parenting

Oh-so-timely little projects to do with kids for the remainder of the school break –

• Parenthacks suggests customizing all of those give-away calendars with kids’ artwork you have lying around anyway. What a sweet thing to send on to grandparents!
• Treehugger reminds us how to make a dollhouse chair out of a champagne cork.
• Crafting a Green World has seven more ways to upcycle holiday cards.
• Skip to My Lou rounds up free printable Thank You cards that kids can color or customize to send of for all of their holiday gifts.

Tiny Decor answers a question looming large in my head since we just switched the little boys to their Britax Marathons from their infant carrier seats: Are there eco-friendly car seat covers? They site a number of sources and have links to sewing patterns as well! Considering these seats are with us for the next 3+ years, I’m going to have to make some matching covers.

crafting

Eco Child’s Play shares a few easy kids sewing patterns (for kids stuff, not necessarily for children to sew, although that might work, too!).

resources

Amy at MomAdvice has a playdough recipe roundup. That post is a keeper! So many great ideas.

I’m totally inspired by Green Bean’s description of how her house is organized for optimizing reuse of objects. I like to think we’re similarly laid out, although we are subject to a little less order to our chaos because of the ever-changing needs and supplies of the almost 10 month old set. I’m so inspired I’m thinking of writing up something similar myself, to give ideas to others but also to maybe help me see where the holes are in my various systems.

We’re talking about green resolutions tomorrow in the Green Space at BeCentsAble. If you’ll be headed to Walgreens anyhow, take advantage of this great deal on Energize battery rechargers (via Centsable Savings):

On sale for $7.99 with a $5 Walgreens rebate (#20) and a $5 manufacturer’s rebate. It appeared that the sale price would only be valid last week, and I wasn’t able to make it to the store to get it. Since the regular price is $9.99, though, it would still be free after both rebates.

I had some Register Rewards expiring, so I decided to go ahead and spend them on the charger. But when I got there I found that the sale price of $7.99 is valid all month, and there were also $2 peelies on the packages, making this deal a $4 moneymaker! (Pay $5.99, get back $10 worth of rebates.)

There were also $.50, $.75, and $1.00 coupons (depending on your region) in the 12/14 Smartsource if you can’t find the peelies.

So no excuses to keep using toxic disposable batteries when the charger and starter set is free! What a great deal!

If you’re taking down holiday lights that maybe are no longer functioning this weekend, the Whole Foods blog has some tips on recycling them!

Back with more ASAP

It’s been a long couple of days away from the computer, so I’m going to put a few things out there, in no special order…

It seems like every once in awhile, one of the many blogs I read does a round up of all of the current printable coupons for organic groceries and baby stuff. The latest is from Green Mom Finds. Enjoy!

I read this entire article on Depression-Era posters and modern remakes in Readymade with great interest. The posters these are inspired by are from my favorite exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum. As an American History major in college and a constant student of political communications, they’ve always appealed to me. The new ones are excellent, and some how I managed to miss… free to download!

Skip to My Lou rounds up more free downloads — all sorts of adorable gift tags, including some especially for for handmade gifts.

Eco Child’s Play has a bunch of links for quick, thrifty and eco-friendly Christmas crafts to do in the waning days before the holiday. I especially love the idea of Lego ornaments and will be filing that away as teacher and grandparet gift potential for next year. And as soon as we’re clearing off the mantel, I’ll be making some of the cool holiday card puzzles featured at The Crafty Crow (which has had a pile of nice Hanukkah crafts lately, too, although as you can tell by the picture from my living room, we believe any project can be a Hanukkah project around here…)

What are you making with your kids this week?

We’ve had a little bit of a crazy time!

There’s been a nasty but quick stomach bug going around that seems to have a long incubation period so it’s made a few stops in our house. After P and then my husband had it and a week went by, I thought we were in the clear, but Thursday it was Baby A, Friday it was me, and this morning Baby R was the latest victim. Baby E’s the only hold out, so we’ll see what happens…

Add to that a pile or three of snow, snow day and school closed now for the holidays, the start of Hanukkah, a million teacher gifts to buy, and a huge flood of comment spam that had me closing down comments and deleting several hundred more (!), and I’ve gotten a little bit behind. Luckily, we’re all on the mend, the latkes have been eaten, the coupons have been reallocated to those who wanted them, and hopefully this week will go a little smoothly than last. Sorry for the interruption and let me pass on one quick deal:

Gaiam has 4-pack of Seventh Generation Stage 6 (35+ lbs) chlorine-free diapers for $40. Add them to your cart, and apply coupon CSFFX to get them for $17 + $6 S/H = $23.

That’s 104 Size 6 diapers for $23! Unfortunately, it’s Size 6 only, but I’m sure it will help someone out. Back with more tomorrow!

It’s a random kind of week when you’re not talking about holiday-related stuff, for sure. But first, an urgent matter:

Friends, this is not good news. I’ve been reading for the past week or two about how the new Consumer Product Safety Commission Act is going to impact people who make toys and clothes, basically anything intended for kids. Cool Mom Picks has a site dedicated to the issue and some simple steps for getting involved. If you need some tips on writing or calling your elected officials, just ask! (That’s actually what I do for a living…)

parenting

Treehugger breaks down how much energy you save by washing clothes on cold. I think we get stuck on the idea that kids/baby clothes need to be washed on warm for some reason, but I’ve been doing cold for some time now and not seeing a difference. Now that it’s generally 20 degrees here or less during the day, I’ll do “warm” loads more often or that’s some really chilly laundry!

eating

11 winter salads, and each looks super good. (From TheKitchn, via Re-nest) #6 is one of the sides at a stellar restaurant in our neighborhood. I ordered an extra helping the last time I was there, so maybe it’s time to make it myself. They say the ramen noodles aren’t essential, but I disagree!

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I’m looking forward to a glut of organizing and housekeeping posts around the ‘net right after Christmas to bring in the New Year. You can expect huge savings on plastic storage items at the big stores, but I’m going to be thinking about repurposing items around the house to accomplish the same tasks.

Have a storage headache you want dealt with? Maybe I can help. Leave your quandary in the comments!

First, I’m over at BeCentsAble today, talking about green craft ideas to upcycle all those lovely holiday cards. Here’s a sneak peek:

But on to coupons!

I have three bundles:

• #1 — Value: $13, including $8 off different types of Seventh Generation products (like 2x $1 off diapers), $2 off Gerber cereal and bowls or utensils, $2 off JASON baby care, $1 off Stonyfield Farm YoMommy
• #2 — Value: $9, $7 off Seventh Generation (1x $1 off diapers) and $2 off JASON baby care
• #3 — Value: $5, all Seventh Generation (no diaper coupons)

All expire 12/31/08. If you’re interested, let me know in the comments or via email. If more than one person is interested by Thursday night, I’ll use the random number generator to pick a winner. If you want more than one bundle (or to be eligible for more than one), let me know that, too.

Lots of stuff, make sure to read all the way down…

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You know why I’m participating in MPM so much these days? It helps me write my shopping list at my desk at work. I just look up this post on Google Reader and I’m good to go

Sunday - Pizza night, a few days late!

Monday - Baked Potato bar

Tuesday - Queso burritos (from the Whole Foods rotisserie chicken sale, of course)

Wednesday - Tater tot casserole (with homemade cream of mushroom, so hopefully it won’t be too scary. This is the first time I’m trying this, so we’ll see how it turns out!)

Thursday - Pasta with beans and greens

Friday - Take-out. P will be at MIL’s, so we’ll put the babies to bed and enjoy a quiet dinner.

Saturday - Chicken chili

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Also on my shopping list, a FREE Happy Bites Organic Toddler Meal! PDF coupon via Attention Target Shoppers, but since we have no Super Targets in my entire state (boo!), I’ll be getting mine at Whole Foods. Note the expiration date (12/21/08) and get yours this week, too.

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I have a pile of coupons (well, three piles, actually) for Seventh Generation cleaners, diapers, paper products, and some other natural/organic household and baby misc that I will be posting tomorrow. The catch is that they expire 12/31/08, but I know someone will get some use out of them.

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Totally unrelated question: I cut up a few of my husband’s old plain white t-shirts to knit some dish scrubbers, and was pretty excited by the results and how fast I could knit them up. I made two today, while hanging out with the little boys and doing the last of the holiday packing and card writing, so I think they averaged less than an hour a piece! Does anyone know a resource for cutting the shirts more efficiently? That took me a lot of time and came out uneven (in a bad way) in a few too many places.

Still looking for some gifts? Some great green deals are out there.

Reusablebags.com has a big sale section and a new coupon code out, per Leaving Excess.

Reusuablebags is having a holiday sale, see 126 great sale items here.

They are also offering $4.95 flat rate shipping!

If your new year’s resolution is to reduce your waste, consider these great options. If you have anyone on your gift list that would enjoy these products, use the following coupon code to save 10% - EVEN ON SALE ITEMS!

Here are the details:

As special thanks to our customers & newsletter subscribers, we’ve created a coupon you can forward on to your friends & family - empowering you to share the idea of giving gifts that help people consume less. We’ve included a coupon for you, too! Coupons are good for 10% off all orders. Plus, we’re still offering $4.95 Flat Shipping and our big holiday sale (up to 50% off). So don’t wait — forward this email to your family and friends today!

Valid on all store items (including sale items!)
Type FRIEND10 at checkout to receive offer (current customers type CUST10)
Limit one use per customer

Ends Monday, Dec 15th at midnight (CST)For Shipping by Christmas, order by:-12pm CST on 12/14 for Standard Ground ($4.95 Flat - all orders)-12pm CST on
12/19 for UPS 2nd Day Air-12pm CST on 12/22 for UPS Next Day Air Saver

Ecobunga shares another great deal:

Enter coupon code holiday2008 at check out to receive 20% off on all items from Laptop Lunches, makers of reusable and recyclable bento-box style lunch containers that are free of phthalates, BPA, and lead.

How about a cheap Entertainment book for a teacher, family friend, or helpful neighbor? From Centsible Savings:

Here’s how to get your very own 2009 Entertainment book for free:

Register with Cashbaq. You’ll get $5 just for signing up. When you shop with Cashbaq you’ll get paid back either a certain percentage or a certain dollar amount of your purchase. They also offer coupon codes that you can combine with the cash back offers.

In the case of the Entertainment book, their current promotion is $10 off with free shipping. Plus, they are also offering $10 cash back after you purchase it.

Look! My doll sitch is on ohdeeoh!

The comments have me thinking I could get him the identical plastic dolls he wants but then maybe go the more sage route for the accessories. I’m not even certain he realized any of the stuff on the box came with the dolls, honestly. Very helpful!

sage finds will be up early tomorrow.