Culture Shot: Going Green for Baby

Green is the color of choice these days. It's a buzz word in the media, a lifestyle and now it is an educated and healthier way of life. Gone are the 80's where excess was the trend, insert aerosol hairspray comment here. We’re living in the 21st century, and we all should be challenged to rethink our carbon footprint.

Raising a baby certainly comes with its own sense of excess. The amount of waste we all produce those first two years is astounding. But, if we think about just doing one Earth-friendly thing a day, no matter how many dirty diapers we’re putting in landfills, an impact will be felt. Here are some great ways to go green for your home. And, it doesn’t involve wearing patchouli, I promise.

1. Switch to environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. My new favorite, from the makers of Clorox, is green works.

2. Choose a better laundry detergent. All laundry has created their detergents to be 3X as powerful to reduce the amount of plastic used to make the packaging.

3. Use chlorine-free diapers. Seventh Generation makes a great diaper that not only works well, but is kinder to bottoms and the environment.

4. Rent toys, don't buy them. Babyplays.com is a genius endeavor by a mom who wanted to help reduce waste and amount of space toys took up in her home. The toys are sterilized and packaged before they come to your home. I love this idea.

Take a little time this Earth Day to think about how you can change that one little thing in your routine. And if you're really wanting to geek out, you can measure your carbon footprint at www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx. It's quite surprising what it will tell you.