I remember the day we made our first eco-friendly Trader Joe’s detergent purchase. We loved the smell of our fresh laundry and basked in the green glow of our new standby.  While the large plastic container was an environmental downside, the price was reasonable and the lavender essential oils gave it a crisp, clean scent.

 Roscoe helps with the laundry

We wanted to switch to a greener detergent for our family’s health and the environment. Green brands don’t contain optical brighteners, chemicals which bond to the skin with traditional detergents. We also liked the fact that scents are often plant-based rather than petroleum-based, which tends to cause less skin irritation. As if that weren’t enough to convince us, natural detergents biodegrade easily in water and don’t contain phosphates, which are very harmful to aquatic wildlife.

Overall, we were utterly thrilled with ourselves for our ethical and thrifty laundry detergent decision.  But that was until we noticed the smell. Even when Roscoe had wet diapers, they reeked of rotten garbage.  At first we thought he had been sneaking asparagus in at snack-time, but then our daycare provider noticed as well.  She recommended stripping our diapers by washing them in several loads of hot water without laundry soap to remove the residue causing the foul odor.

After further research, I found that eco-friendly detergents with essential oils or mainstream brands with petroleum-based scents can coat cloth diapers, making them non-absorbent and causing them to smell, even when wet.  There are several suggested remedies for this stinky conundrum, including using vinegar in the rinse cycle, adding baking soda to the laundry soap, and doing an additional hot rinse after each load.

The problem with all of these options is that they require more time and/or effort from our already busy family.  Instead, we’ve looked into switching to a diaper-friendly detergent and saving the rest of our Trader Joe’s stuff for our non-diaper laundry.  The list below includes some recommended choices. 

I’ve heard that Charlie’s Soap is the ideal diaper laundering product. According to the company, each load of laundry requires just one tablespoon of soap and leaves no deposits on clothes.  Many cloth diaper aficionados have informed me that there is no stripping required with Charlie’s Soap and you can buy it at some natural baby stores, such as Mother Nature’s in Portland, Oregon. 

Since Portland is two vast hours away and I’m too swamped to order Charlie’s Soap online, I opted for Biokleen’s Free and Clear Laundry Powder.  There’s no plastic container, it’s safe for high efficiency washers, it’s fragrance-free, and it’s available at my local grocery store, a mere five minutes from home. 

It’s amazing how something as simple as laundry soap can be such a challenge for a busy family trying to go green.  Then again, solving that dilemma has been a huge triumph and relief.  We’ll keep you posted as we set our eyes on future eco-friendly hurdles.  They may not be overcome with grace, but we’ll keep stumbling greenward!  For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, go to the blog carnival at rocksinmydryer.com. 

It clutters our family’s mailbox and rapidly fills our recycling bin, but who has time to actually contact every source for this mass of wasted paper?  Lately I find myself spending ten minutes a day reading and shredding piles of envelopes. That’s time I’d much rather spend sorting through matchbox cars with my toddler.  Enough!  I finally developed a few solutions to stop the endless stream of junk mail flooding into our home. Less Junk Mail=More Play Time!

Opt Out:  I didn’t think I had the twenty minutes it took to print and fill out the online forms available at Opt-Out, but then I realized that I spend twice that amount of time each week shredding junk mail and tromping out to the recycling bin.  It’s worth a little effort to get the time savings in the long run!

When I finally went to the Opt-Out website I found the process surprisingly easy. The site will let you fill in your information and then formulate dated, addressed letters to seven different marketing networks and credit reporting agencies. I then simply printed out the letters, addressed the envelopes and sent them off with my own postage.

The site also has the Opt-Out telephone number listed to get you off the phone solicitation list.  No more calls during dinnertime or when Roscoe is in the middle of a diaper change! It also prevents me from tersely interrupting the telemarketer and bitterly informing him or her never to call my number again.  (Which isn’t easy for a generally congenial person like myself.)

Just Say No:  I have a secondary strategy to rid our family of excess mailings now that I feel freedom is in sight.  I just printed up a bunch of quick notes to send in the postage-paid envelopes that are often enclosed with junk mailings. Feel free to copy the text of the note below. You’ll notice that it’s a bit snarly, but sometimes that’s what it takes to get off the list!

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like my name to be removed IMMEDIATELY from your mailing list.  Rather than spending your organization’s time and energy sending me mail that is of no interest to me, please stop sending me any offers from this point on.  If you do not concede with my request, I will be forced to make further and more forceful complaints. I expect you to honor my wishes.

 Sincerely,

(Include your name and address)

Or Say No Nicely:  Here’s a note to send to charities that load you up with junk mail.  It sounds a bit less hostile, but still works:

To Whom It May Concern: 

Surely your charity wants to put its limited resources to the best possible use.  I would like to be removed from your mailing list.  My family has chosen to focus our giving on a few organizations and yours is not one of them.  Please help us limit waste and save your charity’s time and money by honoring our wishes.

Sincerely, 

(Include your name and address) 

You can fit about four of these notes per printed page and easily have a stack ready to shove into envelopes when the junk mail arrives.  Then just sit back, relax and watch those heaps of incoming mail slowly dwindle.  Ahhh….  If you want even more tips on how to make your life easier, go to Rocks in My Dryer for more “Works for Me Wednesday” ideas.  And don’t forget to check yesterday’s post for tips on how your cleaning closet confessions can win you some free Shaklee products.  Register and spill your deepest cleaning secrets today! 

In case you didn’t notice, you are currently enjoying a carnival–minus the expensive rides, suspicious ferris wheel operators, and heartburn.  Today is greenbabyguide.com’s first post in Rocks in My Dryer’s ”Works for Me Wednesday” blog carnival.  ”What is a blog carnival?” you ask.  It’s a herd of bloggers all writing themed blogs on a similar subject–in this case, a simple solution that works.  On Works for Me Wednesday greenbabyguide.com will strive to provide an eco-tip that makes life a tad easier for you and a bit better for the planet as well.  

As a working mother, I sometimes long for packaged foods—but I’m not thrilled with the economic or environmental costs.  Oftentimes the nutritional content is horrid and hydrogenated oils seem to be lurking everywhere.  Plus all that packaging isn’t exactly eco-friendly.  But still, I love the idea of pulling warm homemade cookies out of the oven to share with my eighteen-month-old. Do I have a Betty Crocker complex?  Very possibly. 

Lately, I’ve taken to making my own packaged foods so that I can still fit some baking into my very full life.  My mother, a frugal green pioneer in her own right, first perfected this pre-packaged concept by using her “Make-A-Mix” cookbook back in the eighties.  It offers 67 recipes for mixes that can be creatively used to whip up 306 different favorites.

You create your own mixes by measuring out and combining dry ingredients and storing them in Zip-loc bags or Tupperware.  Then when you want cornbread with dinner or pancakes for breakfast, you can dump the mix into a bowl, toss in the wet ingredients and have a glorious home-baked product without the cost, packaging or time required from other options.  Plus, it’s much easier for me to whip up homemade muffins with my toddler when the prep time is cut in half.  You can preview the whole book here and even try some of the recipes. 

It was re-published in 1995 and again in 2007 with even more recipes and is still very popular.  My only criticism is that I would add more wholegrain flour and cut down on the sugar in several of the baked goods.  Still, with a few modifications I can spend an hour or less on the weekend preparing a few mixes, and end up with a stash of dry ingredients that will provide me with a month of homemade favorites.  Works for me!