I don't know a ton about "Green" stuff but...

There's a commercial that airs on my news station all the time that goes "we were green before green was cool." It's a slogan by a pest and lawn care company that uses environmentally friendly products for their services.

I must have heard that a thousand times before I stopped to think about it. "Before green was cool."

Aint that the truth. I thought as I mouthed the phrase I knew was coming.

If anything is trendy right now like no other it's green products.

I'm bombarded with mom emails every morning issuing me a new warning about some product I use that's harmful to my baby and has links to cancer.--Air fresheners, glass cleaners, bleach, cell phones. I might as well move to a bubble and eat dirt.

These emails almost always offer up a green alternative which makes me scratch my head and wonder if that green alternative is the one sponsoring this mass email to scare me.

Well I'll show them. Instead of buying the toxic-free air freshener, I'll just let my house stink. And instead of washing my counters with that natural cleaner...Well, I just won't wash my counters.

Yes, ladies and gentle men, my plan is to just live in filth instead of fear.

Organic Cotton Girls Top from My Natural Baby Boutique

When I told my husband of my plan to stop cleaning, of course he had a smart aleck response.

"So, what's new? I do all of the cleaning."

So my plan to rebel against the toxic clean companies, and their expensive alleged "green" counterparts was short lived. But I haven't given up. I do want to be greener. To live greener, and feel like I'm making a difference. But I also don't want to feel ripped off.

Something that comes from the earth should be cheaper than something that's processed--At least in my mind. I know things that are processed are more often mass-produced, and more likely to cost less to make (at least that's what I hear) but there's gotta be other ways to be thrifty AND green right?

For one, I'm thinking of using vinegar to clean with. I dunno, I hear it gets the job done. I'm not sure what I think of my whole house smelling like vinegar but I imagine it'll be better than the smell of not cleaning. It's worth a try. Until we find out vinegar also has a link to cancer.

I'm also of thinking of joining a community garden. My town has dozens of community gardens and there's a couple right around my house. Organic food can be pricey, but if I grow my own it can be way cheap. I'm talking tomato seeds for like 10 cents. Renting a plot is only like $30 a year or less depending which you plant at. And this way I don't have to dig up my own yard... The plots are already there!

Organic Cotton Pants with Skirt from My Natural Baby Boutique

The only downside is well... The work, and the fact that I've never been able to keep my potted plants alive so umm... This could wind up being a disaster, but it could also be a good learning experience. I'll definitely take a free class before trying. And I'll bring the whole family out. It'll be a good lesson for all of us. Plus Lil' J already likes to eat dirt. She's green.

I doubt I'll ever decide to grow cotton (it just don't seem right in my mind). But apparently non-organic cotton uses lots of cancer-linked pesticides (surprise, surprise!). I'd think it's not the end of the world since you wash your clothes, and you're wearing them, not eating them, but don't quote me on that. If you're still worried, stores like My Natural Baby Boutique make clothes with 100% organic cotton. That's where these cute Earthy-looking clothes are from.
And finally, I'm all about recycling. ALL a-bout-it!! I'm not the best about recycling my own trash (YET)--I'm working on that. But I am saving all of Lil' J's clothes. I don't plan to throw any away. It'll all be donated, used for my next child, or sold. I am also good about buying recycled products. Like clothes for Lil 'J. A good portion of them are second hand. Betcha didn't know that! Yea! I get a lot of her stuff off eBay, and a few things from thrift stores. I even have found some cool etsy shops that up-cycle their clothes. Meaning, taking fabric from an old-something, and turning it into a new-something. Like this skirt from Wendy Miracle and this adorable hair bow from Little Smash:

Upcycled Skirt from Wendy Miracle; Upcycled Bow from Little Smash; Bubble top from HEB

Recycled toilet paper is another way to go. No... It's not what you think. We use cloth wipes for Lil' J but not for us. Recycled toilet paper as in White Cloud Green Earth brand. Like up-cycled clothes, this stuff is made of 100% recycled material, which saves millions of trees. Kruger, the company behind White Cloud Green Earth is also using green energy to run it's factories.

So maybe I am jumping on the "green is cool" bandwagon, but really, is it that bad of a club to be in? Even if we do find out that it's all a hoax next year, or that it's already too late, we're gonna die--At least we gave it a try, and it's a well-meaning club to be in.

Thanks for making it to the bottom of my ramblings in this post. If you've survived, congratulations, now it's time for some freebies...
You can buy Green Earth TP or paper towels and get 50% more right now. You can also use this coupon to get another $1.50 off. If you like free money, join their twitter party tomorrow where they'll be giving away Walmart gift cards from 1-2pm CST. Use hashtag #earthday and #green to party.


If you comment and let me know what you like from My Natural Baby Boutique, you'll be entered to win $20 to their cute clothing store. The first 5 people to say the code phrase "yo wassup" in the comments, gets $15 off their order of $50 or more. 

And finally, everyone who comments on this post letting me know an item they like from Planet Gear.com which sells clothes and other goodies for 70% off retail prices, will be entered to win this mother/daughter set of water bottles. You can also find them here on twitter or facebook. I believe you'll also get a free $10 credit by using that link *crossing my fingers that's how that works*.

All comments for prizes should be submitted by the 3rd please!

*I'm a White Cloud blogger and am compensated for my time preparing this post. All of my silly opinions are my own.