Frugal Babe

A rich life without a lot of money

Enter To Win A Copy Of The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide

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As promised, here’s another chance for you to win a great book about raising a baby without breaking the bank – or the environment.  Rebecca and Joy of Green Baby Guide are the authors of The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide, and they kindly sent me a copy.  I loved it, and knew that a lot of my readers would too.  So I’m passing my copy on to one lucky reader.  Since this is a paper copy rather than an e-book, I can only send it to a US address – sorry!  In order to enter to win the book, just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll be drawing a winner next Friday, November 5th.

The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide is a beautifully written, nicely packaged summary of most of the ways that my husband and I have been raising our son for the last two and a half years.  And how we’ll be raising our new little one.  Rebecca and Joy have a very similar approach to parenting and the environment as I do, and it’s great to see other parents raising their children without spending a ton of money or buying a bunch of chunks of plastic that will eventually sit in landfills for hundreds of years.

Although I was already doing a lot of the things that the book describes, I did make one big change after reading it.  Ever since our son was born, he’s been wearing home-made cloth diapers.  The diapers cost very little to make, and were extra eco-friendly as we used recycled fabric. We don’t own a dryer, so they have always been dried on the clothes line or an indoor rack.  But until I read The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide, I always washed them in hot water.  Since our son turned one, we have had a front loading washing machine, which uses a lot less water than our old machine.  But still, two or three times a week, I was using energy to heat the water to wash diapers.  I wash everything else in cold water, but for some reason I felt that I should be washing diapers in hot water.  And I always added an extra rinse cycle.  Our son is only in diapers at night now, and occasionally if we’re going to be out and about for a long time, so I’m only washing diapers about once a week now.  But the last two times I’ve washed them, I’ve used cold water, no extra rinse cycle, and I’ve added 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the wash.  The diapers are just as clean as ever, and the hydrogen peroxide is doing a better job of disinfecting the diapers than hot water ever was.  As Joy and Rebecca pointed out, hot water isn’t sanitizing diapers unless it’s boiling.  I wish I had thought of this two years ago, but better late than never.  Especially since our diaper washing days are going to start all over again in the spring…

The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide provides all sorts of great ideas for what baby gear really matters, how to find safe used items, and recommendations about eco-friendly supplies that might be best purchased new.  If you’re skipping most of the non-essential baby gear out there, you can better afford to buy the stuff that you really want for your child.  In addition, the book is packed with detailed info on cloth diapering (one of the best resources I’ve ever seen on the subject, actually), making your own baby food, green day care options, and ways you can put your craft skills to use and make things for your baby (as an fyi, I didn’t think I had any sewing skills what so ever, and yet our son has been wearing diapers I made for him ever since he was born – if I can do it, anyone can do it!).  Joy and Rebecca’s book would make a great read for anyone who has a baby or is planning to have one in the future.  It would also make a great gift for an expectant parent.  If you’d like to enter to win a copy, just leave a comment.  Good luck!

Comments

  3. I would love a good resource on cloth diapering….we are using disposable diapers on on our first, but I am planning on making the switch with our second.

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  5. I have a 4.5 month old and we haven’t bought any clothes for her (except socks for her giant feet). All were hand me downs or gifts. I would love the book for more ideas for green ideas to ofset the disposable diapers (I feel guilty but we’ve done everything and she still gets a rash).

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  7. This is a great giveaway! I’m a FTM and looking for a great reference such as this. I’m just past the halfway mark in my pregnancy and would love to use this towards raising my baby!

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  10. Just wanted to say thanks for the tip on washing diapers–I’ve been doing the hot water/extra rinse thing as well, and feeling a but guilty about it. For a large load in a top-loading machine, would you still use 1/4 cup peroxide or would it be more?

    Reply

  16. hello! thanks for offering up this great book! the hubby and I have been talking about having our first child soon-ish and I’m starting to gather up all the resources I can on parenthood! we’re living on just my income right now, so any tips on how to start a family frugally would be VERY appreciated. thanks so much!

    Reply

  17. We’re starting to think about baby number 2! I did things the commercial/less-green way before (breastfeeding was about the only “green” thing i did!) and am in a different from of mind this time. i’d love the book as a way to map that out! I’m also studying to become a doula, I’d love to share this with my new mama’s!

    Reply

  26. Thank you for this opportunity! It sounds like a great book and I would love to find out more about the subject!!

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  28. I would love this book. We are getting really close to starting our family and between your blog, a few friends, and the Tightwad Gazette, I am totally motivated to never use anything but cloth diapers!

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  33. Buying this book isn’t in our budget right now, but I borrowed a copy from our library recently and LOVED it……. I would be so happy to have my own copy!

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  34. Thanks for the info on this book. If I win the free copy, I’ll give it to a friend who is raising her first baby. I know that she’ll like it!

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  38. I’m actually surprised that you haven’t read this book before, but it’s been on my booklist for months and months. Have you just been using regular hydrogen peroxide or a stronger percentage than what is commonly found at the store?
    ~Kaytee

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  41. Would love to win a copy. Working on a baby for us, but my good friend just found out she’s pregnant and I’d love to turn her on to your way of thinking.

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  44. This sounds like a great book! The whole cloth diaper journey sounds scary so it would be great to have a resource like this. How mulch hydrogen peroxide do you use in your laundry loads?

    I would love to learn more about raising a child this way as I think filling our children’s lives with tons of toys and clothes has lasting negative effects. I don’t know how many 6 year old fashion divas I’ve met, but it’s been far too many.

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  45. I actually found your blog by way of the Green Baby Guide blog. I’m 6 weeks pregnant, and doing my best to be as eco-friendly for my baby as possible….and save money along the way! Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply

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