Eli has a ceramic coffee mug - child's sized - that's been amazingly resiliant and several enamelware cups (metal covered with ceramic (?) enamel) that look like camping stuff. I don't remember where we got them, but any place that sells camping stuff would have them.
We've also just taught him to be careful when he drinks. No drinks - other than water - outside the kitchen and he knows that if he drops the ceramic cup, it'll break.
We do occaisionally use plastic cups while traveling, but I'm all about minimizing their exposure to plastic whenever and wherever I can. I can't get a wood computer, but I can use a glass container for juice instead of a plastic one....or buy laundry soap in a recyclable cardboard box rather than a plastic bottle.
My daughter (2.5 mos old) hates riding in the car. The only thing that keeps her happy is sucking on my hand which means I practically have to turn myself inside out to reach my hand to her mouth. My husband said, "We could always just get her a pacifier, just for these trips in the car." because he knows that it's very uncomfortable for me to sit like that...but I said that it might help make me comfortable in the short run, but sucking on plastic could stay with Schuyler for a lifetime and it just isn't worth it.
When she grows out of this stage, I'll just invest in a massage and maybe a new shoulder....LOL.
for mama's that dont' use plastic to store food in what do you use. I haev glass canisters, but in the frig. I can't imagine using only my glass dishes, the lids don't seal or anything???
So what do ya'll use to store pantry & frig. food? Do you use any ziploc bags?
If anyone is interested in child sized ceramic mugs- I make them...... and it is what I have always used with Akaya and never had a problem. I can't recall her ever breaking one, if anybody has it's been me!
Plastics are a hard thing to weed out of the house because like someone said they are used for everything....!.
I don't know if anyone brought up this arguement but since it is an issue dear to my heart I will. Plastics take jobs aways from traditional craftsmen and artists which makes it much harder for people like glassblowers, wooden toy makers and of course potters to make a living (In the same way that disposables take away from the economy of wham-made cloth diapers). The price for such goods is considerable lower when make from plastic and items can me mass produced much more quickly. For some reason, plastic toys accumulate in our house as gifts for Akaya. We go through and rid the house of them but her birthday and Christmas seem to produce another downfall no matter how many times we have asked the relatives to stop! They seem to produce much more clutter in my house than her wooden toys and plus she hardly plays with them.
My mother finally found this retired man who makes wooden toys for kids at really reasonable rates and I am so happy! Maybe you could find someone in your area that makes toys as a hobby- it might be a more economical way to buy them?????
Originally posted by Wendydagny Out of curiosity, what do all the anti-plastic mamas have their toddlers drink from (besides breasts )? I couldn't imagine giving even my three-year old a glass to drink from, so what alternatives are there?
My kids (16 months and almost 4) drink from glasses. We have some small (really small) size glasses for them, all bought from goodwill or garage sales, not sure where you can get glasses that small retail. Even dropped on the kitchen floor, they aren't going to break. They also eat from pottery and have glass bowls.
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Allison
mama to Ara, Simone, and Zarin
Originally posted by DawnMM for mama's that dont' use plastic to store food in what do you use. I haev glass canisters, but in the frig. I can't imagine using only my glass dishes, the lids don't seal or anything???
So what do ya'll use to store pantry & frig. food? Do you use any ziploc bags?
dawn
I store leftovers and bulk food in canning jars of various sizes. I also have some small glass bowls with lids that I store things in. I freeze what I can in canning jars also. I do use ziplock to freeze in on occasion though - like I said, I have successfully eliminated ALL plastic.
I'm watching this thread with fascination; WTG mamas! I've just recently become convicted about trying to avoid as much plastic as possible, more for the environmental impact it has, but the offgassing thing definately merits a closer look. So, my question is how do you tell the grandmas, etc, that you'd prefer no plastic or limited plastic, without offending? I mean sheesh, MOST baby toys available (esp. here, where it seems walmart is THE place to shop ) are plastic. FTR, our parents do NOT shop online. We do have TJ Maxx though, and I know I've seen some nice toys there.
These are Ara's glasses and bowls. I also use the fatter glasses and the bowls for storage. They are old jelly jars, I bought them with metal lids that slip on.
And here is my pantry, notice I do have plastic bags from the bulk section at the coop. I do bring glass jars that I can refill, but sometimes I buy things that I don't have a jar for.
Originally posted by arasmama Okay, here is a visual.
These are Ara's glasses and bowls. I also use the fatter glasses and the bowls for storage. They are old jelly jars, I bought them with metal lids that slip on.
And here is my pantry, notice I do have plastic bags from the bulk section at the coop. I do bring glass jars that I can refill, but sometimes I buy things that I don't have a jar for.
I love the little eyes peeking up in the second picture! Too cute!
We also use recycled glass jars and canning jars (the kind with hinged lids) that I pick up at thrift shops. I do use zip lock freezer bags for storing dry goods like flour. we have such terrible insect problems down here that even glass with screw on lids still gets ants. But anything wet or cooked goes into glass or metal.
we have a couple plastic water containers for when we go out but for at home they have always used coffee mugs from a prett yyoung age and that's just cuz i hate trying to wash those tubes n'stuf in the lids (i'm convinced they never really come clean)
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Amelia
mama to Olivia (3/98) and Michael (10/99)
*~*~Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here~*~*
I'm really trying to come to a balance with this in our home right now.
When Ethan was younger, I was adament that there be no plastic toys in our home. Now that everything doesn't go straight to the mouth, I've caved in a little bit.
So now a set of small plastic dinosaurs and jungle animals have made their way into our toy collection, to join the dreaded Matchbox cars that DS truly would go into withdrawal without . Seriously, we can't go anywhere without a bag of his little cars *sigh*.
I've tried to step back to focus on the quality of the play that they toys facilitate. If they were noisy, light-flashing battery powered things, I don't think I could deal, even if DS loved it. (He has toys like this bought by grandparents, and my rule is that they stay at *their* house). But the matchbox cars and plastic dinosarus I can live with. I wish I had the $$ to replace all the animals with beautiful wooden ones (we got some gorgeous wooden farm animals from grandparents for christmas last year, they're *awesome*).
Anyway, I've gone off on another tangent *lol*. I just discovered this forum today and am really enjoying it!
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Christine
mama to Ethan (8) and Noah (3
Location: firmly planted in the postmodern pastoral economy
Posts: 12,984
Food containers...
I recently invested $30 in Pyrex glassware, like a substitute for rubbermaid/tupperware type stuff. They do have (thick) plastic lids, but that doesn't touch the food, so it's an ok compromise for me, and certainly less offgassing than saran wrap, and less problematic than aluminum foil. I got about 12 different containers from large to small for $30 at costco. They can go in the oven and freezer, too. We do store lots of leftovers -- dh likes to cook a whole batch and we eat for several days from it -- so it was worth the investment to me.
For the kids, we use the half-pint jelly jars, we got 12 for $3.99 at Big Lots. We are transitioning from plastic bowls and plates to ceramic right now...that isn't completed yet. Some of the teeny Pyrex storage rounds are good for bowls for them. I do change the bowls/plates as soon as they get scratched or worn-looking; I got them at IKEA so they were cheap. We are going to buy a set of Corelle dishes for them (relatively cheap, very sturdy) as soon as we can afford to. We ourselves eat off of MIL's hand-thrown pottery..we are lucky to get as much pottery as we want, for free. I may have to convince her to make some kid-sized bowls and plates and mugs! If anyone wants some, PM or e-mail me, seriously, I will ask her if she can make them, and at a reasonable price, if there is interest.
__________________ Be realistic: Plan for a miracle. ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
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Also, about food containers, Restoration Hardware used to have glass food containers that were similar to those disposable square Glad containers. They were all glass, even the lids, and were stackable, made by Anchor Hocking I think. I tried just now to find them on their website and couldn't, but maybe they're still in the catalog?
I"ve seen the Anchor Hocking glass refridgerator containers at Longs Drugs and (gasp) Wallyworld, they look really nice, ohj and i think i first saw them at cooking.com
"And here is my pantry, notice I do have plastic bags from the bulk section at the coop. I do bring glass jars that I can refill, but sometimes I buy things that I don't have a jar for."
I have a question. How do you figure out how much something weighs when you put it in a glass jar at the coop. I buy lots of bulk stuff and hate to use their plastic bags but it seems like you would be paying a lot more money for the extra weight of your own container.
) are plastic. FTR, our parents do NOT shop online. We do have TJ Maxx though, and I know I've seen some nice toys there.
. Seriously, we can't go anywhere without a bag of his little cars *sigh*.
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