshine:

For a safe disinfectant and laundry freshener:
7 drops of tea tree oil
5 drops lavender
3 drops thyme
2 drops rosemary
7 drops lemon (dark colors only)
Sunshine Concentrate (follow directions on bottle)

You can use Sunshine Concentrate to clean a TON of things. A 32 ounce bottle is 15 bucks and will last a long time.

I got these recipes from this website called EarthEasy. It has a TON of green living information on it and I highly recommend the site. There are recipes for your specific cleaning needs like coffee and tea stains, dishwasher detergent, dishwashing soap, floor cleaner, oven cleaner, and laundry detergent.

All purpose cleaner:
1/2 C. vinegar
1/4 C. baking soda
1/2 gallon water
(my personal addition would be to add 5ish drops of an essential oil for a natural fragrance)
Use with a microfiber cloth to clean bathroom fixtures, tiles, showers, and mirrors.

Bathroom mold cleaner:
one part 3% oxygen to 2 parts water in a spray bottle. spray on area and wait one hour before rinsing.

(Some) Homemade cleaners may take a little extra elbow grease but when you know you are helping the environment and making your home a more non-toxic place the effort seems worth it.

I am not the queen of green just so you know. I don't want anyone to get the impression that I am feeling superior to anyone because I am "so green". The truth is that I often feel convicted about changing my consumer habits the more I learn about how we need to help our environment. I wanted to commit to learning more about how to be green more for myself than anyone else and having a once a week goal helps me continue to do the research and try new things. The only homemade cleaner I make is a diaper pail disinfectant out of water and tea tree oil! I do use Method cleaners for most of my household cleaning products, however writing this makes me want to make some cleaners. The EarthEasy site has so many recipes that I know I will look there before buying any new specialty products that I need.

Be More Green!

I have had an idea for a while now to have a weekly post on how you can be a little more environmentally friendly.

My first post on the topic is about those dumb plastic bags we all have coming out of our ears. The most recent thing I have done to be more green is bought reusable grocery bags to eliminate plastic bag use. If you read this website you will be shocked at how many of these bags are used every year and the effect on our environment. If you spend $20-30 (possibly less depending on where you buy them) on reusable grocery bags you will be part of helping save our environment. And you will be contributing for a healthy future for our children and grandchildren!

Target, Whole Foods, Walmart and lots of other stores sell these bags. You can take them to the mall or the grocery store!

One trick to remembering to take them with you to the store is to leave them in your car or by the door you leave to go shopping!