As is the case for many parents these days we weighed the environmental impact of cloth diapers versus disposables. In all of our research and reading we came across a number of references and some testimonials discussing another alternative to some of the inevitable and literal waste that comes with having a baby. Early start potty training, or elimination communication or "EC" as some people call it, is the simple idea of teaching your kid to use the potty from the day they are born.

We thought this made a lot of sense. Since the only way to reduce the use of any type of diaper is to have your kid use the potty, why not start earlier rather than later? We read a couple of books on the topic before starting on our adventure, but the method is really simple: Put your kid on the potty from the day they are born (or whenever you want to start), several times a day (or however often you want to or can). Honestly, that’s just about it.

The idea is that you anticipate when your baby is going to need to go (after nap or nursing, for example) and you provide the opportunity for them to go in the potty. In the beginning, sometimes he will go (we have two boys) and sometimes he won’t. But when he does, you give him positive feedback. Some people suggest that you give your baby an audible cue to associate with going to the bathroom and teach them a hand sign so that they can tell you early on when they need to go.

As you read this post, I can assure you that there are lots of different experiences out there with widely varying results and opinions. This is just our story. I should also note that we have had one parent at home with the kids since they were born. The books we read said that parents can have as much success even if they are only able to practice early start potty training outside of work hours, but I don’t have experience with that directly.

For those who are interested, my goal here is just to let you know what worked for us, what didn't and ultimately why we love early start potty training.

What worked

We were astonished to discover how quickly and easily both of our boys took to using the potty. For our first son, L. (now 3), we used a small Baby Bjorn Potty and later upgraded to a larger one, but to avoid the added step of cleaning the potty, we are putting our second boy, C. (now 9 months) right on the toilet (with a potty training seat).

First of all, elimination communication doesn't mean committing to having your child make big messes when you miss their cues - diapers make a great fail-safe. Here's how we do it: When C. wakes up in the morning, we put him on the potty. He either goes if he needs to or doesn't and then we put a diaper on him. Unless he makes any indication of needing to go, we wait until say, before nap time (about 2-3 hours later) and then put him on the potty again. He either goes or he doesn't and his diaper is either dry or it isn't. (But its never poopy.)

We saw results within days of beginning our early start potty training, even when our kids were only weeks old. At that age, babies are... productive, so sometimes our boys would go on the potty and sometimes in their diapers, but over time they used the potty more and more and their diapers less and less. I’d say that by the time they were 4 months old, they were using the potty about 90% of the time for poop (more on pee in a sec). And by 6 months for our first son and about 8 months for our second, we have never seen a poopy diaper again!

What didn’t work

We did not find using an audible cue to be particularly helpful in our experience. We found that the association with the potty was enough for them to know what they were supposed to do. Nor did we find using a hand sign to be particularly helpful in having our kids "communicate" to us about their potty needs. We taught our kids a hand sign, but neither of them has ever used it to let us know that they need to go. Our second son is now nine months old and mostly we just provide several opportunities a day for him to use the potty and this is enough to get the job done. But on occasion he has communicated his need to use the potty simply by being fussy. We have learned that when he’s fussy, we should check the usual suspects plus one more. Is he hungry? Is he tired? Or does he need to poop?

Having a poop-free-diaper existence has been reward enough for us to fully endorse early-start potty training. However, our expectations for actually having our kids truly potty trained at an earlier age have now been readjusted as our older son was no sooner pee-trained than his (non-early start) friends. Somewhat ironically, this may have had something to do with our use of early-start potty training. For example, we noticed that while his friends were all discovering the potty for the first time and showing excitement towards this “new” activity (that they sometimes got rewards for) - he just thought they were crazy because he had been using a potty all of his life. What was there to get excited about?

While he was fully capable of using a potty to pee in - and in fact did pee in a potty several times a day (when we took him to the potty) - this did not translate into him voluntarily telling us when he needed to go. This turned out to be more of a developmental step, requiring him to be OK with stopping whatever fun activity he was doing at the time to take a potty break. For us that came right around his third birthday.

We used lots of "naked time" with our first son, L., on the theory that it would help facilitate regular use of the potty (one kept close at hand). In our experience, this didn't really offer much benefit above and beyond our early start potty training habits, so we haven't emphasized that as much with C. and don't really see much difference.

Why we love it

Particularly because we chose to use cloth diapers with both of our boys, not having to deal with poopy diapers has been heavenly. No extra rinsing. No stinky diaper pails. Clean bums, no diaper rash. And our kids’ waste has gone where it’s supposed to – in the sewer system, not the trash can (as often happens with disposables).

Finally, some might view the time spent putting your kid on the potty as time they don’t have to add to their schedule, but we have really valued our potty time with the kids. We use that time to talk with them and read stories. We have a big bookshelf right next to the potty. It’s the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing before bed. It has actually come to be scheduled quality time that we all enjoy.

Ultimately, we have found that early start potty training is good for the environment (fewer diapers of any kind and waste in its place), good for our kids (quality time with their parents and always knowing what the potty is for), and great for us (for all of the reasons above).

Have any questions about how EC worked for our family? We're happy to field questions in the comments.

Need cloth diapers? ZRecs published a Cloth Diaper Showdown nearly two years ago that is still heavily referenced, and Kim Rosa's Dirty Diaper Laundry site features great video reviews of cloth diapers and follows current trends and designs in cloth diapering.

Feeling lucky? PRIZEY's Baby Gear category has frequent giveaway listings of cloth diapers and diapering supplies.

Are you tired of paying for overpriced kids’ crackers, fruit snacks and cookies with excessive and wasteful packaging? If you answered yes and you can find a little extra time on your hands this summer, consider purchasing a food dehydrator. With the widespread use of refrigeration and freezing appliances, dehydrators have become less common in most U.S. households. However, they are still extremely useful and simple to operate.

The financial savings of a food dehydrator are numerous. Unlike frozen food, dried foods simply require room temperature storage, so you won’t be using electricity from your fridge or freezer. They will also cost you pennies on the dollar compared with storebought dried foods, making the investment in a food dehydrator something that will pay off quickly if you already enjoy eating dried fruit or other foods from the grocery store.

And dehydrated foods couldn’t be more convenient. Simply remove what you need, seal the container and store again. Dried foods take up much less space than frozen or canned foods (and can easily be rehydrated with water to bring back to the original form). Going on a hike or camping trip this summer? Pack up some dried fruits, nuts and granola, and it will keep for days in your backpack. Summer is a great time to start dehydrating, because you can extend the life of your favorite fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.

What does it mean to dehydrate foods?
Food dehydration uses 1) heat to draw out the moisture in foods and 2) air circulation to carry off the moisture to eventually evaporate. The purpose is to draw out the food’s moisture to avoid spoilage. If done properly, dehydrated foods can last for many months.

What kinds of foods can be dehydrated?
Almost any food can be dehydrated - Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and even yogurt! And if dehydrated properly, you can retain almost all of the nutrients. (Some fruits and vegetables may lose a bit of vitamins A and C, but this can be minimized if properly pretreated). And the recipes are endless to make crackers, breads, cookies, vegetarian burgers, potpourri, granola, snack bars, candy, you name it! For example, my daughter and I made blueberry nut bars on Friday night (just walnuts, almonds, blueberries and raisins), and it delivered a fabulous PB&J for lunch today! We also make low-calorie sweet potato treats for our overweight yellow lab and a variety of trail mixes for park outings.

I can personally recommend Excalibur food dehydrators. I had thoroughly researched different dehydrators before purchasing my first one, and Excalibur, whose dehydrators run from around $100-$200, appeared to me to have the most durable equipment, the best prices, and the strongest customer service record.

In my house, there are two adults and one toddler, so the 4-tray dehydrator, currently on sale on Amazon for around $105, was plenty big for us. I recently made zucchini walnut hemp crackers using all 4 trays, and the final product was enough to fill up a half-gallon Mason jar.

If you are new to dehydrating, I would suggest purchasing a thorough guidance book about food dehydrating, too. We have enjoyed Excalibur’s Preserve It Naturally, The Complete Guide to Food Dehydration.

Does this sound like a kitchen idea that interests you? Or have you already purchased a food dehydrator? Share your experiences and recipes with us! And if you have more questions about dehydrating, let me know!

Trying to live a greener life can be a money-saver in many ways. But oftentimes it can be discouraging when you want to buy the greener version of a product and it is too expensive. On February 1, EcoSteal
launched to offer a chance to pick up new "green" products without the expense. For those of you familiar with Woot, think of it as a green version of Woot. Here is how it works.

EcoSteal sells one item at a time at a deeply discounted rate (they say 40-80% off retail value). This one item is sold on their website until they run out and then a new product is listed (unlike Woot which sells a new item daily). So if its a popular product and you don't go to the website early enough, you might miss out on that particular deal. There is a limit of 3 units per household. There are several ways to know what they are selling at the moment. You can visit their website, but then you have to keep checking back to figure out when a new deal is posted. You can sign up at their website to receive email alerts which I find to be very convenient. You can also follow their Twitter feed.

Here are some of the things they have sold at a discount so far:

• Belle Baby Carrier


• Kina Handmade Baby Booties


• Mountainsmith Digi Cam Case


• Meyer Well's Table


• Beckon's Organic Grace Women's cardigan

I'm excited to see what sort of deals will come up in the future and to be introduced to new green products and companies. It seems like a win-win situation for the companies and consumers - companies get some advertising and consumers get a great green deal!

Have a favorite place to find deals on green products? Share it in the comments!