How I’m Preparing for an Eco-Friendly, Minimalist Baby

Having a baby is quite an investment. Having an eco-friendly, minimalist baby is a whole other thing.

After finding out I was pregnant in January and learning I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I found my calendar suddenly wide open with time to research what things my baby would and wouldn’t need due to being bedridden.

Quickly, I discovered that I needed to make a list of importance to help guide me through choosing baby items.

Note: I’ve linked to all the items I could throughout the post if you’re interested in something, but if you have questions, drop a comment at the end or send an email to erin[at]thetannehillhomestead[dot]com

Here’s my Eco-Friendly, Minimalist Baby List Focus:

1. Decide which sustainable materials, ingredients, and methods are most important.
2. Set up a baby registry.
3. Shop secondhand first.
4. When buying new, consider materials and budget-friendly items that will last.

Let me break down each item on this list to give you a better understanding of my choices and the things I’ve been able to accomplish.

1 // Decide which sustainable materials, ingredients, and systems are most important.

As someone who is material conscious, I do my best to choose plastic-free items for my home. I’m not perfect, and we do have a few plastic things, but I try to find alternatives. I’m taking that same consideration with having a baby.

A few non-negotiables for sustainable materials and ingredients are:

• natural fibers for clothing, bedding, and blanket materials
• glass baby bottles with silicone or natural rubber nipples
• fragrance-free everything
• diapers with plant-based materials for the top sheet
• wood or natural rubber toys and teethers
• fire-retardant-free materials – especially for the car seat
• breathable and washable mattress for crib
• inclining bassinet with breathable walls to help with gas or reflux
• convertible crib so that it lasts until a full-size bed is needed

Things that are nice, but not essential are:

• organic materials
• GREENGUARD Gold Certified
• organic baby formula [I plan to breastfeed; this is a backup consideration.]

Systems I want to have in place:

• Hang dry clothes, bedding, reusable wipes, etc.
• Decluttering as baby grows using an additional basket in the nursery

Related Post: 101 Ways to Reduce Waste At Home

2 // Set up a Baby Registry

Once I decided on my sustainable materials, ingredients, and systems, I decided a Baby Registry would be the easiest way to keep track of things.

I love having a Baby Registry to track what we need because it is convenient. It’s helped me find things on sale, and I’m always happy to save money!

A bonus is that you can share it with friends and family who want to buy things for the baby, too! We don’t expect anything from anyone, but it’s so sweet when they surprise us with something for Baby Girl.

How I chose items for my Baby Registry

The first thing I considered in choosing items for my Baby Registry is how necessary an item is. [Keep reading to see what my necessities are.]

The baby market is huge and the marketing people know how to make you feel like something is necessary when it really isn’t.

Second, I looked for items that followed my material must-haves.

Third, I considered prices for things.

An example of this is a baby sleep sack. I love the KicKee bamboo sleep sack, but they retail for $30-60 each. So instead, I chose Burt’s Bees Baby and HonestBaby organic cotton sleep sacks that retail for $18-22 each.

All are great quality, so there’s no sacrifice and I save money.

Outside of sleep sacks and a couple of accessories, I did not include any clothes on my registry, because I knew I could find it all secondhand.

A Tip for Your Baby Registry

One tip I learned from someone is to think about other gifting times throughout the year, like Christmas, and plan your registry around that.

Baby Girl will be around three months old on her first Christmas, so I moved the booster seat, kitchen items, and things we may need between Christmas and her first birthday to a different list.

I’ll give this list to anyone asking what Baby Girl needs and as a reference for what we need to get her, especially since I have already decided on those items. Can’t let all that effort go to waste, can we?

[When I told my mom about this, she was so relieved! She said it’s going to make gifting to Baby Girl so much easier!]

It’s honestly an idea we’ll use for any milestones and gifting times should anyone ask.

With my Baby Registry put together, it’s time to start shopping for Baby Girl!

3 // Shop secondhand first.

This is perhaps the most important thing for any expecting parent to do to not only be more eco-friendly but also save a ton of money!

I heard a statistic a few years ago that there are already enough baby and kid clothes on the planet to clothe all the babies and kids in the world for 10 years!! That’s insane and has stuck with me as I prepare for Baby Girl.

My favorite resources for secondhand baby items and clothes are local shops, thrift stores, and Facebook Marketplace.

I’ve found amazing deals through these resources and have a running list of things I still need.

Two of my favorite purchases via Facebook Marketplace:

1. I spent $50 on a tote full of baby clothes and items. Items in this tote – 101. Cost per item – $0.495!
2. Pottery Barn Kids Convertible Crib in brand new condition. Retails for $1,200. Purchased for $200!!

Not only are these great finds, but I’ll make my initial investments back with anything I choose to resale.

Local consignment shops, thrift stores, or places like Salvation Army and Goodwill are great for saving anywhere from 50-75% on items. Sometimes you can save even more if you shop their sales.

Some of my favorite purchases via local consignment shops:

1. Loves to Dream Swaddle. Retails for $32. Purchased for $5.50!
2. Burt’s Bees Baby 100% Organic Cotton Footed Sleeper. Retails for $15. Purchased for $5!
3. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow [the original]. Retails for $45. Purchased for $20!
4. Anything new with tags is a great buy. Although, it is a shame that the person who had it didn’t get to use it first.

Lastly, I asked family and friends if they had any baby items they wanted to declutter that I could use/buy/borrow.

My grandmother saved a lot of my baby/toddler books that are now the beginning books of Baby Girl’s book collection.

My sister had several things I could use or borrow, including an alterrain baby stroller!

You never know what you’ll find secondhand, but it’s definitely worth the effort!

4 // When buying new, consider materials and budget-friendly items that will last.

My goal is to purchase as much secondhand as possible, but some things are best new, like a car seat. Also, it may not be possible to find everything secondhand. That’s where buying new becomes the last resort.

Since I already have my list of things we need for Baby Girl, I’ve kept to my sustainable materials focus. The only thing I need to take into consideration is my budget.

This means shopping sales, checking out clearance shelves, and utilizing the Baby Registry completion discounts.

I did this in two phases: before and after the baby shower.

Each phase had different parameters to help me save as much money on baby items as possible. Let me break them down for you.

Buying new baby items before the baby shower

Before the baby shower, I only purchased items I found on clearance. This includes diapers, baby wipes, glass baby bottles, and a few random baby items.

The clearance price had to save more money than the completion discounts registries offer.

My only exception to this was the car seat. We decided to go with the Nuna Rava Convertible Car Seat, and those car seats never go on sale [I asked.]. I did opt for the Dillards exclusive color, which saved $100. [Also, it’s sooo much prettier in person! The online photos do not do it justice.]

If you’re interested in the clearance items I found, here they are:

1. My preferred diaper brand is DYPER. They are best priced at Walmart, and when I found them on clearance, I had to grab a few! The DYPER boxes at Walmart retail for $19.97, and I’ve found them on clearance ranging from $11-15!
2. Walmart also has Honest brand wipes, which is one brand I want to try. So far, I have found the value pack of wipes that retail for $39.97 marked down to $30!
3. Last one from Walmart! >> Philips Advent 3-Pack Glass Baby Bottles 9-oz. retail for $22-29. One bottle was missing, so the two remaining in the pack were priced at $7! You can’t purchase one bottle for that price!
4. Another deal I found was at TJ Maxx. It was a Bibs pacifier clip that retails for $13. Purchased it for $3!
5. My favorite deal to date is the Burt’s Bees Baby booties I snagged during their Memorial Day Sale. [We opted for booties instead of socks.] Their booties retail for $17.95, but their doorbuster offer + a coupon allowed me to score them for $5.33 each!
6. The Momcozy Sound Machine with Night Light retails for $59.99, and I got it for $33.99 [43% off]!

My advice for shopping for baby items is to look in-store at their clearance aisles and to check brand websites for deals.

Every Walmart has a Clearance Aisle. They also have secret clearance within their regular items. Secret clearance won’t show up online. It’s up to a store’s discretion what items go on clearance [rollback is not the same thing and can be found online].

When it comes to online shopping at a retailer like Amazon or Walmart, they usually have lower prices. However, going to a brand website can potentially save you even more money due to sales or coupons that they don’t provide to Amazon and Walmart. So don’t discount checking out both.

Buying new baby items after the baby shower

The baby shower falls one week before my Baby Registries have their completion discounts available, so I have a chance to save on items we still need.

At the time of writing this, my baby shower hasn’t happened, so this is my plan for once it does.

I want to have everything for Baby Girl purchased with a month to spare. If I haven’t found what I need secondhand, I’ll check out Goodbuygear.com to see what I can find and compare that to my registries.

Everything else will be purchased off the registry using the completion discounts.

Amazon allows you to use it unlimited times up to $2,000, while Target only allows you to use it twice. Both offer 15% off.

They also allow you to return things up to one year after purchase off your registry, which is nice if we end up with things we don’t use. [Hoping that doesn’t happen, but I’ve seen moms with the best intentions and research done still not use everything they got for the baby.]

Related Post: Minimalist Budget: How to Create a Simple Budget and Save Money

Eco-Friendly, Minimalist Baby Necessities, Nice to Have, & What I’m Avoiding

Now that I’ve broken down my process for accumulating the eco-friendly, minimalist baby items we need, let’s discuss necessities, nice-to-haves, and marketing ploys I’m avoiding.

Eco-friendly, minimalist baby necessities:

These are baby items that I feel are a must for our family. Your selection may be completely different than mine, and that’s okay! 🙂

• Car Seat – We chose the Nuna Rava Convertible Car Seat for its eco-friendly materials, quality, and the fact that it doesn’t use harmful fire-retardant chemicals.
• Convertible Crib – We found a secondhand Pottery Barn Kids Convertible Crib that is practically brand new! It’s a 3-in-1 convertible crib that will last us until Baby Girl needs a full-size bed.
• Crib Mattress – After some research, I found that the HALO DreamWeave mattress is a less expensive version of the Newton Baby crib mattress, so that’s what we’re going with! It’s 100% washable, breathable, GREENGUARD Gold Certified, and works as a baby and toddler mattress.
• Crib & Bassinet Sheets – 100% cotton muslin or organic cotton sheets are our preference.
• Baby Carriers – I found a Boba wrap secondhand, and for the structured carrier, I’m going with the LILLEbaby Complete All-Seasons carrier.
• Bassinet – We chose a co-sleeping bassinet that has breathable mesh for walls, inclines to help the baby with gas, and wheels.
• Clothes – Newborn to 18 months consist of footed pajamas, short and long sleeve onesies, leggings, booties, and sleep sacks/swaddles.
• Bathing – Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Soap.
• Reusable Cloths – While I’m not doing cloth diapers, I am using pre-fold cloth diapers as burp cloths, reusable baby wipes for non-poop clean-ups, and reusable nursing pads.
• On-the-go Items – A diaper backpack and wet bags are my musts for on-the-go. I did a lot of thinking about whether I wanted a diaper backpack or a regular backpack, and I like the peace of mind the diaper backpack will provide if a spill or mess occurs.
• Diapers – My preferred brand is DYPER, but I also want to try Pura Diapers. Both use natural materials in their top sheet, which is a must for me.
• Wipes – The baby wipes I want to try are Honest Conscious Clean Wipes, DYPER wipes, Pura wipes, and Eco Wave wipes. They all seem like great options, so I want to find out which one will work best for Baby Girl.
• Changing Pad – The Keekaroo is at the top of my list because it’s wipeable and won’t add to the laundry pile. Unfortunately, it’s not made with an eco-friendly material, which is a huge drawback, but when I compare it to a traditional changing pad with a cover, it just seems like the best fit for our family.
• Baby Care Items – An electric nail file, Haaka nasal aspirator, 3-in-1 thermometer, baby brushes, and Frida Baby 3-in-1 nose + ear picker are all essentials we’ll have on hand for Baby Girl.
• Nursing Supplies – I plan to exclusively breastfeed so my essentials include the Haaka ladybug to catch letdown, Earth Mamas Nipple Butter, silicone breastmilk storage bags, freezer storage bags, and Silverettes.
• Baby Monitor – We’re going with an audio baby monitor by VTech.
• Laundry Soap – Earth Breeze Eco-Sheets in Fragrance-Free, which is what we already use.
• Play Time – Lovevery Play Gym and baby books

Eco-friendly, minimalist baby nice-to-haves:

The plan for our nice-to-haves is to make life a little easier and provide some peace of mind.

• Nursing Supplies – Spectra S2 Breastpump [paid for by insurance!], Medela Harmony Manual Breastpump, glass baby bottles, Lansinoh Breast Therapy Packs, Haakaa Colostrum Collector Kit Breast Milk Collector, and Boppy Nursing Pillow.
• Lounging Bouncer – I like the Ergobaby Evolve Bouncer because it was designed with a Pediatric Orthopedist, and can be used from newborn to toddler.
• Bathing – Munchkin® White Hot® Safety Bath Ducky Toy because it doesn’t have a hole like other bath toys, so when we no longer need help with bath temperature, the baby can play with it, as it is easy to keep clean.
• Diaper Caddy – We’d like one mobile diaper caddy set up so that we don’t have to go into the nursery when it isn’t as convenient, such as when she’s in our room at night.
• Pacifiers & Clips – We’ll have the Bibs, Natursutten, and Itzy Ritzy natural rubber pacifiers as options, along with a Bibs cotton pacifier clip. [Silicone beaded pacifier clips scare me because they could break and the baby could choke on one of the beads.]
• Baby Care Items – Earth Mama Baby Lotion Scent-Free.
• Sound Machine & Night Light – Momcozy Baby Sound Machine.
• Utility Cart – We need two utility carts for my postpartum supplies and a minimalist nursery setup for our bedroom. [I have plans for them after they are no longer needed in these ways.]
• Baby Gear – Stroller fan and baby mirror for car. Maybe I could get by without these, but again, peace of mind.

Related Post: Eco Minimalism: What It Means to be an eco-friendly minimalist

What I’m Avoiding:

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I had quite a bit of time to research things a baby really needs.

The hardest part about researching is remembering to discern the information you read. Consider your lifestyle, needs, and, most importantly, marketing ploys that feed your FOMO.

It took me a while to discern my long list of “baby essentials” but here is what I’ve decided to avoid.

1 // Products that weren’t relevant when my grandmother and mother were having babies

This doesn’t include all modern inventions, but there are quite a few.

My thought process behind these items is if my grandmother and mother didn’t need it to raise babies, I probably don’t need it either.

Some items I’m avoiding specifically are:

• wipe warmer
• bottle warmer
• formula dispenser
• baby food processor
• Diaper Genie and other trash cans like it
• video baby monitor
• diaper cream spatula

While some of these are probably nice, I don’t need them in my home.

2 // Marketing-hyped products

If you’ve watched many YouTube videos about baby essentials, then you’ve probably noticed certain products seem to be on everyone’s list.

While I do believe there is merit to products that have been around for decades, such as a Fisher Price swing that parents hate looking at but babies love, you need to do your research to see why these products are recommended.

Two marketing-hyped products I put on my list at first and then changed are the Hatch Rest+ Sound Machine and the Newton Crib Mattress.

After researching a bit, I found the Momcozy Sound Machine and HALO DreamWave Crib Mattress are pretty much the same, but cheaper.

I’m not saying the Hatch and Newton brands aren’t worth the splurge. They are probably great products.

It’s just that Baby Girl already needs a lot, and I don’t want to blindly choose marketing-hyped products when other options are available.

3 // Products that claim to be sustainable

This one is hard because marketers do a great job of getting consumers to think something is sustainable when it isn’t.

They will point out one or two really good things about a product, and if you don’t examine the product any further, you’ll think you’re choosing a great sustainable product.

I’ve seen a lot of people talk about baby products they believe are sustainable, when in fact they aren’t.

A perfect example of this is free and clear laundry detergent. Yes, that’s all you technically need for a baby, because that means that the product is fragrance-free, which should mean less irritation for the baby’s skin.

However, free and clear laundry detergent does not mean that it is a sustainable option. It also doesn’t mean that there still aren’t harmful chemicals in the detergent that could harm your baby. [Could call out Dreft here, but I won’t…]

I’ve tried a lot of eco-friendly laundry detergents over the years and I love Earth Breeze Eco-Sheets in Fragrance-Free.

4 // Redundant products

Marketing companies are great at making you think you need all the baby gear or you won’t have a happy baby.

They make you believe you need a bouncing lounger, swing, Mamaroo, Doc-A-Tot/Snuggle Me, over-the-door bouncer, walker, etc.

The truth is that your baby will be happy even without these products. Sure, some may help, but you don’t need every one of these for your baby.

I’m starting with one lounging option because the truth is that the floor is another great option I plan to use. In fact, the floor is recommended for a baby’s development.

Once Baby Girl is here, I’ll evaluate the situation, and ask a friend to borrow an item I think may help. If it helps, then I’ll purchase it for her.

How I Keep Baby Things Organized

Two things have helped me tremendously as I prepare for Baby Girl: organizing baby things as I go and a Baby Clothes Inventory Spreadsheet.

1 // Organizing baby things as I go

When something comes into my home, it either goes into the washer, a basket in the closet, or a drawer. Everything has a place from the beginning.

I’ve shifted this around and will continue to shift as more comes into my home.

Right now, my closet is the main storage compartment for everything, because I don’t need my breast pump or nursing pillows yet.

As for clothes, I wash them right away, organize them according to size and item type, and then store them in a dresser drawer or basket in the closet, depending on size.

Note: I noticed my allergies were high when I didn’t wash clothes as they came into the home, which is why I washed them right away. Yes, I’ll have to rewash them before I need to use them, but I couldn’t stand having an allergy attack every time I walked into the nursery.

2 // Baby Clothes Inventory Spreadsheet

I’m not normally so Type A, but baby girl clothes are hard to resist!

As I prepare for my eco-friendly, minimalist baby, I want to be a conscious consumer, so I did some research to determine how many clothing items I would need.

One thing I kept in mind was the fact that I wanted to hang dry all the baby clothes and items, so I couldn’t be as minimal as I would’ve liked.

Of course, as a first-time mom, this is truly a guessing game, but I feel confident in having enough clothes to match my established laundry routine.

My Baby Clothes Inventory Spreadsheet tracks things by size, then by type. I put in how many items I need and how many I have, and it calculates how many I still need or if I overdid it.

If you’re interested in grabbing a copy of it, reach out via email to erin[at]thetannehillhomestead[dot]com and let me know!

Final thoughts about how I’m preparing for my eco-friendly, minimalist baby

Having an eco-friendly, minimalist baby as a first-time mom is an interesting experience to prepare for.

While I have a lot of experience with babies and kids, nothing prepares you for your own. I’m excited to see how I did in preparing for Baby Girl and will be sure to update you along the way.

If you’ve had an eco-friendly, minimalist baby, I would love to know your thoughts, tips, and any advice you can offer. Please leave them for me in the comments.