As I was wrapping up the challenge, hubbs said to me, “You are going to be brutally honest, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you are going to tell them that this sucks, right?” [pardon the harsh language!]
“Yes. Yes I will.”
So there ya have it. Last week felt like an ETERNITY. It gave me such a great appreciation for the people out there who have to do this. But, I also felt like it was an amazing learning experience. I feel like I am so much more knowledgeable about cloth diapering on a budget. I even contacted a local Community Service organization to offer my services for teaching about cloth diapering (and to see if anyone is in need of a flat donation)—haven’t heard back yet….bummer.
I am going to put a summary here of the things I have learned through this whole experience. I gotta say, some good stuff came out of this. I am now using FLATS FOR NIGHTTIME! You got that right. I use the diaper bag fold with a pad fold inside of it for leak-free nights. Fitteds were working for me (as well as a Ragababe with an insert laid over top OR a bumgenius 4.0 with a Superdo stuffed inside), but I found that flats didn’t trap the stink in (Hubbs, who is on NIGHT duty, still puts on the Ragababes and Bungeniuses, but I use a flat whenever I get the chance).
So, without further to do, here is my summary of things I learned:
* Diaper Bag fold = LOVE
* Use rubber gloves when wringing diapers dry
* Put plunger into tub at an angle to get diapers moving around
* Connect covers to one another and hang on shower rod
* Pad folding another flat into diaper bag fold made it stand up during night time.
* Make sure diapers can really spread apart when drying
* Padfold works well for little baby, but diaper bag fold works better for older baby
* Have a stash basket so you can easily transport diapers between rooms
* I should probably have a bigger stash if I were to do this full time. I LOVE this post from Milk Bubbles Blog about someone doing all of this for free. If I did this full time I would probably use some of her great tips like using sheets! It would at least be nice to have a few backups for instances like this where stuff isn’t dried in time. OK and I will confess, my back is KILLING ME from wringing out diapers for (what felt like) an hour tonight. I would love to just do this every other day!
* Step on diapers to dry
* Ask for advice
* Enjoy your kids, no matter how many diapers are damp
* Turn the flats upside down when drying (so unpin it and take that which is hanging from the bottom and pin that part)
* Don’t overflow the sink you are washing them in
* Be simple: Rubber gloves, detergent, laundry sink (or a tub), drying rack
* I really think people need a 3 day supply in order to maintain sanity. It is still NOT THAT MUCH MONEY and yet washing doesn’t have to be every day and there is no rush with the drying.
* Plastic bags really do work, in a pinch
* Rockin’ Green works GREAT to wash these. I was amazed by how different the water looked from the first rinse to the last. Like night and day! I like how easily the stuff dissolves. I don’t have to get out clumps of detergent or anything.
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