parenting – Page 9 – Luv Saving Money

We Had a HuePets Party with Tryazon

I’ve co-hosted giveaways with HuePets on my blog a number of times but I never really tried out the app. Tryazon gave me the opportunity to have a HuePets party and try the app out with my friends and family.

The idea of HuePets is that it’s a fun interactive app that encourages kids to make healthy food choices by eating foods in different hues or colors. They can actually scan their healthy choice foods to hatch and grow their own virtual HuePet via the app.

You can watch this video that explains the updated version of the app, HuePets 2.0:

What I did for my HuePets party was to buy fruits and veggies in as many of the colors as I could for the app. I had purple cauliflower, green grapes, red raspberries, orange baby carrots, white dragonfruit, green broccoli, red bell peppers, and lots more. The kids loved seeing all the color fruits and veggies and really chowed down.

Their parents dowloaded the app. They were getting so excited over their HuePets evolving and adding new features and accessories. You can also set rewards for making healthy choices like movie night, game night, etc or choose rewards from the HuePets store.

If I’m to be honest, my kids don’t normally turn their nose up and fruits and veggies. I purposely bought some “different” ones that we don’t normally have though like the purple cauliflower, dragonfruit, and starfruit. Most people were interested in trying the more unique offerings.

There were squeals of delight and lots of “look at mine!” shouts when HuePets would evolve. There were some pretty cool looking HuePets with all the vibrant foods we had available.

HuePets is a free app that is available on Google Play and iTunes app store

This is a free app that is definitely worth downloading. It’s fun, it’s engaging, and it encourages your kids to make healthy choices.

We received some HuePets swag as a member of Tryazon. Any opinions expressed are our own.

My Fall Cleaning Check Off List

Fall cleaning is big for me. It really started when my older boys started school. I started realizing that we always get sick after the kids go back to school. Also clearing out space for the holidays and knowing my impending seasonal depression was on the horizon. I have a list of things that are ALWAYS done during my fall cleaning. I’ve added more things over the years

My ALWAYS do Fall Cleaning List

Clean door hands, faucets, cupboard handles, etc and spray with lysol disinfecting spray
Scrub carpets
Clean grout
Wipe down kitchen cupboards
Sort through kids’ toys. Clean, throw out broken toys, donate toys that can be donated.
Wipe down walls
Clean out kitchen cupboards. Throw out expired items.
Clear shelves in other parts of the house. Wipe them down and rearrange items for a fresh look.
Take down curtains and wash them
Clean out stove
Clean mattresses
Sort through clothes. Donate items that no longer fit. Take inventory of seasonal clothing for next season to see what is needed.
Clean out garage
Check vehicle fluid while in the garage including check the oil and battery leads.

Fall Cleaning As Needed

These things are done several times throughout the year but I use this time to make sure these items are taken care of

wash all bed sheets and pillows
wash all blankets and throws throughout the house
wash coats
Wipe screens on tvs and other electronics
wash stuffed animals
clean windows
sweep porch
Clean interior of vehicles

It sounds like a lot of work, and it is BUT I always feel so much better when it’s done. Reducing clutter helps me with my seasonal depression. Paying close attention to frequently touched surfaces helps reduce some of the germs. Thorough cleaning helps reduce dust that can add to seasonal allergies.

This post does contain affiliate links. I will get a small commission from sales made through my links.

Sambucol Black Elderberry for a Back to School Immune Boost

I had heard about the benefits that elderberry could offer for the immune system a couple years ago. While on a trip to NC about 2 years ago I came across a little tent at a farmer’s market. They made their own elderberry syrup. The woman who makes and sells it was very enthusiastic and believed in her product. I bought a bottle to try. I ended up seeing first hand how the product helped. The kids were lining up eagerly to get their daily spoonful because they liked the taste so much. Unfortunately they didn’t their bottles to Pennsylvania. I tried to find a suitable alternative but everything fell short until I tried Sambucol Black Elderberry.

Sambucol Black Elderberry comes in a variety of forms too: Pastilles (lozenges), gummies, liquid, and dissolving tabs. They have an amazing taste that my kids look forward to. With the start of the school year, I’ve been making sure everyone gets their daily dose.

Tryazon gave me the opportunity to have a Sambucol Back to School Healthy Party. Of course, I wasn’t going to turn that down! My guests and I got to sample the products, learn about the products, and have a good time with it.

Back to School seems to be the time that our family always gets sick. But not this year. I’ve been fall cleaning and making sure my kids get their daily dose of Sambucol Black Elderberry. Sambucol isn’t just for back to school season though. It’s great for cold and flu season too. I like to take it when I’m feeling a little “bleh” like maybe I could be catching something. Or if we were around someone that was sick.

I handed out a bunch of coupons at my party but I still have a few left. If you’d like to try Sambucol for yourself, just comment below letting me know you’d like one and I’ll happily send out a $2 off coupon for you. They don’t expire until 6/30/2021

Otherwise you can use the store locator to find Sambucol products near you. Or find Sambucol products on Amazon.

Eco-Friendly Back to School Supplies Guide

Good for you for being interested i learning how to do better for the earth while supplying your kids what they need for their education. We have lot of options now for reusable and/or sustainable school supplies than ever before.

Book Covers

We use stretchy cloth book covers. They have smaller and larger ones available. They stretch easily over my kids textbooks and don’t fall off. They’re washable, reusable, and come in lots of colors and designs. We have several book covers that have been around for several years. I think we’ve had one get a hole in it but they can be easily repurposed into hair ties, hacky-sacks, barbie doll clothes, or whatever you can think of. You can find them in-store at Walmart too really cheap.

Snacks

Our school allows our children to bring in snacks. We can send them in daily, weekly or for the entire month. Reusable snack bags are not only eco-friendly, but also saves money in the long run. I have 4 kids, I can go through a box of sandwich bags or freezer bags in a blink. Even buying the generic brand it adds up.

There are clear reusable snack bags that look more like the normal sandwich bags and freezer bags. Then there are cloth reusable food storage bags that come in fun designs.

Pencils

There are lots of options for more earth friendly pencils. There are plantable pencils, pencils made from recycled newspaper, and if you just have to have a mechanical pencils there are even mechanical pencils made from bamboo.

If you’re a pencil snob and just have to have the Ticonderoga brand #2 pencils well Ticonderoga envirostik is your answer. It’s a natural wood pencil from “responsibly managed” forests. And still the #2 designation.

Erasers

This one seems to be harder to find but not impossible. A company called Onyx and Green make erasers made from recycled rubber.

Glue

It seems Elmer’s used to make a natural glue but I can’t seem to find it available anywhere which makes me wonder if they stopped making it. But that doesn’t mean you have to. I found this great recipe for easy homemade glue. You can reuse an old glue bottle or use another similar reusable squeeze bottle. I’m even wondering if a clean, empty mustard bottle would work? What do you think?

Crayons and Colored Pencils

The elementary kids tend to use the crayons more while the teens seem to use the colored pencils more.

There are several choices for environmentally friendly crayons. There are crayons with reduced packaging as well as crayons made from beeswax.

You can even repurpose broken crayons you have by melting crayon stubs down and creating new chunky crayons. For mine I used a mini muffin tin for the shapes.

Onyx and Green comes through again with earth friendly colored pencils made from recycled newspaper.

Just FYI, for markers, Crayola has a program called Colorcycle for schools where schools can collect unusable markers and send them back to crayola for marker recycling.

This post does contain affiliate links. I will get a small commission from sales made through my links. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Easy and Affordable Eco-Friendly Swaps

I’ve been wanting to do better in regard to making better choices for the earth. I realize there is a lot of changes I need to make. It’s a little overwhelming. One thing I started doing was to keep a stash of reusable shopping bags in my car so I wouldn’t forget them when I’d go shopping. Here are a few more changes I’m making

Choosing Eco-friendly Stores

I’ve been shopping at Aldi more. Even though it’s a bit out of the way they’ve been more eco-friendly for a while and continue to make changes to do better, themselves. Aldi fairly recently announced they would be moving to fully sustainable packaging by the year 2025. There are tons of options for reusable shopping bags out there. I’ve actually got quite a few from local events, swag bags, etc for free.

Making Eco-friendly Swaps

So one issue I kept having was disposable utensils. We have a lot of get-togethers with a lot of people multiple times a year. The idea of washing that many dishes and utensils was daunting but the reality is, I don’t own enough for the amount of people that come to our parties. Initially when looking into biodegradable or sustainable disposable products they were pretty pricey for a minimal amount.

A fate, facebook post helped me to find Avoplast. Avoplast is 100% eco-friendly disposable utensils and straws made from avocado pits! As if there was any more reason to love avocados. How affordable are these? Well as a an example the Avoplast forks come in a 24 pack with free Prime delivery.

It doesn’t appear that Avoplast makes disposable plates or napkins though but there are lots of options for biodegradable plates and biodegradable napkins.

I also found this 114 pc set from Earth’s Naturals that has service for 16 people at a reasonable price.

Everyday Eco-friendly choices

My nieces have some kind of crazy obsession with straws. I keep stainless steel straws handy when they visit. What i like about stainless still straws is, they’re sturdy, they hold up well, and they come in different sizes. They have everything thing from regular size straws to Boba straws. I tried glass straws but they just didn’t hold up in our house. The stainless steel straws definitely do better.

Check out this set of 10 stainless steel straws with silicone tips (a little safer for the kids). It also comes with cleaning brushes. They actually gave me a coupon code to share with you too that is valid until Sept 9, 2019. Use code: METST5FF to get this set for only $5.99 with free shipping! (expires 9/9/19)

Some local convenience stores allow you to buy a branded reusable travel mug and refill coffee for a lower price or even offer so many free refills. Save money and the environment but using reusable water bottles too. There are plenty of different sizes and options from glass, stainless steel, BPA free plastic, and more.

Earth Friendly and Family Friendly Cleaning

There’s lots of reasons to swap out your cleaning products. Not just environmental but for your families health. Fumes and chemicals in some cleaning products can actually cause more harm than good.

There are more eco-friendly options in your grocery store with reduced packaging and free of chemicals but you can also make your own. A simple vinegar and water solution can be great for cleaning windows, counters, and more.

There are also essential oil companies that offer safer cleaning options and essential oil recipes. Simply Earth actually has a subscription service that send you several essential oils each month with natural product recipes. Everything from cleaning products, hygiene products, cosmetics, and more.

You can also choose products that are reusable and let you clean without chemicals using water. E-cloth is an affordable alternative with chemical free options to clean windows, scrub dishes, even remove make up with just water. I’ve used these products myself and they work better than I ever thought. Who knew you can get a good clean with just water?

Are you trying to make earth-friendly changes? I’d love to know what you are doing.