Category Archives: Green Ideas

Restuffed: The Sofa Saga

Less than a year ago, we welcomed home a new-to-us sofa.  The upholstery looked great, and it appeared to be a quality piece of furniture, all-in-all, a good Craigslist bargain.  I quickly bonded with our new sofa, enjoying many long, pregnancy-fatigue induced naps on its cushions.  Unfortunately, after several months of use, we noticed that the sofa was getting uncomfortable.  The stuffing in the back was suffering from the effects of age and gravity.

For a few months, we used strategically placed pillows to make up for the sofa’s shortcomings, but the possibility of getting it restuffed surfaced in conversations.  Then one day, we noticed a bright orange powdery substance oozing from one of the buttons.  Apparently, the used sofa that seemed to be in such good condition only seemed to be in good condition because the previous owner never used it.  With regular use, the really old foam stuffing showed its true colors, rapidly disintegrating, first the back of the couch, and then the cushions.

Green solution?  Don’t get rid of a perfectly good piece of furniture – repair it!  In this case, that meant restuffing.  It sounded like a good, simple plan, until Matthew started calling around to get quotes, and we started hearing amounts greater than one thousand dollars.  While we were pretty sure we could not get a new couch of similar quality for less than that (even if we wanted to take that route), it was hard to think about shelling out that much money for a sofa that we bought on Craigslist for a couple hundred dollars.

Most places wanted to restuff (which we wanted) AND reupholster (which we didn’t want).  One place said they might be able to restuff and use the existing upholstery (which would make it considerably cheaper), but they wouldn’t know until they actually started taking it apart and could see what condition the upholstery was in, and by then we could owe them at least a couple hundred dollars by the time we paid for pick-up and the initial labor.  Gulp.

To further complicate things, my in-laws were offering us a newer used sofa for free.  It lacked the charm and character of our sofa, as well as the length that allowed Matthew to actually lie down and stretch out, but compared to the potential expense of getting our sofa back in shape . . . .

Enter serious procrastinating on my part, all while sitting on an increasingly uncomfortable sofa.  I might still be on the fence right now, except the prospect of exposing my newborn baby to some mysterious orange powder demanded action.

I reluctantly agreed to try the place that was willing to try to reuse the current upholstery.  After some deliberation, we also decided to have them restuff the cushions, instead of attempting it ourselves.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending.  We waved goodbye to our sofa the second Saturday in October.  That Monday, we got the good news that they could work with the current upholstery, and, five days later, we hoisted the sofa back up our stairs and into the front room, where we’ve been enjoying it ever since.  Though it was hardly the bargain we thought we were getting, we plan to enjoy it for many more years, and I feel like we made a decent investment.

Green baby — an oxymoron?

Before we had our own little one, my husband always accused me of being baby-crazy.  Despite the reality of the planet’s limited carrying capacity, I never really considered not having children, and I scaled back my plans from 3 kids to 2 kids, to stay below the 2.2 children/woman average for not increasing the world population.  (I’m pretty sure this 2.2 is a legit figure, but I can’t find a reliable source for it at the moment.)

Sure, I would use green practices, like cloth diapering, avoiding unnecessary baby/kid “stuff,” and buying used, and I would raise my child(ren) to respect the earth and its resources.  Still, the reality is that a baby born in the United States, no matter how “green,” has a big carbon footprint that will almost certainly persist throughout the lifetime.

When I was five months pregnant, I read Beth Terry’s “I’m an Environmentalist and I’m Not Having Kids” post, and, despite the fact that she explicitly states that she made her decision to not have kids because of personal goals rather than environmental concerns, I started feeling a little guilty.  And then there were the quotes she shared from others about not wanting to bring new life into this mess of a world.  Gulp.  Did I mention I was already five months pregnant at this point?  Perhaps not the best reading material.

So, here I am, seven months later, with a three-month-old son.  The last three months have certainly seen increased resource use — water and energy washing diapers, trips made in the car that would have otherwise been made by bicycle — but at this stage, his needs, and therefore his eco-impact, are relatively minimal.  We’ve managed to purchase almost all large items second-hand (as well as keeping total purchases to a minimum), and he’s clothed mostly in hand-me-downs.  But still, having a baby is not exactly green.

As the years pass, his resource consumption will increase, but in some areas it may decrease, at least for awhile.  Once he’s just a bit older, we plan to travel by bike more than by car, and he won’t be in diapers forever.  As he grows, we’ll do our best to foster an appreciation for sustainable living and respect for the earth and its resources, values that we hope he will carry with him.  While I don’t buy the argument that this approach justifies having large numbers of children, it does offer some middle ground for raising a child, and sometimes, that’s as good as it gets.

The Dude’s new ride

Patience and persistence finally paid off in both our bike trailer and jogging stroller Craigslist searches.  (I’ll get to the stroller in a future post.)

We actually bought the bike trailer a few weeks ago, after many failed attempts where we either just missed the item, or offered a lower price that wasn’t accepted.  I had narrowed the search to something with suspension, which meant either a high-end Burley model or a Chariot — both retail in the $600-$700 range new.  I hoped to get a new-to-us version for $250 or less.

In the end, we came up a little from that, but we are now the proud owners of a double Chariot Cougar with the stroller conversion kit.  We will be spending a bit more to buy the baby supporter accessory.  Once we have that, I will be sorely tempted to get out on the bike with The Dude.

The product website says the baby supporter is for, “children approximately 6-18 months of age,” but most of the reviews mention using it starting at 2-3 months.  The Dude is 3 months now, and a big 3 months at that, so basically it comes down to a helmet dilemma.  We could most likely ride with him now, but, even if his head were big enough for a helmet, I don’t think it will work with the head support.

So . . . bike helmets.  Riding a safe bicycle, in a safe and confident manner, is a cyclist’s most important safety tool, and a helmet only  protects so much, but why not have it as a back-up?  I don’t get preachy about it, but I do always wear a helmet, and think non-helmeted bikers look rather stupid.

So is it hypocritical to consider my baby NOT wearing one?  Perhaps, but on the other hand, The Dude will be protected by the trailer and the baby supporter, not just sitting on a bicycle seat.  I would argue that this is not much different than riding in a car, and I don’t know of any parents who put a helmet on their baby in the car.

For now, we’ll take things one step at a time.  The next step is actually buying the baby supporter.  Then we can put The Dude into the trailer, with the supporter, and evaluate his security and stability.  If all systems are go, we can sneak in a few rides gorgeous fall rides before winter weather hits.

Twelve weeks

To say the past twelve weeks have been a blur would be putting it VERY mildly.  We naively expected that we would accomplish any number of tasks during our maternity/paternity leaves.

I planned to give some serious attention to blogging, including purchasing a domain name and turning this blog into a more official site.  Instead, I’ve barely had time to write, or even read favorite blogs, much less expand things here.

While I love reading “mommy blogs,” I really did/do not want this to veer in that direction.  To that end, I considered starting another baby-specific blog (proposed name: Blue Green Mama), so I could stay on-topic here.  On the other hand, my goal here is to share stories and inspiration on sustainable and healthy living from my own life, which, like it or not (let’s be honest, it depends on when you ask), now involves being a mom.

Becoming a parent really drives home the whole “what are we leaving for future generations” argument for sustainability.  Yesterday, we had a naming ceremony for Gabriel at the Ethical Society, and the platform topic just-so-happened to be global warming, sustainability, and social justice (our completely haphazard, hey, let’s do this next Sunday form of “planning” worked amazingly well).  Listening to the well-delivered message, which I’ve heard plenty of times before, took on new meaning as I looked into my son’s eyes.

While I now more fully appreciate how lack of time can be a significant barrier to behavior change (whether a health-related behavior, or a “green” behavior), it seems more important than ever to stay committed to a sustainable lifestyle and advocate for larger scale change.

Psst, psst: The EC update

Startling statistic: 40 years ago, over 90% of babies were out of diapers by 18 months, and today, only 2% of babies are out of diapers by 2 years!  Whether cloth or disposable, that’s a lot more diaper-time for today’s little ones.

Reading about Elimination Communication (EC) midway through pregnancy activated my green radar — baby peeing and pooping in the toilet (or in a little potty or other receptacle) equals less dirty diapers to wash.  Less washing means less water and energy used — what wasn’t to love.

I read Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh, and it all seemed pretty straight forward.  And then I had a baby . . . .

Matthew actually caught a few pees in the hospital, but between my surgery recovery and Gabriel’s fussiness, we got off to a pretty slow start with EC.  I was pretty frustrated and discouraged, especially after the book made it sound so simple.  Gabriel met our attempted potty opportunities with cries, but no pee or poop.  We worried that his back was sore from the six UNNECESSARY lumbar punctures and that the potty position led to more pain.

The Dude is now 11 weeks old, and in the past few weeks, things seem to be clicking.  Most pee and poop still happens in a diaper, but we consistently catch 2-4 pees a day.  It is amazing how long he can stay dry, and he really does seem to know what is going on when we give him a potty opportunity.

"What's a guy have to do to get some privacy around here?"

When we’re home, we offer the potty when he wakes from a nap, and with almost every diaper change, using “psst, psst” to cue pees.  I can read his poop signals pretty clearly, but at this point, he usually poops DURING a feeding, and I really don’t want to interrupt his meal just to set him on the pot.  I do acknowledge the bowel movement by making the poop cue (we use a gentle grunt).

While we are far from diaper free, we are succeeding at Elimination Communication.  Each catch provides encouragement to continue the journey and see where it ends.