5 green baby tips

Nazila from the fantastic blog Green Eyed Monster Blog (GEMB) asked me to do a guest blog for her. All very exciting. Below is the post I did for her readers: 5 green baby tips. Check her great blog out as well.

Cloth nappies

I love cloth nappies little John has been wearing them since he was a week old and we have never looked back. They are so easy to use now with the fancy nappies that you can buy. Things to look out for are what material the nappies are made of and ease of use. I prefer bamboo and organic cotton as these are more absorbent and last longer (though do take longer to dry). I also like nappies where the boosters can be snapped in and out so you don’t have to wash the whole nappy every time you change your baby. You can also get loads of fluffy and coloured nappies. Nappies have never been as much fun as they are now! Tip: use flushable liners! Makes your life so much easier and are way less messy!

Cloth wipes and wipes solution

Cloth wipes go hand in hand with cloth nappies. I prefer bamboo velour cloth wipes as these are easy to clean, thick and easy to use. I use a wipes solution invented by the green goddess but you can just use water on the wipes if you like. The wipes solution: ½ cup water, 1 Tbs rosewater, 1 Tbs witchhazel, mix together and pour over wipes or dip your wipes in this solution. The cloth wipes and this solution are great for nappy rash and saves you loads of money. Not to mention reducing chemicals on your baby’s bottom.

Second hand clothes/ furniture/ everything

Second hand, third hand, hand me downs or antique I love it! Not only are the items often cheaper but they are general better quality and will last longer. Second hand clothes are actually more eco-friendly than buying new organic as the clothes have been washed several times so minimal or no chemical residue is left in the fabric and of course are a lot cheaper. Also of course the clothes have already been used so no new items had to be made the same goes for any second hand furniture.

Wooden and eco friendly toys

I love wooden toys and luckily they are making a huge comeback. I find wooden toys offer greater imagination building activities and encourage self discovery rather than have the toys do everything for you. There are also a great range of recycled plastic toys out there that I love too. Bonus these are often quieter toys too!

Glass baby bottles

Glass baby bottles are fantastic. They are much safer, as some plastic bottles can leech chemicals into your baby’s milk or drink. If you do use plastic buy BPA free ones. Glass bottles are surprising resilient to knocks and drops and generally last longer than the plastic ones (provided you don’t drop them on tiles!).

More christmas ideas

After I wrote my post on homemade Christmas ideas I keep finding more wonderful Christmas ideas so I thought I just had to do a part two (well more like part 3 as I also did a post on kiddies gifts)! These are some new and wonderful ideas I’ve find and no doubt I’ll keep adding links to the bottom as well as I find them. So many wonderful clever creative people out there – thank you for putting your ideas out there for us all.

Oh my’s sidewalk chalk is just fantastic for the kiddies. I am totally going to make some for John. I love that you can make them big and chunky as the store bought ones just seem to break these chunky ones might last longer. 

Some more great jar ideas; I love pressies in a jar. I really like Creative rambling’s sewing kit in a jar and also Crazy for Collars’ cute little pin cushion jar. I think I would add a magnet in the jar as this is great for when you knock your pins onto the ground - so easy to pick up. This gardener's hand scrub and hot cocoa in a jar look wonderful too.

 

 

I love buatkalunggelang’s button necklace and also Martha Stewart’s layered button necklace. Great for the girl who likes necklaces as you never can have enough necklaces!

 

 I’m obsessed with owls at the moment and think these two doorstops are super cute. Honest fabrication’s owl pattern is free and Betz White’s owl pattern costs $10 but is worth it as both so super cute. 

 

As John is getting a bit older now he loves playing with play dough and drawing but this can leave a mess on his clothes so this art smock by Don’t look now would be a perfect gift for any little artist. 

 

I love Healthy Alternatives’ preserved lemons. What a great and pretty way to save lemons and would look so lovely on top off my kitchen cupboard. The Green goddess has amazing recipes for chilli jam, herbed salt and green peppercorn mustard.

 

Some more wonderful bath scrubs: HollyBeth's Natural Luxury home scrub looks good enough to eat and Susie Norris’ chocolate body scrub is edible! 

 

I have loads of coaster in my home as they can add colour and change the look for a room (not to mention protect my wooden tables). Beneath my hearts' and A mom not a professional nor a perfectionist’s tile coasters are wonderful. Sew Pretty’s cloth coasters look great too. 

  
 

Some more great links:

You could adopt an animal for someone or check out WebEcoist's great list of charities in need.

Craftbits
Tip Junkie

 

Avocados

I love avocados they are magic! There is so much you can do with them; you can mash them, eat them whole, make guacamole, you can spread it on toast, make sushi, add it to a salad or put it in soup. Sadly though they turn brown quickly once cut so are normally only good if you eat them whole there and then. So today’s tip is just pour lemon or lime juice all over the avocado and pop into a snap lock bag (which can be washed and used several times of course) the avo will be good for several days (not that they normally last several days in my home!).

I also read somewhere (can't remember where sorry) that you can mash and then freeze avocados for several months though they are apparently only good for guac but I do love a good guac. Mr Ecochick even made guacamole with 10 little cherry tomatoes from our garden yesterday how cool is that? I’ve also found a supplier that has developed a root stock for a Hass avocado that survives the cold weather in Wellington. I can’t wait to plant one at the front of our home. I love big tall trees outside homes.

My big boy!

When did my baby get so big!?! It’s like I blinked and John grew up over night! Little John is like a real person now just a small version. I can’t believe how fast he has grown. I love to watch him grow and develop he’s such a little cutie! He’s almost a year and a half I can’t believe the time has gone so fast! He'll always be my little baby!

Vote New Zealand

Today is election day so don’t forget to go vote New Zealand! It’s your right to vote so do it! Last election only 76% of New Zealanders voted so come on New Zealand get out there. I’ll be working today so it’ll be a long but very interesting day. Will let you know how it all goes. Have fun.

Liebster award

Emma over at the wonderful Craving Fresh nominated NZ Ecochick for a Liebster award. Thanks heaps Emma I do so love your fantastic blog so make sure you drop by and check her out!

From Craving Fresh: “The Liebster is awarded to spotlight up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. 'Liebster' is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.” I really couldn’t have said it better so I let Emma speak for me!

The rules:

Thank the giver and link back to their blog.

Pick 5 other blogs to receive the award and leave a comment on their blog.

Copy and paste the award on your blog.

Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other blogger.

Most importantly; have fun.

Here are some blogs I’ve discovered and am enjoying reading:

Mumma and the Kiddo – I love Michelle she makes me laugh so much. I love her blog about her life with her little man Peter. She is an amazingly creative, fun, strong, single mum. Check out the fun things she and Peter get up to.

Simple greenish living – A fresh creative blog that has so many wonderful green ideas on it. I love to read what crafts Elisabeth is up to this week such a clever mama. Check out her amazingly organised pantry! So jealous!!   

Romance on a Dime – I love the way Betsy writes she has wonderful ideas now how to repurpose items and I love her 31 days of new uses for old things! Check out her take it on Tuesday blog hop too!

Gratefully Growing in Grace – Check out this super creative amazingly talented lady! I love the wonderful projects that Amanda makes with and for her children. Her quiet books and felt house are fabulous! I can’t wait to make one of each.

Faery Sarah – I’ve always enjoyed Sarah’s blogs. I love the way she describes her family life and seriously love the super cute crocheting she does. Sarah takes the most amazing photographs her blog is always a pleasure to read and look at.

So drop by and check out these fabulous blogs. Keep up the great posts coming everyone. Have fun everyone.