Dispose of those disposables!

a cloth diaper doubles a bib for Haydee while we were in Guatemala City for almost a month last year

Once we decided to use cloth diapers for our children, we began to consider what else we could switch from disposable to reusable. Once we tried, we discovered that just like cloth diapers, it took no more effort - in fact, frequently, it took less effort - to be green in more areas of our lives. Here’s what we’ve done.

baby products: We’ve had the same tub of disposable wipes for Haydee, our youngest daughter, for over a year and it’s about half-full. They are reserved for travel when we know we won’t be near a water supply. Normally we use flannel wipes in lieu of disposable ones. The reasons are just like the reasons for using cloth diapers: easier on baby, wallet and earth. For Liefe, we cut receiving blankets into rectangles. With the advent of Buzzie Bee Diapers and the homecoming of Haydee, we upgraded to two layers of flannel, sewn together. With cloth wipes and washable swim diapers and/or training pants, there is no reason to run to the store. Here again, cloth saves time and money.

cleaning products: The last time we bought paper towels was when we first moved to Maine, just about four years ago. We actually still have that role. It doesn’t feel right to throw it away. Instead of paper towels, we use rags from old cotton clothes, either stained or otherwise unsuitable to be hand-me-downs. We store them in a canister on the kitchen counter and launder as needed. We save money and reduce the amount of needless waste generated. Plus a clean cotton rag is does as much better job at picking up spills or cleaning up messy hands and faces than a scratchy paper towel.

composting: All vegetable food scraps (including egg shells and coffee grounds) go in a large yogurt container (with a lid) on our kitchen counter. When the container is full, one of us brings it out to the compost bin. We keep our compost bin right off the porch so we’re more likely to use it. Composting also cuts down on the amount of trash we produce. This cuts down on the number of trips we need to take to the dump. And, by composting, we wind up with great soil for our flower and vegetable gardens.

gift bags: When you receive a gift from the Temple family, chances are it’s either wrapped in children’s artwork or it’s in a reusable fabric gift bag. Our bags are likely to be made from scraps of old clothing or other household fabrics - like the remnants from curtains. While we do have some wrapping paper left over from the Day After Christmas sales back in 2000, it’s been so much easier to toss presents into a bag and tie with a beautiful ribbon. We always encourage recipient to reuse the bag.

leftover hats: I’m not sure what the technical or even common name for this. It looks like a shower cap, only its made to cover food. I find them from time to time at Family Dollar. We use them in place of plastic wrap. Then we wash them out with soap and water, hang them to dry and re-use again and again.

picnic basket: Eating outside is an adventure for small children. They love how it changes the routine. Liefe says that food always tastes better on a picnic. Rather than use disposable silverware and paper plates, we have a picnic basket with real silverware and washable, durable plastic dishes. We keep the basket loaded and ready to go.

shopping bags: Over the years, we’ve collected dozens of canvas bags. We use them when we go shopping, whether to the farmers market, the good tern, or even to the pharmacy. Many of our bags have been painted by our girls. It’s a fun, safe and easy project. Using and re-using canvas shopping bags reduces the overstock of plastic bags we previously had in several areas of the kitchen.

table linens: Growing up, my family always used cloth napkins and placemats. I share this practice with my family today. Cloth napkins double as baby blankets and boo-boo bear holders. Plus, it’s much more entertaining to do tricks with cloth napkin than it is with a paper one.

Have you done something else to reduce your consumption of single-use household items? If so, please let me know, I’d love to share more ideas...

Save Time and Money (and the earth, too) by Cleaning with Vinegar

About a month ago, Liefe (my four year old) asked if she could have a chore chart. Since she wasn’t concerned about an allowance or getting paid to do the chores, we agreed. So, she set to work making a list of all the chores she already does. She came up with feeding the dogs, folding her clothes, setting the table, and cleaning the house (or CLN HOZ as she wrote it on her chart). She decided to give herself a sticker when she completed a task on the chart. She challenged herself to fill the entire sheet of paper with stickers. Some days she uses her chart regularly and other days it hangs unnoticed in our kitchen. By far her favorite chore is cleaning up - what four year old doesn’t like a spray bottle!?!

When Liefe is doing chores, I can guarantee that her little sister Haydee is not far behind. They are two very good reasons why we use cleaning products we know are safe. Since they love the spray bottle, it also helps if the products are economical too. Enter: Vinegar. White vinegar is known to kill bacteria, germs and mold, yet it’s harmless to children. (Note: vinegar is likely to be gluten-free as it is not generally made from wheat, but parents of children who are sensitive to gluten should certainly double check, just in case it’s ingested.) As a naturally occurring substance, vinegar is safe for the earth as well.

Equal parts water and vinegar in a clean spray bottle makes an effective cleaning solution for most areas of the home. Vinegar not only cleans, it disinfects and deodorizes as well. The vinegar odor disappears as soon as it dries. We’ve taken the cleaning adventure one step further by cutting old t-shirts into cleaning rags. They don’t unravel in the wash and, unlike paper towels, they can be used over and over again.

With supervision, children learn to be great housekeeping helpers. Haydee’s not quite there yet, but Liefe recently started to clean windows. We use this recipe to avoid streaky windows: 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent in a spray bottle. The liquid soap breaks down the wax left on the windows from a commercial window spray.

We get rid of fruit flies by setting out a small, shallow dish of undiluted white distilled vinegar. If the fruit flies are particularly stubborn (like at our house where we’ve placed the compost bin just outside the kitchen window so that we’ll actually bring things out to the compost), add a teaspoon of sugar and some dish soap. Children enjoy checking this to see how many fruit flies they’ve trapped.

At our house, children who can dress themselves, can help with the laundry. Vinegar comes in handy in the laundry room as well. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent more effectively. This has been great in our family as a few of us have sensitive skin.

It is important to make sure all cleaning supplies are well labeled and kept out of the reach of children. While it’s nice to imagine them cleaning without us, perhaps while we enjoy a nice cup of tea or a well-deserved rest, it’s probably not a great idea to leave them alone with even the vinegar-water solution. By using earth friendly cleaning solutions cleaning with our children, we model yet another way to keep our homes healthy. While Liefe and Haydee are spritzing away, they’re actually learning about personal responsibility and team work. Plus, many hands do make light work. And light work means more time to play...

Buzzing on the Air

Years ago, I majored in English and Theater. I quickly discovered that I liked being backstage infinitely more than being on stage.

For a friend’s thesis, I reluctantly accepted the role of an angel who descends from the ceiling to center stage while playing the flute. For my own thesis, I designed and built the costumes for an equally bizarre performance. From the safely and comfort of a seat in sixth row, I loved seeing my work on stage.

On some level, writing this column has become therapeutic — as it forces me to make the time to reflect on my parenting beliefs. It’s also brought about some name recognition. For example, when I paid by check at the a local hardware store last week, the clerk told me he had read my piece about carbon footprint and how he had shared it with a friend.

So far, the internal and external benefits of Me & The Bee have exceeded my expectations. What I enjoy most is that I do it from home, on my own time, with my own computer, when my children are asleep. I like words. I like being able to think about them before I use them. And I can write, re-write, and re-re-write as much as I like before I send off this column. The process suits me. Just as running a diaper service suits me. Much of the work I do for my business is behind the scenes. I do see my customers, only not that often. And I’ve been able to plan how I want the business to run. Almost two years into it, things are running smoothly and it feels comfortable.

I was pushed out of my comfort zone when I was invited to talk about my business on not one but two upcoming radio shows. The opportunity to promote my business should be welcomed with gratitude and open arms. Like my children, my business will grow in the right direction if given lots of positive attention. So, with that in mind, I took a deep breath and accepted both invitations. The more people who know about the business, the more they are likely to support it. I believe in what I do and why I do it so I imagine I could have an intelligent conversation about it with the hosts. Still, why am I this nervous? Because, unlike words on the computer screen, the spoken word cannot be backspaced or deleted until the right word comes along. Because it’s me who will be interviewed, not my business plan.

Enter two daughters, stage left. Hearing their delicate but knowing voices, I am reminded that for all the planning I do, they balance me by being unwittingly sincere. They say what they mean because they say what immediately comes to mind. I think I’ll follow their lead this time.

Jennifer Moore Temple is the owner of Buzzie Bee Diapers, a cloth diaper service and supply company in Rockland. She can be reached at 542-0505 or via the company Web site, http://www.BuzzieBee.com.

on the air!

Jennifer Moore Temple, owner of Buzzie Bee Diapers, cloth diaper service and supplies, will be featured on the nationally recognized, Maine-based weekly radio talk show, Back to Business. The show is scheduled to air Saturday August 4th, 2-4 PM, on 103.9 FM with rebroadcast on Wednesday August 8th at 8 AM. Back to Business is an interactive advice and news radio program geared specifically towards the creation and success of small businesses. Each week, host Deb Neuman features Maine business owners with a common theme. The August 4th will bring together Maine entrepreneurs who make a business out of making life easier for their customers.

Buzzie Bee Diapers’ mission is to make cloth diapering more accessible so that more midcoast families will chose cloth diapers. Based in Rockland and serving Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties, Buzzie Bee Diapers believes and promotes the short and long-term benefits of cloth diapering, energy efficiency, green laundering, and doing business locally. For more information about Buzzie Bee Diapers visit www.BuzzieBee.com or call 542-0505.

long distance diaper service

this is a gathering of my college friends to welcome the newest of the next generation. little matthew here is wearing buzzie bee diapers, on loan, and his parents wash for him every few days. go bates! go cloth!

3 Simple Steps to Shrink Your Family’s Footprint

Tiny footprints are great. Our family scrapbook contains the tiny footprints of our two daughters. Liefe’s are the smallest with tiny newborn footprints done just hours after her birth. Haydee’s are a tad bigger as they were done a few hours once she came home to Maine at nine-months old. These images reinforce how both how much they’ve grown and how small they still are. Their tiny footprints remind me of my parental responsibilities to raise them well and to tread as lightly as I can on their earth so they can fulfill their obligation to leave the world a more beautiful place.
There are many tools to help us tread lightly on the earth. One is a calculator to compute individual and household carbon footprints - the annual carbon emissions created by daily living. Climate change is caused by excessive greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. An online search produces several such calculators. The Nature Conservancy’s carbon calculator gives clear definitions for often misused terms such as global warming and climate change. It depicts one’s carbon footprint relative to others, helping to put a household’s consumption into perspective. For example, for a household of four, the American average is 110 tons of CO2 annually, the world average is 22, and our family comes in with 44. By mainstream American standards, we’re doing well. Since climate change impacts the entire planet, we could and should be doing more.
Here are some ideas which, if you’re not already doing, will easily reduce your family’s carbon footprint. These can all be done with children. By modeling responsible consumption, we help our children shape the footprint of tomorrow. If you have other ideas, please do share them with me and others.

(1) Use cloth napkins on a regular basis. Cloth serves as a better barrier than paper so you’ll probably only need one per person for each meal. Laundered in cold water, along with the other laundry and hung to dry whenever possible, cloth napkins are better for the environment than their paper counterparts. Napkins can be purchased locally or, if you sew, will sew up quickly and can be made of any washable fabric.
(2) Make every effort to limit the amount of time your car sits idling. In other words, when you’re not using your car, turn it off. For most vehicles, you waste more gas idling for one minute than you do by turning off and restarting your car. So, if you’re going to run in to pick up your children from school, please turn off your car. Or, if you’re the the first car to get stuck in construction traffic and you know you’re going to be sitting there several minutes, turn off your car. An idling car gets zero miles per gallon. The larger the vehicle, the more gas is wasted when idling.
(3) Buy from area farmers and at farmers markets. Supermarket food travels an average of 1,300 miles from farm to table. In addition to helping the environment, you’ll get better tasting foods if you buy things grown or raised close to home. Local food is fresher because its journey is shorter than food shipped from away. Purchasing locally, or growing your own, will cost less and will keep more money in the community’s economy. The Rockland Farmers market is at the Public Landing on Thursdays, 9 a.m. -1 p.m. The Camden Farmers market is on Colcord Avenue, Wednesdays 4:30 p.m. -6:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. -noon. Local food is also available at many farm stands as well as at The Good Tern Food Co-op, 750 Main Street in Rockland.

Why Go Cloth?

Parents are obligated to make millions of decisions. Some small - like which brand of mac&cheese to serve and how often - and some very large decisions - such as choosing a child care provider or school. Most parenting decisions impact more than our children on a particular day. Some decisions are made long before we ever hold our babies for the first time. Take, for example, the diaper decision. The way I see it there are three options, none being mutually exclusive: diaper-free, cloth or plastic.
The diaper decision is generally after considering the options and determining the easiest method. Cloth diapers are by far the easiest. They are easy on on our babies, our hearts, our wallets, and our planet.
Easy on our babies. Gone are the days of diapers pins and dunking diapers in the toilet. Cloth diapers have evolved to be as quick and convenient. With velcro or snaps, they are easy to put on... or at least as easy to put on as their plastic counterpart. Washing diapers at home takes the same amount of effort as doing your normal laundry. As cotton contains no chemicals and breathes better than plastic, rashes due to diapering with cloth are virtually nonexistent. Studies show that babies in reusable cloth diapers tend to potty train 6 to 12 months earlier and easier than babies in single-use, throwaway plastic ones. Age-appropriate potty training helps in establishing positive self-esteem and gives toddlers a huge sense of accomplishment and independence.
Easy on our hearts. Changing a newborn in cloth feels very good. Knowing the advantages of cloth instills a sense of pride. Knowing that cloth is gentler on baby and the planet, each diaper change becomes a positive experience for parents and baby. Later on, using cloth offsets some of the challenges of raising of a toddler. In three seconds flat, a toddler can destroy just about anything - from an heirloom quilt to all the information saved on her mother’s laptop. One day a toddler may love a certain food and for some unknown reason, after you’ve stocked up on it, she’ll refuse to eat it. Add diaper after diaper to the mix and the workload more than doubles. A toddler in cloth understands her bodily functions, connecting the feeling of a full bladder with the sensations of elimination, and will naturally begin to potty train.
Easy on our wallets. Using a simple diapering system of prefolds, covers, and washing at home, parents can diaper a baby from birth to potty training for under $400. Most likely the same diapers and covers could be used for a second child, cutting the cost per child in half to $200. Using a diaper service requires even less effort and costs $2350 for two years. Using plastic diapers for three years probably costs about $2300 (assumming $65/month, not including sales tax, disposal fees or the additional impulse buys when running to the store to get diapers). The Real Diaper Association calculates that Americans spend $7 billion annually on disposable diapers (cash register price only, disposal and production expenses are additional). They also estimate that by switching to cloth, Americans would save over $6 billion annually - enough to feed every American child who goes to bed hungry.
Easy on our planet. The diaper-free option, known as elimination communication or EC, has the least impact on our environment. EC will probably surface as its own column topic at a later point but for now, you can learn more about it at www.diaperfreebaby.org. Cloth keeps waste - both plastic and human - out of landfills (and roadsides, lakes, ponds, and any other place where you’re likely to come across a throwaway diaper). The energy and raw materials consumed to produce cloth diapers is minimal, and even less when the product’s reusability is factored in. No one knows how long it takes for plastic diapers to decompose. It’s estimated at 250-500 years. It’s common knowledge that old cloth diapers make the best cleaning rags. Seems to me that cloth diapering is a recycling fundamental- using something again and again until it simply returns to the earth from which it came.