Makes Me Happy 006

A good cleaning product makes me happy. Especially if it smells good. Cleaning the toilet doesn't seem like such a chore when it makes your bathroom smell like lavender.

The Mrs. Meyer's line of cleaning products are right at the top of my list of favorite things. When I was pregnant with Z-cakes I had a serious aversion to the smell of bleach. When the aversion stuck around even after she was born I have to admit I was bummed. To me bleach smell = clean. Thankfully I tried Mrs. Meyer's and haven't looked back since. I'm also happy with the fact that Mrs. Meyer's is a responsible company. Their liquid products are biodegradable, their packaging is recyclable, and all of their products are free of harmful chemicals and are completely safe to use around children and pets. It makes my housewife heart very happy.

Please tell me that it isn't ridiculous to post a cleaning product as something that makes me happy. Do you have cleaning products that make you happy?

P.S. None of the "Makes Me Happy" posts are sponsored in any way. Although, my current policy on accepting compensation from companies I happen to promote still stands. Which is to say, I totally would.

"Makes Me Happy" is a mini-series that will be featured through the month of October. It's purpose is to celebrate the small-inexpensive luxuries in life that bring a smile to my face. Please play along if you'd like. Embrace the everyday.

Get your green craft on

As promised, a few of my favorite "green crafts."

:: This Market Tote made from a vintage pillowcase is too cute. I'm making one today and it is almost done. Quick and easy!

:: And speaking of pillow cases...I love all of the re-purposing ideas there are out there. I can usually find great pillowcases for a dollar at our local thrift store. I have made an apron to hold my laundry pins and have big plans for summer dresses for Z-cakes.

:: I'm really upset that I didn't think of this myself. Bravo Miss Salihan.

:: I would love to do this or this to the bazillions of grocery bags that I have. I swear I take my reusable bags everywhere. How do I still end up with so many plastic bags?

:: Do you think we could hang these somewhere where the squirrels wouldn't eat all of the seeds?

Happy Crafting!

Earth you're a wonderful, wonderful planet

Happy Earth Day everybody!

Did you know that the first Earth Day was 40 years ago? Our Earth Day started out cloudy and raining. The perfect weather for my Seattleite husband who just gets a little tired of all of the sunshine around here. A few hours later Z-cakes and I were chasing the sun in the backyard and jumping on the mini trampoline that my mom bought by using The Secret.

(okay, little off-topic story here: So Z-cakes really likes jumping. As in, she uses it as her main form of transportation. No, it is not very efficient in case you were wondering. Anyway, she likes jumping on the couch. I do not like her jumping on the couch. At least not now that she's gotten bigger and the couch makes a painful creaking sound when she jumps. I told my mom it would be nice if we could get Z-cakes a little trampoline. You know, like the kind everybody had for exercise in the 80s, I said to her.

Oh sure. We'll just go to the Youth Ranch. They'll have one. She says.

I was a little confused by her confidence but figured maybe she knew something I didn't. We drove out to what was actually the Youth Ranch warehouse in Twin Falls, ID, and there amongst old school desks, broken down cubicles, and tire-less bikes, was the trampoline. Only one. Five bucks. Plus tax.

It was then that I realized that my mom must have used The Secret to make this happen. I bet Oprah would concur. It is the only way I can justify such luck.)

Anyway...rain in the morning, sunshine in the afternoon, rain again in the afternoon. Unstable weather is what the forecasters here call it, but in Seattle it's called Sun Breaks. N8tr0n is feeling right at home. I hope you're all having a wonderful Earth Day, rain of shine.

In the meantime, I will be celebrating by polishing off this bag of Sun Chips.

{Sun Chips for the Earth}

I can't wait to compost this sucker.

Composting tips here.

Full Disclosure: Sun Chips did not sponsor this post. Although, if they stumble upon it they are welcome to pay me in chips. The Secret didn't sponsor it either now that I think about it...though I'm not sure how payment would work for that.

My cloth diaper stash

I am a cloth diapering mama.

It's true. In fact, I have a load of diapers in the wash as I type.

The first time N8tr0n and I discussed cloth diapering we didn't have Z-cakes yet. We were thinking about starting a family, and one day while driving we had this conversation:

N8tr0n: So, what do you think about cloth diapering?

Me: I think it sounds disgusting.

Me: I think cloth diapers are for people like our parents who were too poor to buy disposable diapers before they became readily available. Now we have wonderful disposable diapers so that we don't need cloth anymore.

Me: Furthermore, if you want to use cloth diapers then you're welcome to. But I'm not changing them.

Me: You can change every single diaper the kid ever uses.

N8tr0n: Oh. Okay.


Fast-forward to when Z-cakes was about 3 months old. Another car ride. Another conversation.

Me: So, um...I'm thinking about cloth diapering Z-cakes.

N8tr0n: Oh. Okay.*

In the two years since then I have learned more than I ever thought I would want to know about cloth diapers. And believe me, if you've ever researched cloth on the interwebs you know there is a lot to learn. In fact, I gave up on the idea of cloth more than once before I took the plunge because I was just so overwhelmed with the options. I have a few friends ten friends, yes TEN friends who are either pregnant or have had babies in the last three months. Many of them have asked me about cloth diapering, expressing their dismay over the plethora of options. I figured it was time for me to add my (slightly less) unsolicited advice about cloth. Note: This post is not meant to teach you all about cloth diapering. Just to let you know what I use so that you might be able to narrow down your options.

First of all: my favorite website for purchasing cloth diapers is: http://www.cottonbabies.com My friend, Serin, told me about this site when I came to her on my hands and knees, begging for a fraction of her knowledge about cloth. She is my go-to girl for cloth questions. They are the makers of the hugely popular, bumGenius pocket diapers (that you may or may not have heard of), and their customer service is excellent. They also have some nice diaper packages put together to make ordering easier. My first purchase was the "Try it" kit which allowed me to try cloth diapering for a little while without investing a huge amount of money. I've also heard that http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/ has an awesome program that lets you try out a variety of diapers for 21 days for only $10. I've never tried that but it sounds like something worth checking out.

Our diapering system:

12 regular size prefolds.
4 Diaper covers
2 Snappies
5 bumGenius + Inserts

I chose prefolds because they are the cheapest option available and they are easy to care for. If you use a prefold you have to have a diaper cover so I chose the ones that I thought were the cutest. Snappies are used in place of pins but you can easily get away with not using them. I just thing they're handy. And finally, the bumGenius. Oh I do heart my bumGenius. They come in adorable colors, they're easy to clean up, and they're well made. The only problem is that they're expensive. I bought two of them on sale and the rest of them I purchased when CottonBabies had their seconds sale.

And there you have it. That is what is in my cloth diaper stash. My advice to you is that if you're interested in cloth diapering, go for it. Find a buddy who can answer your questions (or you know, just ask me) and do it. Also remember that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I think this is the best piece of advice that Serin gave me. Just because you've decided to use cloth, doesn't mean that you'll never allow a paper diaper to cross the threshold of your house. Sometimes, you just don't want to put on another cloth diaper and when that happens, Hooray for Pampers! (Or Huggies, or whatever...neither one of them are paying me anyway.) That is what is so wonderful about having kids right now--options. Unlike our parents who were poor and couldn't afford disposables...

Have more questions about cloth diapering? I'd be happy to help.
You can ask me anything on formspring
Or, you can email me at mirmand 27 (at) yahoo (dot) com {no spaces}




* Does this dude know how to respond to his crazy wife or what?

My Christmas Present

This bowl has taken up residence in the windowsill above our sink.

Awesome Miranda. Thanks for showing us what looks like a bowl of garbage. Nice way to start the morning. Yeah, I hear you saying it. But the truth is, this bowl is awesome because it goes along with the Christmas present that N8tr0n gave me this year. Here it is:

Do you know what it is?

How about now?

A home composter! Yes! I know that two exclamation points is maybe showing a little too much excitement over something like compost but hey, I am who I am.

I've been thinking about composting, mmmm....ever since I met N8tr0n's mother. She is an exceptional gardener and keeps a compost pile behind her house. Inside her house she has a bowl where she keeps all her compostable scraps. I was always so impressed to see how little actual garbage they throw into their trash bin. I realized that so much of what we were throwing away could become compost!

For a while I researched composters for sale on the internet but was discouraged by the price. Even the smaller systems people were selling at the farmer's market were costly. I also came this close to setting my hopes on a worm farm but...no....just, no. I finally figured composting was something we would look into more when we had a bigger yard. So when N8tr0n told me that he thought he could build a composter for aroung $30 I was thrilled. Like, two exclamation points thrilled.

My dad helped N8tr0n build the composter when we visited Idaho for Thanksgiving. It ended up costing a bit more than $30; maybe closer to $50 because dad wasn't about to build some shabby wooden stand. Because that's how he rolls. I'm pretty sure he spent the entire time making it wondering why on Earth I was so excited for this thing. How did he end up raising such a hippie? Where did he go wrong?

Are you interested in composting? Simple Mom has an article about how to build your own compost bin that is even cheaper than this one! Also, the EPA has some handy tips about the basics of composting and what you can and cannot put into your compost.

Let me know if you have any questions and happy composting!