If you’re a blogger, I’m sure you can relate to this. If you’re not a blogger, you may still appreciate it. Your favorite bloggers work hard to bring you content that they believe will be a value to you, and many invest full time hours into their sites – making them an asset to companies. Because of this, bloggers get flooded with pitch emails, most of which want something for nothing and are simply offensive, annoying and a waste of everyone’s time. We’re at our breaking point and this is for those companies!

Special thanks to the ladies of GoodGirlGoneGreen.com, GreenGiftsGuide.com, Conscientiousconfusion.com & JenAndJoeyGoGreen.com for their help in brightening my day and inspiring this graphic! They rock, so please check them out!

With the knowledge about big “trusted” baby care companies using toxins in their products, many parents are justifiably worried about finding safe products for their children. When it comes to skin, less is more and this simple recipe will leave baby clean without the worry of synthetic foaming agents, hormone disrupting fragrances or any other toxins.

 Nourishing Baby Wash Recipe

• 1 Cup Room-Temperature Water (preferably distilled for shelf life)
• 1 Teaspoon Organic Coconut Oil (or Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Unscented Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (1 tbs will work great, but if you want more ‘suds’ try using 2)
• Foaming Pump (Preferably used, but you can buy them too.)

1. Melt the coconut oil if needed.
2. Stir all ingredients well in a cup and pour into your foaming pump.
3. Before using, give it a gentle shake. That’s it!

This recipe works great in a foaming pump. Since it does not contain synthetic foaming agents you might find that it doesn’t ‘sud’ as much as you are use to with other washes. That’s okay! Suds don’t really do the cleaning, no matter what advertising would like you think. If you find that you’d like more sudsing, simply add a bit more of the Castile soap to your mixture.

Our moving date is rapidly approaching and I wanted to be sure to have a little fun before we ship off. I hope to leave you with little to no downtime here on the blog but you never know how these things will play out.

This week we are running a quick giveaway for TWO Rock-a-Bums cloth diapers! Entries will be open until Friday evening and I will have these packed up and ready to go out to the winner asap!

What are Rock-a-Bums?

These diapers were created to be versatile and easy to use. They feature five ways to use them in a snap adjustable rise that will fit most babies. They feature a cool grey fleece interior – I don’t always love fleece interiors but I do love that they chose grey. It’s different and won’t show staining the same way that a white interior will. Lastly, every diaper set includes a “Bomb Shell” Diaper Cover + 2 washable inserts for $16.95 (but you can enter to win TWO below!)

Thank you for being a reader and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This recipe is great for clothes and cloth diapers and does not contain borax! I am personally a-okay with borax in my detergent but many readers have asked for another solution and this is it. In addition, it uses Eco Nuts Soap Nuts, not manufactured soaps, making it even more natural, earth & skin friendly. I hope you enjoy it!

You can find my original Laundry Detergent Recipe & Cloth Diaper Detergent Recipe here. If you would like a liquid soap nuts recipe you can find it here.

Large Batch Recipe

• 3 Boxes Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (55 oz ea)
• 1 Tub OxiClean Free or “Baby” (3 lbs)
• 1 Large Box of Eco Nuts Soap Nuts (approx 8 cups of berries) (or 4 cups soap nuts powder)
• 1 Box Baking Soda (16 oz)

Reminder: Soap Nuts are not actually nuts, they are a dried berry shell that looks a bit like a nut. They are completely safe for those with nut allergies. Learn more in my post, Cleaning With Fruit: Let’s Talk Soap Berries.

You will also need:

A blender or food processor with a good seal (grinding the berries can be dusty!), a hand towel (to help contain the dust) and a trash bag or large bucket with lid.

Make it!

1. You will need to first grind up all of your berries. Do so by adding half of the berries with half of the baking soda. Pulse until finely and evenly ground. Repeat with the second half of the berries and baking soda. Holding a hand towel on the top of the blender will help keep the dust to a minimum. Wait for the dust to settle before opening the lid.
2. Pour all of the ingredients into a trash bag or bucket with lid and shake/toss/massage until well blended.
3. Pour into a bucket for storage & scoop out a jar full to keep by your washing machine!

This detergent will dissolve best in warm water. To help, you can swirl a tablespoon or two in a cup (I like to use a jar) of warm water before tossing it into your washing machine.

Small Batch Recipe

• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup of OxiClean Free or “Baby”
• 1 trial size box of Eco Nuts Soap Nuts
• 1/4 cup Baking Soda

How to Use:

Use 2 tablespoons per standard load and just 1 tablespoon per HE load, you can add more depending on soil level. As with any detergent, be sure to pretreat any tough spots. Be sure to check out my DIY Pretreater Recipe for that.

Remember that this detergent will dissolve best in warm water. Swirl your tablespoon or two in cup (I like to use a jar) of hot water before tossing it into your washing machine or simply use warm water (though cold will save electricity!)

Okay, we have an app, and by we I mean Green Child Magazine!

We’ve been working on developing our own iPad app for a while now and a great partnership with Better Press made it happen! They are so great to work with and we couldn’t be more excited. To celebrate, Green Child Magazine is having a massive Reader Love Sweepstakes sponsored by Earth Mama Angel Baby, Thirsties, Badger, Sage Spoonfuls, Vine.com, Eco Nuts, Squooshi and so many more amazing companies!

The grand prize is the fabulous prize bundle seen here, and there are more than $2,000.00 in prizes total!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to Green Child’s page and enter to win one of these amazing prizes – and be sure to give the sponsors a big thank you too, they rock!

I love my soap nuts, but I love the ease of liquid even more. I like convenience, what can I say?!

Soap nuts are a super affordable and non-toxic way to do laundry. If you are concerned about nut allergies, have no fear : these little cleaning wonders are actually a berry, not a nut! They are extremely allergen friendly. If you would like to read more about Soap Berries, be sure to check out my post, Cleaning With Fruit: Let’s Talk Soap Berries.

Homemade Liquid Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Eco Nuts* berries (approx. 2 oz)
• 4 cups Water
• 1/2 cup Vinegar (natural preservative)

You will also need: Measuring Cups, a Mesh Strainer & a Water Tight Storage Jar

Instructions:

1. Measure and pour all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce to a med-low heat to simmer with the *lid on* for 30 minutes. Stir and mash the berries occasionally with a slotted spoon.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to simmer at a low heat for 30 more minutes to remove excess water. Continue to stir occasionally.
3. Remove the pot from the heat, strain into a clean glass bowl with a mesh strainer and let cool.
4. Pour into a water tight jar for storage.

Using this recipe I was left with approx. 2.5 cups of liquid which will give me approx. 40 loads in an HE machine or 20 loads in a standard washing machine. Your yield may vary depending on heat settings and how much you use per load.

To Use:

Once your detergent is made you will use 1 tablespoon per HE load, or 2 tablespoons per regular load. You may need more on heavily soiled loads, and as with any detergent, you will want to pretreat tough spots. Check out my great DIY Laundry Pretreater Recipe for that!

Storage:

A water tight jar is perfect! This laundry detergent should last you a while on the shelf but you won’t want to make up a year’s supply at once if you plan to store it that way.  If you want to create a larger batch of detergent, freezing is a great option. Wsing ice cube trays, you can store this indefinitely and simply pop out a cube each time you need to do a load of laundry. (For reference, an ice cube is generally two tablespoons.)

Super Savings:

I recommend the use of Eco Nuts berries because they are carefully selected to contain high amounts of quality soap, are certified organic, and are the only brand that I am aware of that actually sterilizes their berries – making them extremely safe to handle. You can purchase a large box of Eco Nuts for $30 which will yield approx. 400 HE loads or 200 standard loads.

If you are looking for deeper savings, you can purchase bulk soap nuts from Private Label Soap Nuts. A 5 lb bag costs approx. $45 with shipping. Please Note that while these soap nuts are much cheaper, the quality of these berry pieces will also be less so than the Eco Nuts brand. You will likely need to use 3-4 oz of product per batch to achieve results similar to those above.

I was born in the corner of Ohio that no one has ever heard of. It’s rural, generally boring and about two hours from the nearest city, but it’s beautiful and my home. The photo to the right is of an old railroad trestle – just one of the magical pieces of history I have had the pleasure of enjoying here. I was born in this area, moved around as part of a military family, moved home, left, swore I’d never come back… and then I moved back again, settled down and started a family. I have grown to love and appreciate this area in a way that I never thought I would, but I am ready to start a new journey with my family.

We’ll be headed about three hours west of here to an area just outside of Cincinnati Ohio. We’ll miss our family in Southeast Ohio, but we are looking forward to new opportunities, a new community and more time spent with my husband’s siblings, our niece and nephew, and friends from years past.

I’m no moving pro, but I am enjoying finding sustainable ways to package up our belongings. We’ve done a considerable amount of downsizing (which feels great!) and I’ve been saving boxes and other packing supplies for months. Blankets, stuffed animals and soft household items also make for great packing supplies. Short of packing tape, we’re actually doing pretty well so far. Thanks to some of the great reader suggestions on my Facebook wall, I’ve been working to pack up items a box or two at a time – trying to involve the kids when they are willing. We won’t be leave for about a month, but these tips have already helped make this transition so much less stressful for all of us.

Here are just a few of the helpful moving tips that have been shared:

• Let the kids help pack their own things. This helps the little ones know that their things are not gone but just put way. Take them with you to see the homes you are considering. It is not always easy to have them with you, but in my experience it helps them not to feel so scared. - from Elise
• Don’t buy expensive packing material. Use your towels/dish towels to packing breakables. - from Melinda
• If the move involves a road trip, check out dogfriendly.com to find dog parks along your route. - from KD
• Sell. Trash and Donate. You will quickly realize that you have too much stuff and it cost to move stuff that you don’t really want, but yet not ready to move. Its a cleanse process. - from Melinda
• Let the kids decorate a box or two that has the sheets, pillows and blankets for everyone’s bed and towels for each person. - from Kate
• Pack one box of must haves… Sheets and pillowcases for each bed, shower curtain, kiddos favorite cup, dog bowls. After moving everything else in, you will not want to search through ten boxes just to find the things you need to get in bed! Open one box and leave the rest for tomorrow! - from Ashley
• Keep the path of packing things you can live without. It gets easier and easier to live without stuff. Then. Moving day put everything in the car you’ll use immediately to come out first. – from Heather

I want to thank you all so much for the moving tips – please continue to post more below if you have them! If you happen to live in or near Cincinnati, I’d love to hear any tips on finding natural living resources, areas, shops, etc. I am so excited about our new path and excited for my first post from Cincinnati!

It’s a Thirsties party to welcome their fun new print, Polka Dance!

They’re excited and we are too! This print is fun and great for every boy and girl. I love that they’ve included so many fun colors in this print, making this print a breeze to match to outfits!

Thirsties is one of my favorite companies, not just because their diapers rock, but because their company does too. They work hard to create a truly earth-conscious business from the ground up, not just the products they make. Even the tiniest fabric scraps from their business are sent away to be reused by other industries – that’s big thinking!

Thirsties would like to show you some more love! Enter below for your chance to win a two pack of this fun new print in your choice of Duo Diaper, Duo Wrap or Duo-All-In-One! (and give Thirsties a big thanks for the awesome events!)

When you’re done entering be sure to look below the entry form for links to some of my favorite cloth diaper resources who are also giving away this great package! (more chances to win!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We are a family of constant snackers. There I said it. We love to eat, and we do our best to eat healthy – so becoming creative with our snacking is a nice way to get variety. This simple recipe is oh-so-yummy and ridiculously simple.

Raisins are great for boosting energy, are a great source of calcium and can even improve your libido (You read that right!) Not only are raisins beneficial, but cinnamon is great for everything from boosting your memory to helping reduce LDL cholesterol levels – oh and have I mentioned that these raisins are super addictive?!

Raisin Addiction a.k.a. Cinnamon Raisins

• 1 Cup Organic Raisins
• 2 Tsp. Cinnamon

Place the ingredients in a container with a lid and shake! shake! shake! That’s it!

You can get creative by adding other spices, a pinch of cocoa, golden raisins, dried cranberries – even nuts (though don’t expect them the cinnamon to coat them quite as well). Even if you aren’t generally a raisin lover I would suggest giving these a whirl – they are much better than your plain ol’ raisin. I promise!

I love soft and smooth skin – don’t we all? – so I simply adore these scrubby exfoliating gloves. While in the shower one day, many moons ago, I was scrubbing myself to softness when I noticed a spot on the wall that needed my immediate attention (okay so not really but I may have been a bit obsessive at the time). I gave the spot a touch and ::poof:: it vanished. I had learned the secret of the scrubby gloves – they freaking rock to clean with!

Now before you get to grossed out – or amazed – I bought new scrubby gloves just for cleaning, and we have had an awesome love-cleaning-affair ever since… or well as much as I can possibly love cleaning.

Before you start cleaning with your skin exposed – be sure you are using safe cleaners. If you’re using toxic junk, don’t use these. That stuff doesn’t belong in your home, let alone your skin. These gloves make cleaning up sinks, tubs and other typically pain-in-the-rear chores a breeze. Try using with a simple DIY cleaner or a safe, but gentle cleaning product – the gloves will do the heavy lifting.

Have you tried this before? Do you love it? If you haven’t tried this before, be prepared to be amazed!