Editor’s note: This month, GNMParents writer Tiffany Washko explores diapering options for green parents. We swap original content with GNMParents on the first Monday of every month, so make sure to head over there to check out Jennifer’s contribution to them.

For many green moms and dads the decision about how to diaper their baby does not come so easy. We all know disposable diapers are bad with a capital "B," but the other options just seem so archaic and inconvenient.

But it’s not as bad as you may think. There are some pretty appealing diapering alternatives nowadays. If you want to lighten your environmental footprint by avoiding those landfill-filling, disposable diapers, then two options you might consider are cloth diapers or gDiapers.

Cloth Diapers

When many parents think of cloth diapers they still think of those thick, towel like diapers (the ones we now use as burp rags), diaper pins, and the plastic vinyl pants that go on top. Well, the cloth diapers you find today are far cry from that these days.

Bum Genius cloth diapers by Cotton Babies are designed to make cloth diapering easy for every-day people — like your babysitter, grandparents and even dad. Using a Bum Genius cloth diaper is just like using a disposable, but you don’t throw it away! Just wash it and they’re ready to go again. They come in a variety of beautiful colors like Blossom Pink and Grasshopper Green.

They are pocket diapers, which allows you to use the type of insert that meets your absorbency needs (although the included microfiber insert should be sufficient). Bum Genius also offers an all-in-one diaper, which is a one-piece diaper that most closely resembles a disposable. Plus, Bum Genius diapers have neat stretchy tabs that make diapering even the most wiggly babies a breeze.

The best thing about these diapers by far is that they are one-size-fits-most. They will fit babies between 6 and 35 pounds, so there’s no need to buy a bunch of diapers in different sizes. Ingenious! If you want to go a step further you can try a cloth diaper made from sustainable materials, such as organic cotton or even bamboo…

Bamboo Diapers

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on this planet. While some think of it as a tree, it is actually grass and it grows one third faster than the fastest growing tree; it reaches a harvestable size in three to five years. Some species of bamoboo grow as much as four feet a day. It requires no pesticides, is harvested with no impact to the environment, and is capable of complete regeneration without the need to replant.

All of which, of course, is great news for those of us who are conscious of the environment. Bamboo diapers are velvety soft too, and BumGenius offers a bamboo fitted diaper that is getting rave reviews from parents.

Diaper Duty

Buying cloth diapers is the easy part though. Caring for cloth diapers is the part that makes many moms and dads squeamish. But even that part is easier now. New fabric options allow you to skip the soaking and rinsing that were common in the past and use a dry pail method. You just store the soiled diapers in a diaper pail or bucket and then throw them in the wash a couple times a week. If you absolutely must rinse the diapers before washing then you may want to try a diaper sprayer called a mini shower that connects to your commode. To control odors, just sprinkle a bit of baking soda over the diapers or use Pail Pals. You can find all of these items at clothdiaper.com.

If you need general cloth diaper care information, like laundering tips and troubleshooting, you can turn to The Diaper Jungle: A Cloth Diaper Mega Information Source. This site has a nifty detergent chart that is "loads of fun."

Alternatives to Cloth

So what if cloth diapers just aren’t for you? Well, another option is the flushable diaper by gDiapers. As their web site says, "Imagine taking your baby’s soiled diaper and simply flushing it down the toilet. No more smell. No more diaper. No more diaper pail. You’re putting waste right where it belongs, in the toilet. Not in a landfill."

The ‘little g’ pants are made of water resistant, machine-washable, breathable material to keep wetness away and prevent diaper rash. Each pair of ‘little g’ pants comes with a spare snap-in liner. You also get a handy swishstick for breaking apart the flushable stuffing, and a H.U.G. - Handy User Guide. After you have a sufficient amount of the reusable pants then all you have to do is purchase the refills.

It can take as long as 500 years for disposable diapers to biodegrade in a landfill. It is comforting to know that we have options that will ensure our baby’s diapers will not be around to pollute the Earth for generations to come.

Editor’s note: This month, GNMParents‘ contributor Tiffany Washko takes a look at home cleaning alternatives that are both greener and safer for your family. Don’t forget to check out Jennifer’s contribution at GNMParents.

So what is “green” cleaning exactly? Green cleaning means using cleaning products that don’t endanger you, children, or the environment.

Many people use cleaning products throughout their homes without a thought or concern. They figure that if the product is widely available that it must be relatively safe for use. But these products contain all kinds of chemicals that can potentially be toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive. They can also cause serious health issues and environmental damage. Here are some examples of common chemicals found in conventional cleaning supplies:

• Formaldehyde
• Sodium Hypochlorite
• Petroleum Solvents
• Sodium Acid Sulfate

Some of the problems associated with these chemicals are skin irritations, nausea, headaches, nose bleeds, shortness of breath, burns, vomiting, kidney and liver damage, and exposure to carcinogens. Do you want to clean your home with chemicals that have the potential for that kind of damage? Certainly not…don’t take that chance.

These same chemicals also have the potential to harm the planet as well. When chemical cleaners go down the drain, most ingredients break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon afterward. Others, however, do not, and they threaten water quality or fish and other wildlife. Purchasing these mainstream cleaners can end up costing us quite a bit in the long run.

The best option for the health and safety of your family and the health of our planet is to use green cleaning items such as:

• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Pure Castile Soap
• Lemons
• Salt
• Vegetable Oil
• Essential Oils

Using the above ingredients, you can make your own cleaners…

Vinegar, for instance, naturally cleans like an all purpose cleaner. Add one part water to one part vinegar and you have a solution that can clean most areas of your home. Vinegar disinfects and deodorizes. The strong smell of vinegar goes away after it dries. Both vinegar and baking soda have the added bonus of being incredibly cheap.

Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces similar to commercial abrasive cleansers like Comet or Ajax. Baking soda is also a great deodorizer.

Lemon juice dissolves soap scum and hard water deposits. It also cleans and shines brass and copper. If mixed with vinegar and baking soda, it can be made into cleaning pastes. If mixed with vegetable oil, it makes furniture polish.

Salt removes stains and odors and it absorbs moisture too.

One of my favorite cleaners is one I make in my own home. I mix several cups of baking soda with pure peppermint essential oil to create scented soda cleanser. It smells heavenly.

If you do not have the time or inclination to make your own cleansers, then there are hundreds of green cleaning products available to purchase as well. Here are some of the alternative products you may like:

• Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soaps
• Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleanser
• Earth Friendly Products’ Creamy Cleanser
• Seventh Generation Natural Dishwasher Gel
• Charlie’s Laundry Soap
• Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner

The cleaners mentioned above are viable options if you are not interested in making your own cleaning products. But as always…don’t take anything at face value…do your research and make sure everything you buy is safe and environmentally friendly!

Tiffany - The Natural Mom

More "green cleaning" at GO:

Hate Chemicals? Clean Green!

Weekly DIY: All Purpose Cleaner

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about food. They think about meals they need to plan for their families, food they need to add to their grocery list, new restaurants they need to try, and the carb and calories counts of the foods they love. They have a lot of opinions about their food and what they like and dislike. But many are still not thinking about food in a meaningful way. They are not thinking about where their food comes from, how it gets to them, under what circumstances, and at what cost. There are social, environmental, and ethical considerations that often go unnoticed. The food you eat is important and it does have an impact on the world around you.

One particular quote that seems to sum it all up is taken from John Kinsman, a Wisconsin organic dairy farmer, who said "Every time you spend money on food you are voting for the world you want."

So what can you do to make your dining experiences more ethical and sustainable? I have a few ideas about that.

Eat Organic - It is a sustainable method of food production and helps to ensure that our farmlands will be rich and productive for future generations. Most times when you hear any mention of organic food it is in relation to healthful eating and chemical exposure. It is usually a health related issue. This issue is actually much deeper than that. Organic agriculture is a strict form of sustainable agriculture; a way of producing food products without harming the land. Its main goal is to work the land without preventing future generations from being able to use it as well. Organic farmers try to conserve water and preserve the soil. They also sell locally many times helping to conserve energy and fossil fuels. Organics are a health issue AND an environmental one.

Eat Local - Eating local is better for air quality and pollution. Let's face it…if your food has to travel thousands of miles to you then the planet is being needlessly polluted. Estimates on how long the average food travels from pasture to plate range from 1200 to 2500 miles. A lot of energy is expended freezing, refrigerating, and trucking that food around. Eating locally grown food means less fossil fuel burned in preparation and transport. Also, Supporting local farmers, especially organic farmers, means supporting sustainable agriculture.

Eat Less Meat - You don't have to go vegetarian if you don't want to, but it does help the environment to reduce meat consumption. We feed more than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow to farmed animals. Our taste for meat is also taking a toll on our supply of fuel and other nonrenewable resources: about one-third of the raw materials used in America each year is consumed by the farmed animal industry. In my opinion the problem is not that we eat meat or animal products but the volume to which we consume them and the way we go about producing those foods. A good book that discusses this is Full Moon Feast which talks about eating according to the phases of the moon and eating the way we did hundreds of years ago.

Eat Whole Foods - Eating foods that have not been processed and packaged helps the environment by reducing the amount of garbage going into landfills. Shop the outer section of the grocery store to avoid the processed foods.

Garden - Eliminate the middle man all together and grow your own food…organically of course. It is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

Try It Out! Tips for Sustainable Eating:

• Try your hand at organic gardening. If you have no space for an actual in-ground garden then try to do container gardening. There is nothing like homegrown food!
• When planning your weekly menus try to see if you can incorporate at least 2-3 meatless meals a week. Reducing your meat consumption is a great leap towards greener living.
• Don't just change what you eat: change how you package and store your food to. Resuablebags has a great selection of reusable food storage containers such as bento lunchboxes, wrap-n-mats, grocery totes and stainless steel water bottles.

So pick up your fork and join the revolution of people who want to change food and farming, creating better health and a better world.

Tiffany - The Naturemom

Editor's note: We're pleased to welcom Tiffany Washko to the GO blog! Tiffany writes for GNMParents (among others), and her biweekly pieces that we'll publish here are one half of a content swap we're doing with that site. In this case, we'll be trading original pieces: our "Green Family Values" writer Jennifer Lance will be fulfilling our half of the obligation at GNMParents — you can find her first post here.

Earth Day has come and gone now. Hopefully you spent the day with your family like I did, reaffirming your dedication to environmental causes through one or more activities designed to unite us all in the love for our one home — earth.

But now that the official day has passed, does that mean Earth Day is over? Is it out of mind now? Hopefully it is not. As an avid environmentalist I choose to look at Earth Day as a true holiday for treehuggers. It is one day that I can show my "true colors" so to speak and not have everyone in my community look at me as though I have fallen off my rocker — even when I am wearing my old ragtag tie-dye T-shirt that says "World Peace" and I am scouring the park with my kids looking for garbage to pick up. Earth Day means a lot to me but it does not end after the sun rises on April 23rd. Instead I choose to see Earth Day as something like New Year's for environmentalists and their agendas. It is a day to make resolutions so that every day can be Earth Day.

So after the festivities of Earth Day have died down I sit with my family and we make a list of all the ways we want to improve our current activities and our lifestyle to make them more planet friendly. My children are quite young so usually they concentrate on just one thing. My six-year-old son has picked his resolution. He wants to pack zero waste lunches for school.

My husband, who is not an environmentalist my any means, has the goal to drive less and walk more. This means walking to the post office, library, DMV, etc and take advantage of the community we chose to call home and the ease with which one CAN walk instead of driving. I am sure that since gas prices are also incredibly high, he sees the money savings as an added benefit.

I also have a few areas that I need to concentrate on this year. For one, I want to concentrate more on reusables. I got a jump on things by purchasing a few more Klean Kanteen bottles, some Wrap-N-Mats, laptop lunchboxes, cloth napkins and canvas grocery totes. These items easily replace their disposable counterparts while not sacrificing comfort or style.

I am also going to switch my regular grocery day to Friday so that I can attend the Farmer's market every Thursday and stock up on fresh, local produce and then plan our meals and our additional grocery needs around that. This way we will be eating in a more sustainable way and helping our local economy.

This year I want to increase the amount of food I grow and to help do that I am enlisting the kids with the some clever garden projects. One such project will be the making of a pizza garden by separating out a 12 food wide circular area and making slices with string and then planting all of the ingredients for our homemade pizzas (tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil, peppers, etc.) in the different planting areas. When harvest comes we will be able to pick our pizza ingredients fresh from the garden and make our pizzas together.

And of course I have a few small resolutions such as my intent to put an egg timer next to the shower and start taking two minute showers and to bring more plants into the house to act as natural air cleaners.

Now that we have a plan, Earth Day doesn't need to end. April 22nd is a holiday and a reminder. It is the day that we revive our environmental goals and evaluate our current lifestyles and see clearly all the areas where we can lighten our environmental footprint and do more in our individual communities. Don't let the enthusiasm that Earth Day brings die down in the aftermath — every day can be Earth Day in your homes and hearts.

So what are your resolutions for this "new year"?

Tiffany - the NatureMom