Why Can't I Throw Away The Dang Socks?!

Everyone has this problem I am pretty sure. Annie over at Mama Dweeb blogged about the Solo Socks dilemma the other day and I swore I was going to throw all of ours out. But I didn't.

This is what our laundry basket looks like.

I just did all of the laundry and these are all these stragglers. Where, oh where can the lost socks be??

Why can't I just throw these lonely socks away??

Look what happens to them all...

(I forgot to mention the lone newborn t-shirt that I don't know what to do with. The Bubby last wore it about 16 months ago!)

How can we keep from losing socks? Is this just one of those things in life that happen, no matter what we do? If so, then what can we do with all of our sock singletons beside throwing them away? I just can't bring myself to do it.

All you creative mama's please help me! Give me some fun, crafty ideas!

And the winner of the Hookeez giveaway is...

Congratulations and enjoy your Hookeez!

Cloth Diapering Carnival VI - Operation Fluffy

This month's Cloth Diaper Carnival topic is Get Cloth Diapers on The Ellen Show.  Why, you may ask. Because not many people know about the modern cloth diaper options. When you mention cloth diapers, most people automatically think pins, plastic pants, and poop. Well, it's not like that anymore...unless you choose that way. And who better to get the word out than Ellen?!

So, we cloth diapering bloggers are doing our best to get Ellen's attention using all of the social media options available. This social media blitz is taking place in phases. Check out Dirty Diaper Laundry for more information. It's going to be fun! I've been doing my share of tweeting cute "fluffy butt" pictures to @TheEllenShow and took some video of the Bubby dancing in nothing but a cloth diaper. And now, my open letter to Ellen.

Dear Ellen,

I am writing you in hopes that you will consider doing a feature on cloth diapers on your show. Most people do not know about the great cloth diaper options that are available, and thus, don't even consider cloth as an option. The truth is, modern cloth diapers are very similar to disposables, except you wash and reuse them. Gone are the days of pins and plastic pants.

Why should people even consider cloth diapers?
Here are a few reasons:
1. They are better for our children.
2. They will save money.
3.They are better for the environment.
4. They are cute as can be!

Did you know that disposable diapers contain dioxin, tributyl-tin, and sodium polyacrylate? Dioxin is a carcinogenic chemical listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. Tributyl-tin (TBT) is a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. And sodium polyacrylate, the super absorbent stuff, used to be in tampons until it was revealed that it increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome.* Would you want those chemicals wrapped around you 24 hours a day for 2-3 years?

I started cloth diapering for one reason; to save money. I will have saved over $1500 by the time my son is potty trained. That's nothing to shake a stick at! In these tough economic times, wouldn't it be great to show people how to save money by using cloth diapers?!

After using cloth for a while, I began to learn about the environmental impact of disposable diapers versus cloth. There are naysayers that want to claim that cloth isn't any better for the environment (because of the water used to wash them) than disposables, but that's just not true. The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth. In addition, an estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used every year in the U.S. and 92% of them end up in landfills.* Just sitting there. Full of chemicals and human waste, which leaches into our water systems. Just sitting there, for the next who knows how many years. No one knows how long because one has yet to decompose! Do you think most people consider that when choosing to use disposables? I know I didn't know any of this when I (regretfully) used disposables on my first child. Shouldn't people be informed of this?

And lastly, how can you resist this cuteness?!

It's about time cloth diapers are exposed for how great they are. Us cloth diapering moms (and dads) know how easy they are, how much better they are for our kiddos and the environment, and how much money you can save by using them. Unfortunately, we are in the minority. Hopefully, if we can get you to showcase the modern cloth diapers on your show, we can change that! There are so many options and we want to share them with anyone that will listen.

Can you help us get the word out about a better option?

Do it for the kids, do it for the earth, do it because if people know better, they do better!

Sincerely,



*Thanks to Real Diaper Association for the helpful facts!

Sensational Haiku Wednesday - Reality

The basics:
Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week's theme is: Reality

I work from home and
I am a stay at home mom.
It's not glamorous.

Always a mom first.
Always trying to get work done.
It's hard to balance.

Got diapers to change,
kids to feed, a house to clean.
Lots to keep up with.

Somehow it gets done.
It's crazy. This is my life.
My reality.



Now go on over to You know...that Blog? and add your Haiku to the list! You know you want to!

EcoSmart Organic Pesticide Products - A green giveaway!

I'm looking out my window and all I can see is snow. It's a winter wonderland outside. It's beautiful, cold, wet, and...insect free. I'm not a big fan of the cold weather, and prefer to stay bundled up inside, but one good thing about it is the lack of insects! I know it might be a little early to be thinking about insects, or insect control, but I'm a planner and I've got a new plan for keeping my lawn (and myself) insect-free.

This year I'm going to use organic pesticide products from EcoSMART. They are the world leader in safe pesticide solutions and make the only 100% safe insecticides that are proven to work. 100% safe!

How do they do that? They use natural plant oils (Thyme, Rosemary, Cinnamon, Wintergreen, and Lemongrass, just to name a few) otherwise known as essential oils. Their blends of natural plant oils are as effective as synthetic chemicals, but contain no harmful toxins or leave harmful residues. They are safe for people and their pets, as well as other mammals, birds and fish. Not only are they safe, they smell good too!

Why is this important to me? Because we spend a lot of time outside when it's warm, and I don't want to worry about bugs and/or toxic chemicals. And not only because my children like to play in the yard, but because we have 4 dogs and whatever is on our lawn gets tracked inside. I personally don't want toxic chemicals tracked all over my house!

EcoSMART offers a whole line of safe organic pesticide products. All are 100% safe for everything but the bugs! EcoSMART also offers a 100% safe Organic Weed Killer and a Garden Fungicide. They've covered all the bases when it comes to keeping your home and yard insect and weed free!

There are so many of their products that I am excited to use this year! They offer value bundles of their products and the one I'm particularly interested in is the Safe Lawn and Outdoor Value Bundle. Buying the bundle saves you over 18%. You get Weed and Grass Killer, Wasp and Hornet Killer, Lawn Insect Killer, and Insect Repellent for $31. Seems like a pretty good price for 100% safe organic pesticide products!

And now for the fun part! EcoSMART has offered to give one of my readers the Safe Lawn and Outdoor Value Bundle for free! You can't beat that price! But you can't win if you don't enter! 

To Enter:

Mandatory Entry:

Visit EcoSMART and tell me what product you would use the most . Be sure to leave your email address in your comment. I need a way to contact you if you win!

Extra Entries:
After completion of the mandatory entry you are eligible for any of these additional entries. Remember to leave a separate comment for each additional entry!

• Follow my blog publicly through Google friend connect. If you already follow, that counts too!
• Grab my button and post it on your sidebar. Be sure to leave the url where it is posted. (2 entries)
• Subscribe to my blog via email. The sign up box is on the top of the right sidebar.
• Subscribe to my blog in a reader. The sign up box is on the top of the right sidebar.
• Blog about this giveaway. Be sure to link back to my site and leave the URL where you blogged in your comment. (3 entries)
• Follow ecocheapmom on Twitter. Please include your Twitter name in comment. (1 entry)
• Tweet for additional entries. Up to 3x per day. Please leave a link to your tweet and don't forget to mention @ecocheapmom in your tweet. Feel free to tweet this: Enter to #win EcoSmart organic pesticides and repellents from @ecocheapmom! http://bit.ly/ai7xQ3 #eco #giveaway ends 2/14

Good Luck!

Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 14th, 2010 at 9:00 p.m.(EST). The winner will be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email and announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

***EcoSMART sent me product to review. I was not compensated in any other way and the statements above are my own honest opinion.***