When I was pregnant with my first child, I thought I had a good idea of what babies needed until I went to a baby superstore for the first time.

Suddenly, I was faced with a ridiculous number of options and every product was marketed to seem like it was the MUST HAVE item that no parent should be without. Any possible issue that a new mom might encounter had a handy product solution that would make life SO! MUCH! BETTER!

I’m embarrassed to admit I fell for all of it…hook, line and Diaper Genie. I just didn’t know any better and frankly, being green wasn’t even on my radar back then. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to realize how un-green my baby’s world was but not before I made a more than a few mistakes and wasted a lot of money.

Learn from my experience and don’t bother with these baby items. You can use the money you will save to get baby gear that is safer and more eco-friendly!
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By Janet •  7 Comments  
Filed under: Baby, Biodegradable, Diapering, Gadgets, Organic, Reduce/Reuse, Save Green
Tags: baby gear, save money
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What: Ennovationz.com

Features: Ennovationz is a web site that provides invaluable information and advice on how to save energy and money while living green.

Green Factor: Greening your home to save energy can be costly—there’s no way to sugarcoat that fact—but one of Ennovationz.com’s standout features is the rebate section. Plug in your zip code and it will return results about ways to get money back for making energy-saving investments in your home. I did it and I was amazed at all the changes we can make that will yield a rebate or a tax deduction.

Bonus: See how your energy usage compares with similar local homes, sign up for free utility bill analysis and monitoring or get personalized energy-saving recommendations.

Find It Here: Ennovationz

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By Janet •  1 Comment  
Filed under: Home, Resources, Save Green
Tags: appliances, enery, green homes, rebates, save money, solar
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It’s Coupon Thursday here at The Green Mom Review! Okay, not really—I just made that up on the fly. But maybe we will do Coupon Thursdays. You never know. We’re wacky and unpredictable like that.

On this particular Thursday, however, we do have a line on some good Organic Valley coupons and since it’s one of MY preferred brands of organic milk and butter, I’m excited and I thought maybe you’d be excited, too!

It’s pretty easy—you need your printer turned on and stocked with paper BEFOREHAND because if the print job fails, it still counts as a printed coupon. Just go to the Organic Valley coupon page, check off all the items you’d like coupons for, fill out the info on the next page and then you print them. NOTE: you have to install a coupon printer app but it takes less than a minute. Thanks Organic Valley!

Find It Here: Organic Valley

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By Janet •  3 Comments  
Filed under: Eat, Made in USA, Organic, Save Green
Tags: coupon Thursday, coupons, organic food, organic milk, save money
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What: Kill A WattEZ

Features: Kill A WattEZ shows you what appliances really cost to operate and which ones cost you the most! Simply connect an appliance to the Kill A WattEZ and the large LCD display will count consumption by the kilowatt-hour just like your local utility.

Green Factor: Once you know precisely how much things cost to operate, you’re less inclined to waste electricity, which is good for your wallet AND the planet.

Bonus: Kill A WattEZ lets you calculates cost and forecasts by week, month and year.

Find It Here: Amazon

Win It: We’re giving away one Kill A WattEZ to one randomly selected winner! Just leave a comment telling us which of your home appliances you’re most interested in testing and why. Giveaway ends at midnight on 12/20/10; $60 value. Open to residents of the continental US only. Official Rules

Extra Entries: Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include @greenmomreview in your tweet) and note in a second comment that you tweeted the giveaway (include your Twitter name) to receive an extra entry.

This giveaway is sponsored by Geothermal Genius. Geothermal heat delivers a 400% efficiency rating and can lower your bill up to 70%.

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By Janet •  29 Comments  
Filed under: Gadgets, Gift, Gift Guide 2010, Giveaways, Home, Save Green, Tech
Tags: energy, gadgets, green, save money, utilities
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To make liquid soap by the half gallon the easy way, just follow this simple recipe that uses no dangerous ingredients or special equipment. Basically, this recipe changes hard soap into liquid (gel) soap with the addition of glycerin and water.

I’ve tried a number of liquid soap recipes from the internet that didn’t work and finally, out of frustration, devised my own. This is my own original recipe and it does work!

Easy Liquid Soap Recipe

This recipe makes just under half a gallon of general purpose liquid soap. It is best made in the evening, as it will need to cool overnight before the final stage of blending the soap.

Ingredients:

1 cup soap flakes or grated bar soap
2.5 quarts of water
1 tablespoon of glycerin

You will also need:

A large saucepan
A measuring cup and a tablespoon measure
A sealable glass jar, or an assortment of cleaned hand pumps or shampoo bottles
A stick blender, electric mixer or handheld egg beater

Method:

Mix soap flakes, water and glycerin together in a large saucepan over a low heat.
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By The Green Mom Review •  5 Comments  
Filed under: Bodycare, Clean, DIY, Save Green, Tips
Tags: glycerine, hand soap, homemade, liquid soap, save money, soap flakes, triclosan-free
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