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Health & Fitness

Can you be friendly to the earth and save money at the same time?

It is hard to believe that a decision that my husband and I made almost a year ago means that we are saving money, protecting the planet and now participating in a Guinness World Book Record.

It is hard to believe it has almost been a year since we made some very challenging decisions.  Challenging may not be the right word. . .that makes it sounds like they were decisions following a rough situation or two but I say challenging because they were decisions that we made when we learned we were going to become parents. The decisions haven't really ended since we became parents and they weren't challenging because they were from a rough situation more just an unknown situation.  I can honestly say my husband surprised me a bit when we came to me to talk about cloth diapering.  I was the one who had done lots of reading before we were pregant and continued when we found out we were expecting but, cloth diapering I hadn't really considered.  It wasn't that I was opposed to it really but again it was unknown.  I had been around lots of babies and children - - for heavens sake I paid for a great deal of college from babysitting but I can't remember even one of those children in cloth diapers.  Hubby followed up the conversation a day or two later armed with lots of facts and figures about cloth diapering.  He talked about how much money we would save with cloth diapering ($1,200 for the first child and more for each additional child - - I think that was what he had said)- his accounting background served him well there but one of the facts that still sticks with me today had to do with the environment.  The fact that truly shocked me was from Dr. Sears that over the course of a child's life Seven Thousand, that's right I said 7,000 diapers go to the landfill.  Armed with that savings information both the personal financial savings and the planet savings how could I not give cloth diapering serious consideration?  Now 8 months into my daughters life I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions we premade before she even arrived.  We learned LOTS and LOTS about cloth diapering from Greenberries that truly eco-chic children's boutique in Columbia.  And now this weekend I will be participating in a Guinness World Book event!  People from all over the planet will be changing their child's cloth diaper at exactly the same time I change my daughter's.  But I won't be participating alone - - I will be going to Greenberries this Saturday April 21, 2012 the day before Earth Day and changing my daughter's diaper while over 50 other mommies change their child's.  

Be a part of a Guinness World Book Record event, celebrate this Planet Positive activity at the same time and it is FREE.  For more information check out Greenberries on the Patch or go to www.greenberriescompany.com

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