CPSIA

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

2008 in review

Well I have now officially been on the green bandwagon for 2 years now. I have learned a lot and I have found that I still have a long way to go. I thought I would record my big changes from 2008 and think about what I want to accomplish in 2009.
I accomplished most of my goals for 2008 but I did not get to all of them.

Here were my goals for 2008
1. Order natural nail polish. So I can paint my nails again.
I did not do this but my mom did and I tried hers it works great with no smell.
2. Use less paper towels and more washable towels instead
I bought cloth napkins and dish towels. I rarely ever use paper towels. In fact I this year we never even bought paper towels this year.
3. Find a way to stop buying bottled water. I hate the taste of our tap water.
We are now using a Brita to filter our water and it tastes much better this way.
4. Get reusable non plastic water bottles for the family
Done we LOVE our Klean Kanteens
5. Buy non plastic storage containers for leftovers
We use mostly glass for freezing food and BPA free plastic for storing food other foods.
6. Change the cats litter to something better for the environment
Still working on this one
7. Buy more organic cotton and eco friendly fiber clothes, towels, etc and less conventional materials
I buy organic when ever I can although I still buy conventional materials sometimes.
8. Work on a plan to produce more veggies from our garden and store them using my new food saver.
We have over 15 peppers from our garden in the freezer right now (around here that should last a month or two).

Other things I have done in 2008
Got a bread machine so I can make organic bread and pizza crust.
Bought mostly only eco friendly and handmade gifts for Christmas.
Bought these reusable produce bags for when I buy fruits and veggies.
Started making and freezing my own beans so I no longer use canned. HEB has organic pinto and black beans in their bulk section.
Made playdough for the kids instead of buying the chemical filled stuff.
Purchased reusable plates, cupcake holders, and other party supplies.

Saved power by not using it for 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike :)



Goals for 2009
1. Try the everlasting vanilla
2. Work on the garden to produce enough veggies that I do not have to buy them any more.
3. Give eco friendly gifts
4. Make reusable fabric gift wrap
5. Change the cats litter to something better for the environment
6. Buy only what I need and donate everything we do not use.
7. Give my kids eco friendly birthday parties.

I am going to keep thinking of other goals. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Playdough 1

Playdough is something I will not buy for my kids. The non natural ingredients are one of the main concerns I have, plus for some reason Andon always wants to put it in his mouth.

I have a list of different dough recipes I have been wanting to try for some time. Well today it was raining and we were stuck inside. I took this opportunity to try out a playdough recipe. It turned out pretty good and it was super easy.

I used the recipe below but I added the food coloring at the end because I wanted to make 4 different colors. It took about 6-7 drops of food coloring and a lot of kneading to get the dough colored. Next time I will try the food coloring mixed with the water.

"Playdough"
1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon salt

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon oil
Mix together flour and salt. Mix water and oil, and food coloring if desired. Gradually stir the water and oil mix into the flour mix. Knead the playdough as you add the liquid. Add more water if too stiff, more flour if sticky.

Salad

One thing I love about Texas is the long growing season. Right now we have everything for salad right in out backyard.

Here are the cucumbers. We even have some peppers still growing. We also have onions and peas in this box.

Here we have different types of lettuce, some carrots, and radish. We also have some broccoli plants just starting.

These boxes have our 4 artichoke plants and our strawberries.

Our other two boxes have eggplant, more carrots, celery, and squash growing. I just love the garden. It is a great learning experience for the kids and it saves me so much money.

Greener Toys

I try to buy natural products when possible, although I do sometimes buy the convenient product instead of shopping around for the more eco friendly version. The internet is a great helpful tool in buying eco friendly, and many stores now carry eco friendly items. I do not know many people who could easily change everything in the home to the green alternative, that is why it is important to make the green choice when buying new products.
I would love to have my entire house changed to be the perfect model of green choices. Although this will not be happening, it is still a thought I keep in mind whenever I purchase new things.

One area where I am making a big effort to be green is in the toys I am choosing for the kids. This Christmas I will only be making green choices for under the tree. I will not be buying a lot of plastic junk and I will be getting rid of some of our non-green toys as December approaches. There are a few things that will remain in our house even though they may not be very green. For example Little People world. The kids and I both love playing with the little people so it will stay, but I have decided we will not be adding to our collection.
To help people see what I mean by green toys here is a link to the Wish List I have at Amazon.com. This list contains things I would like for the kids. Most of the items are eco friendly but you will find a couple of items that do not fall into the green category. Hey we can’t all be perfect. I will also be doing a lot of shopping on Etsy I just love the unique handmade things there.

I am currently a big fan of the wood Plan Toys, not just for the toys themselves but for the companies green vision. I would love to have the entire Plan City. I also like Green Toys made from recycled milk jugs. Melissa and Doug and Under the Nile are also two companies I like.

No more canned beans

We eat a lot of beans here, mostly because of our vegetarian diet. Two things concern me about canned beans the sodium level and the chemicals used in the can that leach into the food and consequently into our bodies. Until now I have just used canned beans because I always thought it was hard to make beans. Well I decided to give it a try this weekend. After doing some research on line I thought it would be easiest to use the crock pot. The beans turned out great and I can not wait to try another kind next week.

This week I made black beans since they are what we eat the most of. First I rinsed and sorted the dried beans. I then placed the beans in the crock pot with a lot of water. I set the crock pot on high for one hour and then set it to low for 5 hours. I checked on the beans periodically to make sure there was still plenty of water in them and they were not too soft. They turned out great. I divided them into four portions and froze three of them. I used the fourth for dinner.
I will no longer be using canned beans in our house.


A little side note:
I am a vegetarian and I have been for about 14 years now. I do not cook meat in fact I do not even know how to cook meat. Just because I do not eat meat does not mean that the rest of my family are vegetarians. Stephen can cook meat whenever he wants to, although he never does. Andon has turkey sandwiches sometimes and eats meat when we are out. I believe in giving my kids choices and letting them decide what is right for them. It does not matter to me if they choose to be a vegetarian or not, I just hope they make healthy choices.

Cloth napkins

I started this blog to write about my experiences going green. Over the last year though I have posted mostly about my kids. Now I know we all love Andon and Brylynn but I am going to try to post more about my green life. I really want to encourage others by showing them how easy it can be to make better choices for themselves, their family, and the environment.

So with that in mind today I am thinking about my newest step at going green, cloth napkins. I have wanted to switch to cloth for a while now. For the past 2 weeks we were using the only 6 cloth napkins I had for our family. This obviously was not enough so the other day while I was out I found a ton of napkins on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond. Every napkin I bought was $1 or less and I also got some placemats to go with my new napkins. Everywhere I go now I am looking for cute new napkins (I can see it becoming an obsession) I have also seen some cute napkins Etsy including ones just for children. I found that the cloth napkins are much easier for Andon to use and now he places his napkin on his lap at every meal. What more could I ask for then my 2 year old using a napkin correctly?

Our laundry room is right off the kitchen so after dinner when the napkins are dirty we just throw them in a basket for Monday’s wash. It is quite easy. We also got some more kitchen towels and have replacing our paper towels for almost everything. (We will still use paper towels for things like cat throw up) Last month we changed from using sponges to using dish cloths. My kitchen is getting very green.
I would have loved to buy organic cotton napkins but I had to settle for regular cotton because it is readily available and less expensive. Not everything can be done perfectly.

For those who only check my blog for the kids here are a few pictures for you.

Andon eating a popsicle (frozen organic apple juice) and helping dad vacuum


Bry loving bunny and sitting in the high chair ready to eat.