The EcoChic

I’m growing up and branching out!  I would like to introduce to you Eco Mom Media.  My newest blog project.  Eco Mom Media has a few goals.

1.  Eco-Friendly Twitter Parties.  Oh yeah, baby!  The hottest trend to hit Twitter.  If you are a company looking for more customers or a fellow reader looking for innovative eco-friendly products you will want to check out our Twitter parties.  Our premiere party is scheduled for Earth Day, April 22nd.  Go check out #GetRealDiapers and see what it is all about. 

2.  Tips.  Regular blog posts will include topics on how to use Twitter, Facebook, and your blog to reach more readers and/or customers.  If you are a blogger, I will be providing my personal advice on how I got started with blogging and using social media to gain readers.  If you are a business, I will be providing you with advice on how to reach more customers using social media networks. 

3.  Social Media Consulting.  I’m available by the hour to help you meet your goals.  Let me help customize your social media marketing plan. 

Don’t worry, I will continue to write here as well.  I will continue to provide product reviews and host eco-friendly giveaways.  Eco Mom Media will provide me with another outlet to help you all reach your goals.  Thanks again for continuing to follow The Eco Chic and I look forward to working with you and partying with you at Eco Mom Media. 

Be sure to follow Eco Mom Media on Twitter and Facebook for the latest events and announcements.

Giveaway Alert! One lucky reader will win an EcoSMART Safe Home Value Bundle (Value $24).  Details following this post. 

Living in Florida I have encountered more bugs than I know what to do with.  Our specialty (so to speak) down here is Palmetto bugs.  Now, for anyone who doesn’t live in Florida, a Palmetto bug is a giant cockroach.  We just don’t like the name roach…Palmetto bug sounds so much nicer…but there is NOTHING nice about a Palmetto bug.  I don’t care how clean your home is I don’t know a home in Florida that doesn’t have a few Palmetto bugs residing inside.  Unfortunately they like to come out when 1) you have company over, or 2) at night right before you go to bed.  My skin is crawling just talking about them. 

Being a mom, especially a green mom, I hate spraying chemicals around my home.  My husband will spray a few times a year (usually right after I scream from seeing a really big one) but it still makes me nervous.  Lil’ B is at that age where everything is on the ground and everything goes into the mouth (including dog food and day old crumbs).  When EcoSMART approached me about doing a product review I was honest with them…I told them I don’t normally buy pesticides and I hate to use them.  BUT…I also hate Palmetto bugs. 

I got my bottle of EcoSMART Organic Home Pest Control in the mail and had to try it immediately.  Especially after I had just seen one of those nasty Palmettos in MY PANTRY!  I read over the label and here are some of the important facts that I noticed:

1. SAFE around children & pets 
2. Non-toxic
3. Made from a blend of organic plant oils
4. Exempt from registration under FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act)
5. Made in the USA (Alpharetta, GA actually…not far from my hometown!)
6. 100% FDA safe ingredients (that means you can use it around food!!)

They also list all of the ingredients on the back of the package.  Here is a sample of those ingredients: clove oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, thyme oil, water, octadecenoic acid potassium salt, lecithin, 2-phenethyl propionate.  Now chemistry was NOT my strongest subject in college so I’ll save the analysis for the experts.  

So I emptied my pantry (throwing away anything that was older than my baby!) and gave it a try.  Immediately I noticed that because of the plant based oils the EcoSMART product had a very strong smell.  It was a nice clean smell but it was strong.  If you are sensitive to clove/peppermint/thyme/rosemary you may want to leave the room for a few minutes.  I finished cleaning the pantry, reorganized (my best friend was so proud), and returned the food to it’s home. 

That’s was about three weeks ago.  I haven’t seen or heard anything in that area since spraying the EcoSMART.  I also used it in my bedroom where I had recently found a school of ants near my window (leaky old window seal).  The ants died immediately and haven’t returned either. 

After this past week and our most recent guests (a swarm of africanized honey bees) that took up residence on the outside of our home I’m sending my husband outside to spray around all the doors and windows.  PS…call the professionals if you notice a swarm of bees…these were the bad type and could have killed us if we tried to exterminate them ourselves.  Here is a cute picture of our little swarm.  They are now all residing in bee heaven!

Buy it!  If you are looking for safe pesticides and bug repellants try EcoSMART.  You can save 15% off and get free shipping on orders over $45 with coupon code ECOBLOGGER22.  Decide for yourself if EcoSMART is smart for your family. 

Win it!Win a Safe Home Value Bundle (value $24) here.  All you have to do is visit the EcoSMART website and tell me what your favorite product is.  Leave your comment below along with your name and email address. 

Extra entry:  The only extra entry for this contest is for my readers who use Twitter.  Follow me and tweet about this giveaway (max 2 per day entry).  Leave me a comment below with a link to your tweet.

Contest is open to residence of the USA over the age of 18 yrs.  Must have a valid email address to enter.  Contest will end on Friday, March 19th, 2010 (midnight EST). 

Good luck!                  

Are you curious about the products I talk my views and the products I talk about?  Be sure to read my disclosure and privacy policies.

I’ve been told that I can find the silver lining in most clouds.   The last few weeks have personally been challenging for me.  Our family has been battling winter illnesses (colds, sinus infections, and the likes) and we are still today coughing and hacking.  Thankfully you can’t catch it from reading this…but I wouldn’t want to step into my house today.  Which reminds me, I think I’m going to hire a maid for a very DEEP cleaning of the entire house and I need to go buy everyone new toothbrushes.  Isn’t it funny what you think about after you get sick? 

Anyways…in addition to all the germs floating around my house I’ve received some scary news about the health of others in my family.  But like most people, we will learn to accept the cards that we have been dealt and treasure the moments we have today.  I know..I sound like a cheesy Hallmark card…but sometimes life gives you so much that there is nothing else you can do but look for that silver lining.  Take a step back and remember what matters most in your life.  It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and focus all your energy on work, extra-curricular activities for the kids, and other daily activities…but what really matters most in life is relationships with those you love. 

Last week I received an email from Erin, an editor at the Southern Living Magazine, and asked if she could feature me as their Mama Blogger of The Week.  This came on the same day as some pretty scary news.  I was all excited and giddy as I sat there and read her email over and over again.  I went and read about some of the past Mama Bloggers of the Weeks and I feel honored to be among these other great mama’s.  Thank you Erin for all your kind words and for the recognition.

So…go check it out.  Go visit the Southern Living, Live Healthy blog and see what it’s all about.  There are great articles about health, wellness, and the environment.  Leave me your comments over there so next time I have a bad day I can read your kind words and remember why I continue to write.  To build relationships, to help one another through these tough times, and to share my passion with the environment with everyone.  

Thank you for continuing to support me.  It’s gonna be one tough year…but I’m ready with my blender to make some lemonade (or maybe a margarita)!  Anyone else thirsty?

So maybe Lil’ B won’t appreciate National Tell a Fairy Tale Day this year (unless she gets to eat the book) but reading is a wonderful gift to our children.  I have been reading to my oldest son since he was just a baby…almost every day.  He’s turned into a very successful reader, so successful that he’s actually reading above his grade level at school. 

Here are some ideas for sharing National Tell a Fairy Tale Day with your children, no matter how old they are. 

1.  Share your favorite fairy tale with your kids.  I wonder if Little Red Ridinghood will become our new favorite story since Lil’ B has red hair? 

2.  Play dress up and turn yourself and your children into characters from a favorite story.  Big brother would have fun dressing up as the big bad wolf. 

3.  Have your kids put on a puppet show of their favorite fairy tale.

4.  Help turn your child’s room into a scene from their favorite fairy tale. 

5.  Make a fairy tale inspired craft.  I really like the Little Red Ridinghood toilet paper characters on DLTK’s website.  What a great way to reuse those pesky TP rolls.

Sprout Baby online store has some cute eco-friendly toys that will help inspire your children to use their imagination.  I really like PlanToys wooden tea set.  Don’t forget to use coupon code SBBL055 at Sprout Baby and save 15% off your first purchase.  I’m part of their Word of Mom program and can earn a little extra money if you enter that code when making your purchase (Thanks!).  After you place your first purchase you can join the Word of Mom program too…look under their affiliate program. 

Now, I think I need to go find a copy of Little Red Ridinghood for my Lil’ Red!  What is your favorite fairy tale?  What will you do to share National Tell a Fairy Tale with your kids today?

I recently asked my readers, sponsors, and fellow bloggers if they had what it takes to be ECO-TERRIFIC!

In the future I will be selecting only one winner each month but since it is the first month I would like to thank three special people who I think are ECO-TERRIFIC:

1. Rockin Green Soap- I’d like to personally thank Kim and recognize Rockin Green Soap as a new Eco-Sponsor of The Eco Chic blog. Rockin Green Soap is a 100% phosphate free laundry detergent that is great for all your laundry needs; including babies, sensitive skin, and cloth diapers. Be sure to visit Rockin Green and pick up a sample (or ten) of their fabulous scented (and unscented) laundry soap.  You can follow @RockinGreenSoap on Twitter.

2.  Retro Housewife Goes Green Blog- Lisa is a freelance environmental writer in Oklahoma who blogs about her own journey to go green. Her blog topics include recycling and local eco-topics, along with topics like Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Certainly you can find a topic on her blog that you can relate to.  You can also follow Lisa on Twitter @RetroHousewife5.

 3.  EcoBabyBuys.com- a one-deal-a-day website that offers at least 40% off retail prices on eco-friendly, non-toxic and fairly traded products for babies, children, and expectant parents.  Their story is evidence that one person can make a difference.  For the past month, the EcoBabyBuys.com staff has taken only public transportation when traveling to, from and for work. They have pounded miles of pavement on their feet, taken subways and buses and even a sled! But no member of their staff has been in a car or even a taxi for work since the start of 2010. Additionally, EcoBabyBuys.com has mailed over 3300 packages since January 1st and each of these has been delivered to the post office on foot!  WOW!  Be sure to follow @EcoBabyBuys on Twitter to see what new deal they have each day.  As an extra bonus EcoBabyBuys has a refer a friend program.  For every friend you refer they will send you a $10 e-gift certificate after that friend makes a purchase at EcoBabyBuys.  Be sure to tell them that The Eco Chic sent you and you too can begin earning rewards! 

Do you have what it takes to be Eco-Terrific?  Want to be my April featured sponsor, company, or blogger?  Be sure to submit your nomination by March 15th.  For details be sure to read the directions for submission. 

Wow, that’s one heck of a title!  If you are anything like me SEO is a bit intimidating!  What the heck is SEO?  Search Engine Optimization!  Still lost? 

So am I!  I’ve been blogging for over 2 years now (publicly – 4 years privately) and it was a slow start.  I basically wrote about stuff that interested me and hoped that people would come to read it.  I wasn’t sure if anyone actually visited The Eco Chic besides my friends and family. 

Now, over 2 years later…I know that I have readers!  Not only do I have readers but I also have a few sponsors.  I can finally say that I’ve made a little bit of money blogging…and it’s not by Pay Per Post…which is how I started!  Not to knock programs like PPP but it just wasn’t for me.  I mean, do I really want to write about space heaters in Florida??  I’m certainly not making enough to quit my day job (yet) but that’s certainly a dream of mine. 

This year I’ve started paying more attention to what the big bloggers are doing.  I’m planning on attending my first blogger conference later this year (and still looking for a few good sponsors), I’m learning what SEO means, I’m learning how to use Photoshop, and just trying to dive into the technical side of things.  I’m learning about all the networking groups for bloggers…Type A Mom, BlogHer, Mom Select, and so many more places to meet other mom bloggers.  

My most recent find is Kelby Carr (founder of Type A Mom and many other great projects) and her new ebook, Mom Blog SEO: 30 Days to Boost Traffic, Readers, Influence and Income.  Click here to visit Mom Blog SEO. I’ve been reading Kelby’s ebook this past week and it’s all starting to click!  It’s like pieces of the blogging puzzle are FINALLY starting to come together!  My greatest challenge blogging is that I’m not a researcher when it comes to the techie stuff.  I barely have the time to blog, work, and keep up with my family!  Who has time to learn what SEO is and why it matters?  Kelby’s book is great because it assigns a daily task for you to complete!  And it’s not hard stuff…stuff I’m already doing (kinda) but just didn’t know I was doing…or why I was doing it.  Tasks that help me to change the way I’m currently thinking so that search engines (like Google) will be able to find my blog before it finds the thousands of other blogs in this vast blogosphere!

If you are just getting started or if you are looking for ways to improve what is already there, this is the best $19.99 that you will spend!  Spend it now, before you waste 2 years trying to figure it all out on your own. 

I don’t have it all figured out (yet) but with Kelby’s help I will be one step closer to my dream!  My dream of turning my hobby into a career!  Will you join me in my journey? 

I paid for my copy of Kelby’s ebook and was not paid to write a glowing review of her work.  I have however signed up for her affiliate program and can earn money if you buy her book!  That doesn’t change my opinions…but it encourages me to share it with all of you…instead of keeping her wisdom and secrets all to myself! 

What’s in your diaper bag?  Want to see what’s in mine?  You’ll have to go see my guest post on I Love Cloth Diapers, the blog of Soft Bums diapers. 

Visit the Soft Bums blog every Monday as I continue my guest post series.  Next week I will provide you some tips to gain the support of your family and friends with cloth diapering.  After all, not everyone is as enthusiastic as you are about cloth diapers.

Giveaway alert! One lucky reader will win a BabyKicks Bumboo Pocket Diaper and a Premium Duz-it-All. Details following post.  Closed! Eco-ngratulations to DebbieLG @MSU_MOM_TO_2 you are the winner!

Despite how lame I know this is going to sound…I got a total KICK out of BabyKicks newest diaper, the Bumboo pocket. I mean seriously, look how adorable it is when it arrives in the mail.

BabyKicks is a small family owned business that hand makes about 90% of their products in Maryland. In addition to their new Bumboo pocket diaper they also sell fitted diapers, pre-folds, nursing pads, burp pads, and blankets.

When the Bumboo first arrived I was in love with the softness of the inside and the interesting leg gussets. The Bumboo is a one-sized diaper that fits babies from 7lbs to 30lbs (comparable to most one-sized diapers). As you can tell from the picture above it has snaps but they are side snapping. Side snapping simply means you don’t snap the diaper by pulling the side tabs to the front…instead you pull the front snaps to the side. It actually takes a little while to get use to it but I like it. Although I fear that if you had a very hefty baby or toddler that it might be snug around the middle. (updated 2/23/09…BabyKicks is working on a new wing design to correct this potential issue with size!). One advantage of the side snap is that it prevents tab droop. The snaps are available in green (as shown here), blue or multi-colored.

I mentioned the interesting leg gussets. They are soft bamboo/fleece like the inside barrier but there is no PUL. It’s amazingly soft on their little legs but I feared that it would leak….guess what? It didn’t! The leg gussets were designed like this for 2 reasons: 1) to reduce rubbing on your babies legs, and 2) for better air flow (thus reducing the possibility of rash).

The Bumboo is a front loading pocket which allows for a more trim fit and helps to prevent that extra fluff in the rear. It comes with one Joey-Bunz 100% hemp insert. I love hemp inserts….they are so trim and so absorbent. My only other hemp insert came with our GADBaby diaper which Lil’ B recently outgrew (boo!). Why hemp? Hemp is super absorbent and anti-microbial (no bacteria or mildew here). Look at this pic of Lil’ B and you can tell that the Bumboo pocket really does have a nice trim fit.

Did you know that hemp is better for the environment than cotton? Hemp does not deplete the soil and actually adds rich nitrogen back into the soil. This allows growers to use less fertilizers and reduces the need for crop rotation.

But it now! The Bumboo pocket diaper sells for an amazingly low $18.50…this is incredibly LOW for a diaper of this quality! It’s very difficult to find a diaper with organic cotton and bamboo for less than $20-25 each. You can buy the Bumboo pocket diapers directly on their website or at many cloth diaper retailers nationwide.

Win it now! Visit the BabyKicks website and leave a comment below telling me one interesting fact about hemp. This is a mandatory entry.

Extra entries: (Leave an individual comment for each extra entry.)
1. Follow me on Google Friend Connect.
2. Follow both @TheEcoChic and @BabyKicksUSA on Twitter. Tweet about this giveaway a maximum of 2 times per day. **Be sure to include @TheEcoChic and @BabyKicksUSA along with a link back to this post in your tweet.
3. Subscribe to have The Eco Chic blog delivered to your inbox via Feedburner.
4. Add The Eco Chic blog to your Google Feed Reader or other RSS reader.
5. Add my button to your blog and/or blog about this giveaway.

Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Must be over 18yrs old to enter. Contest will end on March 8th at midnight (EST).

Good luck!

ECO-ngratulations DebbieLG @MSU_MOM_TO_2 You are the winner! Watch your email for details on claiming your diaper!

Last weekend I spent some time away with my parents, my kids, my brother and his family. I love my sister-in-law and I’m so excited that they are close by finally. They have always lived several states away so it’s nice to have them 2 hrs. away!

The talk quickly turned to blogging and cloth diapering. Because I don’t think it’s possible for me NOT to bring those two subjects up in a conversation.

My SIL actually tried cloth diapers with her son (now three) for a short period of time but stopped because of the poop!

Poop? Yes, all babies poop! She revealed to me a strong dislike for poop. Not a normal ‘poop is gross’ dislike…a very extreme dislike.

She brought up the biodegradeable diapers and how she thought they offered a better benefit to most people than cloth…still good for the environment. Hmmmm…she must not know much about how these diapers degrade. I mean they need ideal conditions in a compost pile before they can begin to degrade. You can’t just send them to a landfill in the trash bag and expect them to degrade. Did you know that??

After a brief lesson in biodegredation I asked her more about this poop factor. Was she willing to let poop sit in her compost pile in her back yard? No! she would just prefer to send it away. Her fear of poop goes even farther…she doesn’t want poop in her washer. She said it was gross to think about poopy water and clean clothes. It’s really just an image of poop really since you flush the poop before you wash it (unless it’s breastfeeding poop that is water soluble).

So I continued to question her…afterall we’ve all experienced disposable poop-plosion haven’t we? What did she do when poop got on his baby clothes?? Want to know her answer?

She threw those clothes away!! That’s how extreme her poop issues are!! She wouldn’t even wash poopy clothes in the washer. I was just in shock! I was at a loss for words.

Nothing I could do or say would shine a positive light on poop. There is nothing I could do or say that would change her mind. It’s a great reminder that cloth diapers may not be for every parent…but it’s a great story to share.

I personally don’t care about poop…I’ve had poop on my hands! It’s just a part of parenting and I’m ok with that. What about you? Does poop bother you? How do you deal with poop?

From my iPhone so please excuse any typos!

As I lay here in bed typing away on my iPhone, too scared to pull out the laptop in fear of waking the wee ones, I am pondering the weekend that has appeared.

Today will be spent at the Little League field with the Opening Ceremonies. It’s going to be a little different this year since the hubs and I aren’t coaching. Instead I have a new role, recycling coordinator!

The past 6 months I’ve worked to implement recycling at the fields. The only element that I didn’t finish is the signage. I’m out of printer ink so posters will have to wait. I just hope people are smart enough to realize that the trash can next to the recycling bin is where the trash goes! Seems like such a simple concept, right??

The rest of the weekend?? Recovering from a round of colds. Designing our bathroom remodel. And whatever else comes our way. Maybe I’ll even find some time to pull out the laptop and write.

For now, the iPhone is being set aside as I hear the babbles from Lil B.

What are your plans for the weekend?