Eco Freak - Wool Dryer Balls Review and Giveaway!

In my quest for making our lives around here greener, about a year ago I purchased a set of dryer balls from a company. They were a rubbery-plastic and I found that they did absolutely nothing... money well wasted. Once my journey in cloth diapering was well under way I read many stories of wool dryer balls. I mentioned them to my friend, owner and creator of Eco Freak, and she went with the idea!

Shortly after she made them and tested them out for herself I purchased a set to use with the cloth diaper stash. I had never been more amazed with anything in my laundry room ever. All of the diapers were completely dry in under 20 minutes. And the ultimate test- I have a Bottom Bumper diaper that is made with a bamboo soaker, (all of the other diapers are microfiber or prefolds) this is a diaper that NEVER comes out of the dryer dry. I can hang it out over night and it is still wet the next morning. The dryer balls turned this into a drying miracle, the bamboo soaker was dry! Needless to say I was VERY impressed!

After this I decided to try them out with towels and was again very amazed at how quickly they dried. They were also very soft. I now use them in every load of laundry and no longer need fabric softeners.

Eco Freak dryer balls come in sets of four for only $16.00! Which just happens to be an awesome price when compared to other companies. I ordered mine with a lemon fresh scent, which lasted for about a month. The balls them-self are going to last for years and can be re-scented at anytime. Another great thing about them is that they are purely Canadian! Even the wool used to make them is made right in our own backyard!

Eco Freak Dryer Balls can also be found at one of my favourite retailers, Sweet Lil Dimples Baby Shop and will also be found on Canadian Co-op from November 1st to 15th at a discounted rate!

Would  you like to win a set?
Mandatory Entry: Head on over to Eco Freak and tell me what else of her products you would like to try.

The giveaway will be open until Tuesday November 15, 2011 at 7pm CST. Winner will be selected via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize.

Additional Entries:

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Tweet about this giveaway! Make sure to tag DefOAWife so that I know about it :)

My Journey With Baby-Led Weaning

Maybe you have heard of the term baby-led weaning and maybe you haven't. Baby-led weaning, or what our grandmothers would have called "feeding the baby" is simply allowing your baby to try the day to day foods that the rest of the family is enjoying.

When I began solids with Ella I went to the store and bought all kinds of baby foods and cereals and she ate them happily, for quite a long time too. I wasn't too adventurous about making my own foods but I did try to find foods for her that were organic. My kitchen became full of baby food jars that I wound up finding someone to take off of my hands. When it came time to start solids with Dillan I followed the same plan, only he had a different idea of what solids should be. He refused to eat anything purred, he wanted the real deal. I have noticed with him that even from early on he has wanted whatever his big sister has. So I began to feed him whatever we were eating. I had another friend that was doing baby-led weaning with her baby who is also Dillan's age and it seemed to be working quite well for them.

Needless to say Dillan thrived from this and has been eating anything and everything ever since. I really don't mind that I didn't have to go through the whole pureed stage but it does make him seem older and like he is growing up quicker than I would like.

Have you tried Baby-led weaning? How did it work for you? Do  you plan to try this?

MIA- I'm Still Here!!

It's been a while since I have written a post! TOO long. I guess life has just been busy for a while but I will be getting back into the swing of blogging, more reviews and of course more giveaways!

Over the later half of the summer and the start to fall I was assisting with the first ever Warman Run Walk and Wiggle event along side some pretty major sponsors, including Running Room and one of our local radio stations, C95. The event went quite well and everyone was impressed. Ella is still talking about how she went running and won a ribbon.

As soon as that event was over we began a new adventure buying a new home and selling our current home. So I have been busy packing, this week especially, we are moving next Tuesday!

Without any further a due I shall get into a new post!

Bug Out! by Eco Freak Winner

Sorry for the delay in posting the winner for the Eco Freak Bug Out giveaway. The lucky winner is..... #11, Tara, as selected via random.org! congrats to Tara and thank you to all of those who participated. Stay tuned for another giveaway from Eco Freak in the near future.

Tara, please contact me via the Contact tab up on this blog within 48 hours to claim your prize!

Cloth Diapers Not Just For Crunchy Mamas

This past Wednesday I really wanted to do another "Wordless Wednesday" post but I really had more to say about the photo than letting the "picture speaks 1000 words" rule fall into place. (And I noticed another blog had done a WW that day and I didn't want to steal her post!)

Maybe you have already seen the photo that I am talking about, it has been circulating around Facebook and various other sites, and if you haven't seen this photo you really need to!

   

This is 5000 disposable diapers, which is on average what it takes to diaper ONE baby for two and a half years. This is what people throw into landfills all over North America (if not a good portion of the world) every day. I am guilty of this myself. We used disposable diapers for our oldest child the entire time she was in diapers. I am sure many of you feel the same way that I do about this photo, shocked and upset.

Cloth diapering is NOT just for the "crunchy" bunch of us, it should really be for anyone who even has the slightest bit of care for the planet that they live on. These diapers are going to take thousands of years to biodegrade and its only going to destroy the planet in the process.

I don't know where this photo came from. I have no idea who took it but I am sure glad that they have put it out there for everyone to see, because people NEED to see the daily impact that they are making.



How does this photo make you feel?

Bug Out! by Eco Freak - Review {Giveaway!}

The season of the West Nile Mosquito has arrived. Thankfully none of them have been found where I live yet, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been attacked by the nasty little buggers! Even with an abundance of dragon flies swarming my house the mosquitoes still seem to find their way to me, and to my kids.

I have never been a fan of bug spray. It stinks and if you have ever accidentally gotten some in your mouth, well it doesn't taste good at all. Having two small kids I don't want to load them up with chemicals either. When the summer started I was discussing this situation with my dear friend and owner, creator of Eco Freak. Being that she was in the same boat (our not-so-little baby boys are 8 days apart) she decided to do something about it and add a bug spray to her company. It was then that Bug Out was born.

 As soon as the Bug Out was finished I ordered some. Eco Freak sent me the product (along with a few others that I wanted to try!) right away. I opened the box to find the best smelling package I have EVER opened. As I took each item out of the box trying to figure out which one it was the smelt so good, I discovered that it was the bug spray! Finally!! A good smelling bug spray! My husband had a differing opinion on the scent of the bug spray, but this is coming from the guy that uses Muskol and thinks that the disgusting smell of that is fine.

I applied the spray to the kids and myself, and my husband applied the "trust worthy" Muskol and we set off for a walk. I still made sure to keep my eye on the baby. I didn't want to spray the Bug Out on his hands (just as the instructions on the bottle say) and I also didn't put any on his face.

Guess who came home with the bug bites? Yep, the man who applied the "trusty"- deet filled Muskol spray. We'll stick to the natural version thanks!

Because I think that this is something that everyone should try, I am going to give one lucky winner that chance!

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to Eco Freak on Facebook (her website will soon be up and running!) and find the album of available products, come back here and let me know another Eco Freak product that you would like to try.

Extra Entries: *Remember to leave a comment for each entry!*

Like Definition of a Wife  on Facebook

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Tweet about this giveaway and don't forget to tag @DefOAWife to so that I know that you did!

Follow this blog via Networked Blogs >>>> Over there on the Right! :)

The giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the United States. The winner will be selected via Random.org August 15, 2011 @ 4pm CST.  

Want to hear more about products from Eco Freak? Stay tuned for another review of some more great products including another giveaway!! 

Sweet Pea Pocket Diaper Winner!!!

Wow!! My most entered giveaway yet!!! Thank you to all of the participants and to Sweet Lil Dimples Baby Shop for the giveaway!

The winner is............ Leah!!!

Leah please contact me within 48 hours to claim your prize. After 48hrs a new winner will be selected.