Flats and Handwashing Challenge Series: Why I am doing it - My Profile

[This is the first installment of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge series. For a full list of posts associated with this series, please click here]

“So…um WHY are you doing Flats and Handwashing Challenge?” my Mom asked, once again giving me that look of ‘Why do you always try to give yourself more work?’

“Because, there is a recent article out about how some people are re-using disposables and delaying changing their babies’ diapers because they can’t afford the diapers. Doing this challenge could help show people that cloth diapering is an affordable alternative. One of the concerns people have with cloth diapering is that many people who have a lower income may not have a washer and dryer. So this shows them another option.”
“And you actually think that by you doing this challenge that you can help?”
In that moment, I lied: “Yes.”
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In that moment, when she hit me on the spot with that question, I had no idea what I was getting into. Here I am, this “little” blog compared to the whole world out there. Who on earth would want to look and see what I was doing?

I have thought about this for weeks now, wondering what I could do to help people. Even as I type this, I am pausing constantly, re-evaluating why I am doing this…making darn-tooting sure that I approach this with the right approach, an approach most effective for doing this. How I am I going to dive into this with the most effective way to reach and HELP people. This isn’t about publicity. This isn’t about me on my cloth diapering soapbox. This is just me, seeing one way I can help.

There are quite a few awesome bloggers doing this challenge. For a full list, go here. So you have access to MANY accounts of this challenge; therefore, I was trying to think of ways that I am contributing to this wonderful community of people hoping to make a difference. I tried to think of ways that I may differ from others and I hope to reflect my experience doing this challenges based on those features. So…without further to do, here is my Cloth Diaper profile:

* Mother of TWO in diapers: Yup, that’s right. I have a 3-month old and a 21-month old. My 3-month old goes through A LOT of diapers (he is well over 12 a day). He is a super wetter and HATES being in a wet diaper. My 21-month old is a heavy wetter who has given us many middle-of-the-night sheet changes until we found our “perfect” diaper combination. So I am interested to see how she works with flats. So what does this mean for you? Well, by me doing this challenge, you can see that this is feasible with doing A LOT of diapers. Trust me, I go through a BUNCH of diapers a day (and you bet your fluffy bottoms I am so grateful that I am not forking over $$$$ every time I use a disposable).

* Full Time Graduate Student: Right now I am a full-time graduate student in Education. I go on campus one day a week and on another day my kids are staying with my Grandparents while I am in dissertation writing overdrive in their basement. When I am at home with my kids the other 5-days a week, I am juggling feeding a little one (which feels like it never ends!), writing my dissertation, studying, working as a graduate student researcher, writing this blog, providing my toddler with fun and educational activities, keeping up the house, and the list goes on. My time is definitely pressed so cloth diapering can’t consume my time. So I am looking to see how cloth diapering can be FAST (I am hoping the fast-drying time of flats will help with this).

* In Debt. Ick I hate admitting it. But with two of us in our house (my husband and I) in graduate school, we have a lovely mountain of debt looming over our head. So I look to be frugal (I’ll confess, I often fail). At the moment, I get most of my diapers for reviews form companies (of which I disclose in my reviews) OR I buy it using Swagbucks or money you guys help provide me with by using my Amazon affiliate link (thanks SO much). So I am not looking to spend much. Lately I have been irritated over the thought of how much my washing machine costs to run, so I am very excited to make my own “washing machine.”

Please join with me in this challenge. Try it yourself. Or provide your helpful tips. All of us have most likely been touched by tough financial times, so let’s band together and explore a great, inexpensive way to care for our babies’ needs.

I will be documenting my every move with this challenge and I HOPE you will provide feedback on what you see. Often times bloggers don’t know the impact they are having on people. So please, so that I have something to report back to my Mom to assure her my time is not wasted, let me know if something impressed you. Let me know how YOU have impressed OTHERS. Let’s make this a wonderful opportunity to help one another out.


Update: Here are the posts for this challenge - 

Day 1 (washing diaper tricks)
Day 2 (Drying lessons learned)
Day 3 (almost caving in)
Day 4 (WincoBUNZ!)
Day 5 (No news is good news)

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