Do you own a solar powered dryer? If not, they’re available for under twenty bucks and can save loads of emissions in their lifetime. Yes, I am talking about the humble drying rack.

Whether you live in an urban apartment or sprawling acreage, anyone can handle erecting a drying rack and letting nature do the rest. You won’t need dozens of clothespins to hang each sock, baby t-shirt, or undergarment.  Just flop the clothing on the rack in the morning and take it off later in the day.

In the summer I bask in the glory of sun dried clothing.  I hang the sheets, towels and adult clothing on the line while my toddler helps (somewhat sloppily) by arranging dishtowels and diaper covers on our drying rack.  

Although it air drying isn’t glamorous, it is revolutionary.  

What are the environmental benefits?  A clothes dryer is one of the biggest energy users in your household.  Depending on its efficiency, it can eat up as much energy as your oven and more than your water heater, burning up to 5000 watts of electricity each hour.  Refrigerators technically use more, since they’re on all the time, but per hour, dryers are the largest consumers.  Dryers also waste energy twice, since they suck in air from your home (which has been cooled in summer and heated in winter) and then blow it out of the house.

What are the cost benefits?   Besides lowering your utility bill, you’ll reduce expenses on clothing.  My sister, a mother of five children who is constantly battling with laundry, will only air dry her children’s garments.  Since line drying doesn’t set stains the way a heated dryer does, she prevents soiled clothing from being permanently ruined in the dryer.  If the stain doesn’t come out, she just tosses it back in the wash.  Air drying also prevents shrinking and limits wear.

How can I take it a step further?  If you’d like to air dry all your laundry and set up a clothesline,  check out Laundry List–a site dedicated to helping people move away from dependency of dryers.  Even hanging just a few loads a week can make a huge difference in your energy bill and your carbon emissions. 

Thanks for joining Thrifty Green Thursday!  Come back tomorrow for Rebecca’s line-drying trouble-shooting tips. 

Last week we reviewed Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette, the ultimate guide to creative frugality.  We could ooze on for hours about her innovative outlook on reusing and reducing, but instead we’ll give you some concrete examples of how she made budget friendly, eco-friendly choices with her twin babies. 

Since Dacyczyn thought her fourth child would be her last, she had given away all of her baby things, only to find out that she was having a surprise set of twins.  She spent less than $100 on their first year of life by employing some zany acts of simplicity.  These are just some of the items she skipped with her babies:

Baby Shampoo: She just used regular shampoo and was careful not to get it in baby’s eyes.

Bottles: Since she wasn’t working outside the home, she nursed the babies until they were one year old and then taught them to drink from a cup.

Changing table: Dacyczyn used a towel on top of a dresser with changing items stored in a shoe box.

Disposables: Even when traveling, Dacyczyn used cloth diapers.  She invested $65 of baby’s first year budget on diapering supplies because she knew it would pay off in the long run.

Crib: Dacyczyn writes that people can get creative with dresser drawers or use a playpen as a crib. (I know this might upset some readers, but it is an interesting idea, although neither Rebecca and I nestled our infants in our bureaus.)

Shoes: Until baby is toddling, these are totally unnecessary.

Despite our enthusiasm for The Tightwad Gazette’s baby tips, we’d be hesitant to endorse Dacyczyn’s stance on diaper pins and plastic pants—she states that they’re the best option for cloth diapering families. The book is over ten years old now, and there are so many more Velcro options on the market than in the mid-nineties.  We’ve been able to find many gently used Velcro diapers for bargain prices.  Cloth diaper tightwaddery is now updated for the new decade! 

Although we also wrote a post about what baby doesn’t need, Dacyczyn shows that reducing and reusing can be taken much further than most of us realize.   Some find her extreme, but we at Green Baby Guide harbor great respect for the sense of fun and pragmatism she brings to living a simpler life.

For those of us who love creativity, hate waste, and enjoy watching our savings accounts grow, The Tightwad Gazette is a thrill a minute.  The author, Amy Dacyczyn, was termed the “frugal zealot” for her efforts to “promote thrift as a viable lifestyle.” The Tightwad Gazette was published back in the late ‘90s, but it’s still just as applicable today.  Her grocery costs of just $38.00 a week for a family of eight are still astounding, even if you take inflation into account.

Although The Tightwad Gazette emphasizes frugality rather than environmentalism, Dacyczyn, points out that most of her cost-savings efforts are eco-friendly. Her family rarely buys anything new, grows most of their produce, and limits their meat intake. 

Dacyczyn, a mother of six, started by selling year-long subscriptions for one dollar each to The Tightwad Gazette newsletter.  The business steadily grew until she was mentioned in Parade Magazine and subscriptions went through the roof.  She had to hire a small staff and eventually was wooed into compiling six years of newsletters into a three volume set of books.  (You can also purchase all three in one bound volume entitled The Complete Tightwad Gazette).

The book is packed with information about reusing blue jeans, brown bananas, mylar balloons and milk jugs—but it also contains wonderful information about preparing for baby on the cheap.  Next week you’ll find out how Dacyczyn spent less than $100 on raising her twins for an entire year.

This is how much I love The Tightwad Gazette: After checking it out three times and reading it twice, I’m actually planning on buying it!  Here at the Green Baby Guide, we’ve written about avoiding book purchases—but I’ll have to break our rule on this one!   She saves me far more money than I’ll spend buying The Tightwad Gazette—and of course I’ll buy it used!

If you’re a frugal soul with some eco-friendly ideas, you’ll want to  join our Thrifty Green Thursday blog carnival here at Green Baby Guide.  We’re looking for posts that offer earth friendly, budget friendly solutions that work. For more information, check out our open invitation here. 

Many months ago, I wrote about the baby rules I break for the planet.  One of those “rules” included mopping up baby with wads of paper towels.  I don’t think I’ve ever bought a roll of paper towels in my life.  We do have two rolls of paper towels in my house.  One roll was generously left here by the previous owners.  We moved the other roll over from our last house, where it sat in the back of a closet for at least four years.  My husband bought that roll long ago, without my consent or knowledge.  I cannot be blamed!

Aren’t trees nicer than paper towels?

Last May, Peggy from Treehugging Family issued a paper towel challenge.  She personally wanted to reduce the number of paper towels she used and asked readers to do the same.  You will see my comments on those posts, urging people to try the “hide the paper towels at the back of a musty closet” technique.

I hate to see paper towel commercials that make it seem like these tree-killing/landfill-filling products are indispensible to modern life.  The one that really gets to me shows a mother going through her house, allowing all the glorious messes of family life because she has paper towels to help clean them up.  “If you knew he’d make a mess, but let him anyway, you’re crazy,” it begins.  At the end of the commercial, she plops down on the couch with a magazine, confident that she’s cleaned everyone up with Bounty.  

Giving up paper towels when the baby comes along might be an even greater challenge than eschewing them under normal circumstances.  There’s always a mess to clean up–on the baby, on yourself, on the floor.  I got a few packages of baby washcloths as gifts, and I used those instead of paper towels.  I just threw them in the wash when I was done, and they’re so small I’m sure they didn’t add to the overall amount of laundry I did.  Of course, any old rag or washcloth will also do the trick.

Think of all the money you’ll save by giving up paper towels.  Say you normally go through a pack of six rolls a month, at $10.00 a pack.  In ten years, you’ll spend $1,200 on a completely unnecessary product!  And if that’s not motivating enough, think of the trees.  Paul on things that make you go green says, “The NRDC estimates that if every household in the United States used one less roll of paper towels, we could save 544,000 trees.”  Saving a few thousand trees seems like a much better reason to take a self-satisfied couch break! 

Never buying paper towels works for me.  For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

If you live in a steamy region where the humidity matches the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, please stop reading this post immediately and start making your baby an ice bath.  My humble advice only works for areas where the air is light enough to move. 

In Eugene, Oregon, where I live, the temperature occasionally gets above ninety degrees and the humidity is almost always manageable.  Still, I am a self-professed heat wimp so I do all I can to keep our home cool.  We don’t have air conditioning, but with a little extra effort we mostly stay very comfortable through the warm summer months. Even if we did have air, I think I’d keep up the steps below to lower our power bill and our emissions with just a few minutes of effort.

Nothing about what we do is earth shattering, and I’m sure everyone used this same routine years ago.

Step 1: Put a thermometer outside your home where it is visible from a window.

Step 2: In the evenings, wait until the thermometer outside is cooler than your thermostat inside.

Step 3: Open the windows, turn on the fans, and get the air moving.  You can opt to blow the cold air in or the hot air out—but the main objective is air flow. 

Step 4: Secure the windows before going to bed only if you need to. 

Step 5: As soon as baby squeals at 5 a.m., open windows up again and get those fans on.

Step 6: When the temperature outside is hotter than inside, close everything up.

Step 7: Repeat as needed.

I actually get ridiculously excited as the fans whir around the house in the evening and our thermostat radically drops.  We’re able to keep the interior of our house between 70-76 degrees on even the hottest days just by opening and closing windows.

If evening and morning ventilation doesn’t seem to keep the heat down during the day, consider having an energy audit to check out your insulation.  Insulation is the biggest energy saver in heating and cooling your home and it should be working just as hard in the summer as it does in the winter.

Another strategy is to plant fast growing deciduous trees near your home so that you can have some relief in the years to come.  Believe it or not, there’s actually a website entitled “fast growing trees” that can help you find some options for your region.

If any sunbelt dwellers happen to still be reading, there is hope for you in the future as a company called BROAD is working on solar powered air conditioning.  Isn’t that the most obviously brilliant idea ever?  If you live in a dry climate, you may want to look into a swamp cooler as an eco-friendlier alternative to an air conditioner.

In the meantime, we’ll stick to our fans, our popsicles (organic and veggie) and an occasional run through the sprinkler.  I’ll end up using the same technology to keep my child cool that my grandmother did six decades ago–––which happens to be great for the planet and my pocketbook. 

Here’s a tip that works for me: Never buy books!  Why?  Because reading is overrated and television is the wave of the future!  Instead of wasting valuable time and money on books for my young, impressionable daughter, we just plop her in front of the television, which is FREE (we don’t have cable).

I found this adorable picture on Multnomah County Library’s website

All right, calm down.  I do believe in books and reading.  I was an English major, after all.  I wasn’t kidding, though, about never buying books.  I just wanted a snazzier intro to the oldest tightwad trick in the book: Use the library.  Yes, it’s been said before, but despite the existence of this wonderful public institution, many people still spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on books, CDs, and DVDs each year–even though all these things can be acquired for free.  Not only does patronizing the library save money, it saves trees and other resources.

Now, unlike some other unnecessary baby gear, books can be enjoyed for years and even passed down from generation to generation.  We even published an article about throwing a book baby shower for this very reason.  So no one is going to take away your treehugging license if you decide to buy some well-chosen books for your child’s collection.  Although I haven’t ever bought a book for my daughter, she does have a little compilation of favorites given to her by her friends and relatives.

I used to think getting all of Audrey’s books from the library would avoid book burnout, but this has not proven to be the case.  She insists on reading the same books over and over again, whether they are library books or part of her own set.  I am ashamed to admit that I had one book checked out for an entire year.  I finally had to return it when someone placed a hold on it.

Speaking of holds, I’m surprised by how many people do not know about the library’s hold system.  The only way to get good CDs and DVDs, including new releases of television series, albums, and movies, is to place them on hold.  If you rely on browsing the shelves for these items, you’ll have to wait years to listen to a new album or watch a new release (and by then they won’t be new anymore).  This system was crucial for us as new parents when we were stuck inside every night with a sleeping baby.  We watched many movies and television series thanks to our library, and unlike cable, Blockbuster Video, or Netflix, it was entirely free of charge.

The library can also be a great place to socialize with a baby or young kids.  Our library system hosts readings by published authors, art exhibits, writing contests, and book clubs.  Each branch also provides story times for different age groups and holds contests to motivate kids (even babies) to read. 

For hours of free, eco-approved entertainment, march on down to your local library today.  And for more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, stop by Rocks in My Dryer.

Right after I wrote my post about walking everywhere with a baby, we moved to a different neighborhood in Portland.  One of my big concerns with my new neighborhood is that it would not be as pedestrian-friendly as my old one.  It would be hard to live the carefree green lifestyle of my dreams if I had to drive a car everywhere.  Although my job is miles away (necessitating a bus ride), I was able to run most household errands by foot in my old neighborhood.

According to www.walkscore.com, the walk score of my old and new neighborhoods is exactly the same: 88 out of 100, or “very walkable.”  Just plug your address into this website and you’ll get a walk score of your very own.  The site will show you the grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, movie theaters, schools, parks, and other places that are within walking distance of your address.  The algorithm is not perfect–it does not take into account some things like your proximity to public transport or the “pedestrian-friendly design” of your neighborhood.

“Pedestrian-friendly design” is what my new neighborhood seems to be lacking.  From my old digs, I could stroll through a pleasant residential neighborhood or along a trendy street lined with coffee shops and bookstores to get to a major grocery store.  Today I ventured out to the Fred Meyer that’s just .68 miles from my new house.  Walking along a major street, I passed a car dealership, a bar, a “fantasy” shop, a men’s bathhouse, a “hot barber” shop, and a thrift store run by wayward teens.  Now, these are all very interesting establishments, I am sure, but not ones I am likely to frequent with a young child in tow (except for the thrift store, of course).  I then had walk on a highway overpass to get to the store.

On the plus side, that was just one grocery store.  I can walk to several others, taking less adventurous routes.  We can also take peaceful walks to the park, the doctor,  and Audrey’s future elementary school.  The best benefit of our new location is that we’re near at least five major bus lines and just seven minutes away from the Max (a light rail system that goes downtown, out into the suburbs, and directly to the airport).

What’s your walk score?  Visit www.walkscore.com and find out!

This Independence Day, in spite of the fact that I teach American History, I’m looking forward rather than back.  Maybe it’s motherhood, or rising gas prices, or melting glaciers, but it seems as though boundless independence might not be working for our country at this point.

We’re free to use as much fuel, energy, food, and water as we’d like.  We’re free to toss recyclables into the trash and drive Hummer limousines. The pursuit of happiness has pushed us into a level of consumerism that would have baffled our nation’s founders.  (I can’t help but mention here that they were imperfect as well—some of them using slavery to support their own luxurious lifestyles.)

Meanwhile, our unsustainable lifestyle is having a daily impact on the planet.  You have to check out this website, Breathing Earth, to see just how much more carbon we’re emitting than the rest of the world.  It’s humbling and a bit shocking.

So what do we do now? If you’re reading this website, there’s a good chance that you’re making eco-conscious choices instead of shrugging your shoulders in apathetic dismay.  The next biggest change we can make is to share our down-to-earth ideas with our local communities.  People are very threatened by the idea of composting, or using cloth diapers, or planting their own garden until they know someone who has done it themselves.  Share your cloth diaper experiences with other moms, start a green group in your area, and include your family in your eco-victories, even if they don’t share your enthusiasm. 

Grassroots movements have changed the world countless times.  On this Fourth of July, it’s good to remember that a small group of dedicated people started a nation based on freedom. Looking forward, we can help one another take small steps toward sustainability to make our shared future just a bit brighter.    

The sun’s out, your baby’s teething and it’s time for a soothing summer treat.  So, how exactly do you concoct the perfect popsicle?

Popsicle molds:  There are several plastic molds on the market (I have to confess that I own a set), but there are other options available around your home.  You can make mini-pops with icicle trays or individual used yogurt cups. Crate and Barrel made BPA-free popsicle molds earlier this year but they appear to have been discontinued. I’ve written to our friends at The Soft Landing about their safest choice for popsicle molds and will keep you posted on their response.  If you prefer to avoid plastic altogether, you can use paper cups, carefully washing them out and reusing them each time.  You can also try small juice glasses, ensuring that you gradually cool the glass so that it doesn’t crack with extreme temperature change. 

The perfect recipe:  Growing up, my mom made homemade popsicles out of fruit juice, but they were always extremely dense.  We longed for those soft store-bought brands that seemed to melt in your mouth.  If you’d like to get that texture at home, try blending in whole fruit or yogurt.  The thicker mix will also make it easier for your popsicle sticks to stand up if you’re using ice cube trays or cups.  If you’re up for using gelatin, (which vegetarians might not be) it will create a softer popsicle that doesn’t melt quite as quickly.

Natural Dripless Popsicles:  These are a great way to recycle half eaten fruits and get healthy food into your child. Pictured is the momentous day that that I served Roscoe his first dripless popsicles.  He ate four in a row in one sitting. When I asked him what he would dream about right before bedtime he said “sicles.”  Luckily there was no reason to feel bad about his popsicle obsession since I used organic plums, my son’s half eaten bananas(tossed into the freezer over the last few weeks) and a bag of organic frozen blueberries.  He loved them even though he’s usually picky about eating any of these fruits by themselves.

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup water
• ¼  cup sugar (or other natural sweetner)
• Three cups of fruit

Heat water, gelatin and sugar in saucepan over low heat until gelatin dissolves, for about 5 minutes.  Then toss gelatin mixture in the blender with fruit and puree.  Pour the mixture into cups and wait until frozen.  Enjoy!

A chocolate dream:  I found a recipe for Berry Fudgy-cicles on vegan-food.net. and modified it just a bit. Honestly, these are completely amazing and taste way better than anything this healthy should.  The secret ingredient for these homemade fudgesicles is silken tofu which provides them with plenty of nutritional prestige.  I’m not sure if this treat will be more exciting for my son or for me!

Toss the following ingredients in a blender, puree, pour into molds, and freeze. 

• 12 ounces of firm silken tofu (make sure it’s silken tofu made especially for desserts)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup rice milk, coconut milk, or cows milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch sea salt
• 4 strawberries, washed, stemmed, dried and sliced into quarters (put these in molds and pour chocolate mix to surround berries before freezing)

Baby-sized options:  If baby is too little to handle her own popsicle stick, consider using one of the products that use a tiny mesh bag. You can put frozen fruit chunks or ice in the mesh and then let her gnaw away to her heart’s content. This link shows Muchkin’s Fresh Food Feeder (which is BPA-Free according to their website), but you can usually find one of these in a local store if it’s easier than ordering online.

What are your ideas for summer treats?  Please add your exotic recipes to our post!

Our house is perched on a giant anthill.  I have no scientific proof of this except for the constant stream of tiny black specks that march around like they own the place. These little sugar ants are happier than ever since Roscoe has joined our family.  Now they can load up with the remnants of my son’s cracker snacks, spaghetti dinners, and cookie treats to their collective heart’s content.

So how do we mercilessly rid them of their newfound territory without endangering our son or the planet?   We don’t want to use any pesticides in our home, not just because our son likes to put almost everything in his mouth, but also because it isn’t safe for the environment. 

So far our weapon of choice has been Borax.  The Boric Acid it contains has natural ant-repelling properties and isn’t quite as scary as some other products.  It does need to be kept away from children so you have to be careful.

After looking at online resources such as greenpaige.com and barebones gardening, I have some new tricks to try on our little friends. 

Barriers:   Sprinkle or spray these in ant walkways or areas where they enter your home.   Their odors disrupt the scent trails ants create for each other. 

• White or yellow chalk (ants will not cross a chalk line)
• Cucumber peelings
• Red chili or dry mustard mixed with a bit of water
• Lemon juice
• White vinegar or half strength cider vinegar
• Orange based environmental cleaning products
• Cloves
• Coffee grounds
• Cinnamon
• Baking Soda
• Baby powder
• Black pepper
• Mint Leaves
• Mint tea bags

Ant traps: You’ll need..

• Borax
• Sugar
• A sticky substance such as mint jelly or peanut butter

Mix the substances together thoroughly.  Spread the mixture on a cracker and place out of the way of children in a cupboard or on a countertop.  When the ants get the food, they’ll also get the poison. 

Dealing with Ant Hills:  The most merciless way is to pour boiling water or hot vinegar directly into the anthill.  This site recommended putting dry grits outside the hole.  Apparently the ants try to eat them and then explode.  That sounds a bit less humane but it’s your call. 

What are your natural pest control tips?  How do you keep baby safe without ending up with ants in the sugar?