Flats Challenge Day 3: Flats 101

Today is Day 3 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge! So far it has been going really well for us over here. I washed my second load of flats in the camp washer today and felt like it went better and quicker than yesterday. Due to a rainy day today I hung the flats on my indoor drying rack and placed it near a window to get at least some indirect "sun" to help with stains.

Today is an open topic day for the Flats Challenge bloggers, and I decided to write a Flats 101 post! Before I started researching for the challenge I didn't know much about flats, and a post like this with all the information in one place would have been so helpful!

What is a flat?

A flat is simply a large square of fabric. The edges can be turned and hemmed or can be simply serged, and the size can vary from 27"x27" to 30"x30" or even larger! Most flats are only one layer of fabric, though sometimes you can find some that are two layers in order to have a decorative side. Flats can be made from really any type of absorbent material. Most are cotton, bamboo, hemp, or some combination of those. If you are looking for flats on a budget you can use cotton flour sack towels that can be found at most stores near the kitchen towels for around $1 each, or you can use receiving blankets as flats! You can even upcycle old t-shirts as flats: just take an XL-XXXL 100% cotton t-shirt and cut off the bottom, side, and top seams so that you end up with two large squares that you can use as flats! If you are on a very small budget a great option is to go to a thrift store and look for receiving blankets and t-shirts on a day when the thrift store offers $0.50 items. You could feasibly get a whole stash of 24 flats for as little as $6 - $12 if you found twelve t-shirts for $0.50 - $1 each and cut them to get two flats out of each shirt.

How do you fold a flat?

Since a flat is just a large square of fabric, it must be folded into a diaper to place on your baby. The amount of folds you can do is only limited by your imagination! There are many flat folding tutorials available online in both pictorial and video form. I have step by step pictures of four folding options and each one that I list has a link to a video tutorial from Dirty Diaper Laundry.

• First up is the Kite Fold: to do this fold, you first make sure your flat is square. Once it is square, the corners get folded in to make a kite shape. The bottom of the kite folds up to determine the rise height, and the widest part of the kite becomes the diaper's wings. Check out the tutorial to see this in action!

• Next is the Diaper Bag Fold: each side of your flat folds toward the middle, and then the bottom folds up to determine the rise height. Then trifold it like a prefold and fan out the top for wings. Fold the back down slightly to help contain poop, and then put the diaper on baby. Check out the tutorial to see this flat fold.

•  This is the Jo Fold: you fold all corners of the flat in toward the middle to make a smaller square and then trifold and fan out the wings. I have found this to be one of the quickest folds and it fastens really nicely onto baby. Check out the video tutorial here.

•  Lastly, this is the Origami fold: after you fold the flat in half to make a rectangle, you take one corner and pull it across so that you have a triangle facing you. Then you flip the whole thing over so the triangle is on the backside, and you fold the oblong side in toward the middle to make a thicker pad for the wet zone. This fold is tricky to explain, so definitely watch the video. Once you try it, it is really doable though!

• The other fold that I use often is the Pad Fold. I don't have pictures of this one, as it is pretty basic. Take your flat and fold it in half to make a rectangle. Then, fold it in half again so that you get a square. Then just trifold your square like a prefold and lay it in a cover. This is a great way to pre-load covers to keep in your diaper bag or to send along to Grandma's house. This is also a great way to continue using flats that might be too small to fit on your baby using a "fancier" fold. 
• There are a lot of other folds out there and in fact I just found this Master List of Flat Folds the other day. I can't wait to experiment with some new folds! Whenever I am trying a new fold I just remind myself that it really doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it stays on baby and contains messes. Once you get the hang of a fold it is easier to make it look pretty.

How do you fasten a flat?

There are three main options that I know of for fastening flats. The first one that most cloth diaper mamas are familiar with is a Snappi. You just clip it to each wing and to the front of the diaper and you're all set to go. I have found that some flats are very hard to snappi due to the type of material they are, though. Another option you can try is the Boingo. I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but it is the same type of concept as a Snappi but it has only two ends so you use one Boingo on each side of your diaper to hold the wings. The last option that you can use is a diaper pin. When I first started using my flats there were quite a few times where I found myself wishing I had a diaper pin, something I never thought I would have wished! Since my Snappis don't work on every fabric, I ended up going out and getting a few diaper pins to try and honestly I really like them. I have read that if you keep them stuck in a bar of soap between uses, it helps the pin glide through the fabric better. I need to try this because I have had a little trouble getting some of my pins through the flats. Overall though I like the pins because they give me the ability to fasten some of the fabrics that my Snappi struggles with. The great thing about diapers pins is that you can pick them up at most stores in the diaper section for about $1 for 4 pins. Much cheaper than the other alternatives and great for diapering on a budget!

What do you use to cover a flat?

Almost any cover will work over flats, depending on what fold you are using. If I have done some of the bulkier flat folds then I reach for my Blueberry Coveralls or my Bummis covers. If I am pad folding a flat, I reach for a GroVia or Flip cover. At night and naptime I always reach for my wool covers! If you are starting out on a budget, check out Imagine and Sweet Pea one size covers. I know that both of those are around $10 for a one size cover. You could even try a Gerber cover from your local grocery store. At around $5 that would be a great cheap way to start cloth diapering with flats, and with the money you save on disposables you could invest in a couple better quality covers. If you have a heavy wetting baby I highly recommend wool, even if you are on a tight budget. Check out my review of Gordy's Girl for a very affordable wool option!

I hope that this Flats 101 post will be a great source of information for someone looking at flats for the first time, or even someone looking into flats again! I will have another post later in the week comparing the different types of flats I am trying. I hope the Flats Challenge is going great for everyone participating!

Schmidt's Natural Deodorant

Another great product for today's active mother from Schmidts Beauty

"Schmidt's Deodorant is made from a signature blend of all natural ingredients that really works. Our product effectively neutralizes underarm odor and absorbs wetness without the use of harmful chemicals."

With the wonderful and warm spring that we have had in Oregon, I've been able to really give this product a try. Our garden is booming and Coral is loving our trips to the park so I have been lucky to have Schmidt's natural deodorant on hand. At the end of each day I have been so pleased that I don't have much of an odor at all!

I have been looking into natural deodorants for a while since I don't want to expose myself to the chemicals that are in conventional products. I have been happy and not-so-happy with a few different natural stick deodorants that come in plastic tubes. When I found Schmidt's, I was interested in trying to "think outside the plastic" as the say and use their baking soda based product that comes in glass.

The glass jar of deodorant comes with this handy little spatula that helps scoop the paste out with. Take a pea size lump and smooth over your underarms. It feels grainy at first but the shea butter in it smooths it out. You can see the amount I put on my hand below and once it's rubbed in, it just has a light powdery surface.

I got to try three varieties: Ylang-Ylang + Calendula, Cedarwood + Juniper and Unscented. I really liked both scents and Schmidt's has just added two new varieties so check them out!

They have generously offered two deordorants to our readers so enter the raffle below and check out their Facebook page. Let them know we sent you!

raffle will run from 5/10-5/17

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Clean Cleaners

 HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

     Expanding on our last post, here are a few easy tips on cleaning your own home with your own homemade ingredients! I’ve done a little research through trial and error, as well as through my good friend, Google. Here are some of my favorite cleaning methods:

 

Air Freshener: I’ve never seen more worthless waste of packaging than with commercial air fresheners. I’ve found that placing cinnamon, orange peel,  and cloves in simmering water makes for a great air cleanser. Also, if you need to eliminate a seriously bad smell, you can simmer 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in 1 cup of water.

 

Drain Opener or Cleaner: Not to be combined with any commercial drain cleaner. Drain cleaners you find in the store are truly scary, and something that I wouldn’t wish on the evil moles in my yard.

 

Preventative measures: The best ways to keep your drains clear are using a strainer, and never pouring grease down them. Pouring boiling water or vinegar with baking soda down your drain weekly can break down the fats and gunk that build up. Follow that up with a Wash down with straight boiling water.

 

“But, Brielle,” you say, “It’s already clogged”: If you are starting with a clogged drain. , Plungers work like a dream. You can even buy a new one and , keep it under your sink and write “NOT FOR TOILET” if you want. Plungers can dislodge the clog and since water doesn’t compress like air,  all the force that you plunge with is applied to the clog and hopefully it will wash away. If that doesn’t work, a drain snake can often work its way through the clog to get things moving.

Again, I emphasize, Do not combine these methods with commercial drain cleaners.

 

Carpet: Rug cleaners can be costly and a pain to rent, so here are some good methods you can use to keep the rug doctor away.

 

Odors: Sprinkle baking soda on a completely dry carpet. For longer carpets you can gently sweep the carpet with a broom so the powder be is spread throughout. Wait 15 minutes or more for stronger odors. Vacuum thoroughly.

 

Removing Spots: Clean up spills as soon as possible by blotting from the outside towards the center with a towel. Test white vinegar on a small inconspicuous area. If the carpet is not faded in 15 minutes then apply to the spill area.

 

Red wine or blood spots: Cold water or club soda can be poured on the stain and blotted up. Repeat with fresh rags each time until no more shows on the rag shows no red.

 

Ink stains: Sprinkle cream of tartar and lemon juice on stain. Sponge out with warm water.

 

All Purpose Cleaner: 4 tablespoons of baking soda in a quart of warm water make a great kitchen and bathroom surface cleaner.

 

Isopropyl Alcohol is a safer alternative to store bought disinfectants but can  still be hazardous if ingested. Sponge onto area to be disinfected and let dry completely.

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     These basics should just get you started in your household chores. Say goodbye to your under sink chem-lab and find out more ways to attack the grime by going online for your individual cleaning needs. Don’t be afraid to try something new and have fun being creative.

10 Ways to Go Green

Well, as April has come to an end (which is crazy!), I thought I'd wrap up our "Earth Days" month with a short list of ways your family can "go green."  Some of these are different things we've reviewed or posted about during the month, and others are just things our family does or would like to do.

1.  Recycle:  This is one I'd assume most of us do, but just in case....recycling is important!  Get your kids involved--let them sort your recyclables.  If they don't have a pickup at your home for recycling, bring it in once a month.  In our area, #5's aren't recyclable, but I can bring them in to our local Whole Foods, where they'll recycle for us.  Once you get in the habit of recycling, it becomes really easy!  Here's a post written by Jen, about when her family began recycling: Recycling is Fun! (and a lot of work)

2.  Reusable Shopping Bags:  All those plastic bags you get at the grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, basically every store, can really add up.  But one way to reduce plastic bag waste is to get some reusable shopping bags.  You can buy them at the grocery store, and often, they're given away at events and things.  Use them!!  I just keep them in my car, so I always have them with me when I'm out.  And just use them instead of the plastic ones at the store.  We've really cut down on our plastic bags at home by doing this, which is keeping lots and lots of bags out of the landfill!

3.  Reusable Snack Bags:  One way we've reduced our waste is by buying some reusable snack bags. At first, my husband was a little embarrassed to use these at work, but he kept up with it, and now loves it.  And saves us money and garbage by not using plastic ziploc bags every day!  He puts his sandwiches, chips, carrots, etc. in our reusable bags at lunch.  I also use them for snacks for Myles while we're out and about.  They're really convenient, and I keep finding new ways to use them.  You can find reusable snack bags all over etsy.  And some of our favorites are from Re-Pac, which often has Living Social deals and coupons, making them even more affordable.

4.  Unpaper Towels/Cloth Napkins:  Another way to reduce paper waste at home is to invest in some unpaper towels and cloth napkins.  While it's more money upfront, you definitely save money in the long run!  Now that we've consistently been using our unpaper towels from Joyful Girl Designs, I haven't had to buy paper towels in at least 6 months!!  And we haven't jumped on the cloth napkin wagon yet, but I'd really like to in the next few months.

5.  Make your own Cleaning Supplies:  One way I've tried to be really intentional about going green in our home is by not buying cleaning supplies anymore.  It sounded crazy when I first started, but honestly has been much easier, and much much cheaper than I would have thought!!  Cleaning supplies you get from the store have so many chemicals I just didn't want around myself and my family.  By making them myself, I know exactly what we're exposing ourselves to.  And honestly, so far, they all work just as well as the store bought kinds.  I've also been making my own laundry detergent and using vinegar instead of softener, and both of these work just as well, if not better as the Tide and Downy I'd been using before.  You can find recipes for homemade cleaning solutions all over pinterest and online, but most involve vinegar, baking soda, and different essential oils.

6.  Rain Barrel:  I wrote a post on this a few weeks ago, but if you have a place to put one, invest in a rain barrel!!  They not only save water, but save you lots of money!  They basically just collect rain water that you can use to water your plants.

7.  Teach your Kids:  Basically, just teach your kids to conserve energy and/or water.  If I let him, my son would be a major source of water waste.  He absolutely LOVES to turn the faucets on and off and play in the water.  Now, this isn't always a bad thing, but if I let him, the bathroom faucet would be on 24/7, wasting gallons and gallons of water.  So, at 22 months, I'm doing my best to teach him not to waste the water; to turn the faucet (and leave it!) off while he's brushing his teeth; that he doesn't need the tub to be completely full of water to take a bath.... things like that.  And with older kids, turning off lights when they leave the room, or turning off electronics when they're done with them.  These are simple things that can make a big impact.  And things our kids need to learn!!  They won't (usually) just come naturally.

8.  Limit Driving:  If you live in a place like me, it would be impossible to walk everywhere.  It would take me all day to get to the grocery store and back.  So we do a lot of driving.  But I try to combine trips and run all our errands for the day at once.  Or, if I need to go to the far side of town, I wait until I have a few errands to run out there so I don't need to make the long trip more than once a week.  And when we can, we do walk or ride our bike to run short errands.  My husband even rides his bike to work most of the time!  It's less than 2 miles from home, and with traffic and parking, he can usually bike there faster than he can drive.

9.  Borrow Things:  A way that we've tried to reduce some of our waste (and needless buying) is by borrowing and swapping things within our community.  Some of my girlfriends from church have a clothes swap once a season, where everyone brings clothes they no longer want or fit into, and then we basically go shopping in each other's clothes!  It's a lot of fun, and you get free clothes out of the deal.  It also keeps me from buying new clothes.  We also do this with kids clothes and toys.  And I'm sure there are also ways of doing this with household goods as well.

10.  Cloth Diaper: And last but not least, use cloth diapers!!  This isn't the easiest one on the list, but I'm guessing many of you already do this, which is why you're reading :)  But cloth diapering is an awesome way to reduce waste!!  And if you already cloth diaper but haven't made the plunge into cloth wipes yet, try them!!  They're really easy once you try.  I actually find it to be more work to pick dirty disposable wipes out of my diapers than to just toss everything right into our wet bag.

So, there you have it.  10 (relatively) simple ways for your family to go green this spring!!  Do you have any other ways your family is going green?  Or have you tried any on this list already?

Sweet Slings

So if you are looking to make your kitchen paperless, what products do you need to purchase? Well, most importantly you need some unpaper towels, but a wet bag to place them in when they're dirty is a huge help too. I had the chance to review both items from a shop called Sweet Slings for this post!

Shanna of Sweet Slings sent me this awesome set of six birdseye cotton unpaper towels and a kitchen wet bag to review for Earth Week. The unpaper towels she makes are one layer of unbleached birdseye cotton with serged edges. You can get just simple natural colored edging or you can get a rainbow set.

The unpaper towels Shanna makes are fantastic! I have come to the conclusion that not all birdseye cotton is created equally in this world. I have other cloths and wipes made with birdseye that are not super absorbent. The birdseye cotton that Shanna uses is fabulous though. I prepped the unpaper towels with some new diapers I had gotten, and the first time I tried one of the Sweet Slings unpaper towels to sop up a spill it sucked all the water up in seconds! These unpaper towels are in constant use in my kitchen now. I save my lesser quality ones for dry spills, and I pull out these towels for the big wet spills that I need a lot of absorbency to clean up. I used to be a paper towel addict, and I have to say these unpaper towels sop up messes better than my former favorite brand of paper towels.

I just love the coffee print fabric that Shanna chose for the wet bag she sent me! I am a coffee addict and love decorating with coffee related things in my kitchen, so this goes perfectly in my house. The 13" x 20" size is perfect for fitting a lot of unpaper towels, dish cloths, and hand towels.

I don't know about you, but I really dislike when I wash diaper wet bags and the PUL comes out of the cotton bag and I have to re-stuff it every. single. time. The wet bags from Sweet Slings are sewn to prevent that problem! I know where I will be getting new wet bags for my diaper laundry the next time I need some. One really unique feature about this wet bag that I love is that the PUL doesn't line the top portion of the bag above the zipper. This means that the top of the bag is just breathable fabric, so even if you close the zipper air can still circulate inside. This can help prevent smells and mildew, which is helpful for the times that I am too lazy to make sure I let the unpaper towels dry before I throw them in the bag!

Shanna has a lot of other really neat items in her shops. She sells via both Etsy and Hyenacart, and has slightly different inventories in each. She makes adorable twirly skirts for little girls, aprons for Mama (I've got my eye on this apple one!), diaper wet bags, diaper stackers, Mei Tais, and ring slings in addition to the unpaper towels and kitchen wet bags! The quality of the stitching on the wet bag and towels I received to review is fantastic and I am sure that all of her other products exemplify the same top notch quality. Shanna has created a discount code for Cloth Diaper Addiction readers for 10% off that will work in both her Hyenacart shop and her Etsy shop. The code is CDAFAN, and any purchase that uses the CDAFAN coupon code between now and May 10, 2013 will receive a free gift with their order! Check out her Facebook page and tell her CDA sent you!

Booty Looty Reusable Products

In continuation of our Earth Day focus this month, I have a wonderful WAHM shop to share with you all today. Booty Looty has an awesome selection of reusable products for you, your kids, and your home! Ashlie is the mama behind the shop and sells both via her Facebook page, and via a congo on HyenaCart called Kings of the Castle. Ashlie sent me a set of unpaper towels, a set of wipes, and a set of nursing pads to review.

I love the prints Ashlie uses and I think the little bows for packaging are so cute! The unpaper towels she sent me came in a package of six 12" x 12" towels. They have an adorable pears and apples woven print on the top and a brown terry cloth on the back. Like all unpaper towels I have, I made sure to prep like I would a cloth diaper. Prepping just helps increase the absorbency of the fabric and makes them more effective. Once prepped these still look awesome, and they are so absorbent! I have some other brands that use terry cloth, and the fabric that Ashlie uses is much more absorbent. These have become my go-to cloths for sopping up spills or scrubbing down a counter in my kitchen.

I was so excited when I opened the package and saw that Ashlie chose a cute owl print for the nursing pads. The nursing pads that she makes are about 5 inches in diameter, and I have found that they fit great in all of my nursing bras. She makes them with two layers of flannel and backs them with a layer of fleece for moisture resistance. I am still nursing Ava at fifteen months old, and since she is adding solid foods to her diet her nursing times are very sporadic. I have definitely made use of these to protect my clothes on the days where Ava decides not to nurse much! They work great, and I love how soft they are against my skin.

The set of wipes Ashlie sent me to review are so lovely! They have a flannel print on the top and a bright turquoise organic bamboo velour on the back. The wipes I received are turned and topstitched, but Ashlie also makes serged options so you can choose whichever option you prefer.

These wipes have been really great for diaper changes and wiping noses. I just love velour backed wipes because they maintain their softness for a long time, but still have enough grip to get things clean! I love to keep these wipes in my diaper bag for Ava's nose right now, but they also work so well for wiping up other messes that happen throughout the day. We use cloth for as much as possible in our home and these are a great addition to our cloth options!

I highly recommend the Booty Looty line of reusable products. Ashlie has really affordable pricing, and the quality is just fantastic! Enter in the form below.


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Rain Barrel Love

I thought I'd share with you guys a simple, but really useful way that my family has gone green.  And it might be useful to some of you for the hot, summer months coming up!

The first summer we moved to Richmond, I really wanted to keep my yard green and looking nice.  I ran the sprinkler for an hour or two a few times a week.  I watered all my plants/vegetables at least once a day.  And then I got my first water bill.  Ouch.  I never realized how expensive city water is!!  Growing up, we had our sprinklers and hose attached to a well, so it didn't really cost anything to run.  Well, city water is a different story.  Let's just say, the rest of that summer, my lawn didn't look quite as nice as it did when we moved in :)
But, a few weeks after my love of my sprinkler went away, I found someone selling rain barrels at our farmer's market.  I had never really seen a rain barrel before.  But I went home and did a little research on them, and learned that they're basically a giant barrel attached to your gutter drain to collect rain water.  I thought it was genius and bought one the next time we went to the farmer's market.  And I haven't been disappointed.

our lovely rain barrel

There's our rain barrel.  Now, it's nothing fancy-they do make really nice ones.  Ours was just a big blue barrel that was painted green to blend in a little more with the landscape.  The paint is peeling off a little bit, and there's a few things I would change, but overall, this thing has been awesome.  While I can't water the grass with it, I do water all of our landscaping and vegetables with the water from the barrel.  We never have to use the hose to do any of that!  Which saves water and money.  I also don't feel bad letting Myles fill up his little elephant watering can about 30 times an afternoon to "water" the grass, because this water doesn't cost us anything!

Basically, the water just pours in through this hole from the gutter spout.  One thing I wish this rain barrel had is a filter or a screen to keep leaves and sticks from coming in.  Some rain barrels just have an open top, covered with a screen to keep debris out.  

don't mind the dirt and pollen on top!  it doesn't get cleaned often :)

It also has a little hole on the side, so when the barrel fills up, the extra comes out the side and doesn't back up the gutters.  

I would highly recommend a rain barrel to anyone looking to save some water and some money!  They're pretty easy to install, and super easy to use.  Although it's a little more work than using a hose, we love using the rain barrel.  Also, we get a discount on our storm water bill for every rain barrel we have!  Definitely something to look into in your area.  

rain barrel love :)

Sweet Bobbins Cloth Wipes

When I first started researching cloth diapers I had never heard of, or even considered, cloth wipes. Once I heard about them and started thinking about the benefits to my budget and the environment, cloth wipes just made a ton of sense. I also love that I'm not wiping chemicals on Ava's bum with each change. Personally I think that if you use cloth diapers, then it is just easier to also use cloth wipes! There isn't much extra work involved if you're already doing a load of diaper laundry anyway, and with cloth wipes you don't have to worry about having a separate place to put used disposable wipes. Cloth wipes are a great way to go green without much extra effort.

When I contacted Sweet Bobbins to see if she would like to do a review with us during Earth Month, she offered to send me a 12 pack of cloth wipes in my choice of gender and theme. I chose a girly woodlands theme, and got twelve adorable wipes! Sweet Bobbins also sells flat diapers, blankets, crib sheets, wet bags, unpaper towels, nursing covers, and more. Make sure to check out the awesome products she makes!

Don't you just love these prints? Sweet Bobbins' wipes are flannel on top and organic bamboo velour on the bottom. They are so plush and soft! The prints have held up great through many washes are aren't getting faded really at all.

I use cloth wipes not only for diaper changes, but also for dirty hands, noses, and really anything that Ava manages to get dirty! These Sweet Bobbins wipes are my favorite for her nose because the bamboo velour is so soft and gentle on her skin. I also love the velour side for changing dirty diapers. It is soft, but has enough texture to get her bum nice and clean!

These wipes have quickly become some of the most reached for ones that we have, and I am excited to tell you that Sweet Bobbins has offered to give away a set of 12 wipes in the winner's choice of gender and theme! Enter in the form below.


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Adventures in Repurposing

While we are on the topic of green living with our Earth Days month, I wanted to share with you some fun ideas for the home and garden. Here in Oregon, we have mild seasons so getting the jump on summer with a green house is a great way to extend the growing season for veggies and flowers. I love my little veggie garden and around this time of year I am chomping at the bit to get out there and plant. The down side is that we still have danger of a light frost until May. So my project I want to share with you today is building a tiny, re-purposed  and attractive greenhouse. This mini green house is made from 6 old windows that we bought at an estate auction but can also be found at recycled home building supply stores like Habitat for Humanity's Restore.

We used four windows that are the same size and two that are a bit skinnier for the roof.

Here is Matt lining the up to be perfectly square. I grew impatient with his attention to detail but in the end it was appreciated because the 4th window we added to the base was the door and it swings closed easily on it's hinges. We added a small latch with a simple hook and loop.

Here is the finished project. You can see the the roof is still open, which is fine for ventilation in our area which is plant hardiness zone 8. If you are in a harsher zone, a bit of clear plastic stretched over these triagle shaped gaps would be great. Find your zone here 

I planted these spinach and basil seeds 3 weeks ago, which is very early for basil here. They are happy and growing is their little glass house!

Some things to watch for when using old windows is often the paint can flake off and contaminate edible plants. I scraped off the inside of these windows and continue to keep on eye on the surface as moisture and temp created more peeling. I haven't had a problem with it but use common sense, which I know you will.

More fun ideas for re-purposing items this spring can be found on Pinterest.com but here are some of my favorites and hopefully, soon to be in my house!

Joyful Girl Designs-Unpaper Towels

One of the ways my family and I have tried to make less waste and "go green" is by using more unpaper towels.  This was a concept that made so much sense to me.  Why throw away so many paper towels when you could just wash cloth ones and use them over again!  I was already using this concept with my cleaning supplies and had a lot of rags that I used to clean with, but I didn't really want to use rags in my kitchen.  So I was really excited when the concept of unpaper towels started getting more popular!  And luckily, Jessica, from Joyful Girl Designs, gave me the chance to review her unpaper towels.
I actually first came across Joyful Girl Designs when Jessica was making wool covers.  We have a lot of her upcycled sweater wool covers in our stash and love them.  I was really bummed when she stopped making them, but, she stopped making them so she could focus on other things--like, unpaper towels of course!  She also makes awesome wet bags, sandwich bags, baby wipes, and some other things to help reduce waste in your home.
Jessica sent me some adorable "Cherries" unpaper towels, as well as a kitchen wet bag to store them in.  And I must say, having the wet bag has been awesome.  When I started using unpaper towels, the biggest problem I had was where to store them until laundry day.  So I'm so glad that I received the hanging wet bag to go along with the towels!  Here's the wet bag she sent me:

It's really simple, but I love it.  It's the perfect size for the kitchen-big enough to hold probably 6-10 unpaper towels and a few baby washcloths.  I love that it has two straps, so it hangs nicely in the kitchen.   

The door to our basement is in our kitchen, so it's the perfect place to hang the wetbag!  She also has wetbags with just one strap, so you could hang it from a kitchen cupboard or something.  

The wetbag is great quality.  The PUL inside is nice and thick.  We haven't had any leaking with this wetbag.  It also has a zipper, so if you want to seal it shut, you can.  I've found that leaving it open works best for us--that way the towels can dry out, and it's also less smelly than sealing it shut.  But it's a nice option to have the zipper if you ever wanted to use the wetbag for diapers or swimsuits or something.  

One tip to using a wetbag for kitchen cloths-I've found that letting my unpaper towels (as well as washcloths for cleaning up after meals) dry before I put them in the bag keeps them from getting mildewy and smelly.  Because I don't do my regular laundry as often as diaper laundry, I actually had a few baby washcloths get mildewy because they sat, wet, in the bottom of the wetbag for a while before washing them.  But letting them dry out ahead of time stopped this problem!

Now, on to the unpaper towels.  Here's the set she sent me:

They are adorable!!  And I actually love that one side is black-it keeps any stains from showing up!  

So, basically, one side is cotton, and the other side is a cotton-terry.  The cotton-terry side is really absorbent!  Much more absorbent than a regular paper towel.  And I find that I can do some serious scrubbing with these compared to paper.

The quality of these are awesome.  They're nice and thick.  They also have snaps on both sides, so that they go together, just like a paper towel roll.  

The snaps are really nice quality--nice and strong.  

These unpaper towels do fit on a paper towel stand, but I actually found it to be easier to not even bother with the stand.  The stand I have is a little small, so it was hard to "pull" one of these off.  I just keep the roll under the sink.

When I started using unpaper towels, there were a lot of times I would reach for my regular paper towels so I could "save" my unpaper towels from whatever it was I was doing, like cleaning up something that might stain or wiping things off the floor.  And the more I use them, the more silly that seems.  That's what the unpaper towels are for!!  To clean up messes!  Now, we do still have paper towels around, just in case.  We also use them to clean up raw meat juice or things that might be unsanitary.  But the more I use unpaper towels, the less I need the paper kind!  

These unpaper towels make an awesome addition to any kitchen or cleaning basket!!  I love them.  They're so much more absorbent than a paper towel and save so much waste.  And because they snap together just like a roll of paper towels, they can be stored just like paper towels.  I've also washed them quite a few times already and they still look brand new.  There's been no fraying of the fabric.  And although they shrink a little bit, they still snap together nicely.  The quality of these towels is amazing.  

I also think having the wet bag is really helpful.  Unless you have a lot of kitchen space and have room for a basket to keep dirty cloths in, having a small bag to hang them in is a life saver.  

Joyful Girl Designs has so many adorable prints to choose from, be sure to check them all out!  They come in sets of a dozen for $39, which is really affordable.  All you need is one set to save you from dozens of rolls of paper towels.  Now is the perfect time to check out her other great items, like reusable sandwich bags, wet bags, and even mama cloth--she's offering a discount of $10 off any purchase of $20 or more with the code CDA10 in the etsy shop, a great deal!

Also, lucky for you guys, Jessica is giving away 6 unpaper towels to one lucky reader in this adorable "Sow n Grow" print.  Be sure to enter below!!

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Bees Wrap

Since Earth Day is coming up soon we are featuring some products that will help you go green in your home. Today I am happy to introduce you to a product called Bees Wrap. I was sent the Medium (10"x11") size to review.

Bees Wrap is a really cool product that can help you cut down on your use of plastic wrap, tin foil, and plastic bags. It is made from organic muslin fabric that has been coated with a mixture of beeswax, jojoba oil, and tree resin. This coating gives the Bees Wrap a slightly stiff texture and are what help it to seal to whatever you are using it to store.

Each piece of Bees Wrap has their adorable logo stamped onto it in the corner. In this close up you can kind of see the sheen of the beeswax/oil coating.

Basically to use it you lay it over top of the bowl, cup, or container that you are covering, and then use the heat of your hands to seal it on top. This picture above is of my gigantic coffee mug. I couldn't wait to try the Bees Wrap when I got it, and my mug was the closest thing to me! I got an awesome seal on the edge of the mug. I was a little nervous that it would leave a sticky residue behind like that disposable sticky plastic wrap stuff does, but it doesn't leave much sticky-ness behind. I had a little bit on the edge of my mug that I could feel, but it wiped right off with a warm cloth. (My favorite part of putting it on my mug? The lovely beeswax smell that lingered for a little while after I took it off!)

I mostly have been using the Bees Wrap to cover bowls in my refrigerator. This bowl was a chicken salad that I covered with Bees Wrap to store in my fridge, and it kept the salad so nice and fresh! It does take a little more work to cover the bowl back up if I take it out of the fridge to get food out of it and then want to put it back on. That is only due to the fridge making the Bees Wrap cold, though, so you just need more heat from your hands than normal.

Bees Wrap comes in four sizes: the Bread Wrap (17"x23"), Large (13"x14"), Medium (10"x11"), and Small (7"x8"). The Bread Wrap is big enough to wrap a whole loaf of bread! I found that the Medium I had was big enough for my biggest mixing bowl, but not quite big enough for my largest Pyrex bowl. You can also use Bees Wrap to wrap up sandwiches, cheese, or the cut end of veggies or fruit. The only thing you shouldn't use Bees Wrap for is raw meat for food safety.

I have really enjoyed getting to try Bees Wrap, and am definitely going to be purchasing all the sizes they have! Their prices are so reasonable, and I love that I can cut down on my disposable plastic wrap usage by using this product.

Bees Wrap has generously offered to giveaway a set of three Bees Wraps to one of our readers! Enter in the form below.


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White Apple Designs

Creative recycled bags are always on my radar. Especially when they are made by enterprising individuals who put a personal touch to each item they create. White Apple Designs has done a wonderful job on their recycled bags and décor. They are run by a couple in Encinitas, CA and provide affordable, attractive and earth friendly products.

I got to try out this messenger bag made from 90% post-consumer recycled material. The outside is made from a coffee bean bag and the inside is a fun, festive print. The strap is made from seatbelt material and is surprisingly comfortable. This bag has a very large capacity so even with significant weight, my shoulder doesn't get worn out by this strap. The strap adjusts length easily and is expertly stitched at the base for a quality and lasting hold.

The front has three pockets under the flap for easy access to wipes, changing pad or snacks. There is a great little detail stitched in to the pocket on the right of this bag. I love it!

 

 

 

The inside is a good quality, heavy weight fabric with a playful and bright print. The bag is fully lined as well, so your goods are protected.

 

 

 

When I first got this bag I was surprised how large it was, and was greeted with a pleasant earthy smell that comes from the burlap coffee sack. After a few uses, that smell is gone but the style is wonderful. I get so many compliments on this bag and it's fun to tell them it's handmade in California! Usually, I pack this bag with three cloth diapers, a change of baby clothes, wipes, changing pad, lotion, snacks, a water bottle and still have room for more. For the price and the craftsmanship, this bag is a great deal. I love the work and thought that White Apple Designs has put into their products and recommend them if you need a fresh spring diaper bag or tote, head over to their Etsy site and check them out!

 

White Apple is generously offering a bag in a giveaway!

 

The giveaway ends on the 12th.

 

 

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Curly Monkey

Thinking about Earth Day coming up on April 22nd and different ways my family could go green, I immediately thought of all the obvious (but still good!) things--reusable grocery bags, "unpaper" towels, rain barrels, reusable snack bags, cloth diapers and family cloth.  But when I stumbled upon Curly Monkey on etsy, I was introduced to something I simply hadn't thought of-reusable makeup removing rounds.  And I don't know why I had never thought of it!  I use at least 2-3 cotton balls every night to remove my mascara/eye makeup, and they obviously just go right into the garbage can.  Why had I never thought of using something reusable to do this?  Not sure, but I'm glad Emmanuelle at Curly Monkey did!

Curly Monkey is owned by Emmanuelle, mama of three beautiful children.  Curly Monkey began back in 2007, mostly with eco-friendly clothing.  Then in 2009, baby #2 came into the world, and they discovered the wonders of hemp!  They began making baby wipes.  And then in 2009, when baby #3 came along, Curly Monkey got a new look, and really found their passion.  Emmanuelle uses hemp in almost all her products.  Hemp is one of the most earth-friendly products, requiring little water, and no pesticides or fertilizer to grow!  Curly Monkey makes a variety of products, including baby wipes, makeup-removing rounds, receiving blankets, and nursing pads.  And they're all absolutely gorgeous!

Emmanuelle sent me a 12 pack of her rainbow reusable rounds.  First of all, they come packaged absolutely adorably!

The rounds themselves are just gorgeous.  They come in six different colors-two of each.  

rainbow of colors

The rounds are made up of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton.  They're so soft, and get even softer after you wash them.  They're a good size-I didn't measure them, but the website says they're 4".  Here's the size of one compared to my hand.

Mine shrunk slightly after I washed them, but probably only by a quarter of an inch.

I started using them as soon as I got them, and I must say, I absolutely love them!  First of all, they're so pretty!  They just add a little color to my nighttime routine :)  And they're so, so soft on my eyes!  As I said before, I use them to remove my mascara in the evenings.  I use coconut oil (which I love!) to remove my waterproof mascara, so there isn't a lot of rubbing, but I feel like our eyes are so sensitive.  It's nice to have something extra soft to gently remove my makeup from such a sensitive area of my face.  I also feel like this absorbs everything better (which would make sense, since they're made out of hemp).  Before, I would use 2-3 cotton balls to remove the makeup, and now I only need to use one of these rounds for both eyes.  And I feel so good knowing I don't need to buy cotton balls anymore!  Obviously, it's not a huge deal to throw away a few cotton balls every night, but every little bit counts!

Now, the only downfall to these is that because they're removing makeup (and in my case, waterproof makeup), they do get stained.  I expected this when I got them.  I knew a combination of coconut oil, which stains, and waterproof makeup, which really stains would probably leave their mark on these rounds.  And it has.  But it honestly doesn't bother me.  I know they're clean, even if they're stained, and it doesn't affect how they work at all.  I'm also thinking that if I spent a little time either prepping them with some sort of stain remover, or doing some research on how to better clean oil and/or waterproof makeup from fabric, I could reduce the staining, but quite honestly, I'm just too lazy to do that :)  The staining was just a given and doesn't bother me at all.  But if this is something that would bother you, it's something to consider.  Or you just may want to do a little research on how to reduce the staining.  If you do, let me know :)

Overall, I absolutely love these rounds!  I don't think I'll ever go back to using cotton balls on my eyes. Be sure to check out Curly Monkey at their etsy shop, as well as their facebook page!  You won't be disappointed!!  Curly Monkey is offering a discount of 10% on the entire shop for the next week, with discount code EARTH10.