My friend lives in what can only be described as a “McMansion.”  I’ve heard that term applied to huge houses that have entirely too much space and impressive features, usually including two or three SUVs parked in the spacious garage.

A couple of years ago she was an avid consumer. She would pack her baby up in the stroller and walk through the mall, buying whatever caught her eye. At the grocery store, she would buy mostly prepackaged foods that would save her time even though they were more expensive than the raw foods that she could have fashioned into meals for her family. Her family had the money, so why not enjoy it?

Nowadays things are a little different. She still lives in that same McMansion, but her SUV has been traded in for a more economical and environmentally-friendly vehicle. She grows fruits and vegetables in her spacious yard and buys groceries that are in a more original state. I don’t think she has step foot in the mall for some time and when she does go shopping she’s carrying reusable cloth bags.

It’s not like her husband lost his job or anything, but I think she saw what other people were going through and heard all the alarmist news stories about the economy and she realized that she just can’t assume that everything is always going to be okay. Combine this with the growing popularity of going green, and I think my friend has had a bona fide transformation.

I know I’ve changed the way I spend money too, both because of the recession and because of the environment. I didn’t start out with a McMansion or an SUV, but there was certainly room for improvement nonetheless. For example, when the weather starts to get warm it’s not unusual for ants to start finding their way into our dining room. Usually this elicits a panicked call to the local exterminator who comes over and sprays pesticides all over the house and in the yard. After doing a little research about the effect these chemicals can have on the environment – and on the health of my kids – I found out that there are natural ways to stop the barrage of ants. When I saw the first few ants crawling around a few days ago I staved off my urge to call an exterminator and instead did what I had read: Sprinkle some paprika where you see the ants and it will repel them.  It seemed entirely too simple, but it has been effective so far.  Not only is it much more environmentally friendly, but I saved the usual $80 I give to the bug guy.

Almost all of my friends are making similar changes that happen to be concurrently good for their finances and the environment. Most of them have started bringing canvas bags to grocery stores and hardly any of them drive gas-guzzlers anymore, or at least they certainly aren’t buying new ones. Organic fare is becoming more and more common as snacks at playdates, and the same moms who always dressed their babies in the newest designer clothes are now (gasp!) buying clothes at consignment stores for their kids.

I’m assuming it isn’t just my social circle that is going green and saving money. What have you been doing?

Which is what many moms say when they are faced with the choice of what diapers to pick. Cloth diapers are cheaper and the environmentally friendly option, but disposable diapers are so much easier and more convenient.

If you want to try cloth, or are thinking about switching to cloth, here’s some possible solutions to the “I want to cloth diaper but…” fill in the blank thoughts you might have.

…I hate laundry. Buy as many diapers as you can afford to increase the amount of time between washes. It will also save on laundry costs if you don’t have to wash as often. I started with 18 diapers and was washing every two three days which was not very fun. Now I have over 30 diapers and do a load of diaper laundry every five or six days. Remember used cloth diapers have a decent resale value – often around 50% of the new price – so you are not wasting money.

…the used diapers will stink. Yes, used cloth diapers do indeed stink. When we had a home with an attached garage, the diaper pail went in the garage. Right now I live in an apartment and I have a pail with a tightly fitting lid that goes in the bathroom. A carton of bicarbonate of soda in or near the diaper pail will absorb some of the odor. Don’t get it on the diapers though. We are about to move to another apartment but one that has a basement and yippee! the diapers are going to live in the basement. Phew.

…I don’t want to wash poop in my washing machine. Yes, cloth diapers do indeed have the ick factor. Tip out as much poop into the toilet and flush it away before putting the diaper in the pail. Another way to cut down on the ew is to buy a diaper sprayers. These attach to a toilet and are used to spray all the poop away into the toilet. Many cloth diapering moms rave about them. I didn’t want to spend the money on one but kinda wish I did. And it’s not enjoyable, but moms have to deal with poop. When your baby poops on her clothes – and she will poop on her clothes – what are you gonna do with those? You put them in the machine. Run an empty load after the diaper wash if you are grossed out by the poop.

…my mom says it’s a bad idea. Our moms often don’t understand why our generation want to cloth diaper when we have the choice to use disposables. They often had no choice and many moms remember all the laundry they had to do and boiling diapers in the kitchen and can’t believe anyone would choose cloth over disposables. Modern cloth diapers are totally different to the ones your mom would have used and are much less work.

…My husband says it’s a bad idea. Husbands can be anti cloth diaper, usually because of the dealing with poop factor. Well, cloth does have disadvantages. But the advantages of cloth diapers are many – the biggest ones are price, and the environment. Cost is usually a good one for convincing husbands. They are better for the environment, using less resources and creating much less trash.

And there are also other advantages cloth has over disposable. Babies with sensitive skin may have happier bottoms in cloth. And babies who wear cloth are usually potty trained earlier, as they feel wetter in cloth diapers so understand the link between peeing and being wet sooner than disposable diaper babies. And cloth diapers are much cuter than disposable ones. How about a multi-colored diaper, or a flower print, butterflies, or puppies? Choose your arguments, present them in your most charming manner, and you’ve got a great chance of convincing him.

A new eco-friendly book series for children was launched in September. The goal of the creators of the Little Green Books series is to educate kids and their parents about the environment and how they can protect it.

Each book in the series focuses on improving the environment and preserving habitats. The books themselves are eco-friendly and are made from recycled materials. They are also printed with soy ink.

Currently, four titles are available in the series:

• Can Save the Earth: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This story is about a monster named Max, and how he changes from a wasteful monster to an environmentally responsible monster.
• The Polar Bears? Home: A Story about Global Warming. A parent and child learn about polar bears and how they can reduce the effects of global warming.
• Little Panda & Little Monkey. These two books in the series were created for young children and their caregivers to read together. They tell the story of Panda, his best friend Monkey, and their adventures. The books are super soft and perfect for cuddling! Both books are machine washable and are made from cotton and recycled fleece. I love baby products that are machine washable!

If your family enjoys living an eco-friendly life, or if you just want to teach your children about the environment, you may want to check out this new series. More books will be added in January 2009.

It might be hard to resist purchasing that darling little dress or frilly onesie when a new arrival joins your family or brightens your friends? lives, but do they really need it?

That was the question my husband and I faced when we learned the news that a friend was expecting. Parents of two boys, they found out that their third will be a girl. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun that can be bestowed upon parents of boys who suddenly find themselves with a daughter, we wanted to give them something suitably ?girly.?

The parents of a daughter ourselves, we?ve been inundated with frilly dresses, fancy shoes and even a couple of bonnets for our girl, very few of which we?ve actually dressed her in. What?s more, when we do shop for outfits for her, we find ourselves being very anti-girly, perhaps in defiance of all that pink that fills her drawer and closet space. Instead we lean toward neutrals ? greens and yellows and the occasional purple (although my husband insists that purple is still girly). Subsequently, we find ourselves correcting people in public who assume that she must be a boy.

So when we found ourselves at our local chain baby store amidst the aisles of pink and lace, we came to a conclusion: why not give them some of the stuff that we weren?t using for our own daughter? Why buy something new when we have nearly brand-new items collecting dust at home? The more we thought about it, the more it made sense. Not only did it reduce some of our clutter of unworn or outgrown baby clothes, but it also went with our whole ?green,? ?reduce, re-use, recycle? philosophy that we began before we had our daughter and that has become all the more important to us since. So we packed up the pink (in various sizes, naturally) and shipped it off to the happy new parents, hoping that they would find good use for the items that we ourselves hadn?t been able to use. And just to make sure, we enclosed a note explaining that if they couldn?t use the items, to please pass them along or donate them so that someone else might be able to benefit from them.

A feel-good gift if there?s ever been one.

Since my daughter has started solids, I have been accumulating those little 4-ounce glass jars from her baby food. A few of them went to a neighbor who wanted them for his wood shop, but the rest of them are piling up on the kitchen counter, around the sink, in grocery bags – almost as if they are multiplying when we’re not looking.

Time has come to do something about these jars. I don’t want to just toss them into the recycle bin; I would like to actually do something with them. Following are five ideas for how to re-use baby food jars – if you’ve found creative uses for baby food jars, please share!

1. Use them in the garage or basement to collect nails, screws, washers, and other loose materials. You could also use them to store small paint samples when you repaint a room and have just a little bit of paint left in the can.
2. Keep a couple on a dresser to toss in loose change or stray buttons.
3. In the kitchen, use them for storing spices – use one for each type of spice.
4. Make snow globes. A snowman made from polymer clay (available at craft stores) and some glitter make for a cute wintertime scene.
5. Root plants. Cut a branch off of a plant, then place it in a jar filled with water. In a few weeks, roots will grow and a new plant will be started.

How do you use your spare jars?

The Recycling List: Things you may not have known.

We produce more and more waste every year and landfills in the U.S are growing out of control. Recycling is certainly having a positive impact by reducing the amount of deposited waste, but did you know that there are more things you can do to aid in this up hill battle against landfill overloading?

Most of us think nothing of throwing away items such as old videos, batteries, ink cartridges, shoes or various other things we no longer use or need. These items can not only be recycled or donated for reuse, but some companies will even offer replacements for certain items. Swap your old video for one you haven’t seen before, or even receive money for your recycling contribution.

Click here to see a list of 21 thing you didn’t know you could recycle!