I’m not gonna lie.  We have our share of plastic crap.  And some of it really and truly is beloved by my boys, especially that set of knights that our five year-old bought with his birthday money from his grandparents. But as a rule, we prefer toys and play things made from natural fibers and wood. A look around our play room revels two sets of wooden blocks, a wooden marble run, a wooden train set, Lincoln Logs (made from wood), a wood play kitchen with wood play food, and a basket full of silk scarves (which I dyed myself!).

So why do we pay a premium for wood (and natural fiber) toys when the plastic versions are so much cheaper? Here are five reasons our family (and lots of others) makes that choice:

1. Wood Toys Are Safer

Wood toys made in the U.S. and Europe are lead-free. Beyond local and European regulations about lead paint, a number of wood toy manufacturers have taken extra steps to ensure the safety of their creations — and their customers.  For example, many use vegetable dyes, non-toxic glues and mineral oil finishes.

[Read more →]

When we moved back to the States a few months ago, I delighted in websites that taught me how to use coupons to get amazing savings at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens.  I quickly stocked up on toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, soap, deodorant, and toilet paper for rock-bottom prices.  I mean, sure it’d be nice to use Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, but since I got the Colgate Total for free, I figured that was even nicer.

But since my stockpile has grown nice and big, I’ve started to have a change of conscience (pang of guilt).  I do still love the thrill of chasing a bargain, but I want to be certain that the products I’m bringing into my home are worth their price — even when that price is free. [Read more →]

I took my sons to the Renaissance Festival yesterday.  What a great time we had, especially at the joust reenactment. (That half hour was the equivalent for my five-year old son of me, oh, I don’t know, spending the day at the spa. In Maui.)  By the ride home, we had run out of water and food, so the crankies were starting to flare.  I decided to run through the drive-thru at McDonald’s to get everyone a drink.

Unfortunately, the kids’ chocolate milks came in these little mini jugs that were clearly going to spill all over my car.  So, I asked for cups with lids, and straws, and poured their milk into those.  (Of course, they still managed to spill all over themselves!) I was already feeling bad about all of this waste when my five-year old said to me, “Mom, will we recycle these cups or put them into the garbage bin?” [Read more →]

I used to fill up a recycling bin every week with bottled drink containers.  Most of those containers were water bottles.

In Israel, we drank bottled water because even when filtered, the water had a distinctly rotten egg flavor.  We originally had a bottled water service, which though more expensive, was appealing since the company reuses their jumbo-sized plastic containers.  I figured that had to be better for the environment than all those little bottles.

But then I noticed that the big bottles were plastic #7, which is known to contain BPA (Bisphenol-A, a nasty organic compound that is both a carcinogen and an estrogen disrputor, among other things.)  The litre-and-a-half bottles were plastic #5, which is considered a “safe” plastic (although I’m starting to wonder if there is such a thing), so I switched back to the smaller bottles. And recycled a couple of dozen every week. [Read more →]

Sacrifice at the Pump

Does anyone remember that famous President Carter speech about sacrifice?  The one where he bundled up in a Mr. Roger’s sweater and urged Americans to accept the notion of personal sacrifice? Where he called for mandated gas rationing and lowered thermostats to help buck America’s dependence on foreign oil? You can go to PBS.org to read the full text of his speech.

As you might imagine, President Carter’s call for personal sacrifice went over like a lead balloon.  And interestingly enough, every subsequent American president has avoided the word sacrifice like the plague. [Read more →]

We celebrated my youngest son’s third birthday last night. I served a home-baked banana cake, hung decorations made from recycled construction paper, and asked my parents (our only guests) to wrap their gifts in the comics section.  But despite my green party-planning efforts, I fell short in one pretty important area: I used paper plates.

There, I said it. Ms-Trying-to-Be-a-Greener-Parent served her son’s birthday dinner on paper plates.  If you’re at all interested in my rationale, here it is: I have been incredibly busy and stressed out, between nursing strep throat (my five year old’s), cooking and hosting Rosh Hashanah meals, and tackling a never-ending list of work commitments, my house has taken a backseat on the priority list.  To wit: My sink is practically sinking under the weight of dirty dishes.  [Read more →]

I mentioned last week that my family is a big fan of second-hand deals.  We moved trans-Atlantically a few months ago.  The cost of overseas shipping was so excessive that we only moved that which we really loved (somehow our most beloved possessions still amounted to 62 boxes!)  I kept all my grandmother’s dishes and my copper pots that were a wedding gift, but we sold all our furniture and a good number of books, toys and knicknacks.  When we landed back in the States, it was time to start fresh.

I had a very limited budget ($2,000) and of that amount, I had to allocate several hundred toward new mattresses. Thanks to hand-me-downs from my parents, Craigslist deals and garage sale steals, I was able to pull together a comfortable, attractive apartment. No, it’s not a page out of Better Homes, but it’s no mismatched bachelor pad either. My favorite finds: A beautiful pecan-wood china cabinet and six-seat dining room table for less than $250, a less than 2-year old Maytag washer and dryer for $250, and matching Pottery Barn quilts for the boys’ beds ($20 for both, including the matching shams). [Read more →]

Credit: Anne Dillon

The Jewish New Year begins tonight. This seminal holiday, called Rosh Hashanah, is marked with festive family meals featuring a host of deliciously symbolic foods. Quintessential among them is the apple, which is not only a seasonal fruit, but also a sweet one. To up the sweetness quotient, we dip our apples into honey and then say a special blessing beseeching G-d to grant us a year that is as sweet as the apples.

Last week, I took my boys apple picking at a local orchard to help get them into the mood for the upcoming applelooza.  We went with my good friend Anne and her three sweet boys.  (Anne is the very talented photographer of the above picture. Check out more of her outstanding work at www.annedillon.com.)

It was a perfect fall day and we had a great time running between the trees, picking a peck of tart Jonathan apples. These beauties will be perfect in my apple challah, apple cake and apple tart. (Told you the holiday was an applepalloza.) [Read more →]

Sometimes I think we might all be better off living in a yurt somewhere.  Actually, if money were no object, I’d probably go out and hire a sustainable architecture, buy organic furniture, lay reclaimed hardwood floors and plant my own pesticide-free garden. But money (and lack of a backyard) is an object, which means I’ve got to start somewhere a little more modest.

In the spirit of doing the best that I can with the resources I have, I present you with this list of ten cheap and easy ways to reduce your family’s exposure to toxic flame retardant chemicals (if you’re not sure what I’m referring to, click over to my post from last week about PBDEs).

#1. Damp-dust all surfaces at least once a week. Chemically treated furniture and consumer goods off-gas — and those particles are found in alarming rates in your household dust. Help rid your home of this dusty danger by using a slightly damp cloth on all surfaces.  While you’re at it, mop any tiled or wood floors, too.  Especially if you’ve got little kids at home who spend a lot of time hanging out down there.

#2. Use a HEPA-filter vacuum to sweep your carpeted floors at least twice a week. I can just hear the groans now (or maybe that’s just my own voice ringing in my ears), but remember this: PBDE-laden dust isn’t just hanging out on your curio and your coffee table, it’s also getting trapped in your carpets. As an added bonus, HEPA-filter vacuums go a long way toward reducing allergens, too. [Read more →]

Two months ago, we spent a pretty penny on some organic mattresses for our sons. The cost of these mattresses sincerely offended my frugal sensibilities, but I spent it anyway.  Why? Well, after a fair amount of Google research, I concluded that the place where my children rest their heads for 10-12 hours a day should be as safe and healthy as possible.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published the first-ever study on the levels of fire retardants found in children and their mothers. This is the same group, by the way, that had previously reported on fire retardant chemicals being found in household dust, breast milk and even umbilical cord blood. It was their studies that pushed me over the organic mattress edge. So while I was dismayed to read their most recent findings, I was also a little relieved that I had stood firm on the mattresses.

Here’s what EWG’s newest study discovered: Toddlers and preschoolers have 3 times as many fire retardant chemicals in their blood stream as their mothers do. The study found 11 different chemicals in these kids’ blood.  Eesh.

Now obviously chemicals in our kids’ blood stream doesn’t sound good. But is it really that bad? Let’s take a look. [Read more →]