Friday, July 9, 2010

Adventures in Cloth Diapering!


Wow! It has been a really long time since I've written on here! Ooops...

Guess what?! I started using cloth diapers on Simon! Can you believe it? And guess what else? I LOVE IT!!! I wish I had made the switch years ago. Seriously. Yes, it's a bit more work than just tossing a dirty disposable diaper in the trash. But to me, it is totally worth it.

I wanted to blog about my "conversion" because several people have been asking me about why I switched, what I do, etc., that I thought it would be easier to just post a "frequently asked questions" of sorts and answer everybody at once. I don't claim to be an expert, so this is just my experience with cloth diapering so far. I'm including links in case anyone is curious to see exactly what I am talking about when I mention certain things.

First off, why did I switch? Well in all honesty it started on Earth Day, when I was going to reply to a friend's sarcastic Facebook status. I was looking for a link (as a joke) to a certain eco-friendly feminine hygeine product, and Google came up with all these cloth diapering websites. I started looking at some of them and reading some information that really intrigued me. And the shopper in me has to admit that what really grabbed my attention was how CUTE all the cloth diapers they had were. Huggies Jeans diapers and their creepy commercials have got nothing on FuzziBunz or Happy Heinys! So, I talked it over with Eric and decided to order a Flip day pack to try. I saw so many great reviews for the Flip system that I had really high hopes for it, but the stay dry inserts just didn't work out for us, they bunched up on Simon and leaked constantly. I did love the Flip covers though, so I stuck with those and tried using just a basic prefold diaper inside. Jackpot! The prefolds are super absorbent, and the one-size covers adjust to fit him perfectly and never leak. Yes, the whole shebang is bulkier than a paper diaper, but it works for us and trust me it doesn't slow him down at all (I wouldn't complain if it did, LOL).

What do I love so much about cloth diapering? Maybe what people really mean when they ask this is, why won't you shut up about cloth diapering? Haha... One thing I love is that I never have to send my husband or myself out on an emergency trip to Walmart on a Friday night because I just realized I used the last diaper in the house. I love that when Simon does decide to sleep through the night on occasion, his cloth diaper isn't going to leak all over the place and wake him up anyway like the disposables did every single night. And I know I mentioned this before, but I love how cute cloth diapers are, and that when it's hot I can let him wear just his "fluff" and it looks so much better than a paper diaper (I always think they look so gross as soon they get peed in). Another thing I love is that I'm not adding unnecessary waste to a landfill. When I am sorting through clean diaper laundry, I like to count how many I just washed and see how many dirty diapers I didn't just throw away. It's like a little game to me, and it totally makes the extra laundry worthwhile.

And speaking of laundry...is it gross? Really, it's not too bad. At 16 months, Simon is eating table food, so his BMs are mostly pretty solid and will usually just fall off the diaper and into the toilet and then I toss the dirty diaper into the pail. (I was flushing his solid waste out of disposable diapers too, did you know it is illegal to throw human waste in the regular trash?) Wet diapers just go straight into the pail. On wash day I run all the dirties through a full cycle on cold to rinse them out and prevent staining. Then I do another full cycle on hot with detergent. Then I finish with another full rinse on cold, sometimes with a dash of vinegar in the water to prevent detergent build up. I hang the covers on a line to dry and run the prefolds through the dryer --no dryer sheets, they make the dipes less absorbent-- and it usually takes 1 1/2-2 full dry cycles to get them dry since they hold so much moisture. I need to get some dryer balls to cut down my drying time and reduce energy consumption. I do this whole wash routine every second or third day, depending on how quickly he goes through the clean covers in the stash. Typically I wash enough at a time for a medium sized load.

And a BIG question I get is, how much money am I saving? I did the math. Story problem alert! We were spending $13 on a value pack of Walmart brand disposables about every 2 1/2 weeks, so about 21 cases per year, or $273. Now multiply that by 2 years because if Simon follows in his brothers' footsteps he probably won't potty train until he's past 3 (he was 15 months when we made the switch). So we would have spent at least $546 on diapers before he went to pull-ups which are even more expensive. Instead, I have invested about $240 on our cloth diaper supply so far, and almost everything in the stash is adjustable size so it should fit him as he grows. I do still need to pick up a few items (a diaper sprayer is next on the list, and I'd like to eventually add a few more pocket-style diapers that are easier for Daddy and other caregivers to use). But overall, I can comfortably say that we will have saved at least $250 over the course of Simon's diapering years. And if we have another baby in the future (IF! I said IF!) then we can use everything again and the savings will really start to add up. Imagine if how much money we'd be saving if we had been using expensive brand name diapers!

Are you sick of reading about this yet? I could keep going...but I won't. You're welcome. I will just end by saying that since I've switched to cloth diapers I have reduced the amount of trash our family throws out by at least half. I was taking out a full bag of garbage at least every other day and now I only take out a bag every 3-4 days. And I've gotten motivated to find other ways to reduce our garbage output and be more environmentally friendly as well (I'll post about that later). So it's definitely been changes for the better around our house.

Thanks for reading this! I hope you found it mildly interesting!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Days...

Yesterday afternoon while driving Gavin home from school, I was talking to the kids about how beautiful the weather was (old mid-40s, sunny, spring in the air). Gavin told me that "Today is a Lamb day, some days are Lion days but today is a Lamb day." I had to laugh out loud at that one! Apparently at school he learned about the saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb!
Then this morning Owen asked me if he had to take a nap today, to which I replied Yes! Then he asked why some days he takes a nap and some days he doesn't. (Good question.) I answered that most days he takes a nap but there are some days he doesn't take one. So then he asked me, "Mommy, is today a Most day or a Some day?"
I am happy to report that today is a Most day!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Giveaways-Land's End & Koolmono!

2 great giveaways for you today!

My friend Natalie at Koolmono is giving away a darling dress on her blog! (If I had a daughter you KNOW I'd be all over that!) Enter here http://koolmono.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-1.html
and be sure to check out her etsy shop as well! http://www.etsy.com/shop/koolmono

Also, Martha Stewart Living and Land's End are giving away a different LE prize every day in March! Read carefully, you don't have to order the free trial magazine to enter. (I always forget to cancel in time, and get into trouble, LOL). Enter here https://martha.zt01.net/MSL/1/Giveaway/landing_cal/calender.php

Good luck!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Giveaway!

Oops, I almost forgot! I have a link for another Downeast Basics giveaway! I have been trying to win clothes and accessories lately in an effort to fight the frump (without landing us in the poorhouse). I usually find out about these giveaways through other blogs I follow or on Facebook. I actually won a gift certificate from www.pitterpattercreations.com last week! Winning something just feeds the addiction! This particular contest is on the "Brown Paper Packages Tied up with Strings" blog. If you enter, good luck!

http://sarahbrownsfavoritethings.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-great-downeast-basics-giveaway.html

Busy as usual...

Well between kids, cakes, life, being sick, etc, I haven't blogged in a while. No worries, I'm still alive. I'm still exercising 5-6 days a week. I had a cold last week so I missed several days, and it was harder than I thought getting back into my groove this week. Today I finally felt like my endurance and energy was coming back-yay! Now I really need to work on my diet. I know that's what is holding me back in the weight loss department. Easier said than done though. Especially when darling husband goes shopping and brings home delicious ice cream, cheetos, coke, etc! I have no self control! What's a girl to do? Sigh.
My baby Simon turned ONE on Monday! A whole year old! And we've all survived! Still not sleeping through the night on a regular basis, lame. But happy and healthy nonetheless. I wonder, how long can we still refer to him as a baby? Until he walks? Talks? Starts college?
The older boys are...well...boys! They are driving me crazy, I think we all have cabin fever which is not helping. I am counting the days until I can take them to the park to play. We all need some fresh air. We have parent-teacher conferences for Gavin (5 1/2) next week, which I am looking forward to. I still feel like I'm so new to this whole "having-a-kid-in-school" thing even though it's been, what, 6 months now? And we got the official letter a week or two ago that Owen (3 1/2) got into Gavin's school for K4 next year. Not that we were worried that he wouldn't get in, it's not like it's an exclusive school or anything, but it's still nice to have it finalized. I'm really looking forward to only having Simon home with me next fall! Is that bad? It's just that Owen is so bored lately, he's getting into lots of mischief to entertain himself. LOTS of mischief.
Well enough of my ramblings for now. Better get something productive done while kids are napping.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

DownEast Basics giveaway!

Can you tell that when I love a product I obsessively enter every giveaway they have? Because I NEED the "wrapped up" top in black! So if you are giveaway-crazy like me, here's the link and good luck! And hurry, the contest ends February 5th.
http://www.frugalandfabulous.org/2010/01/giveaway-review-downeast-basics.html

Monday, February 1, 2010

Friday, January 29, 2010

Another great giveaway!

Crystal over at Thrifty and Frugal Living, along with Orglamix, is giving away three beautiful mineral eyeshadows! Click here to enter!
http://www.thriftyandfrugalliving.com/2010/01/orglamix-eye-shadow-review-giveaway.html
and be sure to check out Orglamix's etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/orglamix. I can't wait to try her products, they look amazing and great prices too!

Scarf giveaway!

J Leigh Designz is hosting a contest for a free scarf from www.affordablescarves.com. I checked out their website and they have some really CUTE scarves--I am drooling over the cashmere leopard print! Here's the link to enter: http://www.jleighdesignz.com/2010/01/affordable-scarves-fashion.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FwQBk+%28J.+leigh+designz%29
Good luck!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Is this thing on?

So...I've started a blog. Again. I've done this once before but due to technical difficulties (I got an email saying that my 1st blog had been "cancelled" or some such thing due to it being spam, um OK...)
I'm turning 30 this year. I have decided that it's time to get in shape and lose 30 pounds by my birthday. I am working out 5-6 days a week, alternating 30 minutes of cardio every other day with Jillian Michael's shred workout.
Simon (my almost-11-month-old) is starting to adjust to this new routine and has been playing nicely in the pack-n-play most days now. Owen (3 1/2) has taken this opportunity to get into trouble. Today he painted 3 stripes on my kitchen floor with white-out. Yes, apparently we had a bottle of white-out in the kitchen drawer, I learn something new every day. When I discovered his artwork and warned him that Daddy wouldn't be happy to see it when he got home from work, Owen took his firefighter helmet and covered up his "White Stripes" and said, "Well now maybe he won't see it?" Clever boy!