By: Jessica Dunn
Today is one of two open topic days for bloggers in the Flats
and Handwashing Challenge. I decided that I’d let you know how things were
going so far and give you some how to advice about camp style washers and cloth
wipes. Tomorrow’s topic is laundry so I’ll give you step by step instructions
for how I’m washing by hand and I will have a picture tutorial as well.
So far the challenge is actually easier than I thought it
would be. I had a drastic fear of flats before starting the challenge. I used
them briefly when Emma was newborn, but they quickly became blankets, burp rags
and nursing covers instead of diapers. We just fell in love with other newborn
diapers and stopped using the flats. My husband didn’t like them because they
took more time. He’s a fan of “one pieces.” Basically, if it requires a cover,
snappi or boingo he’d rather pass.
I thought this would make doing the challenge difficult, but
I quickly discovered that pad folding the diapers and placing them in the
covers worked just as well as the other folds that we tried, so I pre-fold the
diapers and have them ready so my husband just has to place them in the cover. This
is working out really well for us. I have our flats challenge stash set up on
our coffee table since we do most of our diaper changes in the living room. As
long as everything is ready for him, my husband is fully supportive of using
cloth.
So far I’m not noticing a difference in absorbency between
the Osocozy
flats and the flour sack towels. I haven’t used a receiving blanket as a diaper
yet. I have been using them as doublers. Nighttime wasn’t nearly as scary as I
thought it was going to be. I have had success using two different options: a
triple stuffed pocket diaper shell (1 osocozy
flat and 2 receiving blankets) and 2 osocozy
flats that are placed on top of each other and then folded using the Gaynor fold for girls and
fastened with boingos,
with a pad folded receiving blanket as a doubler and a Bunny’s Fluffy Bum fleece
soaker. These both worked for 10 hours. Emma still nurses once or twice at
night, but we don’t change her diaper during the night unless we have a leak.
Here’s a picture of our naptime diaper. It’s a pad folded Osocozy
flat with a pad folded receiving blanket in a Kawaii one size cover.
Pad folded and ready
Osocozy flat on top
Trim enough to stay mobile
How to make wipe
solution:
We converted to cloth wipes a couple months ago, so we
already have a wipe system that works for us. Although we do still use
disposable wipes when we travel just for the convenience. I made my own wipes
by buying flannel when it was on sale at the fabric store. I cut the fabric
into 8x8 squares and zig zag stitched the edges. I don’t have a serger;
otherwise, I would have done that. The edges don’t have to be finished, so if
you don’t have a sewing machine, you can just cut the fabric and use it. We have used two different products when making
wipe solution, CJ’s
Butter Carcass Cleanser and Crow
Mountain Crafts Wipes Cubes. Both
products work well for us.
When making the solution using the wipes
cubes, you heat water until it boils and then add one cube and let it melt,
voila your solution is made. I use this method when I am putting the solution
in a spray bottle for the diaper bag or when we are traveling.
When I am making solution to use at home, I prefer to use Carcass
Cleanser. I use an old disposable wipes bucket. I place a small amount of
hot water in the bottom of the bucket and add two small squirts of Carcass
Cleanser, then I lightly dampen the wipes with hot water, add two squirts
of Carcass
Cleanser and then add more hot water, close the lid of the wipes bucket and
shake. Presto! You’re wipes are ready.
If you don’t want to make your own wipes, there are a lot of
commercially available wipes and you can find a lot of wipes on Etsy. I’ve
tried a variety of wipes and I really like Thirsties
Fab Wipes because they are 2-ply. I have a few on hand for when Emma is
sick or is on medication because they help with messy clean ups and diarrhea.
How to make a camp
style washer
This sounds scary, but it’s actually really easy. You need
three things: bucket, lid and plunger. You drill a hole in the lid so the
handle of the bucket can fit through it. Presto! You have a camp style washer.
Some people prefer to drill a couple of holes in the plunger to help with
agitation and water flow, but I’m doing just fine with a normal plunger.
My husband made the washer for me and it took him less than
10 minutes. I’m pretty sure half that time was finding the drill out in the
garage.
Here are a few pictures of our experience so far:
Flour sack towel Bambino Mio Cover
Hanging
out in the dog bed
Laundry drying in the sun
Necklace thief
Washing
laundry
Morning nap on
mama Two Osocozy flats
About the author: My
name is Jessica and I am the author of Parenting and Living Our Way
blog. I am a busy stay at home mom to a 9 month old daughter who has recently
learned how to crawl and is keeping me on my toes. I was invited by Kissed by the Moon to be
their guest blogger for the week documenting my experience. I am so excited about this opportunity and
look forward to sharing my experience with you. If you’d like to read more
about me, my family and our life, you can read our blog Parenting and Living Our Way. We
can also be found on facebook.
I am posting throughout the day on facebook
and twitter about how our
day is going, so you can follow along.
About the challenge: I'm
participating in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.
This event aims to bring awareness to the challenges that low income
families face when trying to diaper their children. There are not publicly
funded programs that supply diapers to families in need. Using cloth diapers
and handwashing is an affordable way to families to diaper their children.
Flats are the most inexpensive of commercially available cloth diapers;
receiving blankets, flour sack towels, cut sheets, and t-shirts can also be
used as flats making these diapers available to all families.
Don't forget to RSVP and attend Kissed by the Moon's May Moon Moms Night In. This Friday May 24th at 5pm PST/8pm EST here.
No comments:
Post a Comment