NEVER Sleep Train Again!

No more 'cry it out'. Want to know how? I thought so.

Bamboo Velour Crib Sheets, of course!

Satsuma Designs has just launched one our newest products for the eco-luxe enthusiast. We know it's a splurge, but this crib sheet, which fits all standard and deep crib mattresses with and without piddle pads is DURABLE, naturally antibacterial, CRAZY soft, absorbent (possibly a moot benefit now that tears are in the past), and easy to clean.

Sweet dreams!

Late last week I had the good fortune to participate in a panel discussion about sustainable textiles at the ITAA annual conference. The ITAA is the International Textile and Apparel Association. Its membership includes academics, administrators, researchers and other interested parties committed to outreach in textile and fashion eduction and industry.

On the panel I represented Satsuma Designs and small business using sustainable resources in a commercial application, O Ecotextiles was there to share incredible date on green textiles for interiors and the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) was in the house too. Rebecca Luke from SSF helped moderate the panel that touched on the entire life cycle of 'green' textiles. I came away really appreciating SSF's mantra that even a little green step, is a step in the right direction.

As they say at SSF "look fabulous, live well, do good". More on SSF to come!

A friend told me about tea tree oil. It's used in aromatherapy and is naturally antiseptic and antibacterial, which makes it a super all natural cleaner. I picked up a 4 oz bottle of NOW Tea Tree Oil from Amazon, but this stuff goes a LONG way so am recommending a 1 oz bottle here.

In an 8 oz spray bottle I mixed 1 teaspoon tea tree oil with a cup of white vinegar to create my new all purpose cleaner. I tackled the powder room first where my preschooler is learning to use the toilet and it works like a wonder! The vinegar and oil make it smell clean and I feel really good about spraying this cleaner in highly kid-trafficed areas.

Word to the wise, tea tree oil comes with warnings because it's so concentrated. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. I wrote Danger/Poison on the outside of mine and put it in our locked closet. And with that paranoid warning, enjoy!

No Labor Day: Easy Peasy Back to School Prep

Summer is setting as school and work schedules loom ahead. Take the next few days to relax and rejuvenate by planning favorite family outings. Whether fun means hitting the backyard or park with the kids, cooking a new and sustainably sourced meal, or soaking up the last few chapters of the summer read don't sacrifice the lull before the proverbial storm.

And if planning for the transition to fall gives some satisfaction plan to sketch out goals for greening up your lifestyle. September is a great time to tackle a checklist to sort, purge, donate, recycle and organize space and attitudes.

Consider tackling the following Back to School Green Family Checklist:

- Sort, clean and recycle outdoor toys that may have seen intense use these last few months. Get the kids help sort into three categories: Active, Store, Donate. Clean up all three categories with a good scrub down (watch water usage!) and box into totes or bag up for the recycling center. Be sure to Sharpie mark the Store bins for easy retrieval next Memorial Day.

- Compile school supplies at the Home Store by hitting the family junk drawer and mom/dad's office first. Challenge the family to fulfill teacher's supply list with items you already have to save cash and consumption. Highlighters, pencils, erasers, ruler, calculator, notebooks, loose leaf paper, folders, binders, crayons, markers (washable), and more could be just a drawer away.

- Fall into fashion by sorting closets. Add some flare to old combinations with new accessories instead of all new apparel. Check out FamilyFun Magazine's great way to re purpose old sweaters by felting them into updated cuffs, bracelets, headbands and more.

- Make a Green lunch routine. Cut out waste during school lunch by getting kids involved in menu planning and packing. Take the chance to talk about recycling and cutting back on waste. Discuss ways to conserve. Consider a bento-style lunch box instead of baggies. Talk about menus to ensure that what gets packed, gets eaten.

And when you've sorted, cleaned, organized and purged let your trash become some one's treasure. For donation and recycling options take your bounty to your local charity or consider a recycle/free-cycle option in your area such as Swap Mamas, a nifty exchange for all kinds of bartering.

Go Back to School with a Green Goodbyn

I think there could be entire blogs dedicated to greening up lunchtime. Perhaps there are, but I'm too lazy to Google it right now. Enter, Seattle-based Goodbyn, a company that has created an incredibly stylish (kid-stylish) bento-style lunch box that's very eco-responsible. It's the first product from byndoo, a design braintrust developing healthy kid products.

According to the Goodbyn site, they've spent over a year researching best practices for design, production and more and have launched a lunchbox to meet needs the of kids and care givers alike.

For $34.95 you get a high quality lunch box with trays and top for any lunch combo imaginable. What's more is the cool custom art that each Goodbyn Kid can create with three sheets of stickers. And the whole thing is dishwasher safe (remember to only run full loads).

They also have a school fund raising program that gives almost 15% of the purchase price to your school. Consider looking into customizing stickers for your own school.

Neat (and tidy)!

Photo from Goodbyn

Recycling Storage from Storables

I'm in love with Storables. I can always find a solution to my organizing needs; this time it was their Medium Frosted Tote Storage Basket . I needed a handsome way to stage my daily recycling and yard waste in an open kitchen shelf next to the sink/diswasher area. These handy little baskets are $3.95 each and come in a few sizes. You don't need to buy new baskets (better if you don't), but finding a pair of attractive baskets/boxes that will hold juicy food scraps and drippy recycled glass/tin items is key to any easy, green kitchen.

Plan to empty these each night to fend off fruit fly infestions (currently battling one) and you're grinning and green!

No More Mobby (Mom/Job) Guilt with Flexjobs.com

I'm lucky or as I prefer, I worked hard to get lucky. I run a business part-time - Satsuma Designs - and get to take care of my kids the other 20 hours a day. My work background is varied and so I get to pull from a lot of different experience to run my business. But when I think about my next life/career phase I think about what I could do part-time, ideally from home. It's a totally green work solution: no commute, low overhead, less consumption (fewer lattes and trips to Anne Taylor). I know I'm not alone in dreaming about this Utopia. And today I took one more step up that ladder and discovered Flexjobs.com.

If you have an email account, then you've received nasty spam offering $700/week to become a mystery shopper or thousands a month to work at home - doing what I know not. And so the concept of finding a nicely compensated part-time, work from home gig seems impossible. Until Flexjobs.com. They're a great resource/recruiter that vets thousands of flex-time, work from home jobs in dozens of categories (sales, writing, tech, transcription...) and takes the fear out of this new work model.

There is a fee. They're running a special for their monthly service and looks like it's $49.95 for the year. They claim a 100% guarantee, which I like. The testimonial (if they're legit) are inspiring and I'm half considering a test drive.

Everyone likes options, right?

School Rules: Limit Lunchbox Waste

Helping the kids go green? One of the easiest ways to share an eco-friendly philosophy with your kids is through meals. Whether recycling food scraps in the compost bin or yard waste container or packing a waste free lunch for school, little hints add up to big results.

There are some great tools to limit lunchbox waste. Here are a couple I love!

Check out Mama Goes Green for great BPA-free and organic products. Check out the LapTop Lunch Bento Box System. The $34.95 price tag sounds steep, but consider how many Ziploc (R) baggies you'll save!

And to keep the kiddos hydrated and plastic free, sling a web around this Spiderman Thermos. The inside is Stainless Steel and non-reactive. This is better than other aluminium lined options.

Keep it green!

WWW.messoflettersandnumbers.COM

I think part of being green is being efficient with resources, time, and web addresses. I just love TinyURL.com. You can turn any URL into a short, efficient, manageable on. Good for send links.


Try it. Copy this great article on green baby showers in which Satsuma Designs is mentioned http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/baby_showers/photos_baby_shower_guide/3 and paste into the field at TinyURL.com.


Now make things Tiny!

New Baby: Green of the Green

Whether you're waiting for the arrival of your first and checking out some green parenting tips here, or have a brood of little green kiddos at home, you'll likely remember the last days of pregnancy in one of two ways. Total recall or complete mental block. I find myself in total recall as I'm 1 days into being overdue with our second child. So fun!

Leave it to Google to help ease my pain. If found a great list of 101 things to do when you're overdue (or close). Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE of About.com is right on! My first pick was number 14 - recalculating your due date. I figured, hey, science and the highest grade electronic baby imaging machines might be wrong. Sadly, I found out the due date calculator put my due date one day BEHIND. Calm.

Guess next I'll tick of #69 and avoid #67.

Oh, and check out The Gift Idea blog where you'll find gift ideas like this fun and zany plush toy.

Enjoy!

Piperlime Goes Green?

While I could only find a handful of eco-friendly collections at Piperlime that use recycled materials in their products, site such as Terrasoles and Simple, the company (a division of Gap Inc.) has a fantastic partnership with not for profit Soles4Souls. According to Piperlime, they've donated over 3mm pairs of shoes to people in need since starting the program in 2006. Kudos!!

Oh and if you're a recently new visitor, you can do a VERY short 5 question survey and donate $$ to one of five charities - Boys and Girls Club of America, my personal pick Dress for Success, among others.

And you may or may need license to consider an investment in this season's hot new riding trend, there are some great albeit not so green selections at the site. Free shipping and returns too. Forgive me?

Giddy up!

Say Happy Holidays in Green This Season

If you haven't started the annual hunt for your clever, elegant and amply photo-holed holiday card, it's time dear friends. Yes, mid-November is a great time to start searching for designs that inspire and holiday cards that are clean and green.

I was excited to find a pretty large range of 100% recycled paper options in beautiful card stock, along with vegetable and soy based inks, topped off by shops that use 100% renewable energy. That does make for a bright holiday season!

Check out Paper Shouts' holiday collection. Cards are printed on 100% post consumer waste (PCW) recycled paper and ship with envelopes in 50% PCW. You can do better than that for envelopes, but it's a start. Prices range from $1-$2/card.

GORGEOUS Chicago-based Snow & Graham stationers has an elegant offering in which they use 100% PCW paper and vegetable based dyes.

And RedStamp.com has a great custom card offering using 30% PCW paper made by 100% renewable energy. They don't saw what kind. Could be offsets, but something's better than nothing.

Now, warm up those fingers, get clicking and practice your penmanship.

Happy green holidays!

How to Adopt a Green Attitude (and Drain)

Getting your family and little ones excited about evironmental stewardship doesn't have to mean sacrifice and Saturday's spent with other volunteers hauling away debris from parks, etc. What it can mean though is taking an active role in your micro-community or neighborhood to ensure that green stays green.

A couple tips to make it happen.

- Always pick up litter you see on the sidewalk or roadside. Keep a couple of recyclable plastic bags in your jacket pocket and car so you'll always have something on hand to carry away garbage. Always be careful with what you pick up and let junior identify the litter while you handle it.

- Adopt a Street or Drain in your neighborhood. Seattle has an excellent program that's becoming very popular to protect the over 78,000 storm drains in our city from clogging after our what seems weekly torrential downpours. Participants are asked to adopt at least 4 drains to keep free of leaves and debri. The city provide reflective vests, rakes, yard waste bag and pick up services in return. GREAT idea for a neighborhood group or a few families to undertake. Same thing for adopting a street.

But look, you don't need a bureacracy to get help the environment. If your city or town doesn't have a program in place, make your own program and promote it on local mom blogs, your Facebook page, a flier at the organic produce market you frequent and anywhere else you can reach an audience. Thanks.

So get out there, enjoy the fall colors by adding a little green to the pallette. Stay dry!

We The [Green] People...

...of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Amen!

And thanks to our Constitution and the liberties and freedoms it protects for each of us, organizations that promote and support green living can thrive in our economy. One such is Green People, a full and growing database of green minded companies ready to serve.

I found the Search function by category to be the easiest, as opposed to using the Search Field in the upper right of the home page. Here's how:

- Choose your category, click

- Choose your zip code and distance from home/work you prefer, as close as 5 miles, as far as 200 for more rural communities

- Voila! Shop on and Enjoy!

Secret Revealed: Why Scandanavians Are So Beautiful

Well here's one reason anyway - all organic lotions and potions from a great NW based company called KO Denmark. With a growing collection of totally natural bath and body products, KO Denmark makes feeling and looking beautiful pleasant, easy and best of all green.

Their custom blend of all natural neroli and jasmine flowers is totally exotic and has an incredibly soft, but aromatheraputic fragrance. Check out these ingredients: "organic aloe juice, brazilian jojoba oil, organic black willow bark, indian rose water, neem oil, indian jasmine grandiflorum oil, tunisian neroli oil and vitamine e. Also free from paraben, mineral oil, artificial color, artificial fragrance, glycols or animal testing."

It says to apply daily. Well, of course!

Enjoy!

Green Holiday Shopping: The Do Not Mail List

Bravo Pier 1! The purveyor of all things bright and seasonal has a great link on their site, which is also listed on the back of their catalogs to make it easy and anonymous to get off their mailing lists. I never have a problem calling customer service of any of the what seems like hundreds of catalogs, but it's nice to just get it done online.

Simply go to the remove link and take care of business.

I personally like Pier 1's offering and am equally impressed by their commitment to customer service and letting green minded (and junkmail-phobic) folks have it their way.

Thanks P1!

Capturing Junior's FIRSTS the Green and Easy Way

There's no greener way to capture your little one's FIRSTS than through digital media - photography, video, and more. But if you're like me, you're overwhelmed with all of the tools and services available to shoot, edit, share and print (on recycled high quality papers) junior's life affirming antics.

Now there's Media Mamas to help you find your way one click or deleted file at a time. The company was founded by four media savvy mommies and is committed to "...supporting healthy families by using technology as a tool for self-expression, communication, and advocacy. " Nice.

They've just debuted their Seattle-based series of workshops from Video Shooting and Editing 101 to one on how to blog your heart out. The classes are great for beginners through power users. Let's hope they start some online sessions too.

Enjoy!

Great Green Gifts

Peekaboo Picks has spotlighted a great list of green gifts and companies to check out in their Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide.

I think my favorite Pick is Luxoskid where creative genius and founder Susi turns mom's (or dad's, grandma's, whoever!) Goodwill or Salvation Army bound garb into one of a kind couture for kiddos. It's an incredible use of otherwise wasted material and oh so green.

Totally brilliant, I say. Check out this knit shift at right. Tres chic, mademoiselle!

Satsuma Designs' founder speaks out about important parenting topic

Yes, best practices for this oh so green and natural ritual - cutting baby/toddler nails! Read on and enjoy.

Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen by DIOR

All right, a little off the green topic, but I realized that this product has given me the energy (or look of it) to go find what is green out there for our families and little ones. For this, I pay homage.

It's Dior's Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen and it's ridiculously great. Here's why I love it.

1. Great form factor. Feels like a nice bold Sharpie in the hand and has a nice heft. The kind of feeling you get when you're holding a good soup spoon. You know, feels classy.

2. Brush applicator. Very soft natural bristles capture the liquid shadow concealer/under eye camouflage and spread it out beautifully below the eye or any other place on the face.

3. Color options. I'm an 002. It comes in three shades that I think would work for most.

4. Name. Radiance Booster. Yes.

Price is high at around $30/$33, but worth the splurge. Enjoy!