A list of things we do not buy & why

In the past few years, our family has tried to become more environmentally conscious. We all want to do more to make this planet livable for our children and grandchildren. And that often means doing LESS. Less driving, less travel, less meat, etc. And it also means buying less.

I really like this visual! Reminds us what we should prioritize. Source.

So many of today's goods are disposable. While I'm not so concerned about the number of products going to landfills, because I believe the U.S. has great waste programs that keep waste collected and not in water, I am concerned about items that never make it to garbage receptacles and flow into storm drains and our waterways. We've all seen the photos of beaches and ocean covered and filled with plastic pollution. What I am most concerned about is the amount of energy (fossil fuels) used in the creation and distribution of disposable items. Other consumables come with a tremendous amount of waste in their wrappers and so forth. So here is a list of items that we do not buy (or try not to!) and what we have replaced them with. I have ZERO judgments on what any of you do, everyone is on a different journey. I hope you find a few new ideas to try out from this list. Please comment on ones you do that I haven't listed! 

Items we do not buy and what we do instead
KITCHEN

• Bottled water--we have clean water coming through our home in several locations. Why would we buy water that was sourced irresponsibly and packaged in materials that are harmful to the Earth? (Can you tell this is a moral issue for me? ha!) We have a great in-sink filter and use our water bottles when out and about.
• Napkins--cloth napkins
• Paper towels--I still somehow have a couple rolls hanging around but I haven't bought them. I think Nate sneaks them in the house, ha! Washcloths do everything paper towels can. We use newspaper to wash windows and mirrors. 
• Disposable cutlery--when we go on picnics, we pack our normal cutlery and bring it home to wash. 
• Paper plates & cups--We have a dishwasher, no need for paper plates or cups.
• Plastic wrap--we use Beeswrap instead. Love it!
• Fancy cleaning products--We clean with a water+vinegar+lavender combo for the kitchen. Ajax for the toilets and deep-cleaning the sink. We get a big jug of something strong once or twice a year that we dilute for the floors. That's pretty much it!
• Ziploc bags--I still haven't figured out how to 100% get rid of these because I use them to store prepared chicken breasts in the freezer but we have cut down our use of them by probably 80%. I use reusable snack containers for snacks rather than plastic bags.
• Granola bars--We make a few batches every week for snacks and quick breakfasts.
• Fruit snacks--We eat real fruit. Packaged snacks are saved for long plane rides!
• Applesauce--got lucky and we have an apple tree in our backyard so I canned a bunch of applesauce. We will buy it when we run out but it was nice to can so much!
• Popsicles--we have a popsicle mold we pour juice in to.
• Breakfast granola--We make this as well and it's soooo good!
• Cooking spray--We use old fashioned olive oil or butter and for cookie sheets a sil-pat mat.

BATHROOM/LAUNDRY ROOM

• Tampons and pads--I use a menstrual cup. I'm getting the hang of it so I still use a pantiliner for back up. Learn more about menstrual cups here. 4/13/17 UPDATE: For 2 cycles now, I have used cloth pads instead of pantiliner and I'm a BIG fan! They are so much comfier and no stickiness on your bum! 
• Fancy fragrances/lotions--In the last few years, body sprays have not been my friend so I avoid them now. We all use the same bottle of Aveeno lotion. When that runs out, I have the ingredients to make our own. Will be fun to try!
• Soaps/shampoos--We all use bar soap and now a bar shampoo. We like JR Liggets shampoo bar. Super sudsy, cheap and lasts.
• Fabric softener--we have 3 wool balls for the dryer.
• Shaving cream--unnecessary for me. Nate has a can that lasts him like year because he is fully bearded :)
• Make-up--don't wear it anymore except for mascara.
• Disposable razors--Just started using an old school safety-razor and I'm really liking it! It will last me my entire life! A bit of a learning curve, but not too bad.

Other ways we cut down on waste:

• Using cloth bags at the grocery store. This has got to be the easiest green choice to make. You probably already have cloth bags sitting around at home. They make grocery trips so much easier too! Ya know, they actually carry your groceries and don't rip! We use small cloth bags for produce and bulk bin foods as well as big bags at the end of our trip. A common question I've had is what do you use for small garbage liners without plastic bags? I can't say we don't have any plastic bags in our house because sometimes we forget the cloth bags when we go out so we use those.  And I also found some small "plastic" bags made from corn. 
• Cloth bags everywhere else too! I keep a couple small cloth bags that fold into themselves in my bag so I've never without one when I run into the drug store or hardware store.
• Re-filling honey and maple syrup in bulk. At our Whole Foods Co-op, we can bring the same container back again and again to re-fill honey, maple syrup, olive oil, peanut butter and more.
• Eating whole foods. Pre-packaged items aren't usually all that good for us anyway, so why would they be good for the planet?
• Buying second-hand whenever possible.
• Purchasing food from the farmers market or a CSA whenever possible.

Other ideas for cutting down on waste:

• My friend Maria carries stainless steel cutlery and small travel dishes with her so she can use those instead of paper products at events with food.
• When traveling, bring a large jug of water to re-fill your water bottles. In the summertime, we do this but freeze the big bottle first so we have cold water after hikes :)
• Don't eat fast food. We totally eat fast food. But we definitely go less since moving here. (No Chikfila! So sad!) But cutting back even one fast food meal cuts back on so much waste!
• And probably the best thing we can do is to stop buying cheap products like fast fashion that last only a season. Buying fewer, more quality items will make such a difference.

CHALLENGE
I challenge you to take one or more of these ideas and apply them to your family this week. You can do it! What did I miss? What is your favorite way to cut down on waste?

Baby Gear with the 3rd Baby

Collecting our favorite baby gear into a post has been a fun tradition for me, so here goes round 3. As you can imagine, we have gone through quite a bit of gear and have learned a lot along the waythe past 4, (almost 5!) years. You can read my posts on Baby Gear with the 1st Baby and Baby Gear with the 2nd Baby.)

Quality first

First tip is to buy something that will last. Especially if you are planning on more than 1-2 kids. I'm also a big proponent of buying gear that is not only useful, but nice to look at. And less is always more. There are some things that kids grow out of so fast, it's not even worth buying. If you feel like you really need it, borrow or buy used. Bumbo seats, swings and activity chairs fit well into this category.

Necessities

• Car seat-- convertible only. Carseats are for cars, I don't understand infant carseats. We got one with Bridger and we took it out once for church and we swore we would never do it again. So cumbersome! Just hold your baby. I understand wanting to take it out while baby is sleeping but most experts recommend taking baby out once you get home anyway. A good convertible will last you from newborn to 5 years old. More money in your pocket.
• Carrier or 2 (or 5 ;). I did a whole baby carrier review a while back. I should do another sometime soon!
• Baby comfy nose--probably the best baby product you can get other than a carrier. The amount of snot you can get it is draw-dropping and the icky factor is completely zeroed out when your sick baby is able to stay latched because their nose is clear.
• Puj (travel size). Had the normal size with Bridger and got rid of it when he outgrew it because it was bulky to store. The travel size is much better!
• Crib side-car. (Crib attached to parent bed).
• Stroller--still love (and miss) our Chicco Liteway. If we had more space, I would have kept it. We have the City Select now. It is definitely an investment at the retail price of $750. But I paid $450 for our’s, including the 2nd seat. There are so many sales all year round, don't pay more than $500 for it. But I think there are so many kinds of strollers, it's all about your personal taste and where you'll be using it the most often. I just love that all 3 can be in the stroller if I need to move fast. (You'll need the ride board to fit 3 kids.) I actually haven't used it in months...maybe because we aren't out and about as much in the winter. But our boys are so big now they don't want to be pushed so much.
• High chair: IKEA. Got our’s for $1 at a yard sale. Score!
• Bamboobies: the best nursing pads, period. I wrote all about nursing pads for Lactation Link recently.
• Diapering: still using Amazon Subscribe & Save for Luvs. Still use a travel changing pad on the bedroom floor. So proud of myself for never buying a big changing table or pad! Just one more thing they can't fall out of.
• Silicone bibs w/ pockets. Trust me. Get them.

real life right here. high chair in the bathroom so i can shower :)

Nice to have

• Bumbo. Got one for $10 at a yard sale for Colden and saved it for Riah. It's really only used for a couple months. But it's fun to help them feel big and sitting up.

Things we haven't used

• Activity chair etc. Borrowed or bought one used for Colden and Bridger but we didn't get one for Riah. There were definitely times I wished for something to put her in, but then I just put her in the wrap and that moment passed. She was quickly sitting up and crawling around on her own.
• Swing: only used for a few months with Bridger. Didn't use for Colden or Riah.

Wish we would have gotten…

• Cloth diapers. I really wish we would have bitten the bullet and just done cloth diapers. We gave it a half-hearted shot with Bridger. But we didn't have a diaper sprayer, so my hands were in a lot of poop. And Nate was NOT interested in going along with my hippy-ways so it didn't work out. But every month I see our big box of diapers delivered...I die a little inside (and so does the earth!). And 3 kids and $2000 later...I definitely have regrets.
• Diaper Genie: Maybe it's all the diapers, maybe it's the potty training, maybe it's the old house...but our house smell leaves something to be desired. We do put poopy diapers outside ASAP.  Maybe a diaper genie would have helped...maybe not.

What babies really need

Babies don't really need much stuff. What families really need is education and support. Education on how to breastfeed and support to bond with their baby as long as needed. I wrote about this more in-depth a while ago, "Looking Past the Baby Registry." What were your baby necessities? Things you wish you would have had?

Cleaning tip

Maybe you already do this is, but it was news to me so I thought I would share!

Our tub was gross when we moved in. It has a terrible drip and the hard water had built up scum on the sides. Nate called his mom for advice and this is what we did:

After leaving it overnight, we drained the tub and then wiped the scum away. No scrubbing. I was amazed. The spot that was left is actually where the constant drip has rubbed away the finish on the tub.  Still need to take care of the chrome. Maybe I can unscrew that and soak it in vinegar too.

Other upcoming projects:
Re-caulking the bathroom
New kitchen floor (floating floor)
Painting one wall in the kitchen
Composter

Completed:
New deadbolt in the front door (can you believe they didn't have a deadbolt here??!)
Window locking system (no locks in most of the windows either!!!)
Cleaned out the washing machine (soooo gross! i gagged.)
Rain barrel

We've come to the conclusion that this old house is going to be a good trial-run for owning our own house! We don't have to do all these improvements but sometimes it's easier than waiting on the landlord. And we don't mind getting our hands a little dirty. Projects are fun and we are learning a lot.

Do you have any cleaning tips that you swear by?