10 Tips for Clean, Green, Eco-Serene Laundry

Not many love it, but there may perhaps be something satisfying about conquering the endless cycle of laundry that comes with a family, pairs and singles. Who's ready to confess that finally slaying the dump, sort, wash, dry, fold, put away dragon feels mighty nice?

Make it even nicer by keeping it green and eco-clean. Here are some tips to keep the family looking and smelling fresh and keep the salmon swimming.

1. Only machine wash in full loads in cold water or warm for whites
2. Line dry when weather and time permits
3. Machine wash once per week – even an active family of four should be able to accomplish this goal in 4-6 loads (one FULL load per person plus linens and a delicates)
4. Hand wash and line dry delicates (no machine washing as suggested above)
5. Use an enviro-friendly wash detergent that’s phosphate, chlorine and the other ‘nasties’-free 6. Make your own all natural washing machine detergent with a recipe of soap flakes, washing soda and borax
7. Spot clean apparel and toys with lemon juice and set out in sunshine – for colder, clear winter and fall days, simply lay items in a sunny window for the same result.
8. Dress and sleep in all natural fibers
9. Choose naturally anti-bacterial fabrics such as bamboo rayon
10. Fluff or time dry in dryer

Tighter fold please.

How Does Your Garden Grow? Easy, Organic Veggie Planting

Mother's day was a beautiful day in the northwest! The weather was perfect for planting a modest, but abundant selection of veggies to start the season. We hope to share our bounty with you, dear readers, and show how easy and cost effective organic gardening can be.

At the Baby Grows Green veggie patch we started with a raised bed approximately 4'x8' (32 sq feet), tilled up the soil with our metal rake, amended it with a $10 bag of 15% chicken manure mulch and went to town.

Here's what we bought, planted and spent.

- 4 plants - Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes

- 2 tomato stands

- 1 bag onion sets (approx 50 set) These are little gems! They're already seeded and sprouted onions that when harvested early make nice scallions and held a little later a nice small scale onion for salads and sauteing.

- 4 small spinach plants

- 3 Roma tomato plants

- 8 mesculun mix lettuce plants - great salad starts with a mix of green and purple lettuces

- 8 Paris lettuce plants - bright green, soft leaves - think mix of butter with romaine leaves

Grand total = $50 at our local nursery

We can't wait to share our harvest with you!

$20 or Less to a Great, Green Nursery: Pull One Over On 'Em

One way to sweeten or spice up any nursery decor is so simple, it gets over looked. I'm talking about drawer pulls or nobs on baby's dresser or toy chest. Now before you run to baby's room and start unscrewing those tired and scratched nobs to toss, scan your art supply bin for a few colors of craft paint (non toxic!) and grab sketch pad and pen(cil). Get ready to update your drawer pulls into a custom look just for your little bundle.

Consider spelling baby's name, giving life to your favorite pregnancy doodle or writing baby's first words on individual, updated nobs.

Or search the garage for some thick gauge rope/twine and turn baby's dresser into one fit for the high seas.

And if you want some more inspiration to brighten baby's abode, check out these ADORABLE hand-painted nobs from SweetMixCreations.

Photo courtesy of SweetMixCreations