All Natural Mommies

Archive for the ‘News In General’ Category

The Calgary Herald recently reported on a study, funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council, which concluded that reusable grocery bags are a public health risk.  Several used bags, 23 in fact, and two bags that were 2 and 3 years old, tested positive for such things as bacteria, yeast, and mold.  Of course, the single use plastic bags tested showed no signs of contaminates.  Nor did the new, unused reusable bags. 

So, what should we take away from this?  The plastic industry does not want consumers to turn away from plastic bags!  Many stores are encouraging the use of reusable bags.  Some municipalities are even banning the use of plastic bags.  The plastic industry stands to lose quite a lot if there is a widespread ban of their bags. 

This study plays on the fears of our germaphobic society.  Don’t stop using your reusable bags because of this.  But do revisit your cleaning process. 

Are your bags washed regularly?  I’ve looked through all of my reusable bags.  None contain washing instructions, except the insulated ones.  Still, I think it’s only common sense that since these bags come into close contact with yor family’s food, they should be washed regularly.  I machine wash and hang dry my bags once a month.  If food spills in one or it gets yucky somehow, it goes right into the laundry basket. 

 What about meats?   I usually have my meats wrapped in a regular plastic bag before being placed into my insulated reusable bag.  In this case, I think it’s more important to avoid contamination than to save that one plastic bag from use.  I package meats seperately from all other groceries.  And wipe out the insulated bags after each use. 

Reusable bags do not need to be a health hazard.  With a little bit of common sense, reusable bags can last a long time and provide your family with a healthy alternative to plastic bags. 

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Most of you reading this are very familiar with the 80’s. No one had any extra money, everyone wore hand-me-downs and cars were driven literally until the wheels fell off. We ate a lot of soup, watched our long-distance calls and lived on tight budgets. In addition to goofy hair styles, I also remember that we were generally HAPPY with our poorness. We had to enjoy one another because we couldn’t afford to run to the mall, the restaurant or just go “do” something. We had to stay home and all we had there was a few board games, crafts and each other. Guess what? IT’s BACK!

Not only are we all starting to feel the pinch of the economy, but very few of us are actually able to go out and spend whatever we want these days. We never know if gas is going to be three something or four something or how much a can of corn is going to spike in the next few days, we were are clutching our wallet and ignoring the “mommy, I wants” just because we don’t know what next week is going to look like.

With that said, what are YOU doing to prepare your family should there be a financial crisis in your family? Are you going to stash cash or simply stop spending or go on living life as you are.

Here are some tips for the upcoming hard-economics we are about to endure:

1. Start building your savings…even if pennies at a time…and have enough for 4 MONTHS of living expenses should the primary breadwinner lose their job.
2. Cut back on things you don’t really need – lose the cell phone – or lose the house phone….you don’t need two phones, but make sure if you lose the house phone that your cell phone provider has a system to dispatch 911 to your address in case of an emergency.
3. Lose the paid cable or cut back. In hard economic times the last thing we need is the boob toob.
4. Breastfeed your newborns. It’s not only better for your wallet…it’s better for your baby.
5. Pre-plan road trips. Don’t go out three times a week for groceries, etc. GO ONCE.
6. Get a job. If you are a mom you can work from home. There are several companies out there helping moms find work at home jobs and my new fav is hiremymom.com – check it out and let us know what you think.
7. Don’t stress out. Stressing out about money will hurt you, your family and your finances. Come up with a clear plan and stick to it like it was the last plan on earth. Even if you have a surplus this week, you may not next week – live within your budget and be happy with it.