A Little Green Tip

Allyson over at Go Long, Go Green posted this today and I thought that I would share.

Did you contribute to the 840,000 tons of phone books that were tossed into landfills last year?  Do you have the fact that you get 6 or 7 phone books each year...all containing the same information?  Click the link below to opt out of delivery of some or all of the books delivered to your doorstep.

Click here to sign a petition for an on demand phone book system that would limit delivery of phone books to those who request them.

Another Cloth Diaper Giveaway

I found a new blog that I love ... and they are doing a cloth diaper giveaway with a diaper that I have been considering trying for a few weeks.

The blog is Go Long, Go Green!... much of it is dedicated to green parenting, which is right up my alley!!  I love it!!  She is giving away a diaper from GoGreen diapers.   Specifically, she is giving away the new and improved Champ diaper.  I would love to win one of these, but in all honesty, if I don't win, I am very likely going to order one or two to try them out!!  To enter the giveaway, go here.

Simple Laundry Secrets...Who Knew??

Jenna is 3 1/2 months old now, and for the last 5-6 weeks we have been using cloth diapers.  We have been using a combination of various pocket diapers and prefold diapers inside little gPants (using disposable/flushable gDiaper inserts if necessary when outside the house).  I am quickly becoming a fan of the pocket diapers (and the amusement that can be found in watching my husband try to figure out which insert 'matches up' with which diaper!), and I will very likely touch on specific diapers at some point down the road.

Since beginning our use of cloth diapers, some of my laundry habits have been transformed.  We have switched to a 'free and clear' detergent, which seems to be working well on all of our laundry.  Exit artificial perfumes and dyes!!  I have started using the soak/pre-wash cycle on my washer, which is something I have never used in the past.  I started doing this before washing each load of diapers, using cold water.  Later I started doing it before each load of whites.  I cannot believe what a difference this simple step can make.  It's obviously not a cure-all, but I have not had to use Biz or bleach on our regular laundry once in the last 5 weeks.  Yipee!!

I decided that I wanted to try to cut down on my use of dryer sheets, so I started doing a little bit of research.  I read about wool dryer balls, but I also found several sources that recommended use of 3-5 tennis balls in the dryer.  We have an overabundance of hand-me-down tennis balls that were intended for our dogs, so I figured I would try the tennis balls before investing money in wool balls.  Insert 4 tennis balls here.  While they didn't cut waaay down on the static, they did help a little bit.  I was also able to reduce my drying time by about 10 minutes when leaving the heat setting on high, or leave the time alone and reduce the heat setting to medium.  After doing a bit more reading, I found several sites that suggested using vinegar in a Dow.ny ball during the wash cycle.  I figured that it was worth a shot, and YEP, it works!  I use 1/3 cup of white distilled vinegar with each load of laundry (diapers NOT included); between the vinegar and the tennis balls, no static!!  :-)

It's all so simple...kind of makes me wonder sometimes how we ended up with all of these other products in the first place!!