Mommy Goes Green

I may not be writing here regularly but you can find me contributing every month at Simple Organic and The Creative Mama.  I also post interesting articles and tips on the Mommy Goes Green Facebook .  Please stop by for a visit!

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When we had our oldest, I used our rocking chair incessantly.  It was cream colored and after several years of use, it was stained in so many places.  It was a good quality chair and I didn’t want to toss it so I decided to have a slipcover made for it.  I chose white fabric – I know, white in a kid’s room - but I just love how crisp, clean and classic white is. 

I’ve used the chair for 10 months now, snuggling up with my baby before bedtime.  Last week I noticed the cover had a few stains on it so it was time to peel it off and wash it.  Not only did it have the normal dirty fingerprints but it also had dried milk from spilled bottles and denim rub off from my new jeans.  I’d like to think that I would wash my slipcovers every month or so but let’s face it – not at the top of my ‘to do’ list.  So it had been a few months and I was worried those stains weren’t coming out.

I hosed the slipcover down with my new favorite stain remover, poured some chlorine-free bleach in for good measure and threw it in the wash on cold.

Not bad for Round 1 – all the fingerprints and blue jean stains came out. It was the milk that didn’t come out, something I didn’t expect.

On Round 2, I followed the same steps with the stain remover on the milk only, a couple ounces of chlorine-free bleach but I used warm water this time. 

And it worked.  Perfectly white slipcover again.

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Over the next three weekends in October, The Home Depot is hosting FREE Energy Saving workshops.  On Saturday, Oct 16, 23 and 30, the workshop will be held from 1-2 pm at your local store. 

Topics include:

• Identify several exclusive Eco Options and Energy Star rated products that can help you start saving on energy costs in the Fall

• Begin weatherizing your home with a range of low-cost sealants and insulation that make your home more comfortable and save you money

• Learn about other easy to install products that help you get the most electricity and water bills

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Simple Organic shares 5 Simple Home Remedies That Really Work.  Skip the Tums and try peppermint essential oil in water or DIY chest rub for those winter colds.  Many great ideas you can put together yourself – saving you money at the drugstore and using natural ingredients.

Group buying is the thing now and I’ve gotten some great deals on the sites.  Groupon, Living Social – you’ve heard of them and they all have similar deals that are 50% or more off products and services. In fact, I often find the same deal on Groupon one day and then on Mobba the next.  But Roozt has it’s own twist – they only feature socially responsible companies that are eco-friendly, ethical, humanitarian, and/or community conscious.  For example, today’s Roozt dealwas $18 for $33 worth of mineral makeup from Alima Pure.

On Healthy Child’s blog, they talk about how Health Care Begins with a Grocery Cart and I couldn’t agree more! I really believe the better we feed our bodies, the healthier we are.  My son has had terrible eczema for a couple months and we found that eliminating some food in his diet immediately made it disappear. I’ll be talking about that next week but it’s just another example that garbage in = garbage out.

A great way to furnish your home is with new to you furniture.  It’s less expensive and you’re keeping it out of a landfill.  You can find inexpensive, quality items on Freecycle and Craigslist.   For inspiration, I go to some of my favorite blogs – these ladies can turn junk into treasure. I’m constantly amazed and inspired.  Just A Girl, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Lettered Cottage and Centsational Girl.

I have a major sweet tooth and often vow to cut back.  Keeper of the Home has a great post on “Cutting Down on Sugar: 21 Ways to Eat Less Sugar“. 

What are YOUR favorite blogs or posts of the week?  For you bloggers, feel free to share your own favorite topic of the week!

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Need some new jeans?  Take an old pair to Gap and get 30% off a new pair of Gap 1969 jeans.  The Gapwill take your old jeans and use them to create eco-friendly insulation.  If you have a Facebook account, “Like” Gap and get 40% off a new pair!

In March, Gap participated in this event recycling over 270,000 pairs of jeans.  The jeans were recycled into insulation for 500 homes in under served communities and for special projects, including Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts.

It only runs through October 20! I’m all over this – I so need a new pair of jeans!

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.