In My Bag Of Tricks

I get asked a lot, "What do you use for ________________?"

Laundry Detergent: Charlie's Soap.  Awesome.  I started using it for my cloth diapers (after getting horrible build-up and a repelling problem with Planet Ultra); loved it so much, I switched all of our laundry to it.  You use one little scoop for a full load, and I only use a half scoop for the diapers.  It lasts forever.

Dairy Products:  I'm lactose-intolerant.  It sucks.  No milk, butter, cream, or, worst of all, ice cream.  I use organic almond milk for my coffee and cereal, and for baking.  For "butter," I use Earth Balance Soy-Free spread.  It's yummy and makes me happy.  My tummy is okay with yogurt and frozen yogurt.  I eat plain, non-fat Greek yogurt every day, usually with a little organic honey and granola.

Cleaning Products: no chemicals here.  Except for dish soap, I use only white distilled vinegar and baking soda to clean.  For an all-purpose cleaner, I mix equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, with 20 drops of tea tree oil and 15 drops of lavender oil.  For dish soap, we use Whole Foods 365 Mandarin-Ginger.  It's the same formula as Seventh Generation's, but costs $1.00 less.

Cloth Diapers: besides Babydoll, this is my favorite topic!  BD finally got on the CD train a few weeks ago.  What made that previously unattainable event happen?  GroVia hybrid diapers.  He does often use the disposable inserts, but they contain much less SAP than regular disposables, and they're biodegradable.  Woot!  For a nighttime diaper, I use Rump-a-Rooz G2 one-size pocket diapers, stuffed with a Baby Kicks hemp insert, Hemp Babies insert, and the large Rump-a-Rooz microfiber insert.  For daytime, Happy Heinys one-size pockets and bumGenius 4.0 one-size pockets remain in rotation, along with a couple of BumCheeks I picked up from BabySteals.  I use cloth wipes from Under the Nile and GroVia, and I make a wipe solution of California Baby Diaper Area Wash and water in a small spray bottle.  I just spray as needed and wipe her down.

Food Storage: Anchor Hocking and Kinetic Go Green glass storage containers.  No need to worry about BPA leaching into our food, or stained and stinky plastic containers cluttering up my cupboards.  I keep Babydoll's food in Green Sprouts containers.

Baby Food: except for her cereal and puffs, I make her food.  It's simple, takes about ten minutes from start to finish, and it ensures that we know exactly whats's going into her little tummy.  We use Earth's Best Rice Cereal and Oatmeal, and Happy Baby Puffs.

Baby Wash and Lotion: California Baby Calming Bodywash and Lotion.  On the VERY rare occasion she gets diaper rash, a dab of their Calming Diaper Rash Cream.  Actually...in the five months this kiddo's been in cloth, I think we've only had one occurrence of diaper rash.  Yay cloth!

What else do you want to know?  I'm a researching fool, and yes, I do research damn near everything that comes into our home.  Obsessed?  Me?