Eco Baby

My preparations for baby's arrival are almost complete so I thought I'd do a post on how I'm trying to keep these preparations as simple and green as possible. When I first started to shop for baby I was overwhelmed and actually disgusted by the vast array of products on sale for newborns. It's very hard to work out what is essential and what is not. From the start I wanted to stick to the bare minimum so I very soon had a list of the things I felt I'd need and began to research the best options. Here's a list of everything we've bought.

Clothes

I spent a long time looking online at eco-clothing lines and found plenty of shops selling ethically produced clothes for babies. However they cost an absolute fortune! It would be impossible for us to clothe our baby entirely in these products without going bankrupt in the process. I understand that these clothes cost more to produce but there are obviously a lot of companies who are cashing in on selling eco products and making huge profits. We bought a few bits and pieces from small independent shops such as this one in Florence but otherwise we've gone for cheaper options from places such as John Lewis. Their clothes are good value for money and to reduce our impact we bought as few clothes as possible. We've also collected quite a good supply of second hand clothes from family members. It's not easy to find second-hand baby clothes in Italy. We searched for about an hour for a second hand baby shop we'd heard about in Florence only to find that it had closed down. In an ideal world I'd make all of the clothes for the baby but unfortunately my sewing skills aren't up to scratch (something I need to remedy). I've knitted or crocheted a few bits and pieces and my mum has given me lots of things that she's handmade. So, overall we've managed to get by only buying new a few vests and sleepsuits. 

Sleeping

We're fixing up the cot that belonged to my husband when he was a baby so only needed to buy a new mattress. We've also bought a Moses basket which we'll use for the first few months. For bedding I've bought new sheets but have handmade blankets. (I'll be sharing in another post the things I've made because a friend has borrowed my camera and I have no pictures). 

Travelling

The one thing I definitely didn't want to get second hand was our travel system. We plan on having more children so we wanted something that is going to last. We've gone for a good quality and practical option and hopefully we won't need to replace it. We've also bought a baby carrier which we're planning to use a lot. 

Nappies

We've decided we are going to use cloth diapers and have spent hours researching all the different types. We'll start off the first couple of weeks with disposables while we try out a couple of different types of diapers before we buy complete sets. I'm really looking forward to using cloth nappies and will probably do more posts on this subject once the baby is here. 

Furniture

We don't have a nursery for the baby so the only furniture we've bought is a changing unit. For this we went to the dreaded Ikea (you can see my thoughts about Ikea here). As much as I dislike the idea of Ikea it does have some practical options. We bought a great changing unit which didn't cost much and is good quality. I feel guilty about this purchase but I do love my changing unit! We've recieved other bits and pieces such as play pen, baby bath and high chair from a family member so we haven't needed to buy anything else.

Bathing

I've spent many hours obsessively researching products for keeping baby clean. There are so many products available and so much information about the harmful effects of these products. I've become completely confused by all of this information and have no idea what the best options are. Once again I've discovered that any natural products are 10 times the price of commercial brands and they are often difficult to find. Once baby is here I'm going to experiment making my own baby wash etc. I've knitted or crocheted a good supply of wash cloths and am in the process of making reusable baby wipes. 

So that's it! It feels like we've bought tons of stuff which is a shock after months of buying nothing at all! However, I do feel like we've managed to stick to the things that for us are essentials and I've resisted the temptation of buying anything carelessly. Every little purchase I've made has been carefully considered taking into account our budget, the environmental impact and of course the health and well-being of our baby. 

I'd be really interested to hear from other green living mums and to hear their ideas or advice on all of this.

Have a good weekend everyone x x 

Challenge of the Utmost Kind - update

As you may remember since last October I have been taking part in a challenge, inspired by Dotty Angel, to buy only second-hand or hand-made goods for myself and home for one whole year. There are only 2 months left of my challenge and I'm happy to say it's been a huge success. I've become much more aware of what I buy and my attitude as a consumer has completely changed. I no longer buy whatever I feel like without a minutes thought.

I can't say that I've stuck to the challenge 100% unfortunately. I've bought a couple of items of clothing to fit my expanding belly and I've bought a couple of pregnancy books that weren't second hand. However, apart from these few items I've stuck completely to hand made or second-hand. That is apart from things for the baby! I decided early on that it would be impossible to stick completely to the challenge when it comes to shopping for the baby. There are certain things that I wanted to buy new such as car seat, crib and mattress, pram. I've bought a few new bits of clothing but only the bare minimum and I've been given a lot of things second hand. Anything I do buy new I try to stick to my green principles and consider where the item has been made and what it's been made of. I'll be doing another post on my 'eco-friendly' baby preparations some time soon. 

Overall, it's proving to be an extremely rewarding experience and although the challenge officially ends in a couple of months I'm pretty sure that I'll continue on with my new spending habits. 

Handmade Christmas

Sticking to my Challenge of the Utmost Kind proved difficult at Christmas time. A few of my presents were handmade but I ended up making a last minute purchase of a shirt on Christmas Eve for my husband after I made a mess of the scarf I was knitting for him. It's a lovely shirt and something he needed. I feel a little bit guilty.... but not too much.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to take pictures of all of the things I made. The only thing I did photograph was this star garland which I made for my mum. The pattern for the stars is from Michelle at The Royal Sisters and I had the idea of making it into a garland from Tina at Rubies' Place. The stars are made from hemp which I bought here.

It's such a lovely feeling giving someone a handmade gift and this is a tradition I think I'll continue even when my challenge is over.

IKEA

On Sunday I faced my biggest test so far since undertaking my Challenge of the Utmost Kind - a trip to IKEA. We went with a friend who has just bought a new appartment, to help him transport his new furniture. I'm glad to say that I came out empty handed and was surprised to find that I wasn't even tempted to buy anything. In fact, the whole experience kind of annoyed me.

First of all, a trip to IKEA, in Italy (the 4th biggest consumer of IKEA products) on a Sunday afternoon, a month before Christmas is a bad idea. The place was heaving, people were fighting over spaces in the parking lot and getting tetchy in the customer services queue. After a certain amount of time I found a sofa in a quiet corner near the exit and waited until my friend was finished.

I sat there for about an hour watching all the people going out with trolleys full of stuff. I wondered what they would do with that stuff and how long it would be before they'd throw the stuff out and come back to buy more stuff.

IKEA has an image of being an environmentally conscious company, they use wood which is ethically sourced, have reduced the use of certain dangerous substances and have a growing range of recycled products for sale. However, I can't help but wonder how they are able to produce goods at such low costs and I'm sure that somebody somewhere is loosing out. In fact, they were placed on the 2010 Sweatshop Hall of Shame by the International Labor Rights Forum.

Nonetheless, my main problem is not with IKEA itself, it's with the vast number of people who decide to throw out their existing perfectly functional furnishings to go out and buy cheap replacements from IKEA, completely re-doing their homes every few years. Do these people really think it will make them happy to go out on a Sunday afternoon and buy a new dinner set or new bedding, spending their hard-earned cash to replace something that they already have?

I'm not saying that I will never buy anything from IKEA, I think they have some really good products available (I love their wardrobes which have ways of keeping your clothes perfectly organised). However, anything I buy will be something which I think will last for a long time and that won't need to be replaced every few years.

Needless to say, it will be a while before I'll be making another trip to IKEA!

Challenge of the Utmost Kind - monthly update

I'm one month into my Challenge of the Utmost Kind inspired by Tif of Dottie Angel and I'm proud to say that in this month I haven't bought a single new thing. I satisfied my shopping urges by going to a local flea market and I've been working on my knitting so that I can hopefully soon provide myself with some of the clothes I need. I'm also learning to crochet. The next couple of months are going to be more difficult to get through with Christmas coming up. I haven't started making any of my Christmas presents yet and am a bit lacking in inspiration. If anyone has any ideas of things I can knit, sew or crochet for gifts then please let me know.

Finally, I wanted to share with you the latest video produced by The Story of Stuff Project. It has inspired me to keep going with my challenge.

Steps towards a 'Simpler' Life

"Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things." ~ Elise Boulding

My buzz word at the moment is 'SIMPLIFY.' As well as undertaking my Challenge of an Utmost Kind I'm making a huge effort to 'simplify' my life, to become more self-sufficient and to make do with less. It's strange that the term 'simplify' is often used because I feel like the efforts of cooking from scratch, making homemade gifts, clothes, cleaning products etc. etc. makes my life far from simple! It's so much simpler just to pop to the supermarket and buy the most convenient products available. However, I'm sure that once I get into good habits and routines it will become easier and at the end of the day it's a far more satisfying way to live.

I thought I'd do a series of posts on what I'm doing to simplify or become more self-sufficient, to save money and to have less impact on the environment.

First up is cleaning. Now, I must say that I have a bit of a casual approach to housework and while I enjoy cleaning I don't believe that it's necessary or a good use of time to have a perfectly clean and spotless house all of the time. I've always used a multitude of chemical products for cleaning my home but recently it's become apparent that none of these products are necessary. My cleaning cupboard now consists of the following items:

1. Bicarbonate of soda

2. Savon de Marseille

3. White wine vinegar

4. Olive oil (made from our own olives)

5. Essential oil

6. A hand-knitted cloth

I love the tips on the uses of bicarbonate of soda on the box.....

My mum knitted me this dish cloth to put in my 'bottom drawer' before I got married!

These products meet most of my cleaning needs, are cheap and have a lower impact on the environment than chemical products.

The only cleaning products I now buy are washing detergent and washing up liquid. I experimented with making my own washing powder but wasn't convinced by the results. I need to experiment a bit with some different recipes and also find the ingredients I need to make my own washing up liquid. In the mean time I buy eco-products, a pretty expensive alternative.

This weekend I'm helping with the olive harvest so fingers crossed the weather stays as warm and sunny as it has been the past few days.

Hope you have a good weekend x x

Thrifted chopping board

At the weekend I finally got round to cleaning up the chopping board I bought a few weeks ago. It took a lot of scrubbing with hot water and vinegar and then sanding down as there were some pretty deep cuts and scratches in the wood. It was well worth the effort however, the grain in the wood has come up really nicely and it was so much more satisfying than going out and buying a brand new chopping board.

Getting Knitty

The days are getting colder and the nights are drawing in, it's time to get my knitting needles out again. I like nothing more than knitting by the fire with a steaming mug of my aunt-in-laws homemade laurel tea.

I learned how to knit when I was about 8 years old and my skills haven't really progressed since then! I've only ever managed to knit things like this simple cowl..........

........or these very basic fingerless gloves.

I've never actually followed a knitting pattern, all those abbreviations scare me a bit (k2tog, psso, sk2p - what do they all mean???) However, if I'm going to succeed in my Challenge of the Utmost Kind, I decided that I need to work on improving my knitting skills so I can make myself something a bit more useful than gloves with no fingers!

So, I searched online to come up with an easy pattern I could follow. I thought I'd start with something really simple and work my way up. I came up with a dead easy pattern for slipper socks and at the weekend I completed the first one using wool which some friends gave me for my birthday almost a year ago.

It's a bit of a funny shape as I didn't have the right kind of wool or the right size of needles. However, it's cosy and comfy and I think very 'chic' in the granny way. Now, I just have to knit the other one..........

Flea Market Finds

To kick start my challenge of the utmost kind, last weekend we paid a visit to nearby Pissignano to check out their monthly flea market. Held on the first Sunday of every month, it's one of the biggest second hand and antique markets in Umbria with over 200 stalls. It was a bit of a recce for us to see what type of goods are on offer. Although we're not quite at the stage of buying furniture etc. yet, I want to start collecting bits and pieces for our house when and where we can. There was a huge variety of treasures on offer from vintage motorbikes to fabric and lace. Here are some pictures of what was tempting me.........

1. Vintage suitcases

2. Old kitchen scales

3. Copper pots and pans

4. Vintage radios

And here is what I bought.......

1. A dirty old wooden chopping board in need of a good scrub

2. Some 1950s provençal fabric

I could have bought so much more though. I have to be patient however. At the moment we need bricks and mortar not kitchen scales! Nonetheless, I think this could become a monthly outing for me.

Now to decide what to do with that fabric.......

A Challenge of the Utmost Kind

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. Thinking about what my goals are, what I want to achieve and the type of life I want to lead. The past year I've been floating along on the excitement of wedding plans, trying to get our renovation project off the ground and building my reputation in the school where I work. I've not really spent time examining my life and where it's going.

Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me and I've come across so many women who I've come to admire and even envy. They're mothers, home-makers, crafters, gardeners, cooks. They lead healthy and thrifty lives, caring for their environment and their homes, raising healthy, happy families....they seem to do it all and I wonder to myself, why can't I be more like that? They're living the lives I'd like to lead and it's time I did something about it.

While planning our wedding I came across the blog Imagine Lovely. I was in awe of Tania Verdez's challenge of buying only second hand or home made items for a whole year, this included planning her handcrafted vintage wedding. I discovered that she was taking part in a challenge set by Tif of Dottie Angel. At the time I read about it and thought, as I often do, that's something I'd like to do....maybe one day.

Recently I've been growing more and more concerned about the impact of our consumer society on the environment. Then I came across the Story of Stuff Project. Their video about where 'stuff' comes from and where it goes scared me into really thinking about what I buy and what I do with the things I buy.

So these discoveries combined with a feeling of lethargy about my life now that the excitement of the wedding is over have led me to the decision of taking up Dottie Angel's challenge. For one whole year, starting on 10.10.10 I pledge to buy only second hand or homemade goods for myself and my home. This will include as far as is possible the things we need for our home renovation. Where it's not possible to buy second hand or homemade (second hand paint might be difficult to come by!) I'll buy the greenest product available.

Already I'm feeling overwhelmed by this challenge and at the moment I see only obstacles. My family and friends in Italy are going to think I'm crazy. There is a distinct lack of charity shops or thrift stores in this part of the world and I have no idea where on earth I'm going to do my shopping. However, I know that I have the blogging community to continue to inspire me and I'm relying on you, my blogging friends to get me through the coming year.

Let the challenge begin!