Eco-tip: Do it yourself dried fruit snacks

I try to buy the majority of my food from the farmer's market and have found myself nibbling and subsequently purchasing each week the various dried food sundries I've found there. 

Apricots, cherries, blueberries, strawberries...At $2.50/pack its a fair price for honest food but at the rate I'm consuming them I've started thinking there has to be another way...

And indeed there is.

I've just eaten two handfuls of homemade dried strawberries before they were barely cooled. They were that good.

So here we go:

Wash fruit and cut in slices or leave whole (e.g. blueberries or strawberries)

Heat oven to its LOWEST setting (mine is 170)

Put fruit onto baking sheet and "bake" until chewy not dried

Cool then Eat!

Eco tip: Note on container for homemade toothpaste

I've used a few different types of containers to store my toothpaste and the one that I like best is a peri bottle. I like that you can squeeze it out the same way as you would a tube and therefore avoid the bacteria growth from double dipping your toothbrush into a jar. 

You can add more or less vegetable glycerin to get it to a consistency that is easier to squeeze if that's an issue. And if you are concerned about grabbing the wrong bottle in your sleep deprived state you can easily put your own label on it.

Also, just a pea size amount is all you need and brush for 5 minutes or a song.

I like that there are no nasties or unpronounceable in this paste and you can customize the 'flavors' (mint, lemon, etc.).

Eco Tip: Make your own toothpaste

I admit post Winter my personal care standards descended to a humbling crawl from which I am just now lifting into a newly established 'beauty' routine. I don't believe I was high maintenance before becoming a mom but I've reached a point where until recently getting a shower longer than 3 minutes was a luxury. And more times than I can count I stumbled out of a fragrant, luxuriously warm bath only moments after submerging myself to soothe Winter's nearby battle cry.

One evening this week while enjoying the start of a bath I realized several minutes had lapsed before I had performed the alphabet song or something off the soundtrack for Sound of Music. I looked over and Winter was sitting in her chair nearby simply staring at me. I couldn't tell if it was a let me decide how long I'll give her or Mama I'm fine, if you'd quit the one woman show I'd be even better. Apparently it was the latter because her stare turned to an amused look of concern before she returned to her play book. 

This is a worthwhile milestone they fail to highlight in the life with baby books. 

One of the other rituals in my self care routine that went by the wayside was my homemade toothpaste and alas my teeth have not been as crisp since. No matter how much or what kind I use, its just not the same. Now that we've moved the simple act of going to my near and dear health store to get the paste's key ingredient, vegetable glycerin, has not been possible as a drive to Whole Foods is too much expenditure when I have so little reason to darken their floor space to begin with. Alas, thank gawd for Amazon Mom. I am a dedicated customer and have earned the maximum duration of free 2-day shipping allotted. 

May I return my teeth to their previous status as quickly as Fed-ex can save us.

If you want to spare sending another $5 to Tom in Maine here's the light:

You need:

Equal parts baking soda/vegetable glycerin

Drops of edible oil (peppermint, cinnamon, lemon - can be found in baking aisle) to your preference

Container to store

Mix the above, put in your container and your good to go. Can be stored in your medicine cabinet.

Sometimes I add other special "ingredients" to whiten etc. but you can't go wrong with the above. There have been times when I've not done equal parts vegetable glycerin or used none at all and it really is a key ingredient for an end result that is familiar to what you get from a tube.

Good luck!

Eco tip: reuseable nursing pads

I got into the habit of using our cloth baby wipes for nursing pads as an emergency stash then it became my daily choice.  The 1st 3 months I would need to change 2-3 times in a 24 hour period so you can see how quickly you can blow through a box of disposables even if you are just using 1 pair a day.

My absolute favorite reusable nursing pads are the Danish wool pads by Lanacare.  They are pricey but the pads are so soft and incredibly absorbent.  Where I tripped up is that as a heavy leaker I often fell behind in the upkeep, I had two pairs and the recommend 2-3 pairs, I could not keep up the hand washing required to maintain them.  Wool pads do not have to be washed daily, you wash them when they start to feel stiff which can be several days or more for some women.  I tried another pad that was non wool and while OK it was the wipes from our cloth stash that have proven to be long lasting and the best. What I do is fold the square wipe into a triangle and then a 2nd time then stick that into my bra.  I bring extra wipes in my pump bag and they are great as an extra pad, clean-up item or sometimes I put a wipe on my lap to protect my clothes at work.

Here's a pic showing how I fold them for nursing wipes: 

Eco tip: earth friendly bath toys

Admittedly struggling to find non-plastic and/or eco friendly bath toys for my daughter who is entering the world of bath time as a joyous occassion.

Here's what I've come across so far:

Green Toys makes their toys from recycled milk jugs and has a tug boat and stacker set that I thought sure funmakers due especially to the strong color combos available for the tug boat.

Green Sprouts is another green friendly company and they have organic cotton splash toys and puppets for the bath which helps us take one more step away from more plastic. 

Rich Frog also has non-plastic tub options. The Tub Toss and Fishin' Game are both cute.

For more ideas see these and other links on the Resources page!

Eco tip: Biodegradable milk storage bags

The main reason I invested in plastic storage bottles for my frozen milk storage is because I could not imagine using all those disposable bags.  I reasoned that the bottles were the most eco friendly choice since they are resuseable and when I am finished I could pass them on to someone else to use for their baby.

Since the bags are so popular and I was curious I did manage to locate what appears to be the only biodegradable breastmilk storage bags available. I requested samples and not only are they leak proof, they are just as easy to use as the other bags available.  I froze my milk flat in the bag and stacked them and have a mixture of these bags and the regular storage bottles.  No problems whatsoever in defrosting with these either.

The bags are sold in 3 boxes of 25 bags as well as a bulk pack of 300 bags (6 boxes of 50 bags). 
 
Visit them on Facebook too for more info! 

Eco tip: wool dryer balls

I learned about wool dryer balls via a thread on one of the diaper forums and ordered my very own (a party of 1) to test out.  Apparently you should have ideally 3-4 but given I have such a small dryer I noticed a difference with even just the one.  Wool dryer balls are a natural clothes softener and they shorten your drying time significantly.  Spare yourself the multiple trips to the store for boxes of fabric softener sheets and jugs, these are much nicer and better I think for those with sensitive skin.  Etsy.com is the easiest place in my opinion to get them and I highly recommend them as an eco friendly upgrade to your usual laundry routine.

Eco tip: Infant and Children's Paper Hangers

You'll hear me talking about ways to eliminate plastic use repeatedly which I think is especially challenging with kids given all the plastic toys and brightly colored disposable items that are typically pushed our way.


Wooden hangers can be dear but for infants and children with clothes that will make the life of hangers short-lived compared to adults I wanted to find an eco-option that was both economical and ecofriendly.  Alas hangers made from recycled paper by a company called Ditto!  You can order them on Amazon.com and they come in infant and child size for approx. $.90-$1/hanger.  A sweet price to pay for a sweet hanger!

Eco tip: Easy Cloth Wipe Solution

You can cut out purchasing diaper wipes all together by making your own wipe solution and using cloth wipes.  There are tons of recipes all over the internet so here is a basic one to get you started:


Mild baby soap
Baby Oil
Tea tree oil
2 cups water


Fill a pot or teakettle with water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Once water cools measure out 2 cups and pour into a storage container (I use canning jars to eliminate using plastic).
Add 1Tbs baby oil, 1Tbs baby soap and a few drops of tea tree oil.
Shake and pour into a spray bottle.


I store the excess in the fridge and make a large batch to last the month then refill all my spray bottles as needed.  I prefer to have dry wipes which means I spray the solution onto a dry wipe once ready to use one as opposed to keeping my wipes pre-moistened. You can use this at home or in your diaper bag (small spray bottle).  I've found it has a nice gentle smell and in the morning I can spray it on a wipe and use it to clean her face, neck etc. as well as for regular wipe use in the diaper area.