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Monday, May 30, 2011

Flats and Handwashing Challenge...Day 7

Finally, the pictures  I promised.  These were taken with  a camera phone, not too shabby.

Here is the Bucket Washer that I made.  I didn't bother scraping the dried cement off of the outside, but I assure you, the inside is squeaky clean.

Almost clean.

Hooray for Rockin' Green Orangevana....smells soooooo good.

"T-shirt" Flats Hanging in the sun...I had to run out 5 minutes later,,, Hurricane season has not given me a break this week.

Thank God for a drying rack.

The 2 rows of snaps on the Bg's helped keep the diaper from drooping below Ivan's tummy.

Fb's drooped a bit.
We did it.  One whole week of Flats and Handwashing.
I was tempted to cheat today, Sundays are non stop for us and I woke up feeling crappy, but we did it... how could I give up with just a few more hours to go.

This was a definite learning experience and  I am very thankful for the convenience of modern cloth diapers and washing machines !!!

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Days 1 -4

Wow Day 4 is already gone, this challenge is flying by.

So far so good. I never would have thought that using flats could be this easy.  I am really considering incorporating flats into my cloth diaper stash.

Flats
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been using the re-purposed t-shirts.  Lucky for us, my Dad was cleaning out his closet and I am even more lucky to have an x-large Dad.  I can only presume that a small t-shirt is less absorbant :-) The pad fold is easy and works great.

Covers
I have been using my un-stuffed pocket diapers. 3 Bumgenius and 2 Fuzzibunz. I much prefer using Bg over Fb.  Bg has 2 rows of waist snaps which has helped to keep the diaper up and not droop low as with the Fb.  This could be due to the fold I am using.

Dirty Diaper Storage
After using my wetbag on Day 1, I decided that it would be much easier and I would have less to wash if I just stored the Dirty diapers in the bucket washer.

Hand Washing
Thanks to the Bucket Washer, hand washing hasn't been all that bad.  It does however, take a little more effort, time and elbow grease.  I predict that at the end of this challenge I am going to have perfectly toned arms.


I am amazed at how good this is going.  It feels great to know that if this was my only option, I could totally do it.

I will try to get some pictures in tomorrow.  They will most likely be from a cell phone :-) But something is better than nothing.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Flats and Handwashing Challenge... What am I doing to prepare?

I have  decided not to purchase anything for this challenge... except for a new plunger :-)

Heres what I plan on using

Flats
I am going to re-purpose some cotton T-shirts and maybe some bed sheets.

Diaper Covers
Empty pocket Diapers

Wash
I am in the process of making a bucket washer and will be using my rockin green detergent.

When I first read about this challenge, I wasn't sure that I would be able to participate due to the lack of materials...then I realized, that this is about making due with what you have.

I don't have any pictures for this post, but I will update ASAP

Good luck to everyone else participating !!! Wish me luck :-)

Friday, May 20, 2011

Flats and Handwashing Challenge !!! Why am I doing it

My next adventure in Cloth Diapering... The Flats and Handwashing Challenge !!!


Now, flat diapers are not very appealing to me, and I don't think that I would choose them as my main diapering  choice.  That being said, The recent post by Kim at dirtydiaperlaundry.com reminded me of how important it is to know what to do when in need.

We are in a crisis !!! Millions are unemployed, and struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.  If that wasn't bad enough, it seems that all of the "can't live without" items are the most expensive.  It is amazing how much you have to pay for healthy foods, fruits and vegetables. 

Usually after finding out that your pregnant and the initial glee settles, your mind starts to race..."How am I going to pay for everything?" better yet, "How am I going to pay for all of those diapers?".  For many the solution is cloth diapers, for many more cloth isn't considered or feasible. What if you can't even afford to do that? what if you don't have a washer? then what? would you go to a laundrymat? laundrymats are pretty pricey in some places.

Some parents make the decision to leave their baby in a dirty diaper a little bit longer to stretch out their diaper supply. Heck, most disposable diapers claim to keep baby dry for up to 12 hours, what's a few more. I'm sure that some parents buy these diapers and plan on using 2 to 3 a day to make sure they have enough diapers until their next pay check.  Some parents find themselves forced to take part in risky practices; such as, leaving baby in the same diaper for hours, drying wet diapers with a hair dryer or scraping out soiled diapers and re-using them.

I believe that every parents wants the best for their child.  I know how it feels to see your disposable diaper pile get lower and lower and lower.  I am blessed to have stumbled upon modern cloth diapers and snatched up a few when I had the chance.  However, if I needed to diaper my child in the most inexpensive way possible, I would greatly appreciate any information and training I could get my hands on.

The Flats and Handwashing Challenge is just that, a challenge to moms and dads everywhere.  One week of diapering old school, using flat diapers and handwashing !!!!  The challenge will begin on the morning of May 23rd and end the evening of May 30th.  

This is going to be a radical difference for me, I have never even used prefolds. I can't believe how excited I am to do this.  It's funny, I keep thinking of how excited our grandmothers must have been to STOP having to use flats, and here i am excited to use them. I know that almost everyone reading this post must think that I have gone insane.  Maybe I have :-) who cares. 

I hope that by participating in this challenge, I can encourage others to do what is best for their baby.  Diapering your baby doesn't have to cost over $2,000 (The average cost of diapering one child frrom birth to potty training). All you need is a little determination and ingenuity.

At the end of the week I will definitely fill you in on how it went.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Guess What ???

I am in Puerto Rico !!!  I know I hadn't posted anything about leaving,,, it was a surprise. 
I am happy to be able to visit family and friends, I will be here for 2 months. 
We already miss Daddy :( but I know time will fly and we will be back in Spain in no time, so I am focusing on enjoying the company I have here, it's not everyday I get to spend time with the fam.

Hopefully in a few days Ivan will be totally on P.R. time,  I think I'm there already.
Our trip went great, I'll write some more about that in a future post.
I will try and keep up while I'm on vacation :)

Have a great Sunday !!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Guest Blogger

Hey everyone,,, just wanted to let you know that I had the opportunity to contribute the The Cloth Diaper Whisperer´s Blog.

Here is the link
http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/2011/05/cloth-diapering-in-very-small-studio.html

Hope you enjoy.

Thanks again Kelly´s Closet !!!