Save Water! Shower Together

We are all about being green and sustainable in our house. We recycle, compost and do a host of other things to minimize our footprint on this planet. Recently we have added water conservation to our list of Earth-friendly activities.

LP, who as an infant detested water, has suddenly decided that she prefers the shower to the bath. The Hoos is thrilled. Why would he care? Because LP is 3.5 and if she wants to shower, someone has to get in there with her, and because he is the lone male in our house, he has somehow decided that this is a "mommy job."

I realize that giving my kids a bath or shower every day is not in the spirit of water conservation, but we do. I run to the pediatrician enough as it is and the hope is that if we wash germs off daily we will all be sick less (tell that to my lingering cold!). Fortunately the shower is quicker than the bath and I think LP's hair is getting cleaner (much easier to get the shampoo in and out with the shower head than by dumping cups of water on her). She has a lot of hair, so we might be saving a few gallons of water with this effort alone.

AK joined us in the shower for a couple of nights, but last night when I pointed upstairs and asked if she was ready for the shower, she ran to our downstairs bathroom insisting "Bath! Bath!" So perhaps the Hoos isn't off the hook yet.

The bonus of all of this is that the girls are getting to bed earlier. Since LP goes to the bathroom and brushes her teeth before showering, it has cut about 15 minutes off the bedtime routine. So, if we aren't conserving water, at least we are saving time and THAT is something a mom can truly appreciate.

Earth Day and All Night

Yay for Earth Day! Since last year I actually think I have made a very small positive impact in terms of "greening" our family.

• I now use reuseable grocery bags 98% of the time.
• We use several GreenWorks products in cleaning our home.
• Our compost bin is up and running and the Hoos has been using the result to fertilize the garden - which will include blueberries this year!
• I have Freecycled a few items collecting dust in our basement
• We are reusing lots and lots of LP's old clothes on AK (get used to it kid!)

In night time news, I have realized that I am treating AK differently than I treated her big sister.

At 11 months old LP was sleeping through the night; waking up at 2:30 or 3 was an exception that was important enough to be noted in blog entries from April 2007. When she did wake up at an unacceptable hour, we ignored her for longer and I never nursed her.

Granted, AK has had colds and various other minor ailments more frequently, so I definitely coddle her more; I go in to check her temperature and make sure she is okay when I might otherwise just put a pillow over my head. I also feed her in the middle of the night for a couple of minutes, knowing it is just easier than waiting out her screaming.

I can't figure out if AK is the luckiest girl on the planet or if I am just a moron. Probably a bit of both.

Procter & Gamble is the Devil

This post has been a long time coming. Since LP was born we have always used Pampers diapers and wipes. We have spent lots and lots of money on Pampers - more than I would want to calculate or admit to. I buy them knowing they are the expensive brand because I believe they work better than other products. Despite their current UNICEF campaign and attempts to be goody-goody, I am starting to feel as if their marketing and product development people are solely focused on charging more money for less product with every new product and box size.

The main target of my ire is the Swipers product. These came out maybe a year ago. Supposedly they are thicker than your average wipe. Because they are thicker, fewer are sold in a package. I am sure they have research to say that thicker wipes mean people will use less, so it is break even for the consumer.

P&G apparently only interviewed moms to come to this conclusion. Sure, I try to use wipes as economically as possible. I fold them to maximize usage so as not to be wasteful. For me, thicker MIGHT mean using one wipe where I used to use two.

Unfortunately, this is not the way the Hoos operates. Dare I say this is the way MOST husbands operate. It seems that men are so frightened of getting diaper fluids on their skin that they use as many wipes as possible to avoid any chance of transfer. I am suspicious that the Hoos uses two wipes for pee diapers. And we have two girls so one is not used for protection.

Suffice it to say I am finally using another brand for wipes. Kirkland, here we come! So far, so good. So much so that I am actually considering trying another type of diaper...

Because it Grows on Trees

So the Hoos and I gave into the media hype/overwhelming research/guilt and decided to purchase BPA-free bottles for Bun. This will mean tossing all of the Avent bottles that I accumulated during LP's infanthood and replacing them. I remember thinking when we bought the Avent bottles"Damn! these suckers are expensive! And a pain in the ass to clean! I sure am glad that I breast feed most of the time."

How naive I was two years ago. I had no idea what really expensive bottles were. The BPA free bottles from the most oft-quoted sources - Born Free and Green to Grow - are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Like almost $10 a bottle. Fortunately, I am a bargain hunter and I discovered that Nuby bottles are also BPA free. And at Babies R Us they are $7.50 for a three pack. Praise the Lord! Sure, I had to buy some regular nipples because reviews say that the Nuby nipple may be difficult for newborns, but still the cost comparison isn't even close. I paid less for 6 nipples and 6 bottles than for three fancy-schmancy BPA-free bottles.

Of course it isn't really about the money. Although it is frustrating that in order to ensure the health of my kids I need to throw out countless bottles and sippy cups that I was hoping to reuse. It doesn't seem very environmentally friendly to continually replace with a "better product". I want my kids to be healthy and happy and I don't want to put them at undue risk, but I can't help but wonder if I am overreacting. Is all of this BPA media attention warranted?

As an FYI - Nuby sippy cups are also BPA free, which is fantastic, because I recently transitioned LP to Nuby sippies and I have no desire to buy yet another round of cups for her. The real reason for the transition was that the Gerber Grip cups started to leak and the Nuby's seem to hold it together better, but it does work out well that I have someone managed to be prescient and bought her "healthier" cups.

Green - It's the New Black

I believe today is national "Blog About the Environment Day". I know I blogged about being green a few weeks ago but with the current state of the world, I guess you can't talk about it enough. Here are a few things I am trying to do to lessen my negative impact on the planet - and teach LP how to be a responsible citizen.

1. Use reusable bags for grocery shopping (when I remember to bring the bags! dang it!)
2. Pack LP's lunch in tupperware instead of tin foil or sandwich bags
3. Replace our regular light bulbs with CFLs
4. Refill hard plastic, reusable, water bottles instead of drinking bottled water
5. Clean LP's face with wash cloths instead if wipes or paper towels after she eats
6. Minimize the number of tissues we use and use burp cloths/handkerchiefs instead (this one is really hard, especially when LP has a cold like today)
7. Recycle glass, plastic, cardboard, paper and metal
8. Minimize food waste by freezing or reusing leftovers for use in other meals (e.g., turn today's meatloaf into meat sauce for tomorrow's dinner)
9. Wash dishes in the dishwasher instead of by hand (dishwashers use much less water)
10. Combine errands and car trips
11. We bought a composter! Yay! This should help reduce the number of bags of leaves we put out for collection and it should be a fun way of making our own mulch.
    

Of course there is much more that we all can do - start today! And I realize that none of these are huge, exciting changes, but I like to think that even a little improvement will make the world a better place in the long run. Try it!

It Ain't Easy Being Green

The Hoos and I were environmental studies majors in college; after college we both went and worked for environmental consulting/engineering firms; actually, I currently work for an environmental consulting firm. And yet, it is hard to be environmentally-friendly.

Our most recent "green" transition was actually inadvertent. We needed to replace our dishwasher. It wasn't broken per say, but it was 20 years old and it only held about four of our plates at one time. I am thrilled to say that our new Kenmore Elite dishwasher not only fits more than four plates, it uses way less energy and water. Apparently, our old dishwasher used 26 gallons of water per washing; the new one uses eight. And it does a better job. And because it fits more than one place setting at a time, we only have to do dishes once a week!

Of course, we recycle and we have switched out several of our light bulbs and light fixtures to convert to more energy-efficient fluorescent lighting. But still, we would like to be doing more. What do you do to be a more responsible citizen?