Mailbox Mondays 12/20/10 The "other" reusable stuff!

It's time again for Mailbox Mondays!  If you have a question (cloth diaper related or not) email maria at change-diapers.com with "Mailbox Mondays" in the subject line!

Hannah says:

Hi Maria,

I have used cloth diapers for my son since birth, and I have made the switch to reusable menstrual products for myself (DivaCup and homemade pantiliners). I clean around the house with old holey socks, washing them a time or two and then tossing them. I rarely set the dinner table with napkins, but I am working on getting a set of cloth dinner napkins. I use a mixture of cloth handkerchiefs and disposable tissues, depending on what I have handy. I wish I could stop buying paper towels, but I usually use them for greasy jobs like cleaning or oiling my cast iron pans, or greasing baking pans. I am afraid to put very greasy items in my washer for fear they would ruin the whole load of wash, or that I would accidentally throw an item with residual grease in the dryer and it would combust. I also have not switched to "family cloth" (cloth TP) in the bathroom, because I think my husband would flip, even if I didn't make him use it.

My question to you (and other blog readers) is: what reusable products do you use and why; which ones would you like to use, and what is holding you back?

Hannah

Hi Hannah!  Shamefully, I don't use as many reusable products as I should.

What do I use?   Cloth diapers and wipes of course, along with dish cloths and microfiber towels in lieu of paper towels for cleaning and dishes.  We also use cloth napkins, reusable mop pads, reusable bags, containers and napkins in my daughter's lunch box.  Even my daughter's baby alive has gone green.

So, what haven't I tried that I want to?  I've been wanting Made in the Red Barn unpapertowels and a paper towel house for a very long time.  It takes us months to go through a roll of paper towels since we only use them for really icky stuff.  Unfortunately, if we have "guests" we can go through a roll in the course of a day.  It just kills me to see someone dry their hands on a paper towel and throw it away!  Especially since I have clean towels right there, that I replace with a clean one several times per day!

I also very much want to try mama cloth.  There are some amazingly talented WAHMs that sell great Mama cloth on Hyenacart, and of course, I want one of each!

Also on my wish list are Better for Grownups organic tissues.  They also sell family cloth!  I don't think we go through much toilet paper, since we use only 2-3 squares at a time.  Oddly enough, writing this made me remember a dream I had about seeing half a roll in the potty and freaking out.  Man, are my dreams ever exciting.  Anyway, when we have guests over, like paper towels, a roll of TP can disappear in a few hours.  I would definitely not want to wash family cloth that people outside my immediate family had used, but I'd be willing to start with using them for "#1."  I'd probably only use them myself though, since my daughter would probably accidentally throw them in the toilet, which would not be good for our septic system, if it managed to get down the toilet at all!

We produce very little trash.  Since we started using our Nature Mill Composter we typically have less than one 5.2 gallon bag of garbage per week.  Even so, I'd love to use even more reusable products.  So, what's stopping me?  Money. 

For most people who pay full price/nearly full price for things like tissues, paper towels and feminine products, their reusable counterparts will "pay for themselves" in no time.  For me, I only "buy" these products when they are free, nearly free, or (in the case of my CVS shopping) "better than free."  So it is really prohibitively hard on my budget to try to buy reusable products.  Especially since it's not a matter of a $2 investment if you don't like the product.

How about you gals?  What reusable products do you use now?  What would you like to try?  What's stopping you?

Lunchskins Reusable Cloth Sandwich Pouch Review

In January, I reviewed two handmade snack bags I purchased on Etsy, for my daughter to take to preschool.

The smaller, pink polka dotted snack bag I purchased from cottontopquilts, was used twice per week from January through June.  It's still works wonderfully and we're using it for Kindergarten as well.

Unfortunately, the Tinkerbell print bag from smartsnackbags did not fare as well.  I used the smaller bag each time she went to preschool for various snacks.  I only used the larger one when I sent fruit, or something else that wouldn't fit in the smaller bag.  Thus, it was only used once or twice per month, and was treated with care.  Unfortunately, after 4 months of occasional use, it had fallen apart.  I typically just wiped it or shook it out, but happened to flip it inside out one day and saw what it looked like.  My daughter told me it had looked like that for a while!

I contacted the seller to let her know what had happened, wondering if she'd had other problems with them.  3 months later I still haven't gotten a response.  Oh well!

In any case, I wanted a new, larger snack bag, and I wanted to get a few, since she'd be eating lunch at school every day at Kindergarten.

When I saw this lunchskins bag at our local organic market for $7.69, I had to pick it up.  My daughter loves pink!

Lunchskins are made of thick cotton fabric, coated with a food safe polyurethane liner.  They are lead, BPA and phthlate free.

The bag is very sturdy and durable, and appears to be well made.  The above photo is the inside seam, I don't think this one will fall apart!

I had planned to use the sandwich size bag as a large snack bag, but it became a sandwich bag when I discovered that the plastic sandwich tote Grandma had bought wouldn't fit in her lunch box!

It fits well and it didn't get squished.  Since we compost, my daughter doesn't throw anything away at school, so I'm not worried about it getting tossed.  Her crusts were still soft when I emptied her bag!

I was probably a little too excited when I realized Lunchskins are also dishwasher safe!!  Woo-hoo!!  Below is after it's first ride in the dishwasher (it emerged unscathed.)

After using it for a week, I had to have more.  With back to school, it was slim pickings at the store, so I got the last sandwich size bag they had.

My store also had the sub size bags, but they didn't have the snack size bags, which I want!  The bags come in tons of cute colors and patterns, and you can use them in pretty much any case that would have you reaching for a plastic bag!

Direct from Lunchskins, the sandwich size bag I purchased retails for $8.95.  The sub bags are $10.95 and the snack size bags are $7.85.  It may seem like a pricey investment, but they can be reused hundreds of times.  I don't buy many plastic bags, but I remember being shocked at the price the last time I did.

P.S. Boy does the word sandwich ever look weird after typing and looking at it so many times, I had to spell-check to make sure I wasn't spelling it wrong!

P.P.S. My spell-check wants to change smartsnackbags to stinkbugs, which I find hilarious.

FTC Compliance: All products pictured/discussed/reviewed were purchased at normal store prices by me.  All opinions are my own, based on my experience.

Voodookitten / Cranky Cat Studio Review & Gift Certificate Giveaway (discount too!) CLOSED

Deborah of Cranky Cat Studio doesn't make your typical cutesy baby stuff.  If the business card graphic & font didn't tip you off, here's her son's 1 year portrait (she said I could share!)

So flippin cute!  All he needs is this diaper to go with it.  No, I don't think I'll ever stop moping about that diaper.  I want it!  (Imagine me pouting and stomping my foot like a petulant child.)

Cranky Cat Studio sells from her Bonanzle store (you can also get there by typing http://www.voodookitten.com/  For those who had never heard of Bonanzle (I hadn't), Deborah described it as "an upscale eBay. Kinda like what would happen if eBay and Etsy had a baby!"  That cracked me up.  She also has an Etsy Shop.  She has lots of products for sale including baby blankets, bibs, purses and totes, hair clips, shopping totes and tutu overalls (you have got to see these!)  She has quite a bit more in her Bonanzle store than in Etsy, including items that aren't handmade, like squeaky shoes.  My fingers would be nubs if I tried to list and link to every single thing she makes; she makes a lot!

Deborah sent me a shopping tote and a clutch purse to review.  She's also offering up a $30 gift certificate to one lucky blog reader and a discount code good for 10% off that you can all use.  The code is MamaRocks because "gosh darn it...Mama does rock!"

The bag is actually intended for my hubby to keep in his car to have handy for when he picks up a few things here and there.  The guitar print seemed more manly than some of the other reusable bags, LOL.  It's also perfect for a blanket, a few toys and some snacks for a trip to the park!

It's nice and roomy, but rolled up small, around 5 x 3.

I just realized that I didn't get a good shot of the bag itself, sheesh.  I was so focused on function!  My hubby has been using it and has it in his car.  I promise it looks as great as it functions!

That's 15 pounds of flour and sugar.  No problems at all.  I'm quite sure it could have held more weight.  It was also both comfortable to hold and secure thanks to the design of the handles.

I easily fit five boxes of cereal in it.

Still no trouble holding it!

Overstuffed and overloaded it was still really comfy to hold.  No double bagging like plastic bags, no ripping holes in the bag like plastic, and no digging into your fingers, cutting off your circulation like plastic!

Most of Deborah's diaper bags started out as purses, and this clutch/wristlet is no exception.  The fabric is gorgeous.

It is the perfect size to use with a pretty dress for a night out (Night...out??  What is that again?) when you just need keys, wallet, lipstick, phone etc. 

One strap is longer than the other, so you can tuck the long through the short and cinch it.

The intention is to use as a grab and go diaper bag, for those quick trips when you just need a few diapers/wipes.  Those situations get a little more complicated for cloth diaperers, since you can't just cram a couple into your regular purse!  I use my wet/dry bag when I know I will need to change several diapers while we're away, but when I might only need to change one, it's a bit much to lug out with me.

I put a Bumgenius 3.0, a Rumparooz, a PlanetWise medium wet bag, a Planet wise wipe bag with 10 wipes and a spray bottle of solution in this teeny bag!

Yep, it's all in there!

Close it up and hit the road!

Love it!  I think both bags are really well made and they're unique in form, function and style.  I can definitely see using the wristlet with a little black dress someday when I don't need it for diapers anymore!

So, want your own?  Shop Cranky Cat Studio and use coupon code MamaRocks to get 10% off.

Or, win a gift certificate!  One reader gets $30 to spend at Cranky Cat Studio.  It will be good for anything out of either her Etsy or her Bonanzle store!

Here's how to enter:  The first entry is mandatory, do as many or as few of the others as you like.  You must enter a separate comment on this blog post for each entry.  Please make sure to include your email address if it is not visible in your profile.

1. Visit Cranky Cat Studio and let me know what you would buy if you won.

2. Follow my blog publicly.  Comment to get your entry.

3. Fan me on Facebook.  Comment here to get your entry.  (Yes, I know it's not "fan" anymore but all this like, liker, liking stuff is too clunky!)

4. Fan Cranky Cat Studio on Facebook.  Comment to get your entry.

5. Follow me on Twitter.  Comment to get your entry.

6. Follow Cranky Cat Studio on Twitter.  Comment to get your entry.

7. Tweet about this giveaway.  Please no more than one tweet per day and make sure to include @chgdiapers and @CrankyCatStudio.  You may use this tweet if you like "Enter the @chgdiapers #giveaway for a $30 @crankycatstudio gift certificate and get great #handmade items! http://bit.ly/cF7xai Ends 5/21"

8. Blog about this giveaway, this blog, Cranky Cat studio etc and leave a link to your blog post to get your entry.

I will accept entries until Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 9 P.M. EST.  I'll choose a winner with random.org's true random number generator and contact the winner by email.

Thank you to Deborah at Cranky Cat Studio for sending me the bags to review.  The freebies in no way affected my review and the opinions are my own.  Results may vary and all that rot.  :-)