Early into our procreation planning we realized a nursery just wasn’t for us. A nursery is meant to harbor *stuff*, which we’re not really into. We knew we would use a co-sleeper, so it only made sense to share the rest of our bedroom as well. Our low-impact parenting philosophy made this a lot easier, as we would not be purchasing roughly 90% of standard new-baby paraphernalia (like, you know, a crib). But there was no denying that we would need a changing area.





Our solution was simple: we relocated a lamp and then outfitted my tallboy dresser with a changing pad (this organic non-toxic one). We added a shelf for the associated accoutrements, with a click-touch led light on the underside for nighttime changes (this was Daman’s idea and it came in so handy! highly recommend!) A bit of rearranging and Waits got 2 small drawers for clothing and one giant drawer for diapers. The decorative hook holds the bag of clean cotton wipes, and the old dog food bin made an excellent diaper pail. Voila! A first rate changing station, DIY style.





Along with cloth diapers we use cotton baby wipes. I made them out of old tee shirts, and they work *great*. I recommend using light colors to you can see what you’re wiping up. In the orange spray bottle is plain water with a few drops of tea tree oil. I spray the wipe to get it good and moist before putting it to use. You can just use plain water as well, or a bit of castile, or other essential oils. The point is that you don’t need to buy any fancy formulated wipes, especially not disposable ones! We also use tea tree oil, an antibacterial and antifungal, to keep the diaper pail fresh.

My diaper collection currently hovers around 25, give or take a few as he grows/I shop. When Waits was a newborn we were washing diapers every other day and could barely keep up, but now at 4 months he goes a lot less and we launder every three days without worry. I use my own laundry detergent recipe and it’s a great non-toxic cleanser, strong enough to sterilize but naturally gentle on delicate skin. I usually throw some Biokleen in there too, but that’s more for stains than for sanitation. I also hear great things about Charlie’s Soap, and a Bonzai reader recommended Rockin’ Green Soap, but I haven’t tried either of these.

But washing can only do so much when you’re dealing with caca on white cloth. If you really want to whiten, there’s nothing more powerful (or more eco-friendly) than that big ol’ bleacher in the sky. That’s right, the sun. And bonus – it naturally kills germs, too! An afternoon on the clothes line does wonders for my precious pads. Check it :

‘Before’ – fresh out of the washing machine . . .

‘After’ – A few hours hangin’ in the summer sun!

Not bad, right?!

So that’s the extent of our diapering drill – that’s all there is to it. But someday (soon! Oh EEK it goes by so fast!) Waits will start on solids, and that’s a whole new potty ballpark. Breastfed baby poo is all soft and friendly, almost sweet smelling and essentially liquid. But real food makes for real poops. And when that time comes, I expect we’ll set up a DIY diaper sprayer, a hack similar to this one. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to blog about it!

I hope you’ve found it helpful to see the choices we’ve made in our little green family. Of course, everyone does it a bit differently. There’s not a ‘right’ way or a ‘wrong’ way! What I’d love for you to take away from this, is that cloth diapering is totally doable, even – dare I say – a pleasure! You don’t need any fancy bells or whistles. You don’t need any special set-ups or expensive cleansers. As with everything I advocate, a little imagination and a little metaphorical elbow grease will go a long way. It’s just like I always say: Be creative, and have fun with it!

To be clear, this is an opinion piece. If you want me to tell you which brands of diapers to buy and which materials are best and what sort of system makes the most sense, well, I can’t! I can’t do that because if there’s one thing I’ve learned on this crazy cloth diapering carousel, it’s this: every baby is different, every bum is different, and different bodies make for different diaper experiences.

For example, I know this sweet new vegan named Sula. Just a few months older than Waits, we met her parents by sharing a table at our favorite, particularly crowded, Sunday brunch buffet. Months later we ran into them again and discovered that we were both pregnant! And now when we bump into each other at brunch we talk babies, as new parents tend to do . . . and of course we also talk cloth, as crunchy folk tend to do.

Sula’s parents swear by the gDiaper system. LOVE THEM. They’re all she wears, with their cloth insert for home or the flushable option for going out, they say it’s the perfect diaper. Which is lucky for them, since gDiapers are one of the less expensive brands. I wish I could love them too – but I don’t.

I have one lovely lipstick red gDiaper and I every time Waits wears it, I end up getting peed on. It leaks. Every. Single. Time. And it’s not just him – I hear this complaint a lot from [ex] g-users. You either love ‘em, or they’re worthless. It totally depends on the shape of your baby.

This anecdote is meant to illustrate why I couldn’t just tell you which brand is ‘the best’. And, why I caution against investing in an entire single-brand system before your baby is even born. If I’d bought only gDiapers, I’d be screwed!

So here’s what I CAN tell you, and if you read this site I’m sure it will come as no surprise. When it comes to cloth diapers: 1) organic is better, and 2) shop secondhand. Here’s what I did . . .

I had *no* idea what I was doing when I jumped into the grand cloth-diapering game. All I knew was that cloth was in line with my values, so cloth it had to be. I imagined the diapers I wore as a baby, bulky fabric held in place with pokey pins, but we’ve come a long way since then. From prefolds to pocket diapers, all-in-ones to ‘longies’, there is an entire world of technology beyond the relics of our own infancy.

Someday Waits will inform me of his own gender identity. But for now, I have no qualms about putting my little boy in hot pink hand-me-down diapers. These are from Bonzai reader Eden – thanks again lady!

So I read the reviews, settled on pockets and covers, found a few highly-rated brands, and then I began my search. I’d hit the used baby store, which became one of my favorite haunts while I was pregnant. The good diapers disappear fast, so check back often! Craigslist is another excellent resource for secondhand diapers. Etsy is amazing if you want ‘new but ethical’, just be warned – it’s easy to lose control over there in the face of all that cute. You could do some serious financial damage!

Over the course of my pregnancy I amassed a modest collection of various brands, from bumGenius (my faves, but expensive) to Fuzzi Bunz (widely available, but S-M-L means you need more of them) to Swaddlebees (so awesome, organic and soft, but also come S-M-L) to Blue Penguin (really not my favorite), to the gDiaper and more. Some were pocket diapers (the Fuzzi Bunz and the Swaddlebees), some were size-adjustable (the bumGenius), some were all-in-ones (the Blue Penguins), and a few were off brand/homemade fitted diapers with off brand/homemade covers. All said and done I started motherhood with roughly 20 diapers.

The diaper drawer, with: cloth diapers, cotton inserts, emergency back-up unbleached non-toxic disposables.

I suggest starting with 15-25 diapers, depending on how much time you’ll have. You’ll need more eventually, but it’s better to start with a small varied supply. Then you can figure out what works for your baby and stock up on that. However, with only 15 diapers you’ll be doing laundry every day, so if that doesn’t seem realistic for your lifestyle you may want to start with a bigger stash. I should also note that we began with a box of newborn-sized disposables, which we ended up using almost exclusively for the first 2 weeks. Newborns are just so small for all that fabric! It’s a good idea to always have ‘sposies on hand (like for when the laundry slips your mind). We just started using them for overnights too, since Waits sleeps through the night (bless his heart!) and cloth ends up leaking. A lot. And we share a bed, so . . . yeah no.


. . . To Be Continued . . .

Hello from HQ! It’s been a while since I’ve posted garden pictures, and this year’s tiny plot is finally taking off. These images are actually from a few weeks back, so there’s even more action now. We’ve had an exceptionally wet June and the extra moisture stunted some growth (tomatoes) while simultaneously stimulating others (gourds and greens). So it’s a mixed bag this year and who knows how it’ll all turn out . . . with my incredibly limited garden time, I’m just thrilled to be growing anything at all!

Let’s start in the front yard. You may remember my cherry tree discovery from last year. Well, this year was even more bountiful!

And recently Damian spent an afternoon high atop a ladder, harvesting . . .

We got maybe 6? Maybe 8? pounds of cherries. I can’t wait to show you what I did with them! Coming soon . . .


Moving around to the back and my 2 raised beds :

For reference, this was the layout as of mid-May, just a few weeks after planting.

And here’s the righthand bed, as of mid June :

The beets (up top) and all the greens are flourishing.

Kale blend: mostly Red Bohr, some Dino.

The chard is so bright and beautiful. Thriving!

Happy little chard. Grow baby Grow!

The collards . . . mmm . . . I can’t wait to make them into RAW summer wraps!

And just like last year the pak choi bolted at the first sign of sunlight. I’ve already torn out this entire patch and replanted with some Farmer’s Market tomato starts! Meanwhile these guys went straight into my blender, NOM

To the far right of the bed (not pictured), strung up on an old box spring frame, are some sugar snap peas that I may have started too late. And on the other side of those (protected in their shade) are 6 little basil plants.

Cross your fingers for these guys – I’m *really* hoping to preserve pesto this year.

The lefthand bed is split between squashes and tomatoes. I started most of my tomatoes from seed sown directly into the ground. Not ideal, but I was busy with baby! The poor little guys damn near drowned in all the rain we’ve been having and they’re seriously stunted in growth. I don’t think any of the Goldens or the Green Zebras made it. But the cherries and the reds are finally starting to take off!

Precious cherry tomatoes that fed me so well last year, you can do it! I believe!

And the gourds are doing GREAT. I planted both pumpkin and acorn squash and got them in early enough for once. I expect I’ll be carving my homegrown goods this Hallowe’en!

Pumpkins in the foreground, acorn squash behind, w00t!

And of course beyond the boxes lies the strawberry/sunflower patch. My sunflowers were started from seed in the ground, but the made it!

The strawberries have been demoted to mere slug deterrent. Waits gets gas when I eat them, and if I leave them on the bush they draw the slugs away from my greens. So, this veganic method is working well for us this year! You can also see in some of the other pictures, I’ve lined the beds with copper tape. This has been *excellent* for keeping slugs out of my goodies. Highly recommend!

The strawberries and the sunflowers (with the compost in the background).

And that’s the micro-farm! So what about you, my dears? How are your gardens growing??

And you can too! No matter where you are in the northern hemisphere, it’s not too late to grow your own little slice of the red heaven. You might not be able to start them from seed, but you can certainly get some seedlings planted. Just don’t delay! You’ll want to get these babies into the ground ASAP.

And if you want the strongest, hardiest, most fruit-bearing transplants ever, here’s what you’ve gotta do:





Begin with your tomato start (hey, is that a tp roll?). With very sharp scissors, cut off each leaf ‘branch’ at the base, leaving only the leaf cluster at the very top.





In your garden bed dig a long shallow trough. If you have it, lay some compost along the bottom. Then lay the tomato plant on it’s side in the trough (atop the compost). If you don’t have compost that’s fine.





Carefully cover the tomato plant, roots and stem, so that only the top leaf cluster is exposed. Pat the soil down firmly and water the transplant into its new home. Voila!

The stem will send down shoots at each of the trimmed nodes, ensuring a sturdy root system capable of maximum mineral extraction. Thus, tomatoes transplanted in this manner tend to have a much higher yield.

Good luck in the garden!

The pac choi, very well groomed

I was in the middle of this process last weekend – pulling up seedlings and flinging them onto the compost heap – when it hit me. Hey! These are totally edible! Of course I felt like an idiot as soon as I made the realization (think of all the greens I’ve wasted!) Just because they’re not fully matured, doesn’t mean they’re not ripe for your kitchen. In fact, sprouts and seedlings are nutrient powerhouses!

The pac choi carnage. I had to pull up a lot of starts.

You can save and eat all sorts of seedlings, from lettuces (of course) to hardy greens (like collards or kale) to brassicas (like broccoli or cabbage) to beets. Sprouts are touted by raw foodists and other health aficionados as awesome, enzyme-rich and nutrient-dense little wonderfoods. So don’t make the same mistake as me and discard these garden treasures! Bring them inside, clean them up, and put them to work nourishing your body.





You can pretty much use them as you would use their older counterparts, aside from steaming or sautéing by themselves (they’re too tender for that). Make a fresh salad, or throw them into a stir fry, pack them into a hummus wrap or top off a sandwich, cook them into a scramble or just munch them by the handful. Or, you can do like I do and blend them into a delicious, delectable green smoothie!








So, how are your gardens growing? Will you be thinning the beds any time soon? What will you do with your sprouts?

Green smoothie for life!!!!

But this year . . . this year I’ve got my hands a little full! So I’ve had to scale it back a bit, which is very hard for me to do (but also good practice). This year I’m keeping things mini and manageable – that’s my mantra! I’m hoping the lightened load will free up some time for other outdoor activities of a more aesthetic nature.

So what am I doing then? Well, first things first I planted out my red raised beds!

Couldn’t get rid of my shadow, so I went with it. Peace!

And what did I include? This year I focused solely on my favorites: tomatoes and greens (and some beets for the husband) (and some winter squash because last year was such a squash fail) (okay, so maybe not *solely*, but mostly ‘matoes and greens, yum yum) Specifically:





I’m soooo excited!!! I’v been on a greens binge and pillage the Farmer’s Market each weekend, so I just can’t wait to be picking the goodies out of my own back yard! Mmm, yes yes, it’s gonna be a good summer.

And as you can see in that picture, my fragile asparagus actually [barely] survived the savage scratching of those surly hens. Just when I thought it was a goner (grrr birds!), a single shoot shot up in late spring. So it’s not dead, yay!

And the strawberry patch is also back in full effect. All my propagation really paid off. In fact, here’s the little dude that I featured in the propagation article last year:





Back in the boxes my seeds are starting to sprout. The beets keep popping up another each day, the tomatoes are just now starting to break ground, the kale and the collards are filling in nicely . . . and the pac choi already needs to be thinned!





And that’s about it for veggies this year. Mini and manageable. Of course there’s always the fruit trees and berry bushes and the herbs on the patio. But this year there’s no massive pea patch, no spiny experiments, no potato tire project. Until next year, oh yes, next year . . .

And now I leave you with the cutest of cuteness, a teeny tiny brand new pumpkin plant, still wearing his seed hat:





What about you my friends? What are you growing this year?

So, I may be unavailable for a while . . . =)

Wish me luck! So far it’s just FUN. Woo-hoo!

A few days ago I was returning home from running some errands. I pulled my car into the driveway, glanced over towards the stairs, and just about did a double take. “WHAT THE -??!”

The bulbs are coming up. How is this happening already!? Where did the winter go? And didn’t the groundhog just say I had more time??

I know that those of you in the eastern US are getting your fair share of winter right about now (good luck guys!). But other parts of the country – and the northern hemisphere in general – is beginning the beautiful awakening process. Here in the PNW we’re getting amazing, early spring weather, and the sunshine sure is a sight for sore eyes (and vitamin D-deficient bodies!) And of course, I’m realizing it’s already time to start prepping this years garden – so exciting!

Unfortunately for me, my garden will have to be a bit more modest this time around (I am, after all, busy growing something else at the moment). But that doesn’t mean I won’t be farming in my own way. I’m a horticulturist at heart, and that will never change! (plus, I simply could not live without homegrown tomatoes)

In the meantime, I did a lot of leg work last year that all you new gardeners out there may find useful. Here’s a list of links to help you get started:

• How Yo Make Newspaper Seed Starter Pots

• How To Start Seeds Indoors
• Growing From Seed, Continued
• Hardening Off
• Tips For Transplanting

• How To Grow Potatoes In Tire Towers
• And The Tire Tower Follow-Up

• An Introduction To Container Gardening

Are you guys as excited as I am for the coming seasonal shift? Outdoors! Sunshine! Dirt! Fresh veggies!!! So whether it’s an acre in the country or a window box in the city, dig out your trusty trowel guys – it’s farm time!

So lets say this was an accidental spill. Red wine. Muddy tracks. Or . . . pet pee. First – and quickly – you’ll need to grab your rags and your vinegar spray bottle. Every green-cleaning household should have these on hand! Rags can easily be made out of an old towel or tee shirt. You can always recycle an old spray bottle, perhaps leftover from your ‘chemical’ cleaning days. Fill it with a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water.

1) Lay the rag down over the spill and using either your finger tips or the heel of your hand, blot the spill. DO NOT rub it in! Press *down* and let the rag soak up the spill. Rotate the rag so that a dry area covers the spill, and repeat. Like this:








2) Continue blotting until you’ve soaked up as much of the liquid as you can.





3) Take your vinegar and spray the area – liberally. Get it good and wet. Then let it sit for maybe 5-10 minutes.





4) Now you just need to soak it all up. The blot method will work again here, but you can scrub it if you want. Scrubbing can be pretty satisfying, ya know??





Your stain should be removed, though you may not be able to tell with the carpet still damp. Don’t worry – just check back on it the next day.

Now, if you’re concerned about odor (like with puppy piddle), the next day you can sprinkle the DRY spot – and only once it’s dry – with baking soda. Rub it in, let it hang out for a few hours, and then vacuum it out.

BONZAI!