I won't bore you with my diapering journey but if you haven't read about it already you can get the quick and dirty (literally!) here. You can also find a link to that post (and other cool things) in the "How To" section of the sidebar. The brief version though is that we tried several different brands of cloth diapers when we were starting out and finally fell faithfully in love with Diaperaps thanks to my friend Krista who was already using them. They fit our needs perfectly and we've been happy users for over two years. And I should add...we're using the same diapers with Ephraim that we did with Sarah. They're that good.
I've been wanting to try a giveaway on the blog for a while so last week I emailed Abraham and Rachael at Diaperaps, linked them up with some of my cloth diapering posts on thePigbear and asked if they'd be interested. After complimenting the cute baby model in the diapering video (brownie points to Abraham!) they whole-heartedly jumped on the idea.
So, here's the scoop. This is your chance to win a $50.00 gift certficate to the Diaperaps online store. Fifty bucks may not go very far with disposables but it sure does with cloth! Peruse the store to see everything there including training pants (great even if you DON'T cloth diaper), cloth swim diapers (I need these), liners if you're poopaphobic (Sharon!), and, of course, several varities of diapers and covers. Keep them for yourself, give them away to a friend, or save them for when your babies arrive or for when you're finally brave enough to give cloth diapering a try!
Just to make things fun and interesting leave a comment ON THIS POST calculating your human crunch factor. How crunchy are you? The world wants to know! All the comments from the previous post made me laugh and I want to hear more! Even those with negative crunch values are welcome to enter. =) Remember it's Crunchy As You Wannabe!
Here's our sweet baby model again sporting his fave diapers...
So comment away! Crunch, crunch...
eta: I'll be back tomorrow to tally comments and pick a winner with a random drawing!
82 comments:
WHOA THERE, NELLIE!!! For the record, I am NOT a poopaphobe (although I cannot count myself a poopaphile either) - how can you be with two kiddos - but I am concerned about the smell cloth diapers would leave in the bathroom, laundry room, washer, dryer, or closet because our house is on the market and NOTHING says "buy me" more than a house that smells like a Porta Potty. :-) Erin has assured me, however, that my fears are unfounded, so I may be giving the Diaperaps a try.
Um, I recycle (and even email stores that SHOULD recycle and don't, like Dunkin Donuts - their cold drink cups are #1, and how great would it be if they had recycling bins in their stores???) I wear my baby, I make my own baby food. On the other side, I wear makeup every day and do like to get dressed up when I'm not in my sweats. I give myself a 4.
Hmm...tricky. I made my son's baby food, wore him until he could crawl, use cloth diapers (and try to convince other to do so, as well), I used to own Birks, we recycle more than we throw away (and we compost).
I'm going to go for a solid...7 1/2.
The other 2.5 is because I shower daily, I don't wear patchouli, I haven't didn't follow The Dead for a summer, and the colors of my wardrobe, while limited, go beyond brown and green.
Growing up in Wyoming, my brothers and I always affectionately referred to Coloradans as 'Greenies'...We had cousins in Colorado, and simply couldn't resist teasing them about their tree-hugging-granola crunchiness. Of course now, we live in Colorado and have fully embraced the Greenie lifestyle! I am now teased endlessly by my brothers for my cloth diapering, homemade bread baking, organic eating, tree-hugging, crunchy life! So I guess you could say I have a medium crunch factor...I still shave my legs, shower daily and wear makeup, but I also do the other crunchy things I described above!
Awesome giveaway! I don't really need any more diapers, but if I win, would happily give them to a family member or friend that still needs to cross over to the cloth side!
Okay I commented on the other post, but for the giveaway I am totally excited. After re-evaluation, I make all our bread, recycle, and want to try cloth diapering with our next child. I do plan on being a baby wearing mom as well because how else are you supposed to do it with two! I would give myself a 3 because I try but love things like make-up, doing my hair, and new stuff.
Hmmm... crunch factor??? Let's see... making our own baby food, using my own bags at the commissary, have a husband from Colorado... but on the other side I use disposable diapers (maybe not for long if I can convince myself the upfront investment in cloth won't go to waste), aren't good at recycling (living in Germany broke my spirit instead of encouraging it) and shower daily - so maybe I'm about a 3.
I made my own baby food, I used cloth diapers (back in the day). I recycle everything I can, including my neighbors newspapers, and I always dry my clothes on the clothes line -- outside in the summer, inside in the winter. Check out this great line at www.mrspeggshandyline.com. I also use fans in the windows to bring in the cool night air rather than using the air conditioner. Enough for now. P.S. Don't put me in the drawing, my days of diapers are OVER! Love, Mom
What a great contest! You totally sold me on diaperaps awhile ago, and that's all we use now. We love them!
For my crunchiness--we use cloth diapers, I make my own baby food and am a huge fan of baby wearing. Hmmm...what else...we don't use paper plates or cups anymore so we're trying to make less trash and recycle more. I hang a lot of clothes to dry so I don't have to use the dryer as much.
Oh, and my daughter (almost 2)asks for me to put cloth diapers on her over disposables, which I think is so cute! I would probably rate us about a 4-5 on the crunch factor.
So, I am married to a wildlife management man who loves to find any and all ways to help the world be a better place. So- I naturally have to do the same. I love the library, make my own baby food, recycle everything, and am looking into cloth diapers for my next one. It's hard to believe how many disposable diapers one baby can use.
I commented on the granola page and if health food stores had some sort of discount, I think it would be my store to go to.
I would probably give my family a 7 because we do like our tolietries.
Hi. Crunchy Photographer Lurker Here. Nice 'ta meet cha. :)
I'll give myself a solid 7. We do the "usuals" - recycle, use plastic/or glass containers instead of baggies, etc. etc. Been cloth diapering #3 since he was 6 months old. We also compost, clean with natural or homemade cleaning products, frequently use freecycle.org (awesome site - check it out!), grow our own vegetables and herbs, and use recycled products and eat (mostly) organic food (local if we can find it). We're looking into buying a hybrid family-mobile in December.
I still DO shower every day, but I use organic shampoo/soaps, etc. Haven't delved into the world of organic makeup yet, but I'm checking into it.
Hooray for being crunchy and hooray for giveaways! :)
I LOVE CHRIS BECAUSE SHE GOES TO THE LIBRARY! (That makes the Library Marketing Officer Happy). NOW ON TO CRUNCHINESS! I eat granola. That's about it. Sad but true.
Well, I do TRY to do other things - we are most definitely recyclers - we love the outdoors and I often pick up other people's trash, and I use paper grocery bags as wrapping paper. I have a long way to go to be a real crunchy granola girl.
Don't know if you already picked a winner, but I'd love the opportunity. My DS is 15 months and we've finally discovered that he is allergic to most diapers. So this mamma is going the cloth diaper route. I'll be brushing up on your reviews for the best diapers to buy!
I sooo want to try cloth diapers with our son!! But my husband said he wouldn't change them :( Pooper. I'll put my name in the hat anyways because if I got some, maybe he'd realize they aren't that bad!
I'm getting crunchier by the day. LOL. I make baby food, wear the baby, have my cloth grocery sacks and reuse any plastic ones I have (until they've got holes in them!) I'm definately working on it. I'd give myself a crunch factor of 3. For now.
Wow. Eight or so years ago I would have totally ROCKED the crunch-o-meter. I lived in a tent or cabin 9 months out of the year, ran around the woods, didn't shower, lived simply - the whole crunchy nine yards.
Now, I wear makeup occasionally and even though I've yet to wear the shiny heels here in Montana, they sit on my dresser as part decoration/part inspiration. Someday, I will venture forth into Missoula with real "girlie" shoes...
I do try to live simply though. And a lot of that is cutting down on life's packaging (so there's even less to recycle.) Buying in bulk is my favorite - I love thinking about how much energy has been saved by buying food with less packaging, which takes up less space, which means less fuel is needed to transport it. Also, there's a time each month where women could also really cut down on packaging. I haven't gotten enough courage to use the washable/reusable products, but my disposable ones come sans applicator with minimal packaging.
Too much information? There's the real indicator of my crunch factor!!!
Ooooh, I could totally use those training paints right about now. :) Very cool giveaway!
As for my crunchiness - um, I eat granola. Does that count? I'm probably as crunchy as a gummi bear. Hee hee! I have granola goals and strive for it, but fall short. :) I love the inspiration I get on your blog though Erin - both photography wise and crunchy wise. :) Hugs! Thanks for the chance!
Gee, my crunchy factor is low. But higher than it was a few years ago when I was right out of college. The Air Force moved us to New Mexico and we definitely met a lot of crunchies out there! I recycle and air dry all my clothes but that's about it! Pretty terrible! Probably a 2. I am a huge fan of baby wearing, wore Brady in an Ergo until he wouldn't let me anymore. We used disposables with him much to my HUSBAND's dismay, he wanted to do cloth. So Baby Lucy is due in December and we plan on cloth diapering her. Looking forward to the adventure of cloth diapers!
Among crunchies, I'm like a 1. Among East Coast suburbanites, I'm like a 5.
Why I'm a little crunchy:
-I recycle and right now that takes an effort. our stupid township for some reason only does curbside recycling one a month (you read that right) and you have to sort everything and they don't take plastic. So instead I go to the recycling center which means storing our recyclables on the porch in separate containers and loading up the car. I usually do it with Shannon in the car and crank up Jack Johnson's 3R's to get us in the mood when we're there. and I've been all civic and written emails to the township. happily, they are looking seriously at some new trash/recyling providers.
-been brining bags to the grocery store a *teeny* little bit longer than before everybody was going green.
-made my own baby food
-work from home so I don't have a commute
-try to buy basic clothes that last forever
-wear Keens (and owned birks)
-used to go to music festival called Hookahville :)
Why I'm not:
-Disposable diapers. Had grand intentions for cloth when I was preggo, then realized poop is poop and I hate doing laundry.
-Drive an SUV
-Shop at regular grocery stores, not Whole Foods
-Indirectly, I work for "the man" (corporate America)
He is so cute! I CD part time.... I find he gets terrible rashes, and I have to switch back to disposables to get rid of it with sudocreme. Maybe I just need to try another brand CD? So yeah, I would love to win to try out another brand!! :)
And we are so not as crunchy as I'd like to be! But I am on a mission.. lol. I've just switched to a Divacup. Which is life changing for me! I am in love with it! We compost, selectively flush, hang to dry, etc.. so I'd say we are half crunchy.. hehe
Okay, I'm so not as crunchy as the rest of your loyal commenters(I think I may actually have been more so when I was in college...) but anyway, I'm atleast convinced to try cloth diapering and as for someone who needs a little push, the $50 gift certificate provides a lot of convincing!!! I want to join everyone on the green side!!!
Love this! We just recently found out we have our third little one on the way and I'm all for going the cloth route this time (I should say "trying" the cloth route this time).
As for our Human Crunch Factor (lol, cracks me up)...let's see...we've been recycling for over 10 years now (even before we had local pick-up), use cloth napkins over paper, are super-tight with the light usage in our home, can make it 2 weeks+ with one tank in my super-duper gas guzzler of a vehicle, use cloth bags (when I remember them) at the grocery store, still bathe my kids together in minial tub water and they're 4 and 6 (yikes! it's a crowded tub these days!), have quick showers, my kids re-use my husband's left-over office paper/junk mail for crafting purposes...
Where we fall short: I'm totally girly-girl and will always shave and use make-up and blow-dry my hair, and I sometimes (this one is B-A-D) run my dryer twice b/c things feel damp and my washer twice too b/c I forgot stuff in there and it smelled a little too musty for my liking (see, bad ones) so I give me/us a 5 : )
Crissy
I was just feeling guilty today for not even unpacking our cloth diapers since our recent move. Our toddler-sized Kushies just never fit right. But maybe a giveaway would help get us back on the wagon. And crunchiness? We're a one-car family in the motor state of Michigan. That's our biggest feat. And we recycle and make most of our kids' food. Still much room for improvement.
Hmmm, I guess medium crunch factor. I'm an extended breastfeeder, cosleeper, attached parent. Throw in a little homemade babyfood, a vegetable garden and a sling or two and I give myself a 5. Fun giveaway!
LOL this is a hilarious post... I'm surprised that "tree hugger" wasn't included in the granola definition.
Overall I would say my crunch factor is low... but compared to my family we are very crunchy {I could get the most improved award :)}
What makes me crunchy...
- I'm from Montana... (most of the country thinks were crunchy just for that)(Daisy should get bonus points because she is from the crunchiest town in Montana)
- I work from home... no commuting and wasting gas
- I drive a crunchy Subaru :-) {Ruby the sube... I love her} Next to the bike it is the crunchiest mode of transportation pre Hybrids.
- I play Frisbee in the park barefoot with my dog (just kidding... that is a popular crunchy activity around here)
- We cloth diaper baby Aiden and after two months I LOVE it. We use bum genius and I'd love to try Diaperaps. (the number one reason I give people on why they should go cloth is the blowout factor... disposables = blowouts. The only time Aiden blows out a diaper is when he is in disposables)
- We recycle as much as possible (not a lot of recycling going on in MT)
- I use my own canvas bags at every store I go to not just the grocery store.
- We have our own garden for fresh produce.
- I baby wear and plan on making Aiden's baby food.
and just as a reference of where I've come from... My parents went camping this weekend (not crunchy camping) with their gigantic 5th wheel (for 2 people) and at night while they were at the campfire roasting s'mores... they were watching the Olympics on TV. Yeah, watching TV outside, in nature, at the campfire! LOL
Sorry this was crazy long!
You rock! I am so excited to give cloth diapering a go when our little guy arrives in November. Your original how to post was inspiration enough for me. I am slowly building my stash to get things going. As always, you really do have a great blog here. As far as my crunchiness, I'd have to say I too fall into the wannabe category. I did the making the baby food and am going to start cloth with this second baby. I minimally recycle but I use cloth grocery bags for my shopping and I made the switch to cloth napkins thanks to you! Maybe I will have a higher crunch number soon. Thank you!
I'm an aspiring cruncher. We have made some family changes in the last year or so that include cloth diapers, massive recycling, and my very favorite, composting with worms (woo hoo!) We still have a ways to go, like regulating our practice of leaving extra lights on and drying most of our clothes in the dryer.
Hmmm...we gave cloth diapering a try with potty training. Emma is being a stubborn one with it though so the Happ Heiny trainers I purchased in May are not being used as much as I would like! We have 7 Chico Bags that often get left at home (I need to just toss them back in the car when we get home!) I have three slings and I enjoyed wearing Emma when she would let me! I *try* to be crunchy but I would say I'm probly a solid 2 on the scale. My SIL on the otherhand is probably more of an 8...they buy organic, use the Chico Bags, she makes their baby food, she wears P most of the time, etc. I need to work on my crunchiness!
First time commenter....(sort of) long time lurker! :-)
Well, I don't have any kiddos yet but I HOPE to make my own baby food, use cloth diapers, all that. Right now I recycle, take my own bags to the grocery store, bike/walk to places whenever possible (it's harder in the 'burbs!), drive a fairly fuel efficient car...I know I could be better, though. I give myself maybe a 3 or 4?
P.S. Your kiddos are SO incredibly cute!
Well, lets see, before 08 I wasn't "cruncy" at all. We set a goal as a family in 08 to become more aware, to recycle more, and waste less. I didn't do cloth diapers with my first and it's too late to switch,(we're trying to potty train, God help us) but I intend to with the next one. I have one long flowy skirt that makes me feel "crunchy" when I wear it but other than that, I'm a GAP girl too. I even made a little book about it, here's the link if you'd like to take a look http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1381755
And I don't know how to link so you may have to cut and paste.
Oh and one last thing, we will be building that house I mention in the book, very soon, and I am very excited about all the green possibilities.
Terri,
We've been looking for an outside clothesline, which one do you have? do you like it?
Thanks!
Hey Parmy, I have the bigger one and I LOVE it. It folds up and can be stored behind a door when not in use. After washing I toss our clothes in the dryer on the "no heat" setting for about 5-10 minutes to get out the spin cycle wrinkles and then hang on the line. I hang shirts on hangers on the end of the line and other things across the lines with clothes pins. It was expensive but well worth it to me. Terry
Ok. I am not sure where I rank my crunchiness but it sounds like fun. So here we go. I use my own grocery and produce bags (and get 5% back for doing so at Target). I am officially plastic bag free. I make all my own cleaning products. I wear/have worn all my babies. My youngest is cloth diapered. Make my own wipes solution and use cloth wipes. I made the baby food. I recycle. The bad things that would go against by crunch factors-I used disposables with my two older babies. Having said that I don't think it is every too late to cloth diaper! I love my makeup and wear it almost every day. I shower daily.
I just turned a friend of a friend onto cloth diapers. She has three children and is going to start with the third child. I was pretty happy about that. I also started cloth because Erin made it look so easy (and it really is)!
I think I am about a 4. I feel very strongly about recycling and reusing. We recently downgraded our car to use less fuel. I use scrap and vintage fabrics to sew. We buy produce at our local Farmer's Market. But we shop at big box stores more often than I care to admit and use waaaay too much electricity during the summer (can't live without the air conditioning). We definitely have room to improve, but I know we're on the right track.
compared to everyone else on this list, I am definitely the least crunchy!! People just aren't that crunchy here in Southern California. I don't know a soul that cloth diapers, but I have been interested in it for a while. We do recycle and have big recycle bins provided to do so. Really don't know how you all do it that have to haul stuff to a recycle center. I try to bring my own garbage bags, but I am terrible at remembering. I NEED to be more crunchy, so I hope I win!
Oooh our family can be called crunchy wanna be's. We recycle..although recycling involves me digging in our trash because the husband forgets.
I did baby wear and I think that is about it. I am trying to convince the hubby to cloth diaper for #2, but he thinks it is an excuse for me to go out and buy super cute diaper covers...(um yeah and save the environment in the process of having cute diaper covers!).
Anyway I give the F family a crunch factor of 1 and growing...oh but we do have no drive days once a week!! To save gas and emissions, that helps, right?!!? :)
I would have to say my crunchiness is somewhere between medium and low. I do recycle, and attempt to force everyone around me to as well. I always carpool to work. In fact, we just sold our car a few weeks ago, so we are now a one automobile family, which basically forces you to carpool and combine trips. I don't have any kids yet, so cloth diapers and homemade babyfood aren't really factors for me.
We recycle as much as we can...wish we could compost but are afraid of attacting rats to the neighborhood, use cloth bags at the grocery, limit light usage, use a nalgene refillable water bottle, reuse baggies if/when we use them. I guess we're halfway there! Thanks for a fun post. Heather
I would say I'm a medium. We recycle everything we can, use cloth napkins, use cloth bags at the grocery store, and use the smart strips to save energy. When we have children I want to do cloth diapering (although my husband is totally against it) and wear them.
Ooooh, fun. And I am way more granola than ever!
I make all our bread.
We shop at farmer's markets.
I make baby food.
We cloth diaper/wipe (thanks to one Erin Cobb!).
We co-sleep.
I regularly nurse in public.
I'm a pastor (and yes, I think that's crunchy).
We have an annual membership to the botanical gardens.
I'm rather politically liberal.
We've dramatically reduced our plastic bag usage - just enough to cover the dog needs.
I've backpacked in Europe.
I no longer dye my hair because of the chemicals.
We use cloth napkins (table napkins... not the other kind, though I do own one!)
I make granola...and...
...drumroll...
When I was in junior high I signed all my notes to friends "Lady Katherine Granola Bar," which was intended to reflect my crunchy-geeky-hipster self. ;-p
I'd say I'm a solid 6. When we have a full-fledged garden and compost pile, then I'll graduate to a 7.
First off, I know you don't know me but I found your blog through AK and I LOVE it. I just recently had a little girl and plan on cloth diapering. She is still soo small that the cloth diapers are not tight enough around her little thighs...each week I try them on her again hoping they will fit but we are getting close!
As for my crunch factor, I definitely do not do as much as I could. I do recycle, plan to cloth diaper and make my own baby food, walk instead of drive whenever possible, eat and buy organic as much as we can.
I don't feel very crunchy, but if being openminded counts, then I might be a two and a half. We do not cloth diaper, mostly b/c when our DD was little, I was working full time. (Now I stay at home and we're working on potty-training.) She ate all organic baby food, we buy all local produce from farmers markets or stands, shop for clothes at second hand/thrift stores (you would be amazed at the deals!), when she was smaller, I wore her quite a bit, and try to recycle what we can. Oh, and Freecycle--it is really awesome!
Love the fun giveaway!! I think I'm getting crunchier just by reading some of these comments... talk about INSPIRING!! Thanks for the tips!
I am crunchish.
I use cloth diapers, recycle, use canvas grocery bags, for the last 2 kids I didn't make or buy baby food but just smooshed the food we were eating, and I wore my babies.
Haha, this is fun! i enjoyed reading everyone elses!! Now, hmmm how crunchy am i? well lets see:
1. We recycle and we dont have pick up where we live, we have to drop it off.
2. We dont use paper plates, paper cups, paper napkins (although we have paper towels because sometimes those come in handy!) And we go through VERY LITTLE toilet paper somehow or another.
3. Our tuperware is from like 1920 and made of glass, so i bought little tuperware containers for lawsons lunch. We dont use zippies for anything.
4. We hardly ever run our ac at night, we do the fan thing your mom was talking about.
5. One place i beat everyone on the crunchy factor for sure is the girly part of it. I NEVER wear make up, i used to perform and only wore it then, now i wear it NEVER. I take showers daily, but seth and i both take like five minute showers to save on the water bill and such. Half of my clothes are from target, but the other half are from this company called gypsy rose, all the clothes are hand made and designed by women in napal and all made of different fabric types, very fun, and definately adds to my chrunchy lookingness. All my jewelry is handmade by people i know (minus my engagement ring). And i dont use products of any kind (well shampoo) on my hair, i dont even blow dry it. (i have a blow dryer and curling iron, i just dont use them often) If you had straight hair like mine though you wouldnt either, its the same no matter what i do to it so why use the electricity. Oh, and i am a little ashamed to say that i dont shave my legs enough, and by enough i mean like twice a month! AHHHH!! (but my hair is blonde, and grows super slow now, so i get away with it right? wrong, definately makes me a little crunchy)
6. We both drive little hondas with awesome gas mileage, and we always carpool when we can.
7. i dont make my own baby food, but all of lawsons baby food is organic, and most of what we eat is too.
8. I reuse my target bags for everything, over and over until i cant anymore. We even use them as trashbags in the bathroom, saves on making the trash can yucky, and reuses the bags.
9. i wear berks too...
10. my baby loves bob marley, modest mouse, and the postal service...that just sounds crunchy.
BUT, i do one very uncrunchy thing:
I use disposable diapers! However, ive been seriously thinking of changing, hopefully i win!! HAHA.
Plus i like Dr. pepper, a very uncrunchy weakness of mine...
So i dont know what score to give myself, but i'm a little crunchier than others, enough that my son has a greatful dead tapestry (the bears dancing around the world with a tydyed background) hanging in his room. But i'm still a twenty year old preschool teacher with huggies in the closet and dr pepper in the fridge, you decide my score!!!
that was waaaaaaaaaay to long, i'm so sorry!
I'm trying to add some crunch to my life...but the fact that our garbage service refuses to pick up our recycling isn't helping any!
pick me pick me! we will definitely use them in the future for a little one whenever we have one! you must have been checking your sitemeter- this weekend i spent a good hour/2 hours on your diapering posts and your buddy posts reading it all and taking notes- its definiteily something you've convinced me to do in the future! i'm sold, now save my piggybank a little! hah!
Hmm, on a scale of 1-10...maybe a 6? I nursed for 23 months exclusively. I also went back to work at 3 months so I pumped like mad in order to keep up.
Made my own baby food (have you tasted the jar food...ewww) I didn't or won't CIO and wore my baby whenever I could.
I would love to try cloth with baby number 2 currently due in 5 weeks, but I too am worried about the smell/cleaning factor. Do you just throw the poopy ones right in the washer? And what do you wash them with? We use 7th generation here but would that be enough?
Oh and we are currently potty training number 1 hoping she gets it before the baby gets here.
what is my crunch factor? i don't know, you decide!
1. we eat mostly organic food.
2. i make all my own baby food, organic, of course.
3. we shop at whole foods, trader joe's, and the farmer's market.
4. we use cloth napkins.
5. we recycle.
6. we are in the process of elimating plastics that are used for storing food or eating food.
7. i wear jed.
8. we are into co-sleeping.
9. i am a HUGE believer in the powers of breastmilk, extended breastfeeding AND...I am definitely going to feed my baby in public if he's hungry.
10. we use an alternative vaccination schedule (does that count as crunchy or just concerned?).
11. i use mineral make up and avoid anything with parabens, this includes all baby products.
12. I use green cleaning products in the house... vinegar and baking soda work miracles!
13. i live in so. cal. I am not liberal, but come on, almost everyone else is here!
14. i was born in the 70's.
15. although i did not have noah naturally, jed was born naturally AND we used a doula.
16. i have been thinking about switching to cloth diapers, and erin, you may have me convinced.
Hooray for a giveaway and for you for trying to make us crunchier!!! Emailing the diaper company and creating a giveaway - totally granola!
Oh, let's see, we do the usual -recycle, clean with natural products, love organic foods, use recycled products, we make our own baby food. A year ago we built our dream home with radial heating and foam and concrete walls, saves LOTS of energy; now that we have some land we started composting and planted a veggie and herb garden (home grown dills - mmmmm!)
Oh, I nurse my babies until at least 1 year old, but I did have an epidural, that probably brings my points down. (oh well, it was totally worth it).
We love our local library and garage sales, and give away all of the outgrown clothes. Our babies weren't much into baby wearing and all the showers... yikes!
Well, we've never used cloth diapers, just never thought of it as a possibility, I've got a pack of disposables for my baby shower and using anything else never crossed my mind. Now, thanks to you, I am thinking about switching our 8 month old son. Does considering count? Thanks for a review, I wouldn't know where to begin.
How about a 6 for me?
Well, I've got the cloth diapering down, cloth dinner napkins, I bring my own bags to the store, we recycle religiously, we love non-power sport outdoorsy activities, but really, I don't consider myself very crunchy. I do love to eat granola, though!
I was sort of thinking of myself as a 3 on a 1-10 scale, but if Samantha thinks she's a 4 than I must be crunchier than I thought cause that's one of the last adjectives I'd use to to describe her! :-)
Great giveaway and good timing. . . I could use some large covers!
yay! I love cloth diapers and would love to check some of Diaperaps out! On the crunch scale I give us a 5...we cloth diaper, compost, recycle, have a garden, use fans, shop local, have rain barrels to help with water conservation, reuse a lot of things but definitely have a ways to go...
ps...love your blog and I know, I should comment more...I will try:)
Can you be crunchy by marriage? When I met my husband I said whoa wait a minute there - you are way to granola for me but apparently I liked his flavor because almost 9 years and three kids later here we are. However I think I have dialed down his crunch level though. :)
So I guess I'm what you call a lurker...I've been reading this blog for a while thanks to an extremely UNcruncy office temp job about a year ago. I commented to my husband just the other day that I should perhaps start saving the info from this blog somewhere in case it ever disappears: your cloth diapering and babyfood-making posts in particular. So kids are still in the future a ways, but i figured this was a good chance to come out of hiding anyway. We're a little crunchy: my job's a little crunchier now, we recycle (and yes, that means hauling the recycling to a center every couple weeks...and we live in a little apt, so there's not really a great place to store it...) we like local and natural foods - Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is on the same shelf as my Bible...lots of gardening and composting are in the plans when we get our dream house in the mountains (right now there's just tomatoes and herbs on the balcony...), i buy anything i can Fair Trade Certified, we use our canvas grocery bags of course, ziplock bags are always drying around our little kitchen, i'm switching face wash because i learned the exfoliants in my previous brand were plastic...ugh, my brother-in-law gave us a canoe as a wedding gift and it's our most prized possession! and we just got back from an amazing 5 week cross country adventure (in a new fuel effecient Honda, of course...)where our home was a tent and we had pita and hummus for lunch everyday...oh, and lots of granola trail mix!
Hi Erin,
I've been enjoying your posts for awhile. I emailed you a few weeks ago to that affect. Anyway...I would love to say I'm crunchy. I try to always buy organic or at least locally grown and am working hard on going green in our cleaning supplies and common products. I believe in eating foods as close to their natural state as possible. I'm working now to eliminate processed foods from our diet as much as possible. Hopefully, by the time we have kids we will have really cut down on those. I'm really hoping hard that a recently vacated corner store in our mall becomes a Whole Foods. I'd love to have one closer than 30 minutes away. However, back to being cruchy. My husband is constantly joking that I'm a square with barely rounded corners. So I think I'm probably closer to soggy. I try my best, but compared to granola I'm probably cream of wheat. But I'm working on becoming oatmeal. Then I can move to Corn Flakes. Hopefully sometime soon I can dream of being granola. But for now I have to settle for eating it instead of being it.
We are middle of the road crunchy:) We recycle, make our own baby food, don't use plastic/paper plates often, have a garden, and hang clothes to dry occasionally. I would like to try cloth diapers, but the hubby's against it for now...maybe with the next one though. Any ideas to convert him???
Oh you guys are killing me! Love this so much.
Real quick, Heather and some of the others who say their hubbies won't do the cloth thing...if you can get them to TRY it I really think they'll see that it's not a big deal. If it's the poop thing that weirds them out then try the flushable liners. They just lift out and flush down the toilet. Not much mess there. Another idea is to compromise and tell them that you'll do all the poopy diapers if they'll at least take care of the wet ones occasionally. Which seriously ONLY means dropping the wet diaper in the diaper pail...the SAME thing they do with disposables. If the mamas are up for the commitment of washing, folding, and changing all the poopies then I can't see what argument a daddy would have against it. And I really think that once they see how easy it is...and how much $$$ you're saving...they'll be all about it. Come on Wes, you can do it! ;)
LOL - Mary Catherine was just trying to convince me yesterday to switch to cloth because we've been having trouble with disposables. She's right, she totally held my hand and explained it all. She deserves her 7.5 :)
Hmmmm, with the exception of cloth diapering, I'm probably pretty crunchy. I wear my kids, do extended nursing, do homemade babyfood and married a very green guy. We recycle as much as we can. I'd say I'm a 6.
Oh, and I totally wonna win to get us started, I'm ready to ditch the disposables after MC's help and hand holdin! Even though my normally green hubby is not 100% on board YET. But, he does all the laundry, so I can't really blame him just yet either.
My crunch factor (or as southerners say-tree hugger) is low...like really low. (hanging head in shame now) BUT-I baby wear (he is 11 1/2 months and NOT a small baby!!), we co sleep, I breastfed for 9 months AND I am reading the Going Green book by the makers of Method! (it's opening my eyes a lot!) I carry a big purse and a big diaper bag, so if I can fit it, I put it in one of my bags, instead of getting a bag. We reuse our pull ups on our potty training little one and have been thinking cloth on my littlest one. I try...but I am not anywhere near as crunchy as y'all!!! (but I will try cloth diapering later on when we start fostering in a couple of years-if we get any babies that way!)
Dayna
Okay so I am way new to this whole Crunchiness and cloth diapering stuff but after 8 1/2 months of disposables and having multiple friends that do cloth I too have wanted to make the switch. Getting this $50 would really help me get started on this cloth diaper journey.
Ok...crunch factor...hmmm...I'd say I'm about a -2. Why, you ask? Well, let's just say if it comes in a package and it's easy, I'm all for it. The only thing that keeps me from being a -3 is that I do believe in eating raw vegetables...does that count?
I am a fan of Diaperaps as well- their website has lots of great information about using cloth diapers. Anyone who is researching cloth diapering systems should definately check them out- they are among the best!
oh whoa!! if public nursing makes you crunchy...well then!! I'm all for it!! lol I nursed 2 VERY PUBLIC-much to my DH's family's dismay! ;-) I also didn't have epiderals on 2 of my 3!! Man..I'm crunchier than I thought. Oh and I shave about twice a month-but I have very fine short blonde hair. (I do think I am going to give up hair dying though...the chemical thing is bugging me now) :-( I hate my hair though....
Great giveaway!!! I am expecting my second in less than a week and am definitely going to cloth diaper. So excited to try it out! Interested in doing some babyfood making also. Did babywear and breastfeed for over a year with my first. Right now I recycle, don't use paper towels or napkins, make my own cleaning products, use cloth bags and produce bags at the commissary, use a reusable water bottle, and am making the switch to more natural beauty products. So I guess I would rate myself a 4-5 on the crunchy factor scale!!!
Alright...let's say I'm about a 1. I recycle cans and cardboard and I'm in the process of switching to environmentally friendly cleaning product. Everytime I pack the plastic bags at the grocery store I remind myself I need to get reusuable one...but have failed to do so yet! I'm willing to TRY cloth on my 3 month old stink-pot (and that he is...I've never smelled a stinkier breast-fed baby!!)
Wow 65 comments, does anyone other than me notice how clean your floor is?
We are somewhat crunchy. We do recycle everything that is recyclable. Some of the food we buy is organic (Sheri buys mostly organic). Sheri recycles all our plastic bags and thinks I should take my cloth grocery bags to the mall with me so we don't use more plastic bags.
Take Care. I really can't get over that floor. How do you keep them so shiny with a toddler and a baby???????
oh..how fun! we could always use more cloth diapers.
as for our crunch factor...lets see. we're a paper free house. (well, except for tp. but we use no paper napkins, towels, plates, etc.) we cloth dipaer and sometimes line dry. we recycle much more than we throw away. we frequent the farmers market, and buy local dairy products. we compost with worms. we use a rain barrel and landscape with native plants. most of our bulbs are compact fluorescents. we make our own cleaning supplies. we use mostly all natural bath and body products. (well, excluding deodarant.) we use reusable cloth bags and produce bags for shopping. we drive an economy sized car. we co-slept and used a sling. so i guess i would say that we're about a 6. theres definitely A LOT of room for improvement for the bigger things... i still use way too much water, run my air conditioner for way too long, drive way too many miles, and consume of way too much stuff. so, yeah, a 6 for us.
thanks for the fun giveaway, erin. :)
i have to say i seem to be getting crunchier every day. we always seem to have more recycling than trash (which is a problem because we have a HUGE city provided trash can and a teeny tiny recycling bin) i bring my own bags with me where ever i go. my favorite place to shop now is 1985 aka my mom's basement for all my old toys (still in their original box by the way) and i plan to make my own baby food again although my baby isn't eating yet. i am trying to make things from scratch more and more to keep those pesky chemicals out and i use all organic cleaning products. i had planned on using gdiapers as soon as charlie is in the next size so they last longer, but now i am a little concerned about the price really adding up. oh and i never seem to dry my hair anymore although i think that is because i can't find the time, not because i am attempting to save the electricity ;)
Keep 'em coming you guys!
Aunt Dana, I only WISH that were my floor! My floor looks trashed on a daily basis, I promise you. Ephraim is actually laying on our dining room table for that shot...which is covered by a piece of glass. A piece of glass that is also trashed on a daily basis! :)
I have a very low crunch factor- maybe a 2 or 3? I am trying to work on it, though! We use cloth napkins, cloth bags, I breastfed both of my kids, and use natural cleaners as much as possible.
We've always recycled, but this year our trash service replaced the small tubs with large rolling cans almost the size of our trash containers. I am proud to say that we usually only fill the trashcan halfway-if that (we're a family of 4), and the recycling can is always overflowing!
I have used disposable diapers on both of my girls but would LOVE to start cloth diapering, and if we have another child I would love to cloth diaper in the future! :)
I'm another Meghan that lurks here often (you seem to have a lot of those.) I am not very crunchy and after reading other people's posts, I think I may even be considered soggy. OOPS! I did make my sons baby food and air dry almost all of our clothes. Other than that though, I am a shower loving, toilet flushing, disposable diapering momma of two.
Hummm?? I am not sure, will have to think about it!
Hummm?? I am not sure, will have to think about it!
NEWLY CRUNCHY HERE! It's been 6 months since your "Go green, P'bear style" post, and in that time we've made some major changes thanks to you and your blog! We invested in a front-loading washer/dryer, cloth diapers, energy-saving light bulbs, paper instead of plastic, cloth napkins, nixing plastic baggies from my son's lunch box, using Method brand cleaner, and tons more. Needlesstosay, I'm always inspired by you!! Might I add, the $50 giveaway is awesome! Is this your ingenius way of getting all of us lurkers out of hiding! hee... it worked!
~~Kim H.
Wow! With 74+ comments, I'm not sure crunch plays a factor anymore! lolol And besides, you have to wonder out loud, how 'crunchy' can one be with desktops, laptops and internet access... things that make ya go "hmmmm".
Well, I would get into the 411 on my 'crunch factor', but maybe crunch-by-association is more fun? On my blog you can see pics from a friends 'faux farm' so to speak... where he grows his own food, herbs, eats the eggs the chickens lay... is storing up the summer sun for solar power - a generator runs only a few hours during the winter months ... it's fascinating really.
I like what one of your posters said, amongst the hippies themselves, I am not-so-much... but head into suburbia, and the quizzical looks are thrown my way. Too funny. :)
I'm feeling kind of guilty coming in at a 2. Yeah I said it a two!! We recycle and make our own baby food but thats it!! Sad isn't it? You and the others who have posted here have inspired me!! If I work really hard- I could be a 5 by Christmas!! I do vow to never give up my lipgloss though. ( I think it is a little O.C.D. in me but please don't tell anyone.)
Lori
I feel like I should be a lot crunchier! I think I get crunchier just reading your posts sometimes. Sadly, I'd say I'm about a 2...I use reusable shopping bags at the store and try to recycle, but our recycling dumpster is ALWAYS overflowing and such a mess. I'm learning...!!
OH! I also never use wrapping paper anymore. I wrap all presents in newspaper - sometimes I decorate it (with markers).
P.S. I learned "crunchy" from you. You learn something new every day, right?! Thanks for teaching me :)
I think I do a lot of cruchy things but my most recent discovery has been to put the clothes in the washing machine and then let them wash for one minute then pause the machine and let the clothes soak for a couple of hours (or all day if I forget!) Then I finish washing them on the shortest cycle. My clothes actually come out cleaner and smelling better than they ever did--even now that I use about half as much detergent. I save energy by not using the longer cycles and it helps the environment because it is not as hard on the clothes and they last longer. That means one less person buying more clothes that need to be made somewhere. Making clothes in factories or anywhere uses energy and resources. Who knows how environmentally friendly those factories are? Not to mention less waste for the environment by throwing out old garments.
My crunchiness is rather low...we do recycle but beyond that we have some work....I guess we do shower as a family...okay maybe not but I remember in junior high watching a video on earth day and that was a "green" thing to do....can you imagine a bunch of 7th graders handling that idea in a mature way....yeah right! I have never considered cloth diapers until last night when I was reading your blog! Now we just need to work on having #4 so that I can give it a try! Amy
I forgot - we use cloth wipes on Emma about 50% of the time. :)
What a fun giveaway. I have been wanting to go cloth for awhile now. . . but then I have flashbacks of when I was younger and had to clean my baby sisters diapers. Then I get guilty because of how much of our "garbage" is disposable diapers.
I do small things to "go green", but there are some inspiring comments on here. I can definitely do better. I love the washing machine comment! What a great idea!
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