CLOSED Giveaway! Farmerkids Organics!

It's finally time!  The Cozy Life Cloth Re-Launch!  I'm excited to be re-energizing the blog with such a special giveaway - I have partnered with an eco-friendly clothing brand, Farmerkids Organics, to raise awareness to the benefits of organic clothing for our children... and to get you guys some free stuff!!

Before we get into the specifics of the giveaway, let's talk about Farmerkids for a second - This wonderful brand, created by the fabulous Gabrielle and based in NYC, is a brand of children's clothing and accessories that combines whimsy with ecofriendly - using embroidered designs on 100% organic cotton in a range of goodies for our little ones including t-shirts, bibs, onesies, and hats.

My personal favorites are the personalized products that you can customize specific to your child and family.  I thought the onesie my daughter received, with "C is for Cozy Life" embroidered on the front, was absolutely adorable.  In addition to being high quality and looking fantastic, the organic cotton is super comfy.  My daughter isn't a big fan of clothing in general, but this onesie was so soft that she barely raised a fuss at all when I put it on her.

More so than it's cuteness, this onesie is an automatic favorite of mine because I know that the fabric is organic.  Organic cotton fabric is created using organically grown cotton crops - this cotton isn't treated with chemical pesticides or herbicides and as a result, it uses much, much, MUCH less water during harvesting and processing.  This also means that it's less likely to irritate your child's skin.

Want to learn more about Farmerkids Organics?  Check out their website, and follow them on twitter, facebook, or pinterest! 

... now let's talk about the giveaway

You want one of these personalized onesies or t-shirts now too, don't you?? Okay, here's the scoop on the giveaway. In order to qualify for the giveaway, you'll need to do a few quick things: Below is the fancy entry form - you have FOUR ways to enter.  In order to qualify you must be 18 years or older and live in the United States.

The giveaway will end on August 31st and the winner will be announced on September 1st!  Good luck!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Congrats to Susan D. for winning!

Review: NewAir AF-1000B Portable Evaporative Cooler

So seriously... It's HOT where I live.  While I'm still a California girl, I left the beaches behind and headed out to the desert climate of the California Central Valley - home of high temperatures and poor air quality.  Air conditioning is expensive and my family is doing everything we can to conserve energy, while still keeping our family comfortable in the 100°F+ weather we're having this summer.

Due to our poor air quality, a lot of times we're stuck inside and it's important, especially with an infant in the house, that we stay cool.  That means that our new evaporative cooler from NewAir (the AF-1000B) is our new best friend.

The cooler uses water and/or ice, in combination with an osculating fan, to cool medium-sized rooms.  As a self-proclaimed "Eco Mom" this fan is a dream because I don't need to worry about weird chemicals that might be present in other portable coolers - it uses WATER!  So on top of this cooler working amazingly well, it's ecofriendly too.

Extra bonuses?  It comes fully assembled (you literally just need to plug it in) and you can use it in "fan only" mode if you'd prefer to not add water.  You also have the option to have the fan stationary or osculating, depending on your needs.  While I feel like a cheesy used car salesman being 100% positive on this thing, I seriously love it.  We keep it next to our TV in the living room and it's allowed us to turn off our air conditioning unit in favor for a less energy-consuming fan.

Here's a few photo's of the cooler- I love that it's black and matches a lot of my furniture... but if you're looking for something more flashy, it also comes in red!

I did quick video to show you guys how easy this amazing cooler is to use.  You'll also hear how quiet it is - I turned it on right next to my dog, who was sleeping (as dog's tend to do) - my dog is a rescue and sudden noise seriously startles him... This fan/cooler?  So quiet, he barely noticed.  Check it out:

Upcycling with Habiliment

Alright, Eco-Moms, it's time to really live up to the "eco" in our Eco-Mom title.  Let me start by bringing up the term Upcycle.  Upcycling is a critical concept when we think about the idea of living an eco-conscious lifestyle - it's the idea that you can take an old thing and make it new.  Re-purpose and re-use the old to make it functional, beautiful, and/or relevant.  In order to be as ecofriendly as possible, us mom's have the responsibility to repurpose items in our homes and give them new life. 

Going out to the mall to buy clothes, shopping online for toys... these are common actions nowadays.  Doing that shopping while also supporting the idea of upcycling?  Not so common.  With that in mind, I want to share a discovery with you - Habiliment.  This company is a way to combine shopping and upcycling, bringing eco-conscious products into our homes and giving them new life.

Made from an old houndstooth coat, this pillow toy in the shape of a bunny rabbit is a new favorite in my daughter's nursery.  It's amazing to see what a sewing machine and an old coat can do!  I don't want to sound like a used car salesman, but this is a seriously exciting concept.  This toy is adorable - I've even found my six year-old carrying it around the house... and to think that it might have been a just dusty coat somewhere in a landfill.

Plus, how cute is the packaging?  When I received my pillow toy in the mail, I almost didn't want to unwrap it!  The obvious time and effort put into every product is another big reason why I'm so supportive of this brand.

One potential misgiving about upcycled materials is always quality - when you're reusing something old to create something new, will this "new" thing be rundown from the start?  Absolutely not the case with our adorable pillow toy.  The sewing is outstanding and the materials selected are vintage, but high quality.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this upcycled toy lasts longer than my daughter's factory made teddy bears.  Here's a close up of the "ears" on our bunny - Does that looked recycled to you?

All of the items available from Habiliment follow this same idea, or are produced using the Indian handcrafted fabric of Khadi, which is both culturally important to the people of India and also made outside of a sweatshop or factory, as so many fabrics unfortunately are.

I am passionate about being ecofriendly, and I'm extremely supportive of brands that seek to provide consumers with ecofriendly products.  I hope you'll take a look at the different clothes and upcycled products that Habiliment has to offer - they definitely get my stamp of approval!

Habiliment Website

Image (c) Habiliment

EcoMom: Recycle Your Breast Pump!

Breast is best, right?  But what happens once you've transitioned your baby over to solid foods and you no longer need your breast pump?  Do you shove your pump away in a dark closet never to see it again?  Maybe you have no idea what to do with it?  Here's a breakdown for us mom's with Medela Breast Pumps and the process of recycling our pumps once we're done with them.

Medela Recycles

If you're like me and you opted to buy a Medela breast pump, there's a really cool program that you NEED to know about.  It's called Medela Recycles.  This is a program where you can send off your old electric breast pump to be recycled at zero cost to you.  Added bonus?  Each month Medela sends a donation of two Symphony Preemie+ Breastpumps the Ronald McDonald House Charity thanks to the mom's that are recycling their old pumps through Medela Recycles - FANTASTIC! 

Many of these mom's have babies in the NICU and the only option to get breast milk to their little ones is through pumping on a daily basis.  Getting a free pump can take away just one of the added stresses that these mother's face during such a difficult time.  

Fun Fact: Medela began this recycling campaign through learning of a Change.Org petition started by a regular EcoMom looking for a way to recycle her old pump in a way that was ecofriendly.  It just goes to show that us mom's CAN make a difference!

Get more details on the program by clicking the image below!  So far, they've received almost 3,000 donations.

What if I have a Manual Pump?

Not everyone is going to have an electric pump, though, so what can you do if you'd still like to recycle your pump, but don't qualify for Medela Recycles?  If you have a manual Medela pump, you need to know that they aren't "closed system" pumps - so, essentially, they aren't really made to be used my multiple moms.

However, the good news is that Medela does make their pumps out of recyclable materials for the most part, so all you need to do is take your pump to your local recycling center and Ta-Da!  You've sent you pump to breast-pump-heaven without hurting the environment.

That's great, but my pump isn't Medela...

There are so many brands of breast pumps out there and I'm sure a few readers might not have gone with Medela as their pump choice - But it's important to empower yourself with knowledge!  Check the materials your non-Medela pump is made from and see if they're recyclable.  Go to the manufacturer's website and see if their pumps are suitable for multiple mom's - you may be able to give your pump to a friend or family member for sterilization and re-use.

Review: NewAir Outdoor Misting Fan, AF-520B

If you're new to my blog, you may not know that I recently relocated to the central valley of California.  The weather here is NUTS - super dry all year-round, and crazy HOT during the spring and summer (we're talking 100°+ for six months out of the year - yuck).  So when I had the chance to try out the NewAir Outdoor Misting Fan, I jumped at it (it's the AF-520B model if you want to check one out!).  

Assembly

While the fan arrived in an impressively sized box, there was still assembly required.  Luckily, I've spent hours putting together modular furniture in the past, so I figured this would be a breeze.  The fan came in five large pieces, taking around five to ten minutes to put together.  As far as what you'll need - all it takes is a phillips-head screwdriver (though I had to use two - one small, one large).  The instructions were a little confusing, but I was able to figure them out once I re-read a few parts and consulted the handy diagrams they included.  I felt that the fan itself was really high quality and well designed, which is huge plus.

Indoor Use

This fan is technically an "outdoor misting fan" but I gave it a go inside first, just to make sure everything worked right.  While you will have the water tubing to deal with (I wrapped it around the base of the fan), it works just fine inside - the fan is a good size and the three different speed settings make it work for small and large rooms.

Outdoor Misting Use

My son was so excited to hook up the fan to water and give the misting a try - what I really liked was the "on" and "off" switch for the water - I can imagine this will help me avoid future "accidental misting" issues when setting up the fan :)  The set up was fairly simple, but I did have to use an extension cord because the plug on the fan was too large to hook up to our exterior power outlet, which has a safety cover (as most outdoor outlets do, I would assume).  

Once the water was going, I knew I was in LOVE with this fan.  The amount of "mist" is perfect - keeps you cool but doesn't drench you - and once the weather heats up, I can see my family using this thing A LOT.  Depending on how far you want the misting to spray, you can increase or decrease the speed of the fan.  The product itself is very sturdy as well, so I can see it handling windy days with no problems.

Final Thoughts

If you had asked me before trying this fan whether I would want to buy it or not, I probably would have said no.  Who needs a fan that shoots water at you??  ... but now that I've tried it, I'd recommend it to anyone that lives somewhere hot.  This fan might actually get us outside more in the summer, which will mean a lot to my kids. If you want more information on this product, check out the NewAir website or like them on Facebook!

Demonstration

Here's a quick video showing the fan in action!  Take a look: