I just discovered a great new blog that I’m really enjoying.  Nature Mommy is written by Deborah Schneider, and is packed full of ideas about sustainable, eco- and budget-friendly parenting.  She and her husband are prospective foster-adoptive parents, and her blog is a great read for both current and future parents.

One of her posts, second-hand vs. sustainable, really resonated with me.  Sustainable, eco-friendly living is very high on the list of priorities for my husband and me.  We work hard to minimize our impact on the planet, and we definitely fall into the second-hand camp in the debate Deborah described.  The way I see it, any time we buy something second-hand, we’re contributing to a good cause (we mostly shop at Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity thrift stores) and we’re also completely eliminating the need for new products to be manufactured for our use.  In addition, we’re able to stretch our family’s budget much farther than it would have gone if we opted to buy things new.

Another great post on Deborah’s blog is about the baby gear she’s purchased, mostly used.  Our son is 20 months old, and our family budget has changed very little since he was born.  I see so many reports that warn parents about how their costs will go up dramatically when they have a child.  And I see plenty of my own friends – some of whom do not have a lot of money – spending big bucks on matching nursery furniture, coordinated bedding sets, disposable diapers, fancy toys… I feel sad for them, especially the ones who are struggling financially.  For us, the two major expenses since having our son have been his health insurance premiums (about $100/month) and his college savings account (another $100/month).  The health insurance is absolutely essential in my opinion.  The college fund is great if you can swing it, but plenty of kids get through college on scholarships and part time jobs, and a child is not going to be ruined because his parents couldn’t afford to pay for all or part of his education (we don’t plan to pay for all of it, but $100/month for 18 years will make a dent in his tuition bills someday).  Other than those two things, we’ve spent very little on our son.  We purchased a carseat and an organic crib mattress new, pretty much everything else has come from thrift stores and hand me downs.  Our son plays with jars of spices, pots and pans, wooden spoons, and large quantities of plain wooden second-hand blocks.  His crib sheets came from a thrift store, as do all of his clothes, and his curtains were made from second-hand sheets.  My mother and I made all of his diapers from old flannel sheets, t-shirts, and fleece sweatshirts.  We have probably spent less than $100 on diapering for 20 months, and the second-hand, high-efficiency, front-loading washing machine we got last summer has cut down dramatically on how much water it takes to keep the diapers clean.

Our frugal parenting is great for our our budget, but it’s also great for the environment, as we’re not contributing to a demand for new stuff, most of which would only be used for a short time, given how quickly children grow.  If you have a minute, I recommend taking a peek at Deborah’s blog and being inspired to live a life that is easier on your wallet and our world.

I cut my son’s hair yesterday.  I’ve been cutting my husband’s hair for several years, but this was a different story.  My husband basically has me shave his head with an electric trimmer on the shortest setting.  All one length – as short as possible – and it takes about four minutes.  Then he lets it grow for a few weeks, and we repeat.  I’m proud of the money it saves us, but a trained monkey could replace me when it comes to cutting my husband’s hair.  (shhhh… don’t tell him I said that – he thinks I’m essential)

Our son has very soft, fine hair with a slight wave.  He has what I think of as surfer hair – a bit shaggy and all over the place, with little curls here and there.  I knew that the waviness would help cover any errors, so I headed in.  I put him in his highchair and distracted him with food and various kitchen utensils – otherwise he just wanted to grab the scissors out of my hands.  He’s a touch more wiggly than my husband.  And I really didn’t know what I was doing.  I remember reading a post Kelly wrote about cutting a little boy’s hair, and tried to keep the basics in mind.  But a 16 month old doesn’t sit still or tilt his head on command.  So I was basically winging it.  I trimmed around his ears and the back of his neck, and then started lifting sections around his head and cutting vertically (I figured that would help to eliminate the bowl-on-the-head look).  After about 15 minutes, I was amazed by the transformation.  Gone was my little surfer-dude, and in his place was a somewhat clean-cut little boy.

I was thrilled.  We saved $10 – $20 (depending on the place, that’s the range for a kid’s cut in our town), and I developed a little more confidence in my ability to do new things.  I had absolutely no experience with cutting hair without an electric trimmer, and our son’s cut turned out great.  He was a good guinea pig, since he’s a toddler who doesn’t have to impress anyone with his haircut.  By the time he’s heading off to school someday, I should be an expert and he should be much better at sitting still.  And since this attempt was successful, I will continue to cut his hair for as long as he’ll let me.