In honor of our beautiful planet and the wonderful experiences and people it provides us, here are 5 blogs that offer some great ways to lend a hand in keeping the Earth healthy, all while having fun with your kiddos improving your home.
From Babierge to you, have a wonderful Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Spring 2018!
Ingenious Ways to Reuse Baby Gear
Baby clothes, blankets, toys, potty trainers, cribs – parents can extend the shelf lives of all these items by creatively repurposing them into all kinds of things: book shelves, porch benches, plant feeders, and new stuffed animals. These projects will have your old baby gear working for you instead of sitting in a dumpster.
- Clothes into Companions – There are so many different items you can make with your baby’s old clothes and blankets. Rather than donating them, you can always consider creating a new stuffed animal, quilt, pillow, or headband for your baby.
- Cribs into Porch Benches – Got an old or broken crib? You can turn that into a beautiful porch bench, with very little work or skill required.
- Toys into Treasure – Reusing toys is just a matter of imagination and creativity. Have extra trucks lying around? They can be used as planters for flowers and succulents in your garden. Or, grab a 2×4 piece of wood and superglue toy figures on to create a coat hanger your kids will love.
- Gear into Cash – If you have extra quality baby gear in excellent condition lying around and want to make some extra income, Babierge awaits. Babierge helps you start your own baby gear rental business renting out cribs, car seats, highchairs, toys and more to traveling families.
- Make it a Contribution – Watch what gets played with and what doesn’t. If it doesn’t get played with then it becomes donation material.
Organic and Green Products for Baby
Often times green products are not just healthy for Mother Nature, they’re also healthier for our bodies. When it comes to baby products this is especially true. Babies grow rapidly and each thing they interact with has the potential to affect their health, for better or worse. Here are some basic starting points to keep your baby healthy and happy with environmentally friendly products.
- Teething – The American Association of Pediatricians policy states that any teething toy or pacifier your baby uses should be BPA, PVC, and phthalate free.
- Bath Time – Newborns only need a sponge bath and rinse with warm water. Once a baby is a couple months old green products are a great choice as they are free of chemicals that can irritate skin.
- Crib Sheets – Newborns sleep more than half a day on average, so a healthy sleeping place is important. Consider organic cotton sheets that are soft, chemical free, and most importantly, cozy. How you launder is important – an all-clear detergent, no perfumes/dyes.
- Bottles – The bottles humans drink from are surprisingly impactful. Even when bottles are certified BPA free, they can give off other harmful chemicals. For babies and mommies, glass bottles and high-quality, green baby bottles are safest.
Spring Cleaning Baby Gear Storage Tips
Are you constantly assaulted by toy mines waiting to attack your feet at any moment as you meander through your own home? Veteran TP Bethany Baker has a patented organization system that will both protect your soles, and teach your children about organization and tidiness.
- Yes Pile, No Pile – First minimize by getting rid of anything you or your children don’t use or doesn’t bring you joy.
- *Protip: If you are struggling to get rid of something for sentimental reasons take a picture of it. That way you can save it without it taking up any space.
- Sort it Out – Sort the stuff you’re keeping by item size so you know how much of each category and you can get the right sized container.
- Store it Well – Store smaller things in containers that stack securely on top of each other, or the green option: diaper boxes. It’s free and the boxes are smaller and easier to move around.
- Clean it – It’s important to make sure everything is clean before you store it. We like Babyganics brand or similar organic cleaners for sanitizing toys and soft items.
- Have a System – Clear tubs you can see into without opening are great, but color coordinating categories with colored tubs is preferable for others.
- Document it – Label the tubs with a general category and then list the contents. For example, “Craft Supplies: paper, cutting utensils, adhesives, ribbon, stickers, popsicle sticks.”
Join the Green Rental Movement
Aside from offering cash saving solutions to classic consumer issues, the emerging sharing economy is also quite green in nature. Owning less stuff = less garbage later. Below are some great ways to leverage the sharing economy to save some money and reduce your family’s environmental footprint.
- Easy One-Offs – Need a jogging stroller for a mommy & baby run? Taking the family on a hike? Don’t buy gear that will spend of its time on a shelf. Save money, and the planet, by renting gear you will seldom use.
- Upgrade Your Celebration – If you’re hosting fifteen or twenty children for a birthday party and need extra trains, toys, games or even a complete soft play zone, stay green and reduce your carbon footprint by renting gear instead of purchasing new.
- Try Before You Buy – Before you purchase that expensive jogging stroller, only to find it’s a challenge to get it in and out of your car and, as a result, doesn’t get much use, rent it for a few days to make sure it’s right for you.
- Use it or Lose it – Babies age out of some gear rather quickly. Consider renting equipment, like infant swings, that have a short shelf life but a high sticker price.
Earth Day Garden Projects With Children
Earth day is all about enjoying the world we inhabit and showing it our love and respect. What better way to honor the world than to contribute to it with the ones you love and show them how wonderfully beautiful it is? Here are some great garden projects to share your appreciation of the earth with your children.
- Start from Scratch – A superb way to introduce gardening to your children is the bucket garden experiment. Just give each child three things: A big bucket, lots of happy soil, and seeds from their favorite plants and flowers. Put it all together and add water!
- From Plaything to Flower Pot – Old RC cars, stacking toys, aquariums, and whatever else the imagination comes up with can become a plant feeder. Why buy another flower pot when you have an old potty chair?
- Plant a Pizza Garden – Create some excitement with a garden that comes with a pizza guarantee – kids are more willing to plant tomatoes, onions, peppers, and other veggies they love on their ‘zza.
- Use it then Reuse it – There’s great lesson in conservation and creativity in saving all the water bottles you produce this month and turning them into nifty hanging tomato planters.
- Bring in the Butterflies – If your children enjoy butterflies, hummingbirds, or ladybugs, you can plant plants that entice these beautiful creatures.
Earth day is all about enjoying the world we inhabit and showing it our love and respect. What better way to honor the world than to contribute to it with the ones you love and show them how wonderfully beautiful it is?
