eco friendly - Stuff Parents Need

White Cloud Introduces the GreenEarth Line (Sweepstakes Announcement!)

April 7, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by White Cloud. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm a big fan of going green, especially when making the switch to something more eco-friendly doesn't present a hardship to my budget.

That's why I'm absolutely thrilled to hear that White Cloud, a paper products company sold exclusively at Walmart, has just launched the GreenEarth line. All the GreenEarth products are made with 100% recycled fibers and have been ceritified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Be sure to check out the White Cloud GreenEarth products page for all the details on this new line.

I'll be headed to Walmart tomorrow, actually, and I have these products at the top of my list (I need to buy new toilet paper since 2 weeks ago I accidentally purchased single ply stuff…it has been NO fun trying to use that stuff up!). White Cloud is a brand I already know to be affordable and to also be quality, and now they can add eco-friendly to the mix. That's the perfect trifecta for me! Click here to Find a Store Near You!

Since April is the perfect time of year to think about how your family can go green, I thought I'd share with you a few ways we reduce, reuse and recyle around here, all without overly burdening ourselves or our pocketbooks.

1. Switch to recycled and recyclable disposable products. We use mostly cloth diapers, but I'm not interested in giving up my toilet paper, personally. But I can make the switch over to more environmentally responsible choices with ease thanks to White Cloud's GreenEarth line.

2. Recycle your food containers. We go through a LOT of cardboard boxes, aluminum cans and plastic containers, all of which held food we purchased. Almost all of them are recyclable. Get a large plastic tub to hold your recyclables while you wait for the next curbside pickup or while you wait until you next head over to the recycling center. Committing to doing this only takes a few extra minutes every few days. We've been doing this in earnest for the last 6 years, and while it requires dedicating some additional space in your home or in your garage to garbage collection, it has substantially reduced the amount of trash we are putting in landfills.

3. Talk about the changes you are making with your kids. You are already setting a great example by your actions, but make sure your kids really understand the impact of your decisions by explaining it to them. This will also help them get more excited about what you are committing to as a family. Our oldest goes out with dad to transfer our recylables to our larger bin outside, and she LOVES to watch the recycling truck pick up our items every other week. It is so important for the next generation to have environmental stewardship engrained in them at a young age, as that increases the likelihood that they will continue (and hopefully improve upon) the practices as an adult.

In addition to sharing about the ways my family is going green, I also wanted to share something I know you love: a great sweepstakes! Check out the White Cloud “Living the Green” Pinterest board and then follow the White Cloud Pinterest page. Then you just need to create yhour own "Living the Green" Pinterest board and repin at least one pin from the White Cloud "Living the Green" board back onto your board. Be sure to use the hashtag #Livingthegreen in your pin's caption so that White Cloud can find you! Finally, you'll visit mywhitecloud.com/promotions and complte the sweepstakes entry form. Click here for Sweepstakes Rules and Regulations. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 4/30/13. Click here for Official Rules.

There are a lot of fantastic prizes up for grabs, and I want Stuff Parents Need readers to win them! Good luck, everyone!

Green Toys Fire Truck Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

August 25, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 311 Comments

When we were expecting Darah, I had many parents warn us that our home was about to become a plastic jungle, at least for the next 10 years. Tim and I REALLY didn’t want to see that happen. We didn’t want our house to be overrun with toys at all (um, yeah, totally FAILED that one), and we also didn’t want plastic junk everywhere made with questionable chemicals and that would easily break and have to be pitched.

So it may seem a little strange that I’m featuring a plastic fire trucktoday as an excellent toy of choice for your little. But this isn’t just any old plastic fire truck! It’s from Green Toys, and it is made entirely out of recycled plastic! milk containers! Even the packaging it comes in is made entirely of recycled and recyclable materials. It is the world’s greenest emergency vehicle!

It’s also SO much fun! Darah is a HUGE fan of fire trucks, always on the lookout for them when she takes a ride in the car, and always listening out for their sirens. We live a few blocks away from a big fire station, so she gets to hear those sirens at least once a day, much to her delight. Her Green Toys fire truck rarely even gets put away. It seems to now live in our hallway, which is the best place for “driving.” Her smaller stuffed animals and figurines are also getting extra play time, as they will fit on top of the fire truck, much to Darah’s delight.

I have given the truck a thorough inspection, and I am very impressed with the quality. It really looks as though it was built to endure many hours of play from children who love their toys, but aren’t necessarily the best at taking care of them, yet. I expect that our fire truck will endure quite a bit of rough-housing with Darah, but will still be in fine shape for the next child, or even for Darah’s kids later on. It’s definitely a winner!

Green Toys has an excellent line of eco-friendly toys, all made from recycled materials, and also all free from lights, batteries and other annoying things that play for your child, instead of encouraging imaginative play. The price points for the toys are a bit higher than their non-recycled plastic counterparts from other brands, but these are toys that are built to last generations, instead of having planned obsolescence, so I think they are worth it! The fire truck I reviewed retails for $27.99

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Green Toys Fire Truck! The contest will run until September 4th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one other Green Toys product that would be welcome in your home!

My answer: The school bus!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Green Toys on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my blog.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Reusable Paper Towels: Skoy Cloth Review

December 17, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Reusable Paper Towel: Skoy ClothYou probably already know that we rarely use paper towels in my home. I still think they have their place (cat hairballs, anyone?), but overall, I really don’t miss them. The few times each year that I actually purchase a roll of paper towels, I always cringe. Even though I use them only when I feel it is necessary, it still feels like such a waste of money and resources.

skoy cloth reusable paper towel We’ve been using the same set of reusable cloths for over a year now. Many of them are still going strong, but a few of them are ready to be replaced. I’ve heard talk on the blogosphere about the crazy awesome Skoy Cloth and now I’ve had the opportunity to see for myself exactly what all the fuss is about.

SKOY cloths are reusable, and are said to last longer than 15 rolls of paper towels. That’s pretty amazing! From their site, “This new approach to cleaning boasts a cloth that is 100% biodegradable, natural and re-usable. The SKOY cloth has an absorption factor of 15x its own weight, which makes it far superior than any other cloth on the market.”

I’ve found the SKOY cloth to work fabulously. It is much stronger than any paper towel I’ve ever used, and when I’m done with it, I can toss it in the washing machine OR the dishwasher! Love that!

Buy it! SKOY cloths come in packages of four and seem to run around $10. They are available at many different shops online, as well as a variety of brick and mortar stores nation-wide! Since these should do the same work as 60 rolls of paper towels, I’d say $10 is a steal!

Win it! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag a 4 pack of SKOY cloths that I have on hand to give away. Woo hoo! The contest will run until 11:59pm EST on December 27th when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me your approach to cleaning up messes. Paper towels all the way? Only cloth? A hybrid? If you use paper towels, why (and that is not a loaded/judging question, promise!)?

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Skoy on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure. This post contains an affiliate link.

EcoMistic: Eco-Friendly and Optimistic!

November 30, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 89 Comments

All of you fabulous folks out there in bloggy land know that I love going green, especially when it is also a frugal choice! Today I’m bringing you a company with a mission based on making “going green” not only easy, but also inexpensive! EcoMistic is a company that you’ll want to do some shopping with, especially if you are on the lookout for economical ways to lighten your footprint on this earth.

I love the name of the company, because it is a blend of two wonderful terms: eco-friendly and optimistic. From their site, “One who has a positive outlook on the future of our planet is to be
EcoMistic.” I love it, and I hope that I’m an EcoMistic person in my day to day life!

EcoMistic has waded through much of what is being offered on the “green” market today, and has sought out the smartest products that are eco-friendly and kind to your wallet, all at the same time! Every product in their store is useful and high quality. I know I saw several things on their site that I’d love to start using in my home!

I purchased some holiday gifts through EcoMistic, and my invoice included a personal note from an employee who put together my order about how he personally owns one of the products I purchased and how much he loves it. I thought that was a really cool and personal touch and showed me that EcoMistic is a company run by real people who really care about customer service. Take that, Amazon!

If you are shopping around for something green for yourself or someone else, EcoMistic has a lot of great things to offer. Some of my top picks include the odor neutralizing carpet shake (never seen a green version of this type of product!) and the Water Week bottle set, which offers 5 really cute REUSABLE water bottles, so you are set for the week!

Buy it!: I think EcoMistic is a perfect holiday shopping destination. I know I love getting gifts that are super cool and are actually useful. And if they can save me some money over time? That’s a winning gift, to me! Be sure to check out the money saving packages they offer!

Win it!: EcoMistic wants to give one super lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a water bottle makeover unlike any you’ve known before! You’re going to snag those amazing Water Week water bottles I mentioned earlier in the post! Woo hoo! The contest will run until December 10th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me about one product you own that saves you money AND that is good for the environment!
My answer: For all but my cloth diapers, I make my own laundry detergent (using Ivory, Washing Soda and Borax) for mere pennies per load, and the ingredients are much more eco-friendly than the stuff you find in most stores!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Ecomistic on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I purchased the products reviewed myself, though I did receive a discount on my purchase in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.