sage reads — august 13

Mama Speaks has a review up of Eco-Friendly Families. I’ll be adding that to my library book queue (a Google Doc where I keep my library’s URL, my card number, and a list of all the books I want to check out so that I can easily request a book online or double check the name of an author when I’m actually at the library).

We’ve talked about checking the Taylortown Coupon Preview to see if the Sunday paper is worth buying for your household. If you do pick up a paper, what do you do with the coupons you know you won’t use? If you have the time and inclination, you can swap or join a coupon train at Organic Grocery Deals or Hot Coupon World. If you just want to pass them on to a good cause, consider this reminder from Hooray for Free-bates! and Chief Family Officer, intended for expired coupons but that would work just as well for unwanted products:

Instead of throwing the coupons away, please consider sending them on to The Happy Housewife. She will forward them to military families overseas, who can use the coupons at the commissary or base exchange for six months after the expiration date.

The Crafty Crow gave another suggestion for repurposing cereal boxes, this time for drawer dividers. I’m especially looking forward to trying this with the larger-than-normal boxes you get at Costco. Another fun project you don’t need a lot of crafting supplies or a sewing machine for is the outlined placement at Ohdeeoh. I love the modern look of these, and imagine they’d be as helpful in table-setting as boundary-keeping when my triplets are older.

And finally, Eco Child’s Play writes up Gaia Herbs Lactate Support, a product near and dear to my heart. For me, it wasn’t a silver bullet, but it definitely helped. If you’re struggling with your milk supply, I wouldn’t hesitate to give this product a try.

sage finds — august 12 ** edited w new stuff :)

Some great freebies for your Tuesday…

Need some Post It notes? Might as well get some made from recycled paper, and certainly might as well get them free…

Medela is offering a BPA-free bottle for free! I am not clear on if this is a storage or feeding bottle, but I know either will come in handy for any pumping or breastfeeding family.

Edited to add:

Not free, but Baby Steals has organic BabyLegs for $7.50, or about half off retail. They seem to have this offer every few weeks or so with different patterns (I like the plain cranberry available today, they’ll go with almost anything), and they invariably sell out since BabyLegs are so useful. If only I had any girls…

world breastfeeding week

I’m not going to get all lactivist here, but obviously breastfeeding is as green and frugal as you can get, especially with a singleton that you are able to stay home with — no bottles, no pumps, no formula, no waste, no expense, etc. (I had that with my firstborn but have found breastfeeding triplets, though not exclusively, to be incredibly resource intensive in terms of supply-enhancing herbs, pumps and bottles, and the like. Still, I’m happy for what I am able to provide for them!)

Eco Child’s Play has some lovely (and not too preachy) posts up about breastfeeding, and the BabyCenter Store has breastfeeding pumps, pillows, bras and more on sale up to 30% off through 8/24. Plus, you can get free shipping on orders of $49 or more with code FREESHIP49.