Sponsor: Diaper Junction

Diaper Junction is a cloth diaper, natural parenting and baby gear retailer. Shop locally in Virginia Beach or order online anytime! Free USA Shipping on orders over $49, plus earn 5% Cash Back via their Stash Cash Customer Rewards Program with every single order you place!

Sponsor: Jillian's Drawers

Jillian's Drawers is the home of the orginal Cloth Diaper Trial. Try 12 cloth diapers for 21 days and spend just $10! Located in Ithaca NY. Shop online or in person and see why Jillian's is one of the best places to shop for cloth diapers and more.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

gDiapers Giveaway and Vine.com Discount Code for 20% off!

New Giveaway for Cloth Diaper Geek fans!

I've got a great sponsored giveaway for you all from Vine.com, the natural and organic sister-site to Diapers.com and Soap.com. Their mission is to make healthy, green living easy and convenient. (I like that mission!)  Vine will deliver goods to your doorstep in 2 days or less and shipping is always free when you spend $35+.

Special Offers:  Use this Vine.com Discount Code VINE20 and receive 20% off your first order over $35 at Vine.com!


20% off all gDiaper products through the end of June! To redeem, add a gDiapers product to your cart and enter the promotional code GDAD at checkout. While supplies last. We reserve the right to limit quantities. Offer subject to change or cancellation. Expires 6/30/2013.


Vine has generously offered a gDiapers prize pack for Cloth Diaper Geek readers!  Enter to win and you'll receive a gDiapers Bundle with liners, inserts and gPants!

The Prize Pack Includes:

2 gDiapers Cloth Inserts 6-Pack $28.49 each / $56.98
8 Little gpants – $18.69 each / $149.52 MSRP
2 gDiapers Cloth Liners - 105 count - $8.99 each / $17.98
2 gDiapers Disposable Inserts - $14.99 each / $29.98
1 ecojot Jumbo Journal $15.50 

Total Value $270.00 ARV

gDiapers are a Hybrid Diapering System that allows the user to to choose either a biodegradable insert or a cloth insert.  You can also use the gPants as a cover over your favorite fitted or prefold cloth diaper.

gDiapers is one of many diaper brands available at Vine.com

Per Vine.com's request, this giveaway is open to the USA only.

Enter to win via the Rafflecopter form embedded below.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored giveaway post. 

Friday, June 14, 2013

An unexpected honor, Top 25 Pregnancy Blogs for 2013!

I'm kind of shocked but also very flattered to have received an email from Babble.com stating my blog had been chosen as one of Babble's Top 25 Pregnancy Blogs for 2013.  To be honest, I thought it was some kind of mistake.  I clicked through and began scrolling through the chosen blogs to find out.  This is what I found:
"Cloth Diaper Geek is another awesome cloth-diapering blog that doesn't only focus on cloth diapers – though it covers that super well, linking to and advocating the best of the best small cloth diaper businesses, while also hosting awesome giveaways and giving tips and tricks on greener living. "  -Babble
I am honored, flattered and also inspired.  I don't know who is responsible for choosing the blogs or the criteria they base their decisions upon but I'd like to recognize that there are several other worthy bloggers who weren't listed and certainly are more "worthy" than I.

I am however excited to see cloth diaper resource blogs being recognized as a recommended blog for expecting moms, this is as it should be and any little bit of exposure for cloth is a good one!

So, thank you Babble.  I appreciate your recognizing my blog.  Smooches!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

From garbage to the garden! Learn to recycle your Keurig K-Cups!

Recently I posted about my Keurig and how the K-Cups were pricey so I tried the DIY: K-Cups for Keurig.  Well as it turns out, I really wasn't crazy about the way the coffee was turning out.  I'm not entirely sure if I was using the right ground, the right strength or if it was just supposed to taste the way it did.  Short story is that I no longer use my EkoBrew reusable K-Cup.

So, I've been back to using the disposable K-Cups.  I try to get them on sale, Amazon has some of the best prices, especially if you have Amazon Prime which gives you Free Shipping.

I've admittedly been feeling a little bad about the waste.  I used to compost my coffee grounds after each pot of coffee but we stopped composting and I've just been tossing the K-Cups.

Well...we recently got a new composter which got me thinking I miss not composting my coffee grounds.  So I decided to open the K-Cups and get the grounds out.  Then I noticed what cute little seed starter pots the empty cups would make.  They are the perfect size for a seed, a spoonful or two of soil and they already have a hole in the bottom!

And then guess what!?  They're reusable!  Suddenly I have a big smile on my face.  Now I  drink my K-Cups without the guilt of knowing they cost more and produce more unnecessary waste!  I'm able to compost the coffee grounds and coffee filter inside and make use of the tiny cups!

Yay me!

Anyhow, I thought I'd share with you all my bight idea...which has probably been waiting for me to discover it all along somewhere else online.

Below are my photos of the clean-out process and the planting of some Milkweed seeds for our butterflies.




So...have you been feeling guilty about your K-Cup addiction?  Have you found any alternate uses for your K-Cups?  Please share!

*This post does contain affiliate links but is not a sponsored post.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Break your addiction to paper towels with Mamamade's Tree Saver Towels!

Mamamade, break your addiction to paper towels.

Heard of tree saver towels? They're a handmade, reusable alternative to paper towels and disposable cleaning towels. I've had a chance to make the switch from paper towels to Mamamade's tree saver towels and I love them.

My favorite uses so far, cleaning glass, mirrors and counters, my usual areas of paper towel over use. I can use one tree saver towel to clean the inside and out of our sliding glass patio doors and they're still able to clean beyond that. In general I could expect to use 4-8 paper towels for the same job. Although, admittedly I only ever buy the super cheap paper towels and they're never very absorbent.

I know what some of you are thinking, the snaps aren't necessary and they're too pricey.

Well honestly, isn't creating reusables that are just as convenient to use as disposables the whole point? It's the same with cloth diapers. We use modern cloth because it functions like a disposable, closes easily like a disposable and is made to be as easy to use as a disposable diaper.

Honestly, I couldn't be more impressed with the tree saver towels. It's not as easy to tell in the photos, but these are very thick, durable and absorbent.  The innovative elastic with snaps that allows you to be able to roll these onto a paper towel roll is very innovative and I honestly had no clue that was standard with the towels.  In fact, I hadn't considered how I'd roll them and forgot that without a way to attach them to the roller they would just fall off.

The tree saver towels have so far been used in my house for cleaning up after dinner, cleaning windows and glass, cleaning the bathroom counters and toilet and as a hand towel for drying.

I can admit, at first my husband was rolling his eyes and I could tell he was thinking "what are you forcing us to do now?" But when I took away the paper towels and replaced them with these he then realized how well they work I've seen him using them and reminding the kids to use them as well.

So far one set has been more than plenty.  I wash as needed with my regular laundry so clean ones are always getting added back on the roll.

If you're a fan of reusables and have been considering new ways to green your household I recommend you check out Mamamade on etsy.  From Tree Saver Towels to Sanwich Wraps, Snack bags to Insulated Totes, she's got a variety of really cute and affordable eco products that are all handmade!

Free Shipping and Free OS Cloth Diaper when you order over $50 at Country Drawers! Last Day!

One of my fab sponsors, Country Drawers, is having an awesome Memorial Day weekend sale and today is the last day to take advantage.

Always Free USA Shipping applies, but through today you can receive a Free OS Diaper when you spend $50 or more.  The Free OS Cloth Diaper is valued at $17!  That's a great freebie!

Make sure you head over to Country Drawers and take advantage of this great deal. 
Complete details on this sale can be found here on their Facebook Page.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Bumbledoo Twitter Party hosted by The Cloth Diaper Revival is tonight at 9pm EST!

My friends at The Cloth Diaper Revival and Bumbledoo diapers are throwing a Bee-lated Mother's Day Twitter Party tonight and it looks like it's going to be super fun!
 
Bee-lated Mother's Day Twitter Party
May 21st @ 9 pm EST
Sponsored by bumbledoo
Hosted by @jennymcclamroch & @bumbledoo
Special guest panelists: @mycdstash, @clothdiaperguru, @according2jenny, @inquisitivemom, and @zephyrhillblog

To RSVP and for more details please head over to the Cloth Diaper Revival blog! Hope to see you there tonight! 

Inside Etsy Artisan Roots & Wings Jewelry Studio, get ready to drool!

Gorgeous product photos certainly help sell a product and can make almost anything on etsy look great, especially handmade goods, but it's not hard at all to capture great shots when your jewelry is as stunning as the pieces created by Roots & Wings designer Ashley Mersereau.

I had the pleasure of receiving a gorgeous necklace made by Ashley and I couldn't be more impressed.  I love knowing my necklace was handmade by a true artist and the compliments I receive when wearing it speak volumes as to how unique and eye-catching it really is.  My necklace is made of delicate wire wrapped Chalcedony on a Sterling Silver chain with a lovely silver feather charm.  I'm crazy about this piece and love wearing it and showing it off.


What else is impressive about Ashley of Roots & Wings?  Her workspace, aka studio!  Seriously folks, you can hand make or sew anything you want pretty much anywhere you want, but we all know that the more you love your workspace the more inspired and creative your work becomes.  It's not hard to imagine how creative you'd feel if you had a cozy studio like Ashley.  The photos of her studio are certainly Pinterest worthy and I hope will inspire you to get creative and spruce up your own space no matter your craft.
All of Ashley's pieces are handmade with love in Manzanita, Oregon and are super stylish yet unique.  Each will turn heads trust me! 


You can see all the pieces recently created and available for sale at Roots & Wings here in her etsy store.  She's even got a special offer just for Cloth Diaper Geek fans (see below) and soon I'll even feature a giveaway from Ashley giving you a chance to win one of her stunning creations!

Special Offer for Cloth Diaper Geek Fans!

Use code "GEEKLOVE" for 15% off any piece at Roots & Wings store.  Also, don't forget to stop by and Favorite her store and/or any of the items you love!

So, of all the pieces she has available at this time, which is YOUR favorite?

Photo Credit SOSHE