Search Results for: blog toy waste

Are Your Toys Safe?

We all want our children to be safe this year. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street, we insist on them wearing a coat and gloves when they are out playing in the snow, but did you know that some of their toys could be a danger this year too? Most of us don’t think twice about checking consumer advocate reports when we are out doing our Christmas shopping. If it’s on the shelf it must be safe right? Wrong. This year’s consumer advocate report released a few weeks ago, stated that over a dozen toys … Continue reading →

Parents Are Wasters

According to the National Retail Federation, parents are a bunch of wasters. The group maintains that the average American family wastes nearly 15% of its purchases, from food to household supplies, gifts to apparel. Guilty as charged. I just trashed a half-empty container of hummus because it expired before my family could finish it. I despise wasting food, and would have downed the remaining chickpea spread myself had it not smelled like sweaty feet. I’ve eaten expired food items in the past, but didn’t want to chance it with the hummus, since the container was compromised. Apparently, it had slid … Continue reading →

Too Valuable To Waste

Yep, we‘ve all seen it in homes of other people, maybe in our own homes the man who sits back and lets his wife do all the dishes. Let me tell you it doesn’t happen in our house. Mick washes the dishes and I dry. Yes, we vaguely toyed with the idea of a dishwasher after we moved, but never went ahead with it. One reason was expense and not having a lot of room. We’d have to lose a kitchen cupboard to put one in. But the more important reason is because that time doing dishes is put to … Continue reading →

Simple Toys, Simple Joys: Playing with Balls

We have plenty of toys that make noise at our house, have numerous buttons, light up at a toddler’s touch, quiz you on the alphabet and sing songs. But, I am often reminded by my own kids that the simple toys are the ones that really make memories. Although the weather outside is still cold here in pennsylvania, the sun is bright today. It filled our living room turned playroom into a bright cheerful space. These are the best days to get down on the floor and explore the toy box (or should I say boxes, since in our house … Continue reading →

Will Buying Used Clothes and Toys or Reselling Them Soon Be Illegal?

At first read, it sounds like an Internet scam. A law has been passed that will prohibit anyone from selling used children’s clothes and toys, effective next month. This would have wide-ranging affects, putting everyone from consignments shops and Goodwill to eBay sellers and yard sale folks out of business. Everyone from hard core frugal moms who have adopted frugality from the beginning to new to the craft frugalistas who are responding to trends that make frugal cool, to people who suddenly find the necessity of a frugal lifestyle with the failing economy, people are panicking. As someone who relies … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: August 2008

Isn’t it crazy the way babies grow so quickly? It seems that you just get used to one stage and boom they are already into another. Tonight, were busy getting the household all set for my eldest child’s first day of second grade. My two younger ones are excited and want to start school, too. It will be a busy month. Don’t worry about the missing last week of blogs. I’ve gotten quite a few questions about where I have been. The Baby Blog tends to go on hiatus the last week of the month. That may change in the … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Week in Review: July 28th Through August 3rd

Safety and summer fun have been two themes occurring in the Baby Blog for last week. From tougher toy standards and new information about you baby and second-hand smoke, to fun in the baby pool and enjoyment through volunteering, you’ll find a variety of information and opinion. Some of it might even be controversial. Add your comment! Here, now, is the week in review. July 28th Baby Blog Week in Review: July 21st Through July 27th What types of activities do you like to do with your baby? Is it playing on the floor, reading or taking walks? How about … Continue reading →

Which Toys Don’t Include Phthalates?

Phthalates are chemicals that are considered toxic waste by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and yet they included in most plastic toys and other items that come in contact with out babies, such as sippy cups. Phthalates make plastic toys soft and flexible, and they are many different products. Research has shown a connection between phthalates and reproductive issues in boys and the early onset of puberty in girls. If you read my earlier post, House Approves Legislation for Tougher Toy Standards, you’ll know that the US government may be soon taking steps to ban the inclusion of phthalates in … Continue reading →

Emergency Baby Toys

What do you do when you don’t have any toys on hand to occupy your little one? Perhaps you dashed out of the door for a visit and forgot to bring along a few toys? Or maybe your baby has decided that she is bored with her toys at the exact moment that you need to make an important phone call or do your dinner prep. One time we were unexpectedly snowed in while away from home with our firstborn who was about 18 months old. We invented all sorts of games to play with him, but the following two … Continue reading →

Toy Waste

Yesterday, I had a nice visit with a new friend and fellow mom. She is a great person, and I am glad to have met her. In the course of our conversation, we talked about how many toys our children have and the need to purge toys when the youngest of our broods outgrow them. My new friend told me that she was in a quandary. She wanted to recycle some of the toys but didn’t think that the hard plastic would be taken by the recycling center. Instead, she said, she was forced to throw the toys out. Well, … Continue reading →