Seventh Generation Review & Giveaway

This giveaway is now CLOSED!  Congratulations to Melissa for winning this great prize!

As most of you know, I am all about natural and organic products for my family, because I want to avoid using unnecessary chemicals and preservatives that might be harmful for my family.  I've learned to make my own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent, use cloth diapers, wipes, and pads, and buy natural personal care products such as Earth Mama Angel Baby and Melaleuca.  I hadn't, however, figured out a natural cleaning product that I liked...until I found Seventh Generation.  Thanks to my friend, Amanda's suggestion, I contacted Seventh Generation to inquire about a review and giveaway and was so excited with their quick response and willingness to offer a great kit for review and giveaway on my blog.

I was even more excited when the THREE big boxes arrived...

...and when I opened it up to find all these wonderful full-size products to review along with a cute reusable shopping bag.

I received the Healthy Home Starter Kit.  Here are all the goodies that were inside:

• Disinfecting Multi-Surface Spray
• Disinfecting Bathroom Spray
• Disinfecting Wipes, 35 Count
• Free & Clear All Purpose Cleaner
• Free & Clear Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
• Shower Cleaner
• Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Tub & Tile Cleaner
• Natural Paper Towels
• Seventh Generation Recycled Bag

As a mom of two little ones, I obviously have very little time for cleaning.  I used this kit as motivation to get some much needed bathroom and basement cleaning done.  My neighbor and I are doing a rummage sale this weekend, so I was sorting through and purging stuff in our basement.  As I cleaned and reorganized, I used the All Purpose Cleaner to wipe off shelves.  While cleaning the bathroom, I used the Bathroom Disinfection Spray, Tub & Tile Cleaner, and Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

Here's what I love about these products:

• No over-powering smell as with most household cleaners, so I didn't feel like I was going to suffocate while cleaning out our tiny little bathroom.  
• Safe for your family and the environment, so I don't have to worry about harsh chemicals and toxins when my little ones want to take a bath right after I clean the tub.
• Many of the products are hypo-allergenic, so I don't have to worry about my sensitive skin breaking out if it gets on my hands while I'm cleaning.
• The Toilet Bowl Cleaner did wonders on getting rid of some stains I've been fighting with thanks to hard water.

I honestly don't have any criticism of these products, except that they cost a bit more than other cleaners, but that's because they don't include all the cheap and unsafe ingredients in most household cleaners.  I also wish it was available in more stores, because sometimes I have to really search to find some of their products.

Here's an interesting tidbit of information about Seventh Generation - "The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, keeping toxic chemicals out of the environment and making the world a safer place for this and the next seven generations."  I think it's so important to take care of the environment in the best way possible, because it is a gift from our Creator God.

Now to the fun part - Seventh Generation has offered to give one of my readers the same kit I received to review.  To enter, leave me a comment letting me know one of Seventh Generation's products you would love to try.

For extra entries (optional, but don't count until the first entry is completed):

• Join the Seventh Generation Nation to get some great coupons to use on their products.
• 'Like' Seventh Generation on Facebook.
• Let me know another interesting tidbit you learned about Seventh Generation from their website.
• Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect or by email subscription (but make sure you verify your subscription). 
• Follow me AND Seventh Generation on Twitter.
• Tweet this giveaway (once per day) including @Mom2Valerie AND @SeventhGen in your tweet and leave the permalink of your Tweet in the comments.

Also, don't forget to leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible already in your blogger profile, so I can contact you if you are the winner.

This giveaway will end on Thursday, July 8th at 10:00 pm CST.

Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge, but was not paid to give my opinion.  The opinions expressed here are completely my own.

Stripping Cloth Diapers

Remember when I posted about an opportunity I had to receive a free container of Tiny Bubbles laundry detergent? I was really excited about it...until my daughter started getting HORRIBLE diaper rash. It went away (with the help of lots of diaper creams) while we were on vacation and using disposables, but I didn't think anything of it until the same thing happened last week. Her poor little bottom was SO sore it was bleeding and she was crying each time I changed her diaper. After talking to my mom, my mother-in-law, a friend of my mother-in-law, and a friend of mine who cloth diapers...I realized it was probably the laundry detergent.

So, I put her in disposables again over the weekend (which I had planned on anyways since we had another WORS race to go to out of town) and discovered a great homemade diaper cream thanks to my mother-in-law's friend, Paula, who just happens to have 12 kids...so I trusted her remedy! She called it "St. Mary's Wonder Cream", but it's basically a mixture of Desitin, hydrocortisone 1%, and lotrimin 1%. I mixed them all together in one of the tiny Tupperware containers I received as a prize at a Tupperware party once and made sure to add more Desitin than the other two ingredients. We've been lathering it on since Saturday and the rash is finally clearing up.

Today, I took ALL her cloth diapers, covers, and wipes and stripped them clean in the washer. "Stripping" the diapers basically means getting rid of any detergent residues or bacteria that might be built up on the diapers. It's a good idea to do this every so often when you cloth diaper, so you don't have to worry about diaper rash as much. I looked up directions online, but here's what I did:

1. Clean the diapers on a regular wash cycle with a very small amount of whatever detergent you used for cloth diapering. Since I knew the Tiny Bubbles detergent was irritating my Sweet Pea's sensitive skin, I reverted back to my homemade detergent. I always wash my diapers on hot water too.

2. Wash the diapers again in HOT water but without detergent.

3. Rinse the diapers one more time (or more if necessary to get rid of any build up) and add a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar is a great way to make sure you get rid of any bacteria that didn't come out in the first two washes.

4. Dry the diapers - I was planning on hanging them outside, but it was a rainy day here. The sun is the BEST way to stain remove diapers or any clothes that have stubborn stains. I had to settle for my dryer this time.

Another Blogging Award

Another sweet blogging friend, Terri, just gave me my second blogging award: Queen of All Things Awesome. I guess I'm supposed to blog about 7 reasons I'm awesome...I honestly feel a little weird talking about myself so much, but here goes...

I am awesome, because...

7. I have been married to my sweetheart for 2 1/2 years and am more in love with him every day. He continues to encourage me as a stay-at-home mom and brings out the best in me (when I'm not being stubborn...)

6. I have a beautiful nine month old daughter who fills my world with laughter, smiles, and happiness. I absolutely LOVE being a mom and wouldn't trade my job for anything.

5. I am going to be mommy to another sweet little one in October. God has blessed me beyond measure!

4. I LOVE to find ways to be an organic mommy too, by cloth diapering, making our own household cleaners, and growing a garden (which is really a miracle in and of itself, because I don't have a green thumb...).

3. I sew cute baby items and sell them in my Etsy shop, Sew Inspired By Baby.

2. I am determined to chronicle my daughter's life and the lives of our future children through scrapbooking and my blog so they can look back on all the ways God has blessed them and know that He was always in control.

And...the NUMBER one reason I am awesome is because...

1. I serve a GOD who is great and mighty. He has saved me from my sins, cleansed me and made me new...without Him I really wouldn't be all that awesome.

I'm also supposed to give the award to 7 other bloggers I think are awesome:

1. Veronica @ The Veronica Blog

2. Kristin @ These Little Girls of Mine

3. Amanda @ proud mommy of four

4. Angela @ Angela's Blog

5. Joye @ The Joyeful Journey

6. Karabeth @ On A High Hill

7. Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend

How to Use Cloth Diapers

Since many of my blog readers don't know much about cloth diapers and, let's face it, the words "cloth diapers" sound so old fashioned and way more difficult than disposables. I'll admit, it takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, they are seriously SO easy to use. Today, I'm going to share a little bit about Prefold Diapers and Washing Cloth Diapers.

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Prefold Diapers

First of all, we primarily use prefold diapers. Prefold diapers are flat rectangles with an absorbant layer in the middle that can be folded into thirds and wrapped around baby's bottom. When we first started using these, I had NO idea how to fold them and suffered through many diaper explosions before my friend, Christy, showed me how to fold them the right way. She also sent me some great links that I will share here on how to fold prefold diapers:

• great Step by Step pictures for folding a prefold using a Snappi
• a great Picture tutorial for folding prefolds using pins and a doubler layer for extra absorbancy
• a video here for folding prefolds using pins

Washing cloth diapers is also not as scary as it sounds. We use a Safety First diaper pail that has a lid and a little tray for holding deodorants. When I'm more motivated, I will make some deodorant disks to place in there. Right now, I just pour some baking soda in there with a few drops of essential oil. Here is a recipe for the deodorant disks I sometimes use:

Baking Soda

Water

Essential oil (such as Tea Tree, Lavendar, Citrus)

Pour some baking soda in a mixing bowl and add water until it forms a paste. Then add a few drops of your favorite essential oil and mix it all up. Place paper muffin cups in a muffin tray and pour the mixture into muffin cups. Let dry overnight and place muffin cups with deodorant disks in a sealable container. Place one deodorant disk in the diaper pail (without the muffin cup). They can be washed with your diapers each time you wash diapers or however often you wish to change deodorant disks.

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Washing Cloth Diapers

I usually wash diapers every other day or until the diaper pail is full. At first, we used Seventh Generation laundry detergent, because you don't want to use detergents that have any additives, enzymes, or oils that can cause major diaper rash. I also use about half as much detergent as a normal load of wash, because too much detergent can damage the absorbancy of the diapers. As a general rule, the diapers should smell clean when washed. If you use too much detergent, they will smell like the detergent; if you use too little detergent, they will smell dirty. Here is a link to more information about washing cloth diapers.

Once the Seventh Generation laundry detergent ran out, I decided to try making our own laundry powder. Here is the EASY recipe I found online that works well for all our laundry:

2 Cups Washing Soda

(pure baking soda)

2 Cups Borax

(we use 10 Mule Team found at Walmart)

5 ounces Soap flakes

(approximately 1 bar of soap; Fels-Naptha is recommended, especially for tougher stains, but any soap that is not heavily perfumed will work; I just use a cheese grater to grate the amount of soap I need to make a batch of laundry powder)

Pour all ingredients into a sealable container (such as a 1/2 gallon ice cream pail) and mix together. Use 1 Tbsp per load. (We bought some homemade laundry powder in Michigan and there was a little scoop in it. We just reused that when we began making our own, but you can probably find a little scoop at Walmart.)

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Next week, I will post a little bit more about how to fold the One Size Cloth Diapers I sell in my Etsy shop and some information about diaper covers. I also plan on doing another bible post next week and posting a family update on my pregnancy and our growing little Sweet Pea.