It’s Ready! The 2012 Christmas Gift Guide (for your shopping pleasure)

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Are you thinking Christmas yet? I'll confess, I wasn't really. Until this weekend. As I went through and selected my favorite picks from each shop that is participating in our Christmas Gift Guide, my brain was spinning with perfect ideas for all those on my list. There really is a fantastic selection of items here! How to use this Gift Guide Take a look through now and get some ideas. If you're ready, go ahead and be one of those awesome, uber-organied people who does [...]

My Mama Cloth Adventures and Review of Four Sources

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Written by Natalie Klejwa, Contributing Writer What in the World is Mama Cloth? Eighteen years ago I cloth diapered my first two babies in white cotton pre-folds coupled with Gerber's hard, crinkly plastic pants.  Not because it was fun and I wanted to.  I did it because we were dirt poor.  We didn't have a "pot to pee in", as my mother would say. Since the baby boys couldn't pee in a pot yet anyway, we had to find a cheaper alternative than disposables.  By [...]

3 More Reasons That Cloth Diapering is Easier Than You Think

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Last week, I began to dispel some commonly held myths about cloth diapering. I began with two of the biggest myths, that cloth diapering is more expensive and that it is more disgusting. The reader response was fantastic and I think that you will find the comments section extremely valuable to take a read through. {As well, the cloth diapering $75 gift certificate giveaway is still going for a few more days... go get entered!} Today I want to continue on with three more myths, that cloth [...]

Dispelling the Myths: Why Cloth Diapering is Truly Easier Than it Seems

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I've been cloth diapering for over 6 years, but I still sometimes find myself surprised by the strange looks and the mistaken opinions that most people have when the topic arises. I want to dispel some myths in what will be a short but hopefully clarifying series on cloth diapering. In my experience I have found that using cloth dipes is simply not: More expensive More disgusting More time consuming More inconvenient For hippies only :) Today I will begin by addressing two of the [...]

What’s So Great About Raw Milk?

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Once upon a time, milk was not such a complex or controversial subject. Cows grazed on green grass. Healthy, well-fed, and free to roam, they produced a nutrient-dense, thick, white liquid which was relished either straight from the cow (raw) or turned into cultured dairy for short-term storage or delectable hard cheeses for long-term storage. It was neither heated to death at ultra-high temperatures, nor were its fat molecules shaken until they shattered into minuscule pieces. It was not demonized as a health hazard, declared to be [...]

Green Christmas: Organic Women’s Clothes and Reusable Glass Straws

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Welcome to Day 2 of Green Christmas, where I'm featuring some great "green" companies and products for more sustainable gift giving this holiday season! You can learn more about how and why I decided to run this series and what it's all about here. Today I want to share two more online shops with you... Fashion and Earth Organic and Fair Trade Apparel I have just started buying some organic and fair trade clothes recently myself, and I am in love with them. There seems [...]

1000th Post Party Giveaway: Eden Sustainable Cloth Diapering Package

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Do you love cloth diapering but wish that there was a more sustainable option? Though I assumed that the PUL (polyurethane laminate) and microfleece fabrics used to make the cloth diapers I adore were not truly sustainable, I honestly hadn't put much thought or research into it. I was happy to have found a system that works to make cloth diapering a really fantastic option for us, and infinitely better than using disposables! However, my friend Laura decided that she was willing to do the [...]

Reducing Waste with Earth-Friendly Disposables

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Does it seem just a little bit contradictory to suggest that you can reduce waste by choosing to use disposables? Most of the conversation so far this month on the topic of reducing waste has centered around choosing products that can be used over and over (Cutting Down on Waste in the Kitchen, Homemade Cloth Diaper Pattern and Reducing Waste by Choosing Cloth Diapers). There are times, though, when the convenience of a disposable is ideal. On trips or at celebrations like birthdays or other [...]