Cloth Diapering Week
Cloth diapering. Ah, the fear it strikes in the hearts of most of today's mothers as we recall the horror stories of our mothers and the pins and the folding and the rubber pants. Well, let me tell you sisters, cloth has come a long way baby and it ain't your momma's cloth diapers anymore!
In fact, it has come so far that it is even to the point of complicated! There're prefolds and covers and all-in-ones and fitteds and woolies and pockets and whoa whoa whoa, my head is spinning! This can all be a foreign language to the newbie trying to cloth for the first time. And if you aren't careful you can end up with quite the high initial investment.
It is a high initial investment if you are comparing it to the $15 average you drop for a box of plastics. But when you realize you are no longer dropping that $15 or so every week or several times a week even, it is quite worth it.
I am going to discuss cloth diapers every day this week. I will go into a little closer detail about the different cloth diapering options that are out there each day. The ones I use and have used and would like to use and what I have learned about them so far in less than 6 months of experimenting.
What about the extra laundry you say. Well, yeah, you gotta wash them. If you do not have a washer and dryer, you will be in for a bit of a hard time. There are diaper services available. This is only one way to locate one. But be careful and do the math because you can end up spending just as much for the service as you did on the disposables! And yeah sure the environment is being saved and all but really I am here to talk about saving cash! Still I'd like to think that if you are interested at all in going cloth and a service is your only option because of lack of washer and dryer, please take the benefits to the environment into consideration. It does feel good using cloth knowing that you are making less waste.
But if you do have a washer and dryer available to you you'd be surprised how little extra laundry you will be doing! I seriously do maybe 2 extra loads a week. And if you have a house or an availability to hang dry your dipes, you will even be saving the electricity and wear and tear on your dryer! I can't wait for the sun to come out here so I can hang dry. Not only does it save your dryer, the sun has this mystical ability to bleach out poopoo stains! I have used it to save several of my son's blowout clothes, which are all the result of times he was in a plastic btw!
I wash on hot and rinse cold twice. I do not soak, unless it has been several months and there is an odor, I do not recommend it. And then only soak in vinegar. I sometimes add vinegar to the first rinse cycle. I sometimes wash in only a sprinkle of baking soda or no soap at all. The thing that makes cloths less effective the fastest is a build up of soap, so washing in no soap occasionally is a good idea. When I do use soap, I use one I made at home and I use less than a tablespoon for my whole load. Even if you're buying the most expensive on the market, it'll take a long time to go through it all. And of course use only unscented, like a Free and Clear type or something.
When you do start to shop for your cloths and I will say this again and again, shop on ebay. Cloth diapers often last through several children and for people who aren't having anymore they try to recoup some of their money on ebay. I have gotten several covers and been able to experiment with different types for pretty cheap thanks to ebay!
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A list of links to help get you started on some good clothing info! As the week progresses and I get into more specifics, I will link sites either again or new ones to buy or at least window shop and compare for the type I am covering.
This is The Diaperpin and it is a hub of places to learn about and purchase cloth diapers.
Katie's Kisses a great place to shop and get an idea about the prices and sizes of certain diapers before hitting ebay.
Another place like the last - Wildflower Diapers, I got my first batch here as a gift from my mom.
Here is a forum where clothing women can exchange and sell and buy diapers made by stay at home moms and it's also a good place to ask questions, Diaper Swappers.
