One big soft fluffy lie.

I've done laundry the exact same way for as long as I can remember. Sort, wash, dry. Right? Easy enough. Of course, there are little steps that go along with this process- turn the washing machine on, add detergent, toss in clothes, walk away while the washer does its thing. Move clothes to dryer, put fabric softener sheet on top of clothes, turn dryer on, come back 60 minutes to soft fluffy clothes.

A few days ago, I received an email from one of my blog readers that brought my laundry routine to a screeching halt. She informed me that dryer sheets were unnecessary, and that I should try drying my clothes without one. Apparently there are all sorts of nasty chemicals in dryer sheets, in addition to all of the waste they create. Better yet, she told me to line-dry my clothes, but since I live in a townhouse with rather strict HOA rules, that is not an option (although it does sound lovely to try someday!).

I had a really hard time buying into this concept. I mean, that bear (albeit rather creepy) makes my clothes so snuggley soft... doesn't he? Or doesn't he?

So, this last weekend, I did my laundry. Sort, wash, dry. I turned on the washing machine, added my detergent, tossed in my clothes, and walked away while the washer did its thing. Then I moved our clothes to the dryer, and stood there staring at the pile of wet clothes. They seemed to be begging for a dryer sheet. But I held strong, closed the door, and returned 60 minutes later... to soft fluffy clothes!

There was no noticeable difference between this load of laundry and any other load that I have ever done. I looked at my laundry shelf and saw that snuggley bear giving me a huge grin. I shot him one heck of a nasty look, but then I realized that I was glaring at cardboard.

Our house is so quiet!

Well, the doors are. With a teething 7 month-old, the house can really only get so quiet.

Our house had started to sound like an old mansion, straight out of an old-school horror movie. Every door let out a long and painful squeak, whenever the doors were opened or closed, no matter how careful we were to keep them quiet. The more my doors squeaked, the more they woke my daughter up, and the more I began looking like a character straight out of "Night of the Living Dead". Not good.

I did a little research before deciding what we should oil our doors with. It turns out that WD-40 is not a lubricant, but a degreaser, and will only help silence squeaky doors for a couple of weeks. Since the WD-40 Company refuses to disclose the ingredient list in WD-40, and the smell makes me sure it is not environmentally-friendly, I decided to look elsewhere for a solution to our squeaky door problem.

When my husband was in college, one day he was outside scrubbing his bbq when a World War II Navy veteran stopped by to chat. He mentioned that they cleaned all of their metal equipment with vegetable oil to prevent it from rusting, and suggested that it would help the grill as well. My husband gave it a try, and said that his bbq never looked better!

That gave us an idea... my husband put a bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel, and dabbed it onto our bedroom door. That was four months ago, and our door is still silent! Flash forward to today, and we decided that since using vegetable oil to fix our squeaky door was so successful, we should use it on all of our squeaky doors. We completely forgot about this solution until earlier this week.

For those of you wondering why we suffered with squeaky doors for the last four months and didn't remember to use the vegetable oil sooner, I suggest you re-read my first paragraph. We have a 7 month old baby.

My dog peed on the carpet.

Nothing can kill the high I have from a wonderful afternoon at the mall faster than walking upstairs to find a puddle waiting for me. Thanks, pup.

Normally, I would reach for the gallon jug of Nature's Miracle that I keep handy. Although I have never been the biggest fan of this product, it seems to work reasonably well. My one issue with it is that my dog returns to the same place whenever she goes in the house, which makes me think the odors are not truly being removed. Plus, when the weather is hot, that unmistakable smell fills the room... yuck.

Earlier, I found these articles on natural pet stain removal and natural carpet cleaners. Since the stain was still wet, I decided to give it a try. I dropped an old towel on the stain, and mopped up as much as I could. I skipped the step about dousing the stain with water (mostly because I am lazy). Then, I sprinkled a fair amount of baking soda on the entire wet stain. I left it there overnight instead of the 30-45 minutes recommended by the article (again, mostly because I am lazy).

The next morning I woke up and vacuumed the baking soda. I discovered two things:

1) The stain and odor were completely gone.
2) I have very dirty carpet!

I was extremely impressed with the stain and odor removal, not only of my dog's mess, but also of the dirt from my carpet. All that was left after I vacuumed was the cleanest patch of carpet in my entire house, in the exact shape of the puddle that used to be there.

I guess my next research project is finding a way to clean my entire upper level with baking soda?

The best baby blanket ever!

I've decided that going green isn't just about organic products, making less waste, etc. Supporting small businesses, and not the mass producers and retailers, also counts. I've started to make a real effort to find ways to support "the little guys".

Allow me to introduce the Happi Nappy. It is soft cotton flannel on one side, with color-coordinating cotton bandannas on the other.

I received this blanket as a gift when I was still in the hospital, shortly after giving birth. My first thoughts were, "very cute, I'll add this to the pile of 14 other blankets we've received". And then, it was time to check out. It was below zero outside, and I had no idea how to protect my tiny 5lb 11oz baby from the cold or the germs we were sure to run into on our way out of the hospital. I threw the Happi Nappy over the top of the car seat, and headed out.

The blanket fit perfectly over the car seat! It was the perfect weight, heavy enough to stay put, yet light enough to be breatheable. It blocked out the wind (and during a Minnesota cold spell, that is no small feat), and kept my daughter the perfect temperature.

Once home, we quickly discovered that the size and shape of the Happi Nappy made it the perfect swaddling blanket. Our daughter used it for tummy time, and now that it is summer, her blanket comes with us on picnics and bbqs... it is perfect for her to play on when she is on grass.

I have to confess, shortly after receiving the first blanket, I ordered a second one! We use it so much for so many purposes, that I couldn't resist. I have given these baby blankets to four of my friends, and they all say that their Happi Nappy is the cutest and most functional blanket in their stash. We are all stopped everywhere we go by people complimenting our blankets, asking where to get one.

The maker of these blankets could not be sweeter or easier to work with. She is willing to look for fabrics in any color or pattern that you want. I promise, this is the best baby blanket you will ever own!