Green & Clean Mom Pre-launch Giveaway

June 1, 2008... Green & Clean Mom will officially be at http://greenandcleanmom.org/ and to celebrate and kick of this big event, I am going to be giving away some awesome prizes! These prizes aren’t sponsored by anyone but my wallet and green mullah! There will be lots of ways to win and enter but the biggest thing is to spread the word about Green & Clean Mom and the new site. It won’t just be a new look! I will offer green shopping alternatives, a Green & Clean Mom social networking site and forum, the beginning of a program where you can do good and help others go non-toxic, green fundraising opportunities and lots of green love! Remember, at Green & Clean Mom it’s sexy and sassy to be green but we don’t expect you to do everything, just something.

So here’s what you can win:

Prize A: Box of Natural Energy Tea and a CamelBak BPA free water bottle to drink your tea from.
Prize B: Not Nice To Bugs and Non-toxic Bug Repellant because you don't need nasty pesticides!
Prize C: The Book: The Organic Housekeeper, Non-Toxic Oven Cleaner and a set of Digital Day Counters
Prize D: Andrew the Organic Hippo by Mim Yim
Prize E: A year’s subscription to Kiwi Magazine, my favorite “green” parenting magazine.

Bloggers:

1.Spread the word about the launch of my new blog, http://greenandcleanmom.org/ by writing a post and linking to this giveaway. Green Karma rocks! Leave me a comment with what prize you'd like to win. If you have any comments on what you'd like to see more or less of on the new site, let me know. If you haven't subscribed to my feed or email, please do. Then you won't miss out on the two months of launch giveaways!

OR

2. Join my social networking site and put up a badge on your site. All those that join the social networking site after today are entered in the contest! Talk about easy!

Non-Bloggers:

1.Subscribe via email so you don’t miss out on anything and all subscribers entered on my Feed blitz account will automatically entered into the contest. If you have a prize preference be sure to leave me a comment with your email (same email you used to subscribe via email).

OR

2. Join Green & Clean Mom's social networking site and start learning from others about how to go green. It's free!

All winners will be announced at Green & Clean Mom on June 1, 2008. Winners must provide a way for me to contact them. Only one entry per email.

Yo Betty, lets go camping and pack the cocktails! A review and giveaway!

Where I live, Memorial Day weekend is the kick off for camping season! Except the cost of gas is $4.20 a gallon and its freezing cold. I haven’t seen too many campers headed into this normally booming tourist town. I could be wrong though. Personally, I’m not much of a camper but that doesn’t mean I haven’t slept ina tent with gross, camp fired scented clothing and toxic bug spray fumes and the sticky marshmallows on my fingers. I have. I just didn’t love it. I’d rather “hotel” it. I’m just not a fan of sleeping on rocks and rolling over next to a dewing wet tent and then having to pee like crazy and running to a gross bathroom that smells like crap or better yet, going in the woods. I always pee on my pants when I squat! So then I smell like urine, among the other great things. I know, I know…there’s lots of great things associated with camping and now that I’ve read the book Backcountry Betty, Roughing it in Style by, Jennifer Worick …I think I might consider giving the tent a whirl. I’m going to start in my backyard and work my way to the camp ground and then the woods with no bathroom. Baby steps.

I think my problem with camping is the dirty, stinky gross feeling. I like showers and being clean. That doesn’t mean I don’t get nitty gritty dirty but I’m a Betty, just not my Aunt Betty. Bless her heart but she’s so grumpy and never smiles. The very first chapter of the book addresses hygiene and how to stay fresh and feel fresh. This chapter made me love the whole book right from the start. The book, besides being witty and humorous (like this blog), has many practical pointer and tips. For example, if you have to go number 2 make sure you build a “cat hole” and locate it 200 feet from water and downwind. Now that’s practical! Oh, and do not go swimming in the ocean if your having your monthly Aunt Flow visit because sharks can sense this. Go figure?

Jennifer Worick does a great job in a very non-boring way, pointing out how camping can be fun and still have style and class if you pack and plan ahead. This doesn’t mean wear your stilettos (which I can’t wear anyhow) tromping through the woods! No, just your comfy vegan hiking boots from Zappos! I don’t know if they have these or not, but maybe they do? The point is to mesh practicality, organization and a little bit of pizzazz without wreaking or giving up all sense of feeling like a woman. Over and over it is pointed out to respect nature, not liter, carry your trash and used toilet paper with you (another reason I’m not a camping fan), do not disturb nature and again to respect nature. Just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you can’t have fondue or cocktails and Backcountry Betty shows you how! Ahh and if camping with your hot sweaty man is your thing there are lots of green and clean tips on how to spice things up without disturbing nature. Backcountry Betty helps keep you warm without the sleeping bag!

Not every idea is “green” but not every person camping is either. If you’re looking for a fun read, have a friend who isn’t so keen on camping or maybe you’d like some fun tips on making your next camping trip a trip that screams, “I’m a hot Betty and I can rough it (wink, wink) in style!” then this is the book for you. I have plenty of suggestions on how Betty can be more eco-savvy and sassy, like suggesting earth friendly products, recycled toilet paper, and not being so Ziploc baggy loving (but then it is camping). Get your copy from Mountaineers Books for only $14.95.

Wanna win a copy? K. Just leave me a comment and tell me a funny camping story. I need a good laugh. I’ll send a copy of the book to whoever makes me chuckles the hardest and pee my pants. I’ll announce the winner on June 1, 2008 when the new site launches.

Shea Terra Organics Giveaway plus good green news!

I think it’s pretty clear, I think Shea Terra Organics is a great company, with an awesome CEO and founder and they have great products. I’ve been able to review a vast variety of these luxury body scrubs, lotions, body butters, face washes and creams of all scents and varieties. Now it’s time to share and give away one of my favorite scents, the Lavender of the Khoisan Indigenous Shea Butter gift set. This is the scent my son likes and request to use in the shower! A prize retailed at $45 U.S. dollars and anyone can win this if they live in the United States or Canada and are 18 years of age. All you have to do is leave a comment as to why you think you might need this “spa” treatment! The contest ends May 29, 2008 12am EST. One winner will be drawn randomly. One entry per email and you must leave your email address! Thanks to Shea Terra Organics for donating this lovely gift set.

This was going to be the last giveaway and contest for Green & Clean Mom but seeing that I'm so generous I'll giveaway a fun read and then some more goodies for the prelaunch. I just cannot resist waiting till the launch. There’s so much in store that I am having a hard time sleeping at night trying to organize everything and sort through the amazing giveaways. The official launch or really more of a relaunch will span over the course of two months with two giveaways each week (subject to change). If you’re following me on twitter you might know of some confirmed giveaways! So stay tuned, try to win some Shea Terra Organics, and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing. I am still accepting advertisers and giveaways from the following green categories: jewelers, accessories, toys, diapers and slings.

Two clubs named Skirt

When you were little did you ever create a club and have members? When I was in elementary school we had a club and a clubhouse and special members, knocks on the door, dues, etc. It was great fun. I don’t remember the name of it. Had another group of kids created a club with a similar name I might get ticked off but what could I have done? Teepee their clubhouse? Three grown women created an online clubhouse for women bloggers to tell other women bloggers about great articles, blogs and content. They named it, Skirt. Well there just happened to be another club name Skirt but they publish a free magazine. Instead of using some teepee and just getting mad, they used money, lawyers and bullying tactics and made the ladies of Skirt change their name. Actually the ladies that created their online club weren’t made to do anything; they gave a little Kirtsy and like ladies decided to change the name of their popular online “club”. It just wasn’t worth the money to fight it. Ahhh, smart tactic because now they have lots of traffic and this has grown to be a very popular topic amongst bloggers. The women also trademarked the name, Kirtsy. Not a bad idea but it's close to $2,000 or more to do this and I know because of a service I've used called, Legal Zoom. Probably why many bloggers and people don't go through with it.

How does this relate to my blog or why should you care? I started thinking about what it means to name something and a blogs branding. Did you research your blog name? What about Green & Clean Mom, did I research it? Yes I did. However, what if someone took my name? What would I do? How would I feel? What if I took someone’s name? It’s controversial and the people over at the Skirt magazine, in my opinion, had a right to feel upset. They had a registered trademarked name that costed them a lot of money to get. The ladies of Kirtsy, had bad legal advise and that isn't the magazine's fault. I feel bad for the ladies. The lawyer might not have thought they'd be as big as they became but lawyers should never think this way when it comes to the online social media scene. I think it ended up just making the magazine look bad because the two are different "clubs" and offer different services but we aren't little anymore and throwing toilet paper on anothers clubhouse won't cut it. Plus, it's wasteful to throw toilet paper and not very green!

Whatever it might be Skirt (not the online magazine) is now Kirtsy and I respect the way the women have handled the situation. To celebrate their change and encourage others to learn about their “club” they are having a HUGE giveaway. I know everyone loves a giveaway. Now, not all the products are oh so “green” and I’m not promoting the products but rather, Kirtsy. They are giving away ten cases of Primo water the bottles are made from plants not crude oil. I guess if you have to chose bottled water this is a better option.

Yeehaw...the blogesphere is full of contests this month!

When I first began blogging I started reading the blog, A Cowboy's Wife and My Wooden Spoon. They’re owned and operated by a mommy blogger who lives in Texas and blogging is her business. She’s pretty darn good but what I’ve learned to like best about her blog, she’s transparent. Lori is human and she admits it. I’ve learned a lot from Lori and she’s been great to me when I email and bug her with questions. I’m still working on getting her to be a “Green & Clean Mom”!!! Her blog, My Wooden Spoon, is having a three month contest and she’s giving away some great kitchen tools that could help all Green & Clean Mom readers do some o’natural cooking with their CSA veggies! Her recipies are also very down home, easy and yummy. Are they organic and do they use all natural ingredients? No, but if you want you can convert any of the recipes to be as healthy as you’d like for them to be. I’ve converted a few here and there. The pumpkin cake with Cream Cheese frosting is to dye for! When you get a chance, take a gander and try winning the stand mixer that she’s giving away this week. Pretty big contest and this is only the second week. I can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve.

Oh, and don't forget about trying to Win $50 in Stonyfield Yogurt, A Pur Water Filter System, and a pack of green cleaners, right here at Green & Clean Mom! Momsational is giving away some Baskin Robins coupons and Amy over at Crunchy Domestic Goddess has a huge mother's day giveaway in the works. One of my favorite blogs, Green Mom Finds, they're giving away a pair organic jammies that I know my little guy would look so cute in. The Soft Landing, another Green & Clean Mom read is offering all those that subscribe this month the chance to win a BPA free teething sampler kit. I've started writing for Busy Mommy and they have a fun Spring Giveaway that's a must for all moms to check out. And did you hear about Katja over at Skimbaco being endorsed by Tom Cruise on Oprah, right? Check out her story and she's giving away some of the same shoes that Tom's little girl loves on a few blogs (A Cowboys Wife). It's a great tale! So moms, go win your self some goodies and don't forget who told you about all of this! If you know of something else going on, post it right here! Good luck!

Should a blogger make some "green" off their blog?

The last few months have been interesting. I started this blog to reach out to moms and readers like myself. I am not granola or crunchy and when I go to my local health food store and pull up in my SUV people sometimes glare at me as though I cannot shop there unless I drive a hybrid, shower in rainwater and maybe have dreads. Sorry, that isn’t me and never will be. I’m not perfect but I try my hardest to be some shade of green each day. I’m not trying to make green cool either or doing green stuff to be cool. My belief is this: to do thing for the environment and our children we don’t have to go extreme. I have a lot of experience with moms and social settings due to past job experiences, and when moms get scared of something or if something feels overwhelming they are going to look the other way, run away of just plug their ears. I have had to tread very lightly when introducing “scary” topics to new moms because some of them will go to the extreme without the education or knowledge and this is not good either.

This blog is growing in leaps and bounds and yes, the New York Times blip helped, but I mostly think it is because there are so many of us moms out there that want to do something but don’t want to go extreme or made to feel bad because they have an SUV or don’t buy organic milk. Does that mean that you don’t care about the environment or your children? Come on, this isn’t high school and we need to stick together not bully each other or judge so harshly.

This has all lead for a huge influx of press release notices in my inbox, emails from small start up companies wanting me to look at a product or review it. Frankly, I have not been equipped to deal with this or prepared. I’ve researched it, read some posts but there are opinions on each side of the fence (go figure). That’s when I realized that I had to think long and hard this and start to take my blog seriously and think of it like a business. A great post over at Sparkplug CEO , made me realize this after my husband harped on me for being taken advantage of and not being a good business person. The catch was, I did not see my blog as a business and that was my mistake. I was spending time looking at products, doing reviews, taking pictures, researching, writing and not charging one penny for it because I wanted to share it with you AND it was fun. So why can’t I make money, share stuff with you AND have fun? PR firms and companies know that blogging is influential so why I can’t I leverage that to my advantage? It gives me more another stream of income, adds value to my time, better products, contests and reviews for you and can help support a better functioning site and design.

I had a great conversation with Erin over at, The Queen of Spain Blog , the other day because I wanted her “expert” opinion and she was so wonderful to even give me the time of day. She had some great recommendations and made me think about whether paid posts would be a conflict of interest and if paid posts were honest opinions. I really did think about this but then I came to Anne-Marie Nichols website, The Write-Spot , and her disclosure on reviews and paid posts happen to fit my own thinking. If a blogger is going to be “transparent” and lay it all out on the line and isn’t hiding something from you then you know you can trust them. I read many great blogs that accept paid posts but I know this and when I read the bloggers honest opinion I go back to them. That’s why they keep getting paid. PR firms and companies know that a post is far more powerful than a side banner or button because a paid post does not go away. A post with a mommy review on it whether it is paid or not is advertisement and more powerful then any other form because it is word of mouth. Exactly why I love network marketing because it is word of mouth and that is the best kind. I don’t even watch television anymore or read magazines, my influences are bloggers like myself.

You can probably guess the end result here and if you see my new disclosure policy you’ll learn more. Does all of this mean you can’t trust me and I’m blogging just for money and all of my posts are paid. He! He! He! Yes. Heck NO!!!!!!! I’m going to be straight up with you and if I’m shopping and see something I love I’m going to blog about it. If a PR company wants my time and help and they contact me and want your eyes and ears to hear MY opinion then yes, I’m going to charge them. This is still a personal blog, written by me and they are my opinions and my integrity comes first. You won’t see me supporting Clorox or Green works for money. If it goes against what I think and believe I won’t do it. If I don’t like it, I’ll tell you. If I love it, I’ll tell you. Want to know if I’ve received payment or a free product for a review? Just look for the label, sponsored post or sponsored review. When I move to word press I can categorize this but until then this what I can do. I'm sure in the months to come more up roar about this will come. I could just not post about this but I figured some of you might want to know what others in blog land are talking about and if I'm going through this, maybe you are too.

Making a green move to wordpress or typepad

In September 2007 I started blogging for fun and as a way to reach out to other moms like me. Blogger for me, at the time, was the best choice because it was free and very easy to use. Anyone can use blogger. I agreed to the terms and didn’t think twice. Now my blog has grown substantially, thanks to The New York Times and my continual marketing. I try hard to write good posts, figure out this blogging world, the marketing tools, and google ranking. Oh and the blogging rules and ethics are worse than moms at the playground! It’s competitive and at times down right confusing. For such a big business the word “blog” is deceiving and doesn’t sound very intelligent. Who came up with this word blog, my son thinks it sounds like bogger!

My blog has essentially become a business and taken on its own life form. I am not going to try to even explain but essentially I am very limited with what I can and cannot do with blogger (host ads on your site if they aren’t ad words). This is frustrating because I have it mastered and the thought of spending time to learn something else is annoying. I scowered the internet for advise, ideas and just what to do and Emomsathome.com summed it up nicely and gave me some solid ideas on blogs and business.

You might wonder, why not just keep doing what I am doing and stay with blogger? I’ve considered this but the potential is so high (not for everyone) and I really, really enjoy it. If you were to have a blog that was successful and big companies and advertisers were approaching you, what might you do? Let me just tell you that if it gave you another source of income to help buy more organic, natural items for your children and family and the chance to increase your business exposure, do what you love and help other moms…I think you might do it! Plus for me, it's fun!

Ramble, ramble, ramble! With this being said I am researching which service to switch to: typepad or wordpress and who to host with. I use Go Daddy right now and I’m happy with them but I’d love to have a greener more earth friendly option. Ahhh, and then there is the switch and the ranking lost and technical stuff that is making me go cross eyed! I’ve found a few good opinions and sources but feel free to share. So hang in there while I make some changes, experiment and basically figure this out. Hopefully you’ll make the move with me and the transition will go smoothly. Thanks for the support!

Green is Hot!

I have some exciting news to share with you...Hot Mom's Club had a makeover and it is better than ever. Are you a member? If not, please join me, there are lots of perks. I've linked to this site, forever, but with the makeover and all of the great attributes and functions I just have to rave about it. This is a online forum for moms to come together in a classy, sophisticated, fun way. I'm feel like a hot mom just telling you about it and I'm not going through menopause either! This online club has been around since 2005 and since its conception; it has caught on like wildfire. Moms of a new generation are part of this club, celebrities too! It’s because we all have a common bond, motherhood. I'm part of several online groups but this is one of the best.

There’s something for every mom when it comes to the HMC! The articles range from the latest and greatest baby product, going green advice, recipes, money saving tips, kid’s allergies and more. The list is endless but the writers, staff and contributors are experienced and knowledgeable. It’s great to see a online forum with such rich content, support and generosity. HMC does a lot to help support events and give back to communities, they were part of the fundraiser for Bloom, which I donated and contributed to. I love that they have a green mom section with articles related to issues I write about and care about.

If your part of HMC join my group, an extension of this blog and its title is “Green and Clean Mom”. You’ll recognize my button and logo. If not, be sure to join and mention tell them that you heard about them through Sommer over at greenandcleanmom.blogspot.com! After you join come on over and be part of my group so we can chat and learn more from each other and how moms like us are going green and doing are part. It will be like a online eco party!