Composting

I have a new daily habit. I’ve started composting our daily kitchen scraps. We cook at home quit often and I’ve noticed we’ve filled our bin in only 2 months. I asked for this composter for Christmas. I know…it sounds a little weird. A composter ….. for Christmas, but let me explain. Ever since we bought this house I always wanted a garden. I wanted to grow my own fruits and veggies. So, for Christmas I asked for a composter and a tiller attachment so I can till the garden soil. The composter I wanted is an Enviro-Cycle base tumbler. It is a big green cylinder that spins in place. You just fill it, close the door, and grab the built in grooves to start turning it. The bonus is at the bottom of the composter (where the wheels are to turn the bin) is the container to catch the “compost tea.” It’s the water that runs out of your compost that is chock full of goodies for the plants. They come in green for warmer climates and black for northern climates. Everyday I make eggs and a smoothie for breakfast. I put the banana peel and egg shells in our counter top composter. When it gets full (about every 3 days) I dump it into our big Enviro-Cycle compost tumbler. I now have 2 months of kitchen scraps (greens) and newspaper and junk mail (browns) filling up the bin. The greens can be anything plant related ie: grass clippings, banana peels, coffee grounds and bread. You don’t want anything meaty or oily and definitely no poo. I’ve learned that the bin needs about a 1:2 ratio of greens to browns otherwise it starts to smell not so fresh. Now I just turn the bin everyday and it should decompose into awesome compost. It’s starting to warm up here in Georgia so maybe I will have compost in about 6 weeks. I’ll keep you posted. My problem is now I want another composter! That way I can keep putting in our scraps in another bin while this bin cooks. I'm addicted to composting. Jon’s gonna love this!

Diapers, diapers, and more diapers

As a mother of 2 under 2 diapers are a part of life. I always wanted to try cloth diapers (aka CDs) when we had our first son Matthew. Everything I knew about them was that they were gross, used pins, and you needed a diaper service to deal with them otherwise they were a no go. I wanted something that was just a good as the Huggies we were so used to using everyday. It couldn't be complicated or my husband wouldn't try it. (no offense Jon :)) I'd read that disposables were a large portion of the waste going into our landfills and that they took an eternity to decompose. So....I spent some time trying to find a cloth diaper that suited our needs and I found it.

At 14 months, I switched Matthew into a One-Size Pocket Cloth diaper and we haven't looked back since. We purchased 7 diapers at the time and 8 bamboo cloth wipes just to try out. They are great! The diapers are a "pocket diaper" in diaper lingo. This means that there is a slit in the top and you can change out the stuffing or "inserts" in this pocket. The outside is a PUL covering. Now, these diapers are not completely organic cotton and I recognize this, but they're still a lot better than disposables. We chose the One Size Pocket diapers so they would grow with Matthew and we wouldn't have to purchase more diapers in different sizes down the road. They fit babies from 8 lbs up to 30 lbs with these adjustable snaps and close with velcro tabs (just like the old Huggies). We purchased an extra insert to double stuff for overnight. With our newest addition, William, we did use disposables until he was about a month old. The CDs were a little too big and bulky for him at the time. Now they have reformated the CDs and they have a special insert just for newborns. I sure wish they had these 3 months ago! I fold the cloth wipes in half and they store inside our wipes warmer just like our disposable wipes used to. I keep them moist with a wipes solution I make myself, but you can buy pre-made solutions as well. I keep a 1 liter Rubbermaid drink container filled with water and a squirt or two of all natural baby shampoo and baby oil (if you like). Then I just pour the solution onto the wipes in the warmer whenever I add fresh clean wipes from the dryer. About once a month I take out the wipes warmer insert and clean it with bleach so everything stays moist and clean.

Cleaning the dipes...
In our pre-CD days we'd take our Huggies, roll it up with the wipes inside and put it into our diaper genie to make small "diaper sausage links" to put into the garbage. I changed out the diaper genie to a normal trash can with a step on lid a while back. They changed our genie model and I couldn't find the plastic baggie insert that encases the diapers in the stores anymore. I still use the normal trash can for our CDs. When we have a dirty diaper it is just like before. Cloth wipes get rolled in with the diaper and all gets put in the trash can for laundry the next morning. The only thing different is that I like to pull out the inserts before I put them in the trash can. You want to wash the inserts outside of the diaper so they get clean and dry better. I wash the dipes every morning on warm/cold with a natural detergent. My favorite is Planet powder laundry detergent. It works really well and since we have a HE washer and dryer I get double the amount of loads out of it. Detergent for CDs must be free from dyes, artificial fragrance, and brighteners or any other harsh chemical. All of these things can irritate your baby’s very sensitive skin. After washing, everything gets thrown in the dryer on low. Viola! Fresh clean diapers are ready in 2 hrs. or less and you didn't have to pack everyone up and take them to the store to get more diapers.

Another note on the CDs, you should use a liner if you have to use any rash cream. The rash creams coat the diapers with a water proof layer and then the diapers can't absorb the wetness. I recommend Imse Vimse liners. I got them from Cotton Babies as well and they have lasted forever! I cut them in half and line any diapers when we use rash cream. They are flushable so they are great for dirty diapers. Just pull out and flush away. I've put them thru the washer and dryer at least 2 or 3 times before they fell apart. If you accidentally forget to line the dipes you can usually get the cream off by treating the stain with dish soap before washing. Works like a charm in our house.

The CDs are pricey in the beginning I'll admit. I believe our outfit of 22 dipes, 5 packs of wipes and liners cost around $500, but the savings you get in the long run are amazing. I believe one site I read said you spend well over $2,000 on getting just 1 child thru diapers. Our detergent costs $7 and lasts for at least 40 washes. Then it is only the small amount our HE washers and dryers use in electricity and water. No more trips to the store for dipes and no more dipes going into the landfill. For traveling I keep 1 or 2 dipes in the diaper bag with a small container of disposable wipes (Seventh Generation or Whole Foods brand chlorine free).

I've been using CDs on our 2 boys for almost a year now and I'm really impressed with how easy it is and feel better about our choice. Even Jon now does the dipes in the mornings some weekends and doesn't complain. Both sets of grandparents were able to use the cloth dipes after a brief tutorial and the grandmothers did the laundry while I was in the hospital with William. They really are easy and great to use.

A little more background

Jon and I met in graduate school and were married 2 years later. We're obvious animal lovers and have accumulated a small menagerie over the course of our marriage. Since our marriage we have moved out of our college town condo in Auburn and into a house outside the big city of Atlanta. Our house is home to a rottweiler, a weimaraner, 2 cats and fish. In the last 2 years we have had two wonderful little boys (3 months and 22 months) and they have blessed our lives immensely. That being said some times our house is a little crazy. I’m a little bit of a clean freak and I like the things I spend our money on to function how they are supposed to and be environmentally friendly at the same time. I also don’t want to spend and arm and a leg switching our family over to environmentally friendly things. I’ve learned a few tips and tricks in the last couple years so Jon suggested we start a blog so we can share this info. I’m going to try and share our experiences and the products that we’ve used and love. One day we hope to put together all the products into a store. That way all the products I talk about will be in one place and you won’t have to go hunting them down all over the internet or around town. I really hope you enjoy this website. Have a wonderful day!

Kim

Introduction

Here is a brief introduction to the authors as our first post to this new blog.

Jonathan is a currently working as an Environmental Engineer. He graduated with a MS in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Environmental Engineering (2004) and a BS in Environmental Science (2001). He is currently pursuing an MBA with a dual concentration in Organizational Management and Entrepreneurship. He aspires to be an ecopreneur!

Kimberly is currently completing a graduate degree. She is seeking a MS in Wildlife Science. She completed her BS in Wildlife Science in 2001. Kimberly’s research topic is; assessing the impact of trap neuter return on the management of feral cats. The primary goals of this research were to examine the influence of Trap Neuter Return (TNR) on 7 previously unmanaged feral cat colonies and to examine the role of feral cat caretakers in relation to TNR management outcome. She is currently working on her thesis and plans to graduate soon!

We both have a passion for nature and the environment. Since 2003, we have been trying to incorporate eco-friendly living into our daily lives. We both strongly believe that you do not need to make sacrifices in your lives in order to “go green” or become more eco-friendly. There are exciting opportunities, products, and services that are now available that make choosing an eco-friendly substitute not only possible but fun! To us, there is simply a great feeling of joy and excitement knowing that our choices are helping the environment and making our lives healthier in the process.

In subsequent posts we’ll share more information on our passions and experiences. Please check back here often as we continue to grow this blog and expand our reviews of current and future green product offerings.

If you have a green product or idea, or if you have a “green” themed website or blog, we’d love to hear from you! Just send us an email at jls@ecoxperience.com.

- Jonathan