The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) is an organization that has made great strides towards improving our environmental health. EWG has made public many shocking truths about the chemicals in our everyday environment. Most recently, they published their reviews of over 800 sunscreens on the market. We wanted to republish some excerpts that we felt were most relevant to our customers. Hopefully this guide will assist you in finding the right sunscreen to lather on your children this summer. Below are some excerpts. See the full report here.

EWG’s research into this year’s crop of sunscreens revealed that many products advertised for babies and kids are formulated with safer, more effective ingredients than those in other products. Still — buyer beware! There are still many children’s products that don’t meet the mark. Here are a few shameful trends and products in the 2012 sunscreen crop:

Hormone-disrupting chemical in children’s sunscreens
Some 65 sunscreens advertised for babies and kids contain oxybenzone, a synthetic chemical that absorbs the sun’s rays but also readily penetrates the skin. It can disrupt the body’s natural hormones. It can also cause allergic reactions. Experts warn that children are at greater risk from oxybenzone and other hormone-disrupting substances than adults.  They absorb more of the chemical relative to their weight.  They may not excrete it as easily.  And their developing bodies are particularly sensitive to hormonal changes.
Typical offenders:

• Banana Boat Kids Quik Blok Sunblock Spray Lotion, SPF 35 – 4% oxybenzone
• Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70+ – 6% oxybenzone

Sunscreens that boost skin tumor risk?
Foods rich in vitamin A are good for the body. But applied to sun-exposed skin, this common sunscreen additive may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions, according to government studies. Why is vitamin A (shown as “retinyl palmitate” or “retinol palmitate” on labels) allowed in sunscreens made for use in the sun? Good question.
Almost 40 sunscreens advertised for babies and kids contain retinyl palmitate, including:

• Banana Boat Baby Tear Free Sunblock Lotion, SPF 50+
• Arbonne Baby Care Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Australian Gold Baby Formula Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 50+

The FDA has yet to rule on the safety of retinyl palmitate in skin care products, but EWG recommends that consumers avoid sunscreens with this chemical.

Sprays that could coat the lungs
Aerosol spray sunscreen packages will soon be required to display FDA-mandated warnings such as “use in a well ventilated area” and “intentional misuse… can be harmful or fatal.” These cautions highlight growing concerns that sprays pose serious inhalation risks. Spray sunscreens also make it too easy to miss a spot, leaving bare skin exposed to harmful rays.

Children’s products… sometimes better, but not always
For some brands, the only differences are on the label – not inside the bottle. We found that 16 brands in this year’s crop feature products that list the same ingredients for both baby and adult sunscreens – down to the exact amounts of active ingredients. Among them:

• Aveeno Baby Natural Protection Mineral Block Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Aveeno Active Naturals Natural Protection Mineral Block Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
• Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55

I am all about being cozy. I put on sweatpants immediately after I walk in the door after work, and as soon as the kids go to bed I am curled up on the couch with a blanket around me and my laptop on my lap. My husband and I strive to have a comfy and inviting home and living room, and the couch being cozy is a top priority.

When I started to read about the materials that typical upholstered furniture is made of, the couch no longer seemed so cozy, especially when it came to picking a glider for me to sit in to rock my newborn baby to sleep. Now that I have had 2 babies in under 2 years, I am keenly aware of how many hours a new mom spends in her glider with a newborn in her arms. Though there probably are now some decently made couches out there for your living room, I was unable to find a glider that was organic enough to meet Sprout’s standards. So we created one.

Below is what you should know about upholstered furniture in general. For a chance to win an Organic Sprout Glider for free, visit Sprout's Facebook page and enter our Rock-A-Bye-Baby Contest!

Most couch cushions are made of polyurethane foam, a petroleum product that off gasses VOCs into the air around it. That new furniture smell, which seems to be the strongest with upholstered furniture, is a good indication that VOCs are being released.

VOCs are carbon-based chemicals that evaporate easily into the air. They are the major component of smog. Some VOCs are known carcinogens or can cause other health problems. Introducing VOC-laden furniture into a home can contribute to headaches, dizziness, fatigue, asthma, and other chronic problems. Additionally, long-term exposure to low-quality indoor air can lead to respiratory problems and cancer. Another problem with foam is that it is highly flammable, so it is commonly treated with fire-retardant chemicals. Some of these chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE, and the now banned PCBs, are particularly harmful to fetuses and can cause brain and reproductive system disorders. The form of PBDEs used in foam furniture was withdrawn from the US market in 2005 after the Environmental Working Group and others reported widespread PBDE contamination in people, households, wildlife and common foods. However, there are still other types of flame retardants on the market that you may not want to be breathing in as you are rocking your new baby to sleep.

When purchasing new upholstered products, ask the manufacturer what type of fire retardants they use. Avoid products with brominated fire retardants, and opt for less flammable fabrics and materials, like leather, wool and cotton.

And don't foget to enter the Rock-A-Bye-Baby Contest on our Facebook page for your chance to win this Organic Glider designed by Sprout!

- Suzanne

As someone who likes everything to be soft, I understand why some of the most popular children’s blankets and lovies are those that feel the most luxurious to the touch. What I have never understood, however, is why these seem to all be made from polyester, a non-breathable petroleum-based product. I understand the appeal. These products are easily washable and beautiful. Yet, newborn babies are cuddling with and sucking on these blankies that are not able to be breathed through if they were to put it over their heads.

It is especially hard for me to understand now that there are equally beautiful and soft organic cotton lovies and blankets on the market. My daughter cannot fall asleep without one of these Fleece Lovies in her grasp. Everyone who sees it thinks it looks just like another popular polyster brand. It’s just as luxurious and no more expensive than the alternative. And for those whose kids like a lovie with an adorable little animal on it, the softness and cuteness of these organic cotton Picnic Pal Blankies rival any on the market. 

With the lessons learned from SIDS, most new parents are concerned about the air flow around their newborns these days. That is why you want a firm mattress and shouldn’t put toys in the crib. Cotton, and especially untreated organic cotton, is perfectly breathable and let’s air pass through. If you are going to have your baby spending time (in the car, in the stroller, in your lap…) with a blanket over his face and in his mouth, where it will inevitably end up, wouldn’t you rather it be made of a natural fiber than one that’s unbreathable and derived from petroleum?

My advice on this (and most other baby products) is to take a look around. Don’t purchase the blanket the celebrities wrap their babies in or the lovies your friend’s kid totes around just because that is the one you have heard of. These days, you can find soft and beautiful organic cotton options that your kids will love if you just take a minute to look.

- Suzanne

How many of you have been in this situation? You are trying to check out at a store while your baby or toddler is having a fit about something and to keep them quiet you give them the only thing you have on hand for them to play with, the store receipt. Many of us have done this, including myself. We witness it at Sprout every day. People figure, what can be the harm in handing my child a piece of paper they can crinkle?

The harm is this: Much of the receipt paper used by typical retail stores is laden with BPA. The chemical that most of you avoid in your baby bottles and sippy cups, and that is banned by a number of states and the country of Canada, is used to allow thermal printing on receipts. Your babies play with the paper, the chemical rubs off on their hands, and then they all put their hands in their mouths. Please see excerpts below from an article written by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on this issue. See full article here.

We are pleased to announce that receipt paper at all three Sprout San Francisco locations is free of BPA. Please ask about that the next time you are about to hand your child a receipt to play with.

From EWG:

The plastic component bisphenol A (BPA) has been in the headlines nonstop as scientists, health experts and consumers press for a federal ban on food packaging made with this synthetic estrogen, shown to leach readily into infant formula, beverages and canned food. But most Americans are probably unaware that they are regularly exposed to the same endocrine-disrupting chemical in cash register receipts.

Two-fifths of the paper receipts tested by a major laboratory commissioned by Environmental Working Group were on heat-activated paper that was between 0.8 to nearly 3 percent pure BPA by weight. Wipe tests conducted with a damp laboratory paper easily picked up a portion of the receipts' BPA coating, indicating that the chemical would likely stick to the skin of anyone who handled them. The receipts came from major retailers, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, fast-food restaurants, post offices and automatic teller machines (ATMs).

Major retailers using BPA-containing receipts in at least some outlets included McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, Walmart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service. Receipts from some major chains, including Target, Starbucks and Bank of America ATMs, issued receipts that were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

Scientists have not determined how much of a receipt's BPA coating can transfer to the skin and from there into the body. Possibilities being explored include:
• Oral exposure -- BPA moves from receipts onto fingers and then onto food and into the mouth.
• Dermal exposure -- BPA from receipts is directly absorbed through the skin into the body.

A study published July 11 by Swiss scientists found that BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to such a depth that it cannot be washed off. Read about it here.

Biomonitoring surveys by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found BPA in the bodies of 93 percent of Americans over age 6. EWG analysis of CDC data has found that people who reported working in retail industries had 30 percent more BPA in their bodies than the average U.S. adult, and 34 percent more BPA than other workers. (CDC 2004). As of May 2009, 1 in 17 working Americans -- 7 million people -- were employed as retail salespersons and cashiers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thermal paper is widely used for point-of-sale receipts, prescription labels, airline tickets and lottery tickets. Thermal printers use paper that is coated with a dye and developer (BPA or an alternative chemical). Heat from the thermal printing head triggers a reaction between the dye and developer, allowing the black print to appear.

The “Do Not Buy – Monsanto Owned Companies” list as seen here  has been circling social media websites, blogs, and news articles like wild fire, due to the dismissal of a year-long federal class-action lawsuit against the corporation.Although Monsanto does not necessarily own these companies; as suggested by this list’s title, the genetically modified (GM) seeds Monsanto produces are supposedly sold to farmers who grow the ingredients for these companies to use.

Monsanto is well-known for developing an herbicide glyphosate (aka Roundup).  Monsanto created GM seeds specifically to withstand Roundup, making a farmer’s crop production more successful.  Roundup is now the most widely-used herbicide in the United States.

Monsanto’s genetically modified Roundup Ready crops include soy, maize (corn), sorghum, canola, alfalfa, and cotton.  These crops are used in numerous foods and materials we use every day, which are sprayed down with the Roundup mixture. 

While the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) considers glyphosate on its own to be relatively low in toxicity, and lacking carcinogenic effects,¹ a study has shown that Roundup formulations and metabolic products can cause the death of human embryonic, placental, and umbilical cells in vitro, even at low concentrations.² This is especially concerning to us at Sprout as our goal is to protect our youngest customers, especially those in the womb, from any chemical that might be harmful to their development. The more you choose to buy organic food for yourself and your family (especially when pregnant), the less likely you are to expose your offspring to this chemical.

The runoff from the herbicide into neighboring farmland, streams, and populated areas is also a huge concern, as we could be exposing ourselves to this potential poison without even making a choice to do so.  The people who spray these crops are even more exposed.  Thus another great reason to live organically is to support local and ethical farming. Even if this does not actually represent companies owned by Monsanto, avoiding foods on this list will send a strong message that consumers favor ethically and organically grown products over those grown with genetically modified seeds and sprayed with pesticides like Round Up. 

To read more about Sprout's suggestions for healthy eating, see our healthy baby guide here.

Footnotes:

1. http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/0178fact.pdf
2. Benachour, Nora; Gilles-Eric Séralini (December 23, 2008). "Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells". Chemical Research in Toxicology 22 (1): 97. doi:10.1021/tx800218n. PMID 19105591.

A couple of years ago, I attended a presentation by the Environmental Working Group called “10 Humans.” Watch the video here. The presentation began by stating that researchers had tested the blood of 10 humans from all different parts of the country and all different racial and socio-economic backgrounds and had found a total of 287 chemicals, which these humans had no rational reason to be exposed to. That is because these 10 humans were fetuses.

The blood, collected from the umbilical cords of 10 children, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage. Among them were eight perfluorochemicals used as stain and oil repellants in fast food packaging, clothes and textiles — including the Teflon chemical PFOA, recently characterized as a likely human carcinogen by the EPA's Science Advisory Board — dozens of widely used brominated flame retardants and their toxic by-products and numerous pesticides.

Of the 287 chemicals detected in umbilical cord blood, 180 are known to cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests.

This is just one example of the kind of breakthrough research being done by the Environmental Working Group. They also have a number of consumer-friendly resources that help people make better purchasing decisions for their families. EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database allows you to enter in the name of any ingredient found in a personal care product and read about its safety. We often recommend this to customers at Sprout.

Because of all the work that this organization does to better inform us and to make the environment safer for our children, we are trying to support them in any way we can. We hope you will join us!

During the month of March, Sprout will help support the Environmental Working Group Action Fund by making donations based on the following:

• For every purchase made on the Sprout website during the month of March, we will donate $5. Shop now.
• For every new Sprout Facebook fan gained during the month of March, we will donate $2. Become a fan.
• And don't forget to spread the word! 

The Environmental Working Group Action Fund is currently raising money to support the following causes, which we think are essential to the health of you and your little Sprout:

• the fight for organic produce
• the EWG Action Fund safe chemicals campaign
• the removal of chemicals in your food and water
• the protection of your favorite national parks from mining destruction

- Suzanne

At Sprout, we believe that the products a woman uses on her body (including her hair) are incredibly important, especially when pregnant or if you think you may want to be pregnant down the road. When I look for a place to get my hair cut, I not only want to make sure that what they use on me is safe, but I don’t want the whole salon to smell like industrial cleaners. I felt so lucky to find the Moxi Salon in SF, right down the street from our Union Street store. We talked to the owner Andriana about why she created a “green” salon and what that means:

1. What does it mean that Moxi is an environmentally friendly salon? 

Everything we use on our guests directly or for maintaining the salon are free of parabens, plastic, gluten, sulfates and are as environmentally safe as exist.  All the teas and coffees we serve are fair-trade and organic and we use only all cloth towels instead of paper. Low flow shower nozzles in our sinks, energy efficient appliances and toilet. Green building materials for our custom cabinetry and no VOC paint. We compost and are voracious recyclers of paper, glass and plastic, and even recycle our hair. Pretty much everything we use is as good for you and the environment as possible.

2. What caused you to move in that direction?

I have been a health nut for most of my life and over the years have been learning more about our environment and what we can do to help eliminate our footprint on it. When I opened my salon I wanted to build it as green as possible within my budget. It's amazing how in just 5 years how much more access there is to green building materials that are not astronomical in price.

3. What are your criteria for the products you use? 

I am a hairdresser and love what I do, so the products I use must perform well. Over the years, all the natural products have not been products that would work well to achieve a beautiful hairstyle. Now, there are quite a few and more keep coming out. I have personally tested all the products we carry before retailing them. If they don't pass the ingredient listing, the performance as well as deliver the staying power to the clients that help me test them, they don't get to be a part of Moxi.

4. Do you think using green products is important for all women, even if they aren't pregnant? How come? 

I think using green products is important to all humans. Many of the ingredients that are allowed into beauty products cause hormone fluctuations, inhibit growth hormones or can increase estrogen levels in both men and women. Everything we put on our bodies is absorbed, so knowing what we put on our biggest organ is of the upmost importance. 

5. Are these products as effective? Why do you think more salons aren't doing this? 

I think the products we use are just as effective. I feel that more salons are not using green products because of many factors. One being that all the top products are endorsed by the big names in the industry, just like anything else in the world. And of course whomever spends the most on advertising gets noticed as well. Also, because these green product companies are usually small, we (the salon) don't get special offers to buy their products, like the big companies who can give away a lot to lure you to come aboard.

6. For women who don't live in SF (and therefore can't visit Moxi) what questions should they ask when looking for a healthy hair salon? 

It depends on how healthy of a hair salon they are looking for. Is it just good products? Or do they want to know that when they are sitting in the salon that the hairdresser next to them isn't using something toxic. I would ask them if they considered themselves to be a green or eco salon. And if they said "Whaaat?" then look somewhere else. There are many ways to find green companies now via the web. We have been trying for years to become a certified green business, but as of yet, there is still not a certification for hair salons in San Francisco.

I am also an advocate for Skin Deep which is a website that you can visit to check out all your products and find out how toxic they are. If they don't have that specific product, you can look up any ingredient.

When we started Sprout we looked around for a stroller and car seat company that shared our ideals and standards and we were so excited to find Orbit right in our backyard! We have enjoyed a great working relationship with Orbit, and we believe that they are as focused on your child's health as we are. We asked Joseph Hei, founder of Orbit Baby, to share his thoughts on why he created Orbit Baby as well as what it is like to balance fatherhood while running the most health and environmentally focused gear company around.

What inspires you as a father? Not only to make a product user friendly but also a product that is health conscious too?

This is an obvious point, but my children inspire me to be focused. With things I do and say, I always try to think, "Am I setting a good example for my girls, is this the way I would want them to treat other people, are these the things I would want them to say?" I will openly admit that I do not manage to always act the saint, but this point of view certainly helps keep me more in line. When I am working on a product, the most obvious point that comes up in my mind is "would I want my children to use that product?" Luckily, this is much more easily kept-to as a guiding principle, as ironically I feel I have much more control over the products I design than on my temper when I'm tired and I've told them for the fifth time to put on their PJs ... This is also the philosophy I bring into our household when it comes to health consciousness. My mom was amazingly prescient in her concerns as we were growing up, so she avoided using plastic food containers, didn't allow us to eat too many processed foods or foods with lots of artificial colors or additives, etc. As a result, we try to do the same with our kids. I'm not preachy about organic foods, avoiding candy, and other habits we reinforce, but I definitely try to follow the mantra of walking the walk at home.

Your wife Vivian is also part of the Orbit team, what is it like working as a husband and wife team?

It is both extremely great, and extremely challenging. I love the fact that we have such a common point of reference in our lives. The reality is that most of us spend the majority of our day at work, and Vivian and I get to share this experience. When we talk about work, we can relate to each other. The challenging part has been to not "work" at home, to stop the work conversations at a reasonable hour at night, and to not manage each other. This is a concrete piece of advice I can give to other couples contemplating working together: do not be each other's managers. Other than that, to me there's no difference between a personal or a professional relationship with your spouse- respect, good communication, listening, flexibility.

What are your best tips on how to manage not only a growing company but family as well?

Don't have high expectations for your life outside of work and family- something's gotta give, and I'd rather not have it be by family, and I couldn't afford to have it be my company. Be ok with not having a normal life- we look at the parents of kids in our girls' classrooms, and they all seem to know each other better and socialize, but we've not had the time to do that and it's not productive to go through life feeling bad about that. After things settle down a bit at a startup, make a point to get home to eat dinner with your kids, and to spend a couple of hours with them on getting them ready for bed, reading a bookyou can always do work after they go to sleep. Be interested in your work, or get a job you're passionate about, as fitting in an activity that fulfills this need (golf, a hobby, etc.) will take time from either work or your family, and more often than not it will be your family. The one thing I've tried hard to make time for outside of work and family is exercise, but outside of that I don't have time for much else, and basically I'm ok with that.

Did you ever imagine that Orbit would be where it is today?

Honestly, I'm always in a state of disbelief when I see an Orbit Baby product rolling around on the street, not so much elation as just utter disbelief. It's an awesome thing, in the literal sense. We've had our heads down working so hard for so many years that our success has kind of taken me by surprise. On top of that, as Vivian will tell you, I'm not very good at celebrating things- I'm always onto the next thing to do- so that has something to do with it.

What is most rewarding about fatherhood?

What is most rewarding about being a dad is that it's the hardest thing I've ever attempted, so in the moments when I feel like I'm getting it right I feel really proud of myself. The challenge is getting to more of those moments- I think that being a dad, just like being a husband, or a CEO, is something you have to commit to as a process and not a destination. The attitude has to be that you will consciously work hard at it, learn more about it, and improve.

What do you see on the horizon for Orbit?

I think that what distinguishes Orbit Baby, and the people who work here, is an uncommon ability to think bigger. We don't always pull off the things that we are trying to do, but I think that we do bring a fresh "why not" attitude to the baby industry, and I think that is what will propel Orbit Baby forward and upward. Going forward, I am very interested in bringing orbit-ing to many more people around the world, and continuing to work on the next "wow" that we will deliver to parents to make getting around easier and more fun. I continue to be inspired by our motto, "Form follows Family," and am excited about the products we will be bringing out in the next couple of years. Stay tuned ...

A year ago I read a book called Our Stolen Future, by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers. The title conveys the book’s underlying message that the hormones in our environment will continue to wreak havoc on our reproductive systems, making it harder for us to conceive healthy offspring, and endangering the future of the species. Reading this book is what motivated me to write this blog. I kept learning new facts that made me think, “Everybody needs to know this!” Therefore I hope that you will continue to read these articles and pass on what you learn to others. I believe that it is through shifting consumer sentiment (such as demanding BPA-free baby bottles) that we can affect the greatest changes in our environment.

There were many shocking anecdotes in this book, but none as eye-opening as this direct evidence that some plastics can add dangerous levels of estrogen to human cells.

In 1987 at Tufts Medical School, Dr. Ana Soto and Dr. Carlos Sonnenschein had been studying for two years why cells multiply, an issue crucial to solving the mystery of cancer, a condition in which cells over-multiply. They were running their tests with a strain of human breast cancer cells that multiply in the presence of estrogen. When estrogen is added to these cells in a lab dish, the cells multiply. The pair kept conditions in the lab pure as to isolate the causes of the cell growth. For two years, they had no problems. In 1987, Sonnenschein looked in the microscope at an experiment he had done identically hundreds of times, and saw that whether he had added estrogen or not, the breast cancer cells in each of his samples had begun to multiply like crazy.

They spent 4 months examining every step of their experiment and could not come up with anything that had been done differently.  Eliminating every possible variable until nothing was left but the lab tubes, they switched brands of tubes and finally found that the cancer cells stopped multiplying. It appeared that the plastic tubes they had been using were biologically active. They realized then that this must be a problem that extended far beyond their lab.

It turned out that Corning, the maker of the lab tubes, had recently changed the plastic resin to make the tubes less brittle, but had not changed the catalog number, leading the scientists to believe they were still ordering the same exact product. When they inquired about the new chemical make-up of the tubes, they were told it was a “trade secret.”

Two years later, they were able to reverse engineer the make-up of the tube to find the offending chemical. It was p-nonylphenol, one of a family of synthetic chemicals known as alkylphenols, often added to plastic to make it less breakable. This was the first report that a widely used chemical may act to disrupt hormones.

At the same time, David Feldman and his team at the medical school at Stanford University were experimenting with estrogen sensitive cells and found that his lab equipment was active as an estrogenic contaminant. This time, the culprit in the plastic was bisphenol-A, or BPA. They found that BPA in the magnitude of only two to five parts per billion was enough to affect the cells in the lab.

These effects were discovered in 1989, yet only in the past few years has BPA been removed from most of the plastic baby bottles sold in this country, and it still exists in much of our food packaging, with no requirements of disclosure. As shown above, there are also other hormone disrupting chemicals that the general public is not aware of in the plastics we encounter every day. At Sprout, we suggest eating fresh, unpackaged food and storing your food in stainless steel or glass containers whenever possible. Do this for your children, for their children, and for the ability of their children to have children of their own.

The New Year always brings new promises, new diets, and for many the desire to live more NEAT. As Professional Organizers, we understand the challenge of doing so with children involved. From infants to toddlers, kids just accumulate a lot of stuff. We often times are asked, “What do we do with all of this stuff?”

Well, today’s your lucky day! NEAT Method has seen it all, heard it all, and you better believe, organized it all. So, now’s your chance to learn some of our secrets to living as organized as possible….even when there are kids involved.

Tip #1::
Bins & Baskets. No home stands a chance of being organized without the use of many bins and baskets. We recommend that you purchase these once you have a newborn and continue to use as your child gets older. Small bins are great for inside dresser drawers. They allow you to separate all of the little items that are necessary for a newborn (pacifiers, diapers, socks, hats) and then repurpose them as your child gets older (lego’s, crayons, puzzles, toys). Larger baskets are always great inside of a closet for all of the necessary linens.

Tip #2::
Child Proof. As many parents know, kids are into everything! Therefore, everything needs to be child friendly. We have found that a kitchen can often times be the most challenging to make friendly. When babies are little, NEAT likes to designate a space for them to entertain themselves. The space is usually a low drawer or cabinet filled with non-breakables (plastic cups, bowls, tupperware, etc.). For the rest of the cabinets, we recommend using the hidden cabinet locks to prevent them from getting into the unsafe areas. They can sometimes be a challenge for the average adult, but at least this way your kitchen remains attractive!

Tip #3::
Fold instead of hang. Due to the amount of clothing a baby goes through in a day, we recommend folding instead of hanging in the first stages of life. It is so much easier to maintain a drawer of folded clothing (or hide a drawer of un-folded….wink. wink.) Having individual drawer dividers always makes it easier to keep items categorized. We recommend leaving the hanging space for special occasion clothing or coats. Over time, the clothing will obviously start to grow as your kid grows. This would be the time to start hanging more of your children’s clothing (on matching hangers, of course)!

Tip #4::
Buy extra storage.  Make sure you have a few extra storage containers for when your child starts to out grow their clothing. This way you are able to easily label those bins (0-3 months, age 2, etc.) and place them in storage for a future bundle of joy or for donation. These bins are also great for storing each child’s keepsakes over time.

We truly believe that with the right storage solutions it only takes a few minutes a day to implement a NEAT life! Don’t let your kid’s stuff take over your home. Start 2012 right by following our suggested tips or by contacting NEAT Method to do it for you! We are offering a 15% discount to all Sprout SF Blog readers.  Just enter GETNEAT.

xx,

Ashley & Molly