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Please Support Our Natural Parenting Bloggers December 28, 2008
As I recently searched the net for other natural parenting bloggers, I found many interesting blogs with great posts. The problem was, that half of these blog posts were a couple of years old. It really saddens me to think that these bloggers were probally trying to become WAHM’s by earning some income from their blogs, and weren’t able to, so they quit.
Just think how many great articles and posts that could really help someone, that will not be written now. So, I would like to ask for those of you that are reading this, to please help support our natural parenting and other related bloggers so they can continue to write great blogs. This means you simply need to click on their adsense ads to help them generate a little bit of income. Then pass on the word to others about their great blogs and ask them to click on the adsense ads as well.
I do not have any adsense on this blog, but I do have some on my home site Eco Baby Buzz. I have made it a point to start clicking on other bloggers adsense in hopes of helping someone else out and maybe getting some good adsense karma along the way. I hope that some of you will do the same thing. We need to support each other in these hard times, and especially support others who are trying to educate and inform about natural parenting, green living, cloth diapering, etc. Thanks!
Selling Diapers in This Economy December 23, 2008
With the way the economy is now days, it has become increasingly hard to sell your used diapers. I have witnessed Goodmama’s go from being sold used at $45 and unable to get from The Goodmama herself, to being able to go to the site and see pages of diapers just sitting there.
Muttaqin Baby, who would previously be sold out of diapers within hours, has lowered her prices of all her diapers by $5 or more. Diapers that had “hard to find” prints and were being sold for 30 some odd dollars are now being sold for $22 – $25. This was absolutely unheard of a few months ago.
With the way things were then, I was able to sell any of my diapers for almos the price I paid for them, because they were so highly sought, yet so hard to get. Now, with the ever declining economy, I can barely sell a Muttaqin Baby diaper for $10. Yes, $10! So, with that in mind, it is important to consider all this when you try to sell your diapers now.
If you want to sell a diaper now, that you paid $20 + for a few months ago, know that you will not be able to sell it for that much now. I recomend starting at a low price from the start. Otherwise you will find yourself slowly lowering the price until you can finally find a buyer.
If you have a diaper to sell that is not a popluar one, unfortunatly you will have to lower the price even more, no matter what you paid for it. Mama’s just don’t have the money to buy diapers anymore, or are switching to inexpensive diapers. Luckily there are always diapers that will sell, as long as the FSOT isn’t saturated with them.
So the one piece of advice I have for you is this, the lower the price, the faster it will sell. Lower your expectations on what you think you should get for your diapers (or wool for that matter). What was once worth everything you paid, is now worth less than half that price. And even with prices lowered, things are still sitting on FSOT for weeks.
In these hard times, you may even want to consider trading for other items you need. I have had some great trades myself. I have been able to trade some Muttaqin Baby diapers for recyled wool, knit wool, and mama pads. I am now in the works of selling an almost new serger for wool. Trading can be a great way to go!
I can only hope that the economy gets better for us all, and not because of the diaper situation. Hopefully with this new year and new president, things can slowly start getting better for us all!
How To Have A ‘Green’ Christmas December 19, 2008
Living a green lifestyle doesn’t have to stop when it comes to the holidays. There are many ways in which you can extend that lifestyle into your family traditions and even the gifts you give. Here are some great ways to make your holidays green.
For Your Home
One of the best ways to go green this year is to start at the “root” of it. Instead of going out to a tree lot or Christmas tree farm, you can start a fun new family tradition with a potted or balled tree. You can start with a baby tree or go for a little bigger tree. Either way you can watch your beloved family Christmas tree grow every year, giving you many fun and happy memories to carry with you. The Original Living Christmas Tree has some great care instructions to help you keep your tree healthy.
Once you have your living tree in your home, make sure to decorate it with LED lights. LED lights last much longer, use 80 – 90% less power than regular lights and are cool to the touch so they won’t burn tiny hands (or mouths). Then you can create another great family tradition by making the ornaments for your tree. Many children have already begun making sweet little ornaments at school, and you can make more ornaments as a family using everyday items around the house, or from things found in nature. Things that can be fun to use are pine cones, pictures, old toys, toilet paper rolls…the possibilities are endless. And if your stuck for ideas, there are tons of sites on the web to help you with crafting your own ornaments! Just do a simple search.
Gift Giving
Going green with gift giving is super easy! You can make wreaths from discarded Christmas tree branches, make ornaments or bake cookies. You can also go green by buying locally made gifts, organic clothing, choosing gifts from recycled sources or that use recycled packaging, buying gifts that don’t require batteries, or gifts made from recycled products. Here is a fun site I found, and there are tons more! Gigglefish
Don’t forget to go green when wrapping those presents. There are many companies now making recycled wrapping paper. Or you can choose to use newspaper or paper bags for your gifts. I often save gift bags I get over the year to reuse them myself. Don’t forget to recycle or reuse any wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes and ribbons you get!
Christmas Dinner
Another great way to go natural is to buy an organic, free range turkey for your Christmas meal. You can pair it with fresh, organic vegetables and other organic sides. And for dessert you can use unrefined sugar and unbleached, organic flour. Luckily for me, I have a great store in my city that has tons of great products like this for pretty good prices.
With these simple ideas you will have a wonderful time creating wonderful new traditions for your family. Have a green & Merry Christmas!