It isn't easy being green when you're raising a family. There are some simple steps you can take to make it easier.

6 Ways for Parents to be More Eco Friendly

Stephanie Foster runs http://www.greensahm.com/ as a resource for eco friendly families. Get more tips on raising eco friendly children at http://www.greensahm.com/category/green-parenting/

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It’s tough raising children when you want to be environmentally friendly. They have a lot of needs and really add to your overall footprint. That doesn’t mean you can’t put some effort in to keeping things as eco friendly as possible with kids.

1. Do laundry using cold water as much as possible.

It’s amazing how much laundry really doesn’t need to be done in warm or hot water. Much of the time your laundry will come out just beautifully if you wash in cold water. This saves quite a bit of energy from heating the water.

With children, of course, you do have to think about when you need the extra stain fighting power of a warm water wash. Hot is only rarely needed. Kids are amazing when it comes to staining clothes, and you have to decide when you need warmer water to keep their clothes looking unstained.

2. Teach the kids how to know when clothes are dirty.

Some kids love to change outfits throughout the day. Only trouble is, the barely worn clothes get dumped on the floor or are thrown in the clothes hamper.

Teach your kids the difference between clean and dirty clothes. Most outfits won’t be dirty just because they were put on for a short time.

3. Cloth diapers and cloth wipes.

In many areas, cloth diapers are the most environmentally friendly to diaper your baby. You can even use them for more than one child. Combine them with cloth wipes (you’ll be doing laundry anyhow!) and you’ll not only throw fewer diapers and wipes into the landfill, you’ll save a ton of money.

However, if you’re facing severe water shortages in your area skip the cloth diapers and find the most environmentally friendly disposable ones you can. There are several varieties that biodegrade better than standard diapers. Pay attention to what’s really best for your area.

4. Enjoy hand me downs and thrift shops.

This is especially true for infants. You can get an amazing wardrobe for your child and not buy a single brand new outfit.

Just talk to friends and family members who have kids just a bit older than yours and see who’s willing to give hand me downs. Even if they have a child younger than yours, you may be able to come to an agreement where you pass the clothes back when your child outgrows them.

Infant clothes in particular can last a very long time, since babies don’t do that much to most of their clothes. It’s an amazing savings as well as being good for the planet.

5. Skip the birthday party goodie bags.

These things are all over the place at most children’s birthday parties these days, and the waste is tremendous. They’re often filled with poor quality plastic junk toys for the kids that won’t last more than a few days. The bags themselves are often plastic as well.

If you must do party favors, consider doing something a bit more interesting. Buy some pots and have the kids plant some seeds. Find small toys that are more eco friendly, and just put less stuff in the bags to make up for any extra cost.

6. Use homemade cleaners.

Not only are homemade cleaners better for the environment, they can be better for your kids. One possible cause for asthma is chemicals in the home.

Baking soda, vinegar and lemon can do amazing things around the house, and can handle most of your routine cleaning. Best of all, they don’t need to be kept away from children. They’re also cheaper than the chemicals you may be used to cleaning with.

Sometimes using homemade cleansers takes a little extra elbow grease, but other times they’ll amaze you with how fast they work.

If making your own cleaners doesn’t work for you, look for reputable eco friendly cleaners such as Method at the store.

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