I can’t believe it is time to get back to school. The summer just flew by. Will started school on Monday, and Madison starts tomorrow.  We just made a few tweaks the last week or so to get the kids ready for school.  The first thing I did was take the kids in for doctors appointments and eye doctor appointments.  It is very good that I did that because that’s how we found out Will needed glasses!  We also picked up new clothes for school (or for Madison – uniforms).  We made sure everybody’s shoes fit — Madison went from a 13 to a 2.5 in gym shoes!!!!  Her dress shoes I had to buy with about 1 month left of school, so thankfully they still fit.  We’ve also moved their bedtimes earlier and have gotten them up earlier in the morning.  Another thing is school supplies.  I luck out that I can order them right from Madison’s school in May, and we picked them up 2 weeks ago at Book Bill Day.  However, for those other things you need (like emergency contact cards, allergy cards, play date cards, academic planners, etc), you can check out Tiny Prints.  They have such great quality items, and I’ve loved everything I’ve ever ordered from there.

How do you plan for back to school time?  Any tips you’d like to share?

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I’m all about using products that both clean my house and also are green.  With little kids and a puppy, it is very important for me (at least) to use products that I know will not make them sick.  I’m also allergic to life itself (I test positive for everything they test me for when allergy tested, so I’m literally allergic to everything).  I have found that “green” products actually don’t make me break out.  I’m not sure why that is (or if it just in my case), but green products are awesome in my book.  Soooo here’s my top ten list/tips of things you can do for your house to make cleaner and/or greener:

1.  If you have pets, I recommend clean+green.  You’ll actually see a review of it in the coming days on Lisa Reviews.  It’s an odor neutralizer.  We have Daisy, our puppy, and it’s what we use to get rid of the smell when she uses my floor for her bathroom.  :)  It’s awesome, and they make it for carpet and wood floors.  I even think they have it for upholstery.  It is environmentally responsible formulated, non toxic, non flammable, non corrosive, non carcinogenic, and 100% biodegradable.

2.  This next one if more for the yard, but we use BioBags for Daisy’s bathroom trips outside.  They are fully certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute to be 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable.  The bag itself with decompose in 10 – 40 days in a municipal composting environment.  That’s one less plastic bag headed to the landfill!

3.  Look for products that say “green” on the label.  The EPA is going after companies that are just greenwashing their products, so most of the time, if you see “green”, it is.  The best thing is that they are usually pretty comparable in price to your non green products, so there is no reason NOT to use them!

4.   You can even “green” your wardrobe.  Shop at vintage stores!  If you have clothes you don’t wear anymore, donate them to Goodwill or other charitable organizations.  You can even organize a swap with your friends.

5.  Install a clothes line.  This is an easy tip that almost all of us can do.  You just wash your clothes with cold water and hang them on the line to dry!  This also limits the energy impact of your wardrobe.

6.  Start a button jar.  You know the buttons you get when you buy clothes, instead of throwing them away, put them in a jar instead.  Then, instead of replacing a shirt or pants because you lost a button, you can sew a new one on!

7.  We also buy bamboo clothes.  They wick away moisture, are thermal regulating, and are super soft.  I also love that I’m helping the environment when wearing them.

8.  We look for furniture that isn’t made with HDF or MDF.  These kinds of fiberboards can offgas and we don’t want that in my house!  Instead, we look for solid wood or bamboo.

9.  We’ve also replace all of our light bulbs to CFL.  That has helped our electric bill out some.  It is also a quick easy fix.

10.  Buy only energy efficient products.  When we have had to replace our appliances, that is a sticker we look for.  (And we have had to replace everything since we’ve moved here except the fridge!)  You save money and you help the environment.  What more can you ask for?

These are just ten tips of mine and/or what we do in my house.  Small steps are better than no steps at all.  You can slowly and easily green your home one step at a time or even one room at a time.  It’ll keep your costs down, and hopefully, everyone healthier (since you won’t have chemical after chemical being sprayed around!).   How do you keep your house both clean and green?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Mrs. Meyer’s blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean DayClean, Green Home

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As a mom, how often do you hear this question?  At my house, this is a daily question.  I never grew up with pets.  My husband grew up with a ton of them.  Right now, we use to have fish (and we are getting a little fish tank next week).  That is the only pet Madison has known.

She asks all the time for a dog or a cat.  However, she does ask if we can keep the rabbits, squirrels, ants, chipmunks, and pretty much anything else she sees on the ground.  If she’s sees a commercial for an animal on TV, she has to have it.  She’ll even go as far as pausing the tv (we have a dvr, so she can do that) to make sure we see it!  Yes, I think she needs a pet.  However, we are often gone on the weekends which does not make our house too pet friendly.  I am also allergic to both cats and dogs (not a bad allergy, but one nonetheless).

What kind of things do your kids want as pets?  What do you have as a pet?

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.