Cloth Diaper Review Continued...BumGenius 4.0

AKA my favourite cloth diaper.

If you've done any research at all out there on cloth diapering BumGenius will most likely pop up quite a bit during your research. They have been around for years, and they make an awesome diaper. They are a pocket diaper just like the Happy Heiny's but they are just....better. The PUL is super soft, they adjust great around the waist without the same overlap thickness at the waist like the HH's. They have a flap a the back of the diaper to prevent having to fiddle with the back waist band to prevent the wet band at the back if you don't keep the fleece down far enough. The list goes on and on.

I started out with two of the snap versions of this diaper.

I really don't know how to start with these diapers. They are my favourite, they are also my mother's favourite. Andre really hasn't expressed a favourite, he just uses what cloth diapers are there and changes Emilie's bum. They are super absorbent. I have used these diapers for both daytime, and nighttime, with no leaks. This is really good since Emilie will routinely sleep for 8-10 hour stretches at night.

Out of all three of the diapers, the BG insterts are the thinnest, making this the trimmest diaper out of all three that I have chosen. This is also great when they are in the dryer since it takes less time for them to dry. Maybe in the summer I will line dry them and see if they don't get too crunchy drying that way.

Since my initial purchase of two diapers I have purchased an additional 6 diapers, three with aplix (velcro) closure, and 3 more with snaps. The laundry tabs on the aplix diapers are great and not once have they come undone in the wash which is more than I can say for the HH's laundry tabs. I do plan on purchasing some more BG diapers, to hopefully bring my stash of these diapers up to 18 or so. I just have to decide whether or not I am going to keep, or sell the BB diapers.

Bottom Line for BumGenius 4.0: Awesome diaper! Well worth the investment. I do not have one complaint about these diapers. They are great for daytime and nighttime use, with no leaks or blow outs. They are trim, soft, and look so cute on our little girl! I just wish I had more of these diapers!

Cloth Diaper Confusion no more!

So way back in September, which now seems like a different lifetime ago, I wrote about my confusion about all things cloth diaper related. I did a ton of research, nearly driving poor Andre insane, and decided to purchase a few different brands to try out, and then go from there. I also contemplated doing a cloth diaper trial from a more local store, but couldn't resist the pull of fluffy mail. I even went as far as to buy a cloth wipes kit from Baby Steals. Thank goodness I actually like the cloth wipes!

After all that research I ended up with three different brands to try: BumGenius 4.0, Happy Heiny's, and Best Bottom diapers.  BG's and HH's are both one size pocket diapers, and BB's are one size All in two (AI2) diapers. Now anyone who has done even just the teeniest of research on cloth diapering has heard of BG diapers. They are very well known and loved by a ton of cloth diapering moms out there. One of the newer diapers on the scene were the BB diapers. Everyone loved that you could reuse the covers and just snap in a new liner. After talking to a friend of mine who had used them I decided that I too had to try them. The other diaper, the HH's are also well known, very similar to the BG's, but more reasonably priced.

So here was the run down on my cloth diaper stash:

First off on the list, Best Bottom Diapers:

BestBottom Diapers

I started out with 4 one size Best Bottom covers, 3 with snaps, and one with aplix (velcro), and 12 Stay Dry (microfibre and fleece) inserts in size Small.

I really like these diapers, and these are Andre's favourites. The obvious pluses of these diapers is when your LO messes the diaper if nothing gets on the shell (like with a pee) you just wipe or air dry the shell, and then snap in another liner and reuse it! With four shells and the liners, just these diapers could last one whole day as long as Emilie didn't get poop on the shell. I have to tell you that even with liners poop usually gets on the shell, so with a #2 you will most likely have to toss the shell in the wash. They adjust super small at the waist, so even at just 5 weeks old they fit Emilie great, at this time she was around 8.5lbs, so at the same weight they say the diaper will start to fit your LO.

They are also a trimmer diaper, but the least trim of all three of the diapers. I think the reason for this is the thickness of the Stay Dry inserts. I'm sure the Hemp would be a little more trim, but I haven't tried them out to know for sure. Also the PUL (the waterproof and cute shell) is the most "hard" of all three diapers. It's just not as soft, which you can feel through the clothing.

We have had no leaks with these diapers. The leg and front and back gussets are fabulous, and have kept all of the messes in the diaper, which is a huge plus.

The bottom line with these diapers: Great diapers. I would recommend them to anyone trying cloth diapering. I think one of the best diapers for travelling with your LO, and you can just throw in a couple shells and then just bring a bunch of inserts. For anyone buying in Canada, they are a pain. I had to order directly from Nicki's Diapers in the States, I couldn't find anyone in Canada that was selling them. I don't know whether this has changed since I purchased them last year.

Well, Little Miss is now up from her nap, so you'll all have to wait for the review of the Happy Heiny's and BumGenius!

Mean to Green (er)

Did you think that I had forgotten with all this baby-talk over the last little while? No, just well, lazy. Sitting on the couch cuddled with Andre or going for a walk when the heat has finally lifted in the evenings is just a little more appealing right now!

I did decide while I was reading some of my favourite blogs that I should really log on and give you all something. I have been thinking of doing this post for a long time now!

So without further ado (be forewarned it's a dirty subject).....TOILET PAPER! This is something that everyone buys, unless of course you are one of those really crunchy-granola types that doesn't in which case, I honestly don't know what to say.

We were addicted to the Kirkland brand for the longest time. You know the big, mega pack from Costco that would last a small family say, 6 months! The problem was that it had a TON of packaging, was not recycled, and I'm not too sure on the status of whether it was biodegradable. So we needed to switch!

Oh you should have heard Andre complain in the middle of No Frills when I told him we needed to switch to a more greener choice for bum wipe. He was not happy. Switching his toilet paper was crossing the line apparently. He must have a sensitive heiney. The first brand that we tried was President's Choice Green Bathroom Tissue.

The reason behind this purchase was that we love President's Choice Products. We have switched from name brand to their brand on many occasions and took for granted that this one would be a winner. We were wrong. It promised to be made from 100% Post Consumer recycled paper, and that it is biodegradable. I have no doubt in my mind that it is both of those things, but in a word, this stuff is CRAP.

Considering this stuff is suppose to be a double roll, the rolls are painfully thin. It claims to be 2-ply. Oh.My.Goodness. If this is suppose to be 2-ply, I do not want to know what 1-ply is.

In short, I am sad to say, do not waste your money on this product.

Now after our horrible adventure in green (er) toilet paper, Andre was none too happy that I wanted to try yet another brand. I had a friend mention the Cascades Brand of products. I knew that they sold their "enviro" line of products at Costco, and we just happened to be on our way there for a shopping trip. Andre was not happy to have to try another product that he was sure was going to disappoint, so I told him that all the trees were saying "Thank you Andre!!" for his purchase. He rolled his eyes and threw the huge package in the cart.

                                                    

Now this brand promises on it's website to be made of  100% recycled fibres, be made with 80% less water than the industry standard, is dried using natural gas, and bleached without chlorine. Wow, impressive! You want to know the best part?

It's actually good stuff! It's much thicker than the PC Brand, as well as softer, and stronger. We've found ourselves a winner people!

Mean to Green (er)

I'm going to try and help us all clean up our act, or well at least our clothing with this review. Today I am going to review one of my most frequently used products at home.

I have sensitive skin, and after trying many different products, I started using the regular Arm and Hammer Detergent years ago. They started making their essentials formula a few years ago, and I love it! It is biodegradable, phosphate free, uses natural (coconut-based) surfactants and uses natural baking soda to help clean your clothes. It also comes free of all those heavily dye filled detergents, and you can also get scent free as well.

I also promise that this cleans just as well as any of the other detergents out there! Arm and Hammer is also much less expensive than other greener detergents. At No Frills you can find it for less than $6 for a 2L bottle that will clean 35 loads. I don't know about you, but I think that's a great deal! For a little extra boost in the wash you can use PC Oxygen Bleach.

Photo source here.

Mean to Green(er)

I am so excited to do this post! I am excited because this is a change that I've been wanting to make for a long time and finally did.

The change is.....Reusable Produce Bags!

Even Mikey had to take a look!


I'm excited and I know that some of you are excited to. Andre, not so much. Actually his exact words in Metro (where we bought the bags) were "Jenna, this is it! No more green stuff, we're not doing anymore!"

His issues were:
Andre: Produce bags are recyclable, why use bags that can be reused?
Me: Produce bags are plastic, even though it is recyclable, it is still waste, reusable means no waste!
Andre: They won't be able to see the stickers to scan the produce at the grocery store!
Me: ::showing him the bags:: Yes they will, stop whining!
Andre: People will think I'm weird that I'm bringing cloth bags to the grocery store!
Me: Tell them your wife made you do it.
Andre: Fine
Me: Can't you hear it? Mother Nature is saying Thank You!!
::Andre staring at me like I've lost my marbles::

So there you have it, if I can switch to reusable produce bags then so can you!

The ones we purchased were from Metro (A Canadian grocery chain). We purchased 4 large and 1 small bag for $4.99. I was going to check into the website that was on the cardboard packaging, but recycled it before I could check if it was a Canadian company or not. You can also find produce bags on websites like Etsy or you could make your own! Like with any reusable bag that you use for food I would urge you to wash them often to reduce contamination and bacteria!

Isn't it a beautiful sight?

Mean to Green (er)

I was at my local Shoppers Drugmart picking up a few things and realized that I needed to pick up some all purpose cleaning wipes. I'm standing in the aisle, scanning the shelves, and cannot for the life of me find my plastic tub of Method biodegradable all purpose cleaning wipes and I discovered that they're in a plastic pouch. I was a little bummed out but picked them up and brought them home. I was bummed because I was thinking to myself that at least the plastic tub I could throw in the recycling bin, with this pouch I will have to throw it in the garbage.

Well those clever people at Method had done something absolutely fabulous, not only had they created fabulous wipes that I can use all over my house then throw in my compost bin (!!!) that smell like pink grapefruit (yummy), they had improved on the packaging and put them in recyclable pouches that use 60% less plastic than the regular recyclable tubs they usually come in. How great is that?!

Now onto the review!

For a long time I have been a fan of cleaning wipes. Really, who isn't? One thing that I didn't like about some of the others out there was that a)they contain nasty chlorine bleach and b) they were not biodegradable. I just felt horrible throwing something out in the garbage. So when "green" became popular I decided to try out some new products. I started out with Green Works wipes, but honestly, I try and steer away from these products if at all possible simply because they are made by Clorox.

Then one day while out shopping I found the Method wipes. They are fabulous! I have tried some of the their other products and liked them so I figured I couldn't go wrong. I have used these wipes in the kitchen, the bathroom, wherever. They are just as strong and effective as the other wipes out there, and they smell so yummy. The best part is that after you're done cleaning you can throw them in your compost bin!

I've always picked up my favourite Method products at Shoppers Drugmart, but they are also available at Canadian Tire and Sobeys.

Mean to Green (er)

I decided that I was going to do something productive while relaxing tonight, and review one of my favourite green (er) products.

I've always had a love hate relationship with bleach. I love that it keeps my whites bright and well...white, and that it disinfects like a champ, but hate the chemical smell, and the risk of bleach spots on my dark clothing. I was talking about this exact thing with my friend Pam months ago and she mentioned a product that she loved.

I have been converted. Not only is it safe for colours (what a thought!), it's concentrated so you don't need to use a ton of it, and it does.not.smell. When was the last time you used bleach and didn't smell anything?

Now for the question of whether or not this stuff works. Does it work just like Clorox? No. Does it help to remove stains, and keep my whites white? Yes. To help boost the cleaning power of this stuff I just let my white load soak for 15 minutes, and ta da! Clean clothes.

Now if you all excuse me I have to go beat my darling husband who is making fun of my review of bleach.

Mean to Green (er)

Wow, I have really been slacking off with this haven't I? I promise that with the long awaited Christmas vacation that I have booked off work that I will add a few more of these little tips.

You may or not remember that with my last Mean to Greener entry I talked about my love of my steam mop. One thing that I love about the mop are the micro fibre cleaning cloths and how I can throw them in the laundry instead of throwing them into the trash. The one thing I didn't love is that clear as day on the tag of any micro fibre item is the warning not to use fabric softener! One of my vices is my:

I know, I know, but I love the smell! So I had a problem. But then I remembered something I had read about using some:

instead of fabric softener. After a little searching on the internet to assure myself that my laundry would not end up smelling like french fries, I gave it a shot. And let me tell you I was shocked! Not only were my towels soft and fluffy, but they were just clean smelling. No artificial scents!

All I needed was a couple tablespoons of vinegar diluted with water poured into the automatic softener dispenser in my washing machine. Just a word to those out there still using Chlorine Bleach that these two things do not mix, so do not use the same together in a load or you will create very toxic fumes.

So now the next time you just happen to be out of fabric softener, or you just want to switch to something a little less toxic just reach for the vinegar in your pantry and you will be set!

Mean to Green (er)

I have always hated mopping floors. I would rather clean my shower, clean my toilet, pretty much anything instead of mopping my kitchen floor. It's just a pain (literally a pain in my back) and it always takes FOREVER to dry. So you're either stuck in a corner or another room anxiously waiting for the floor to dry so you can move everything back.

I tried the bee mop:

But the bee mop takes forever to dry. And I would be using an all purpose or floor cleaner that would leave horrible streaks all over my floors.

I then moved on to the Swiffer Wet:

Let's face it. The Swiffer Wet is a good idea in theory, but not only is the scent a little over powering sometimes, it can leave horrible streaks all over the floor, and you're throwing out a one-use pad every time you clean your floors!

Then this wonderful invention hit the market:

This is the Bissell Steam mop. There are a ton of different varieties. The H2O Mop, The Shark Steam Vac, you get the picture. But I own the Bissell variety. Why do I love this product? It makes washing the floors simple. There is no cleaner needed, just plain old tap water. The cleaning pads are reusable, just throw them in with the dirty towels. Just regular steam cleans your floors. And as long as your husband isn't obsessed with pressing the steam button constantly, your floors will dry fairly quickly.

Now there is still no substitute for getting down on your hands and knees to scrub a floor, but for cleaning up food spills and everyday dirt, this thing is great. It even has the Mr M seal of approval (this mainly means there is minimal grumbling from him while completing a task with said product).

Mean to Green (er)

Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Canadians! I hope that you all are either sitting back relaxing from your feast yesterday, or gearing up for all kinds of yumminess today.

In h0nour of the holiday today, I opted not for a product review for this edition but a tip that you could easily do if you were hosting your Thanksgiving dinner. It is simply really. Switch out these:

In favour of these:

It's that easy! Since we bought the house we have hosted two big family dinners, Easter and Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Each of those times we have opted for our formal china vs paper plates. Would we use actual plates if we didn't have a dishwasher? Probably not. The thought of standing over a sink of dirty dishes for hours after dinner doesn't appeal to me.

For all of you that are sitting there thinking I am absolutely crazy for not using paper, there is something you can do too! Do not put those paper plates in the trash bag so they can linger for years and years in your landfill. Instead, put them in your household compost pile, or put them in your municipal compost bin. That's all you have to do to try and be a little more green this Thanksgiving.

That's all for now. I must get back to the mountain of laundry I have to complete today!

Mean to Green (er)

Welcome to the new feature! From here on out whenever you see a blog entry with the Mean to Green (er) title there will be a little tip, or product review from yours truly. This will hopefully happen every week!


First of all lets start off with a disclaimer: First of all I am not an environmentalist. I am not an expert on all things environmentally friendly. I am just a person like you trying to do my part to help this planet that we all share. Some of you that may read this blog may be thinking "this isn't green! There is something else that she could be doing that is better!" My answer to that: There definitely could be! My belief is that if everyone did just one little thing that was better for the environment then we could make a huge difference. Not everyone has to become all granola and buy only organic or second hand clothes, slap some solar panels on their roof and bike to work to be more environmentally conscious. You can start slowly with a few little things around your house. These are the things I am going to share with you. Do with them what you will.

Now for my first Mean to Green (er) entry!

Today I thought I would start with something that I have been doing around my house for quite some time now. I originally got the idea from the Hyper Homemaker Blog. Don't bother going to google it. It sadly doesn't exist anymore. She does however have a cooking blog Good Things Catered . Check it out!

The first little recipe that I am going to give you can replace this nasty product:


Oh Comet, I don't even want to know how many nasty substances are in there, but you are no longer welcome in my home!

You can use these two little products to not only effectively clean your sink, but deodorize the drain, as well as keep the drain running clear so you do not have to use other nasty things like Drano.

That's right folks, just a little white vinegar and a little baking soda is all you need!

First start off with a dirty sink. (I can't believe that I'm posting a picture of my dirty sink, but here it goes!) I thought I would make it as dirty as possible and leave some flour in the bottom from baking.

Then pour in some baking soda:

Then you're going to add the vinegar:

This should happen:

Use your handy dandy little cloth or sponge, scrub your sink with that foamy baking soda and vinegar mixture. The baking soda is a mild abrasive, so it will gently scrub all the dirty grossness in your sink, and the acid in the vinegar disinfects and kills the bad stuff in your sink. For a quick little article about how effective vinegar is go here .

Then you are left with this:

Ta da! A beautifully clean (disinfected) sink and all you needed was some ingredients from your kitchen pantry. Who would've thought that our grandmothers all those years ago had a good thing going?

Now go and clean your sink!