Green Your Baby's Diapers - ABC News

"It's also been estimated that the average baby will use between 5,000 and 8,000 disposable diapers. Sara Snow, green living expert, author and TV show host, visited "Good Morning America" to share tips about how people can green their babies' diapers." - Excerpt from ABCnews.com

Just One Thing: Green Your Baby's Diapers - ABC News

What an awesome plug for cloth diapers and ecofriendly options for cloth diapering on this morning's Good Morning America! :)

And, great shout out to some great companies! 

New Scoops and Reusable Bags!

All sorts of changes! We got some awesome scoops that are FREE with any jar or order (before shipping) of $35 -

They are also on sale at both sites for $1.75! :)

Also, check out these reusable bags! They are made by a work at home mom, and they're GREAT:

The Diaper Pin Reviews :)

So, it came to my attention recently that Crunchy Clean is reviewed on the Diaper Pin - I know there are many more then 5 people who have tried Crunchy Clean!

I'd love to get some more reviews, so would you mind helping me?

LINK here: The Diaper Pin Product Reviews

Ecofriendly Laundry Tips from Crunchy Clean

Just a few eco friendly laundry tips from Crunchy Clean:

• For an excellent softener and static cling preventer, use ¼- ½ cup of vinegar in your rinse. If you love yummy smells, add 5-20 drops of essential oil to a gallon of vinegar. The vinegar also kills bacteria and prevents the buildup of detergent residue. (Please don’t use dryer sheets because many of them contain the same chemicals found in liquid fabric softeners. Besides them being hazardous to your health, they aren’t biodegradable.)
• Need a great laundry brightener: Add 1/2 cup of strained lemon juice to the rinse cycle and/or use hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach.
• Wash with cold water whenever possible – saves 80-90% of energy costs related to washing!
• For an extra dirty/stained/stinky load of diapers, add either small amount of Dawn, 4-6 squirts of Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner, or a squirt of Biokleen’s Bac-out.
• For stains, you can either soak in warm water mixed with a few tablespoons of Crunchy Clean Detergent or you can make a paste with Crunchy Clean detergent and water and let it sit for a few hours and then wash.
• Allow clothes to air dry on a clothes line rather than using your dryer. Sunlight, which is free, is a natural bleaching agent; it also disinfects the clothes.
  
• To reduce static, don’t overdry your clothes if you use the dryer.
• Reusable bags are excellent- did you know that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used annually worldwide and only 1-3% of those are recycled? Check out our selection of reusable bags that can be reused for many uses, including sending them back and getting more CrunchyClean Detergent!

CRUNCHY CLEAN Hyena Cart
CRUNCHY CLEAN Etsy Page

Crunchy Clean SALE!

SALE at HYENA CART!!SALE at HYENA CART!!SALE at HYENA CART!!

ALL HOLIDAY Scents are on SALE! :)

Check it out for savings and a chance to pretend its still the HOLIDAY season! :)

-Ashley

SALE at HYENA CART!!SALE at HYENA CART!!SALE at HYENA CART!!

Such Creative Customers!

Just wanted to highlight a creative customer!
She made these as Christmas gift samples- reused smuckers jars and leftover printable window cling paper! :) Please feel free to send any of your creative CrunchyClean ideas my way!

Homemade GREEN Recipes for Cleansers

Green Cleaning Recipes - make a green cleaning gift basket for Christmas gifts :)

Pot & Pan Soak

Baking soda
Vinegar to dampen

Sprinkle baking soda in your pots and pans with stuck-on food. Pour in enough vinegar to dampen the baking soda and let it bubble. Even after the bubbling stops, let it do its work for an hour or two - overnight for stubborn, burnt-on food. The next day you should be able to simply wipe the dirt off - no hard scrubbing needed!

Scouring Cleanser

1/4 cup baking soda
water to dampen

Works well for a light scrub over faucets and light soil. You must rinse thoroughly, though! Baking soda can cling to surfaces.

More Abrasive Scouring Cleanser

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup lemon juice

This is a great scouring cleanser for wood-block cutting boards, sinks, even stove tops. Try to keep lemons on hand and just squeeze a halved lemon onto the surface to be cleaner (you'll get about 1-2 tablespoons of juice per lemon half). You can also use prepackaged lemon juice, but be aware that there are preservatives such as sodium benzoate, which is not healthy to eat, so isn't really healthy to clean with, either!

Shiny Mirror Spray

1 cup vinegar
3 cups water
10 drops lavender oil

Keep a batch of this in a marked spray bottle - it's better than commercial window cleaners when it comes to streaking. Use a cotton rag for wiping it down (paper towels often leave tiny bits of paper and paper dust behind). And think about it - vinegar is edible, water is healthful, lavender oil promotes a sense of well-being. This stuff is actually good for you!

Quick Toilet Fizz

1 - 2 denture tablets

Drop in an inexpensive denture tablet between cleanings to release debris and remove calcium deposits.

Floor Wax

2 cups vinegar
2 cups mineral oil

Mix together and apply with a clean mop.

Alice's All Purpose Cleaner
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon borax
1.5 cups of very hot distilled water
1/4 cup of castille soap or dishwashing soap (I do less)
10-15 drops of essential oils

Pick your favorite recipes - I'd do an all purpose cleaner with a cute homemade label, some washclothes or microfiber clothes (Get huge packs at wholesale stores like Sam's or Costco!), a scouring cleanser in a parmesan cheese shaker, some CrunchyClean Laundry Detergent, a CrunchyClean Linen Spray and some homemade shiny mirror spray. Voila!

Remember - order by tomorrow to ensure delivery by Christmas!

New Scents :)

We got a whole bunch of new scents in for the holidays - YUM! I can smell Christmas coming!!

CrunchyClean Website

Scents available (with descriptions):
-Unscented
-Apple
-Apple Vanilla
-April Clean
-BabyBee
-BabyBlend EO - lavender, chamomile, lemon, orange, bergamot, ylang ylang
-Baby Bee Clean (Similar to LUSH's Honey I Washed the Kids)
-Bergamot
-Bergamot & Tarragon
-Buttercream Cupcake
-Camphor EO
-Caramel
-Caribbean
-Chamomile EO
-Cherry Almond
-China Rain
-Christmas Bliss - flowers and the softest whisper of spices, with bottom notes of balsam and pine
-Christmas Cabin
-Christmas Cookie - freshly-baked, buttery Christmas Cookie with frosting
-Christmas Cravings - orange, grapefruit, lemon, and apple,cinnamon, ginger, carrot, and nutmeg then a little buttercream and vanilla.
-Christmas Fantasy - candy, spiced tea, a hint of cinnamon, and a flower
-Clean Breeze
-Clean Crisp Air
-Clothespins
-Clove EO
-Cocoa Cabana
-Country Clothesline - fresh powder, light musk, and just a hint of fresh spring flowers
-Crisp & Candied - orange peels, apples, and lemons, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg
-Eucalyptus EO
-Lavender EO
-Gardenia
-Gingerbread
-Grapefruit EO
-Grapefruit Mango
-Hot Apple Pie
-Lavender Apple
-Lavender Grapefruit EO
-Lemon
-Lemongrass EO
-Lemongrass Orange EO
-Lemon Verbena
-Lilac
-Lilac Mist
-Linen Breeze
-Mango Papaya
-Monkey Fart - bananas and juicy grapefruit, kiwi, juicy bubblegum, and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla
-Nag Champa
-Oatmeal Milk & Honey
-Orange Clove
-Orange EO
-Patchouli Blend
-Pecan Pie
-Peppermint EO
-Peppermint Eucalyptus EO
-Peppermint Rosemary EO
-Pink Sugar
-Pomegranate & Ginger
-Pumpkin Apple Butter
-Pumpkin Spice
-Reindeer Poo - apples and pears; followed by middle notes of eucalyptus, pine, and geranium; and well-balanced with base notes of vanilla, cedarwood, and patchouli
-Rosemary EO
-Sage EO
-Snowstorm
-Vanilla EO
-Vanilla Insanity
-Vanilla Lavender EO
-Welcome Home - graham crackers, vanilla frosting, creamy caramel, and juicy raisins
-Ylang YlangEO

Seasonal Scents:
-Pumpkin Apple Butter
-Apple Orchard
-Crisp and Candied
-Cinnamon Sticks
-Candy Cane
-Candy Corn
-Christmas Bliss
-Christmas Cabin
-Christmas Cookie
-Christmas Cravings
-Christmas Fantasy
-Pumpkin Spice
-Pumpkin Bread
-Pecan Pie
-Candy Corn
-Mint Sugar Cookie
-Sticky Buns

An Ode to Biokleen's Bacout

For everything I can think of, bacout has some sort of use. INCLUDING cloth diapers! I use it often for our CDs - I soak overnight to get rid of stains, and I recommend it to mommas who are having ammonia or stinky problems. One of the leading causes of those problems in cloth diapers is bacteria build up in microfiber so soaking in bacout kills all that bacteria and typically solves the problem.

According to their product description, "Bac-Out's live enzyme-producing cultures attack pet, food, and beverage stains, organic waste, and odor until they are gone, digesting them back to nature, safely and naturally.
Bac-Out is safe to use around children and pets, even birds. "

My favorite uses for bacout:

1. Stinky diapers - spray 2-3 squirts in prewash!
2. Stained diapers - spray 2-3 squirts in sink and let diapers soak!
3. Carpet stains - spray and let sit for 10 minutes and then scrub! MIRACLE!
4. Garbage disposal, stinky sink drain, trash can, and mildew around the bathtub!
   

I absolutely suggest picking up a bottle, just be sure to rinse well so your baby doesn't get a rash!

I get it at our local organic/natural grocery store or online at various places including amazon.com!

How I Wash Diapers

There are a LOT of variations on diaper washing. We have been cloth diapering for over a year, and I have to admit that with changes in your DD's intake, sometimes you need to adjust your washing routine. Cloth diapering isn't finite, but it changes pretty frequently so you have to be somewhat flexible. This is our basic schedule -

CrunchyClean is clean rinsing, so you need less washing and rinsing then you are probably used to (and I have a HE frontloader, so adjust accordingly):

1. Cold rinse with no spin to get remainder of poop off and not set the stains in - no detergent (makes diapers heavier so more water in the wash). I add 4-5 squirts of Biokleen's Bacout if the diapers are stinky or super dirty - these are live enzymes, so I don't add often but they do help immensely! If you don't rinse well enough, they will irritate baby's bums so be careful.

2. Hot or warm wash with 1/2 to 1 T of CrunchyClean. If the diapers are super dirty (lots of poops like when she teethes or else I let them sit a few days) I do a hot wash.

3. IF I added bacout, I do an extra rinse. Otherwise I don't do an extra rinse

:)

Happy Cloth Diaper Washing!!