Check out the Smart Plastics Guide for all you need to know on plastics! Not all plastic is harmful, but research shows that #3, 6 & 7 are the ones to avoid. Glass & stainless steel are the best alternatives I believe for durability, longevity and helping to avoid plastic waste.
What do we use?
Water bottles – Kleen Kanteen
Food Storage (dry goods & leftovers)- canning jars (all sizes) – collect from garage sales, goodwill, etc., save all glass jars that food purchases come in (jam, pickle, mayo jars), pyrex glass storage, we have a small set of Rubbermaid flex & seal plastic storage containers (which are BPA free)
Baby Bottles – Evenflo Glass Baby bottles (only $5 for three 8 oz bottles!)
Baby Bibs – Crocodile Creek bibs (Note: I no longer recommend the crocodile creek bibs – they are very mold prone and I have experienced this in two different sets – one of which was returned for a free reimbursement set, and I still experienced the same problem on the replacement set. I now highly recommend IKEA’s Barnslig Bands Bibs – awesome and safe!)
Sippy Cups – Avent Magic Cups (I would really like to get one of the Kleen Kanteen sippy’s)
Baby Dinnerware - currently use Gerber bowls (#5), IKEA cups & plates (on my to buy list) – IKEA products are reasonably priced and BPA & PVC free
Shopping Bags – IKEA reuseable canvas bags – these are awesome because they are huge! I only paid $1.50 each and have three for all my shopping needs – grocery store to the mall!
Ziplocs – I have discovered that ziplocs are a #5 plastic, being safe for use. Avoid using for reheating. They get lots of reuse and I haven’t found any better alternative at this point.
The main caution with plastic: don’t use it in the microwave or for any heating up uses!
Baby Products
If you are on the look out for safer baby products, I encourage you to visit The Soft Landing blog. They have done an abundance of research to reveal what products are safe for your baby in every area from bibs, to bath toys, to pacifiers, to safe cups and dishes. A great resource! Definitely do a little research before buying all the plastic gadgets for babies!
Related Posts
- Organizing Kitchen Storage – Canning Jars
- Natural Living 101
- Affordable & Safe Feeder Bibs
- Natural Diaper Rash Solutions
Lindsay,
How big are your reusable shopping bags? If you can use three for a family of three, I’ll bet I could use two for our family of two …
GREAT post! Thank you so much.
My bags are around 17” in width and height. They are pretty large! I am sure you would be fine with two for your family! We actually only use two for groceries, but if I have other errands at the same time I use my third for other items. They are always in use!
oh boy, I can’t believe this information!! We’ve been learning the EXACT same stuff the past year and have made such strides in our heath!! In fact… I used to use a nalgene plastic water bottle and when we found out about the bad side of plastic I quit using it and turned to a trusty glass bottle (then I purchased a kleen kanteen). And within that month my cycles (which had been SO messed up, sometimes 2 weeks apart, sometimes 5) were back to normal at four weeks! I just couldn’t believe that plastic had such a profound effect on me without me knowing it!! Thanks so much for sharing this vital information, people need to know! I love reading your blog and always learn so much! I’m also so amazed because my family is learning the same exact things!! It’s amazing to see what people learn when they are willing!!
Blessings,
Alex
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/aquietlittlewoman
visit my Recipe blog
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/simplyhomemade
I have been following the new plastic research but have not had time to read all of it yet. Thank you for doing this post! It helps me sort some of it out.
I just wanted to point out to anyone who buys their baby food, that those plastic containers that Gerber is using are #7s!! I have been told that they do not use BPA, but I don’t think you can ever really trust a big time company on something like that. So, to play it safe, we stopped buying them.
Thanks for this information. I was wondering about Ziploc, great to know!
Thanks for posting that! I’ve been wondering about Ziploc (I freeze lots of stuff in them) and use the IKEA dishes for my girls. I was thinking of getting rid of them just the other day, but now I’ll keep them longer.
Thanks for such an informative post. Like so many of your posts it pulls together pertinent information from a variety of sources. I really appreciate your effort in creating such usable summaries.
About the Kleen Kanteen – I am curious if you ever put liquids into them other than water. And if so, how do they clean for you? I have one mostly juice drinker and one mostly milk drinker in the house. The KK website is not clear on this point so I have refrained from buying them but would very much like to get away from our current plastic “solution”.
Toni, no I have not tried putting any other liquids in my kleen kanteen besides water. Give it a try! They clean really well in the dishwasher, so I don’t see it as being a problem.
Thank you so much for this post. I have been wanting to learn more about it. I will be trying to replace my plastic containers with the Mason jars and will also try to find other BPA free containers.
Our baby is due in three weeks; needless to say this posting was very helpful to us. Thank you!
Hey Lindsay,
How did you find out the info about Ikea dishes? Just curious. I looked on their website and didn’t see anything. Just wondering. I bought a bunch of their stuff last night. $1.99 a pack. Can’t beat that for BPA free!
I found out the IKEA information from the website I provided above. You can check it out here.
A few questions:
Can’t you just use some 100% cotton bibs? I’ve never used the vinyl ones in my life.
Glass bottles can also be found at Babies R US, save on the shipping! (guess that’s really a statement lol)
About those bags. What about when you have raw meat? Do you carry the raw meat those bags? I guess I’m not sold on them yet, they don’t seem big enough. Personally I just use the brown bags at the grocery stores.
Kate,
In regards to baby bibs. I do use cotton bibs during the burping stage, but when it came to solid foods, it seemed much more reasonable to me to purchase two vinyl ones and simply wash in the sink and hang to dry after each use. I would have to have a large stock of cotton bibs to cover a week between washings (as I would need three a day). Just seems easier for us…but I am sure you can just use cotton as well.
Thanks for passing on the info about glass bottles at BRU. We don’t have one close, so Amazon works for us.
When I purchase raw meat it is always packaged in some form, so it’s just like putting it in any standard grocery bag. I have never had problems with leaking, if that is your concern. My bags are way larger than paper grocery bags.
They hold approx 33 lbs! Just today I was using them again to carry things to church with me…love how it held my ergo baby carrier, purse, books to return, water bottle, etc all in one bag!
I personally just want to do my best in reusing and being a good steward by avoiding most plastics, paper products and disposables. But that is just my personal conviction. Do what’s best for you!
Wow 33 lbs??? They sell the reusable bags at our grocery store, and I don’t believe they would hold that much! (and they are $.99/each) I’d need about 10 of them at least. We don’t have an Ikea near here, I do have a friend near one I should ask her to stop by it!
Our meats just come in those foam bottoms, w/plastic around them. (even the organic) If I go to the butcher, then it’s wrapped in just paper.
Cotton bibs are good for us, I do wash everyday. I pre-teat them (after feedings) and they are good to go. Have you tried Ebay? I wouldn’t recommend getting used bottles, but people do seem to sell new bottles. Shipping might be a little higher, but the price overall might be cheaper.
Thanks!! I did change one thing tho, I use to use those cloroz, Windex products. Now I use Green Works (by Clorox) Supposedly they are “green” and don’t have any harmful ingredients. I still wonder if it’s killing all the germs tho.
Small steps right?
Kleen Kanteen products are currently 15% off at the following link:
https://www.healthegoods.com/product/klean-kanteen-stainless-steel-water-bottles-all-sizes
HealthE Goods is also the store that is the seller of Kleen Kanteen on Amazon.
Does anybody know of a list of “safe” toys for a one year old? Family is asking for what to get my daughter and I’m afraid if I don’t give specifics we’ll end up with all kinds of nasty plastic toys that aren’t BPA, PVC, etc.- free.
Here are a few resources:
Safe Mama Toy Guide – a wonderful resource for finding safe toys and resources for your children by age! -
Green Guide: Safe Toy Watch
Safe Toys
Cool Mom Safer Toy Guide