bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-in-One Giveaway

Welcome to the bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Giveaway sponsored by Social News Daily and hosted by The Parenting Patch. 

One lucky reader of The Parenting Patch, Social News Daily, and Green Grandma will win one (1) bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Diaper in Countess or Hummingbird. 

If you've been following the blog for very long, you know I am passionate about cloth diapering. Seriously, it's the reason I started the blog in the first place. So I'm thrilled to be part of this giveaway. My own children were prefold and plastic pants (we called them rubber pants back in the day), but my grandbabies have had the advantage of AIOs and bumGenius has been a favorite brand. And let's face it, these diapers are simply adorable!

To enter for your chance to win the bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway  

The bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Giveaway is open worldwide. An international winner will receive $25 via PayPal in lieu of the specified prize. The bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Giveaway ends at midnight CST on March 31, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and Green Grandma are not responsible for prize fulfillment. bumGenius is not affiliated with the bumGenius Elemental Organic One-Size All-In-One Giveaway.

Something scarier than lions and tigers and bears ... E. coli!

Welcome to another Review It Wednesday!

Have you been paying attention to all the scary news about E. coli (Escherichia coli) lately? It makes you a bit hesitant as you stand in the produce aisle of your local grocery store, doesn't it? Of course, with the harvest season upon us, most of us have the option of buying our fruits and vegetables from local farmers. Still, the E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have been a bit disconcerting.

That's why I'm thrilled to promote a product, I believe, no home should be without. You may have seen the advertisement for Eat Cleaner on the side of the blog. That's because it is a product I am happy to promote here. This all natural food wash can help keep your family safe! The good folks at Eat Cleaner sent me a bottle to try, along with some biodegradable food wipes for on the go eating, and I must say, I love this stuff. The wipes, by the way, were the Winner of the World’s Best Technologies 2011 Gold Prize! How's that for an endorsement?

The Fruit & Vegetable Wash is lab-proven to remove agricultural residue and wax that water can’t, and is made from safe and eco-friendly ingredients, which means it's chlorine and alcohol-free. It's also made in the States with FDA Approved, all-natural ingredients. Plus, it inhibits browning and helps food last up to 200 times longer! Another bonus, is it's easy to use -- just place your produce in a bowl, hit it with a generous spray of the cleaner, let it 'soak' for a couple of minutes and then fill the bowl with clean water, agitate the produce a bit and then thoroughly rinse. Your food will be clean, safe-to-eat, and have no soapy or chemical taste to spoil its own natural goodness.

The Eat Cleaner Fruit & Vegetable Wash helps keep food fresh longer!

The results speak for themselves!

Which would you rather feed to your family?

The Eat Cleaner website features an informative blog and they've graciously allowed me to repost the article below on ways to keep your food safe. So, rather than researching the E. coli mess myself, I'm just going to let Mareya S. Ibrahim explain it and give you some tips on food safety.

But before you read up on how to keep your kiddos and the rest of the family safe from food-related illness, let me share the good news that you can actually win a bottle of Eat Cleaner Fruit & Vegetable Wash!

Here's how:

• Follow Eat Cleaner on Facebook
• Sign up for the Cleaner Plate Club Newsletter, packed full of safer eating tips!
• Comment here or on the GG Facebook page and let me know you did both

Entries must be in by midnight, Monday, June 13, 2011. Winner will be selected via Random.org and announced on the blog on Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

European E. coli Food Scare: How to keep dangerous bacteria out of your kitchen

  

According to the AP, the food borne bacterial outbreak that has hit Germany and other European nations is unlike anything we’ve ever seen – 16 dead and more than 1,100 sick, including nearly 400 suffering severe and potentially fatal symptoms. The reason for infection is likely attributed to eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce but exact causes have not been confirmed. The fact is contamination can happen at any number of points, from the farm to the processor to the truck it was delivered on.

You can take measures to avoid the potential disastrous effect of E.coli and other food borne bacteria with the help of the Fit Foody Mareya Ibrahim, an award winning food safety expert.

The Fit Foody’s Clean Kitchen Tips: 

• Clean your hands – Start with clean hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with a good quality soap. Avoid alcohol and triclosan which has raised health concerns recently. An alcohol-free hand sanitizer such as Clean Well is also an option but cleaning hands with soap and dirt are best.
• Clean cutting boards and countertops - Contact surfaces like cutting boards and counter tops should be wiped down with antibacterial products. Opt for natural products free of harsh chemicals. Seventh Generation and Method make good options featuring an antibacterial made with Thyme oil and are up to 99.99% effective in killing harmful bacteria, including E.coli. Use a separate cutting board for fruit and veggies, one for raw meat and poultry and one for seafood.
• Clean your food – The scare in Europe has been linked to fresh produce. Washing with water alone may not be effective, especially if produce has been waxed. Eat Cleaner makes an all natural food wash and wipes that are lab testing to kill E.coli and other bacteria and don’t change the way your food tastes or smells. You can use the wipes on your food, hands and utensils when you’re on the go.
• Chill out – Now that temperatures are rising, heat is a breeding ground for bacteria. Perishable food should never sit out for more than two hours. If the temperature is above 90°F, perishable foods shouldn’t sit out more than one hour. And no panicking…you can significantly cut down on the risk of infection with the right handling measures.

That's it for this Wednesday. Thanks, Mareya, for all the info and for hosting the giveaway!

Reviewing it for you,

Hana

A snot rag by any other name ... Review It Wednesday

Allergy season is in full force in Western Pennsylvania. I see endless piles of tissues casually tossed in the trash from the countless allergy sufferers across the area. What about you? Are you a tissue user or have you back pedaled to an earlier era where wastefulness was not the norm and colorful 'kerchiefs were carefully tucked in apron pockets or up sleeves of plump sweet grandmas? I am part of the latter group. I love my hankies and especially enjoy sorting through pretty embroidered ones at estate sales and resale shops. It is rare that I don't have a hanky close by to wipe at my runny nose or watery eyes ... particularly during these pollen-packed spring months. The problem is ... while I don't have to look for a trash can when I'm done blowing my nose, I do have the issue of shoving a snot-filled hanky back in my pocket or purse. Yuck.

Well, imagine my delight when I discovered an alternative to both the wastefulness of tissues and the yuckiness of hankies! HankyBooks are the answer. HankyBooks? Yes, HankyBooks -- evolution of the handkerchief!

A HankyBook is exactly what the name says it is -- a book of hankies. But these are not your typical hankies. The pages of the 'book' are made from 100% organic cotton, and let me tell you, I've never wiped my nose with a hanky as soft as this ... ever.

The folks at HankyBook.com sent me a sample so I could review this innovative new product. Happily, I can report that I love it! Really, I do.

Aside from the incredible softness (no more red nose!), the convenience is wonderful. Yeah, I said convenience. Usually, those of us involved in a green movement of any kind shy away from the word convenient. Not this time. I mean, how convenient is it to toss this cushy little book (about the size of a pocket pack of Kleenex) into your purse, bring it out when it is needed and then throw it back in after you're done wiping your nose? Need to use it again? Pull it out, open to a different page and blow your nose. Repeat the process numerous times and then simply toss the HankyBook in the wash with your regular laundry.

Before I wrote the review, I wanted to see how my HankyBook would hold up in the wash. Let me tell you -- it's possibly even softer than before! I washed it with my Eco Nuts and machine-dried it (we're having quite a rainy spell here in Western PA) with my wool dryer balls. It emerged from the dryer looking just like new.

How do you use a HankyBook?

When you need it, you just open the book, holding the cover with both hands and blow your nose into the center. Turn the page and blow again. Simple and sanitary. Once the book is closed, only the clean cover surface touches the other items in your purse or pocket. It's easy -- Pinch off, Blow, Fold & Tuck.

HankyBooks are reusable, washer and dryer safe, purse and pocket friendly, and made from super absorbent 100% organic cotton.

Why should we care about a product offering all these features, plus sustainability?

Well, ask yourself this question: How many disposables pass from your hands to the landfill everyday? Every year? In your lifetime? Did you know that, according to the Scottish EPA, one year's worth of tissues throughout the world require the cutting down of 6,000,000 trees? 6,000,000 trees!! Unfathomable.

The folks at Seventh Generation surmise that if every household in the United States replaced just one box of 85-sheet virgin-fiber facial tissue with 100% recycled tissue, 280,000 trees would be saved. The same goes for replacing that box with reusable products, like handkerchiefs or their 21st century upgrade -- HankyBooks. The HankyBook mission is "to steer people happily towards a non-disposable culture ... aka a culture that values resources, produces little waste and causes minimal environmental stress."

But HankyBooks aren't just for blowing noses! They're also great for cleaning up after messy toddlers or drooling infants! They even come in cute little baby designs and, if you have a particular theme, pattern or fabric in mind, can be custom-ordered to suit your tastes!




And here comes the fun part! The kind folks at HankyBook are giving away sets of 3 HankyBooks to 2 lucky members of the GG community!

Here's what I want you to do for this Review It Wednesday Giveaway:

Like HankyBook on Facebook and post a comment there letting them know that Green Grandma sent you.

Two winners will be selected via Random.org from the comments on their wall that mention GG. Simple enough?

Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on Memorial Day (5/30/11) and the winners will be announced on Tuesday on the blog and on the Green Grandma Facebook page.

Spread the word. Share this. Tweet this. Let's all work toward that non-disposable culture HankyBook is trying to promote.

And make sure you check out the HankyBook video posted below. Imaginative, informative and just plain fun!

Reviewing eco-friendly products for you,

Hana

bumGenius 4.0 giveaway

Fellow blogger Jen, from imanimama is giving away a bumGenius 4.0. Stop by her blog and enter to win!! Contest ends at 8 p.m. EST 8/31. While there, peruse her site. I think you'll enjoy what this smart mama has to say!