Christmas, it seems does'nt come from a store....

Tis the season to buy stuff. In my case that is both financially and morally challenging. I feel like I spend all year fighting against the need for more "stuff". Christmas brings out the worst of me in this regard. If I don't buy,buy,buy I just don't love my kids enough. That is what the retail machine is trying to sell right? Even if I know in my heart that it is not true the bombardment of advertising still eats away at me. I start with great resolve to keep the gifting smaller than the experience.Does that make any sense? We all want to  see our kids who are eagerly anticipating the Santa load super happy when they wake up Christmas morning. I also want them to remember that Christmas is not all about the presents. In the past I have done some homemade upcycled Christmas gifts like homemade stuffed animals and dolls. I don't have much free time this year to do that type of stuff. Besides writing this, running our website and having 5 kids I do daycare and am a contractor to do cleaning services. I started to think about some ways to do the holidays a little more eco friendly while still having fun presents and I discovered a great source of toys. Sales and Swap sights. Chances are if you do a Facebook search there will be one for your area. It is a great free way to sell items you no longer want or need and you can find some great deals on gift worthy toys. This year I found an awesome deal on a Thomas the Train table and a huge box of trains, tracks, etc. very similar to this.

 

 It is hundreds of dollars worth of toys that a little boy got a little too big for. His mom said he has moved onto being into Legos. He was a super sweet little boy who even helped pack up his old toys. I thanked him for being so generous. His twin sister helped out too. I would never have been able to buy all of this stuff for new retail price.

 I also picked up a Wheelies car ramp and two cars for $10.00 like this.

 I found the same one on Amazon for $69.95. My little guy already has some super hero wheelies that will work with this. Honestly I think giving all of it at one occasion would be too much for one kid a Christmas so I will probably set aside a few of the things for future birthday gifts. I love that we are not just buying into the cycle of producing more stuff plus the money stayed local. I sold a bunch of baby stuff that we don't need anymore as well. My other loved source of present is Etsy. I love it soooo much. If I had tons of money to spend in one place Etsy would be it. Of course that one place it thousands of individual little shops full of handcrafted and vintage stuff. I ordered some really cute twirly skirts for my girly girls for about the same price that you would pay for a standard Wal-mart or Target skirt. I would rather have my cash go to a lady who sews at home than a giant sewing factory in some far off country. I can't wait to get them. I also love the saving a bunch of trips to the store. I think I may actually hate big box store a Christmas. I don't like to throw hate around but it might be the right word in this case.

I would encourage you to check out the FB swap sights, Craigslist is great too but be safe. I schedule meetings in public places and have never run into any situations that seem shady but I am from a very small town that is generally pretty safe. I also like to snoop in their FB profiles to make sure they seem legit.

Now that I said it outloud...

I like to really take my time before committing to a resolution for the new year. Around February I decided on one after mulling over my choice of areas I think I could use improvement in. One day mid toy clean up I realized (again) we just have too much stuff. If look around my house the things that qualify as useful and needed are far outnumber by things of the I bought this on clearance at Target and have never used it variety of stuff. You know, those things that were such a bargain that you threw them in the cart and now they are here in your house, spilling out of the kids room and tripping you on the way down the hall. Every mom knows what I mean. I could (and have) fill a garbage bag with the stuff and no one would notice it was gone. In a family of our size the budget is tight. So I looks around and ask myself why am I buying this crap $1.99 at a time. When you add these "bargains" up you get an awful lot of money AND this mess in my house is making me miserable. So why am I making myself miserable $1.99 at a time? I do not know. I suppose it just sneaks up on me.
This is where my grandiose resolution come into play. I will see how long i can go without buying anything new that is non essential. To make it do-able I will give myself a few exceptions.

Gifts: I have five kids and I love giving them presents. I will aim for non big box and things that they will get some mileage out of in this area. So far I have bought some handmade stuff off of Etsy and a few needed shirt for my honey who wears then until they are falling apart at the seams.

Business purchases: I run a small website devoted to cloth diapers and other fun natural parenting stuff. Things I love and believe in. This stuff does not count. I should try to break my habit of keeping one of all the cute boy stuff for my own boy. Adorable cloth diapers are a huge weakness for me. Since our baby is most likely our last baby I will be passing these along to someone when done. I know it is a great rationalization.

Something to wear this summer: There is a all school reunion/100 year celebration in our little, tiny town this summer. I give myself permission to buy something cute to wear. I will buy secondhand if possible. I love thrift store and garage sale. Most of my favorite items have come to me through these routes anyway.

So far so good. The only snag I ran into was my eldest daughter having a semi-formal dance. This resulted in my buying her a new dress and shoes. I suppose I could call that a gift. She looked really pretty, it meant the world to her and we managed to keep the entire price under $50.00. Beside with three more girls chances are that dress it going to be reused and reused.

Wish us luck!

Happy Hippie Housewifery

I am always on the lookout for good recipes
for something I can make at home instead of buying at the store. Today’s
experiment was homemade deodorant. Here was the basic recipe I used.

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 Tbsp. beeswax pellets

3Tbsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder or cornstarch

3-4 drops essential oil

Heat ingredients together in a small pan over low heat until dissolved. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour into an old deodorant stick or a small jar and let set overnight or put into refrigerator to harden.

Some specifics of the recipe I used:

I used Spectrum refined organic coconut oil. Any brand/type should work the same. Unrefined will smell like ummmmm, coconuts. So if you do not want a slightly tropical smell go with refined.

I used Bob's Red Mill aluminum free baking soda. Again any brand/type should work.

I used Lavender and Tea tree oil to scent mine.

I recycled an empty deodorant stick
container. I just washed it out and turned the dial until it was all the way
back down and refilled it. If you do not have an empty one a baby food jar or small condiment jar works well if you don't mind applying it with your fingers.

The verdict

It smells great. I am a big fan of lavender.
I think it could be made with any essential oil. I think I will try a bergamot
or lemongrass the next time around.

It is not an antiperspirant. I was a bit
sweaty when doing sweaty type stuff. That might be more of an issue in the hot
weather but I live in Minnesota, so in all honesty, nine months of the year it
is not a big concern for me. Coconut oil does liquefy when warm so you need to keep this at room temperature or less. Some people store it in the fridge.

My arm pits have never felt softer.

Product spotlight series Blueberry one size bamboo fitted diapers

Blueberry recently released a new addition to their already extensive product line; Bamboo one size fitteds.

Being a huge fan of fitted diapers, one size diapers and diapers that come in cute prints, I had to try them for myself right away.

When I first opened my order I was pleased with how nice the prints were as well as how thick and cushy they felt. I washed a few and put them on my test pilot.

Here is my verdict......

These are just flat out cute. The prints are bright and pretty. I love the darker prints because I suspect they will hide staining really well.

These are highly absorbent diapers. Even when they were wet the wetness was not detectable on the outer layer of the diaper until they were really, really wet. I tried them overnight as well and the outer layer felt barely damp.

The fit was good and very adjustable. My Son is 3 months old and 15 pounds and these should fit him for the duration of his time in diapers.

The only drawback I was able to find is the dry time. Like all higher absorption natural fiber diapers they are slower to dry. The more moisture they hold the longer it takes.

We currently have a few of the prints in stock at our store www.happilyhomegrown.com. Look for more additions to our stock of Blueberry's products in the future. They also recently release some new prints in pockets and covers.

welcome

My name is Amy and this is my blog.

After starting my own natural parenting product website I though a blog to go along with it would be a nice place to share my own experiences, suggestions, and overall philosophy on raising a family in a environmentally friendly manner.

After much trial and error (I mean much, I am pregnant with my fifth child) I feel like I have the what kinds of things you NEED for a baby pretty well down. Thinking back to my first pregnancy, I remember being overwhelmed by all the products the magazines and TV told me I would need for my baby. I ended up with loads of stuff that was neither needed or particularly useful: sleep positioners, diaper stacking devices, little mitten things for their hands. In the end the sleep positioner could easily have been replaced by a rolled up towel, the little mittens could have just as easily been a pair of baby socks that I already had. I cannot even remember what I did with all those things. I must have donated them to a thrift store at some point. In the end it was all just more stuff cluttering up my house. It did not change my life or improve the newborn period, it just was a waste of money.

In reflecting on how I wish I knew what products were actually useful way back then I started to consider starting my own website that stocked only worthwhile baby products that I would actually use myself. Things I knew were useful from experience, my personal favorite stuff. Thus www.happilyhomegrown.com came into being.

There are many sites that sell some of the same products that we carry. The biggest difference with me is I will not be stocking products that I would not use. For example, a brand of cloth diapers which I will not name here is carried by most of the big cloth diaper websites sent me a wholesale list of their products recently. I deleted it. I actually bought some of their diapers once. They lasted less than a year with normal washing and wearing. I would hate for a parent to buy them, they were adorable but a huge waste of money and in the end when I threw them away not so much better for the environment.

It is hard to sort thought the reviews out there. For every positive review there is someone who does not like it. I suspect that many of the review are actually posted by distributors and creators of the diapers. Some of the big sites even have their own lines they manufacture and sell "exclusively". You can bet you won't find a negative review of those on their sites. They are looking for a sale.

Don't get me wrong I would love to sell you stuff. I just want it to be practical, useful stuff that is not a waste of money.

I will always try to be honest and stock only really great products.

Feel free to follow us on blogger, facebook, or visit us at www.happilyhomegrown.com.