Flats Challenge: Days 3-7

Okay, so I realize I didn't post every day like I was supposed to, but I am attempting to correct my mistake. Last week was one of the busiest in my life! I babysat as usual, but just had a couple more kids than I normally do. So along with trying to keep up with three other kiddos (besides my own), I was attempting to keep up with hand washing my flats and covers. I must say, it was not easy. I tried to wait until the end of the day to wash, but then I would have to do two loads to handle all the diapers. So then I tried to wash during nap time, but none of the kids is on the same nap schedule, so that was a no-go. So I then tried to practice EC (elimination communication) with Evan. He is partly potty learned during the day, so this wasn't really a great deal more work. EC seemed to be the best possible route I could go having all the kids around the house. It was work in the sense that we spent A LOT of time in the bathroom, but I think it paid off. I ended up not having to use about half the number of diapers I normally would. So I call that a win.
Now on to the hand washing... Hmm... Well, it's not fun (at least for me). I know a lot of other parents doing the challenge found hand washing to be therapeutic in some way. I, however, did not! I am so thankful that I get to go back to my trusty washer! I like knowing that I could do it, though, if I had to. My diapers did get plenty clean and it did use quite a bit less water than a normal wash load, but I still wouldn't trade my washer in! It is just a major pain in the arms. But that being said, if I did have to do it full time, imagine how buff my arms would be!
Even with all the extra work and all my whining, I'm really glad I did the challenge. I like having this type of experience under my belt as an advocate, talking with many people that would be in this situation on a regular basis. Knowing that, if I had to, I could definitely make cloth diapering and hand washing a normal part of my routine. Having this experience will also come in handy if we decide to go camping for more than just a day or two, or take a vacation where there is no laundry facilities available.
I'm really happy that I finished and stuck with it the whole week. But I'm also really happy that it's over and I get to go back to my trusty pockets! I usually stuff them with flats though, just because they get clean faster and easier than thicker inserts.

Flats Challenge Day 2: Supples

I've pretty much done this post already, but some things have changed since the last one. I now have an "official" supply list. The items I'm using during the challenge are as follows (plus total cost for items):

*18 receiving blanket flats --- $3.00 (most were gifted, and the rest I got at a consignment sale on 1/2 price day)

*5 homemade fleece covers --- FREE! (we received the blankets I used to make them as gifts)

*5 gal. bucket --- $3.00

*Plunger --- $2.00

*Dawn dish soap --- $1.00 (found a bottle at an overstock store)

*Hand held shower (diaper sprayer) --- $5.00 (found at a yard sale)

So, as you can see, I decided against the salad spinner. It was still within my budget, but I felt it was not a diapering "necessity" as much as the other items. I also decided not to get the diaper pins. We mostly do the "pad fold" because it's pretty much all I have time for. Evan is so wiggly and hates having his diaper changed, so  I just place the folded flat in the cover and slap it on him. And my hubby doesn't mind helping with changes as long as he can just put it on him like an AI2 and not have to do any crazy folding or anything. So total spent on diapering supplies... DRUM ROLL PLEASE... $14!!!! I must say that I'm pretty happy with myself on this. My goal was to spend less than $20 and I rocked it.


Tomorrow: How I use flats

Flats Challenge Day 1: Why I am participating

Over the course of my two plus years cloth diapering, the question I have gotten most often has to be, "Isn't all that extra laundry hard?" My answer is always the same: "It's really no different than any other load of laundry."
But what about families that don't have regular access to laundry facilities, or those that have to pay per load to wash? How difficult would cloth diaper laundry be for them?
I am from a very rural area in southeast Tennessee. Over 50% of the population is on some kind of assistance or below the poverty line. I personally know quite a few families that struggle day to day to provide for their family's basic needs. It's very sad.
As a cloth diaper advocate partnering with my local birth center, the number one reason I give for cloth diapering is for cost savings over the diapering life of a child. And for many families, this would really help them make ends meet and not have to choose between diapering and feeding their child.
So one of the main reasons I decided to join the Flats Challenge this year is to be able to relate more to the people I advocate to. I want to be able to tell them that you can cloth diaper for little to no cost, using only found items (how I'm doing the challenge), and that hand washing really is doable with little ones running under foot and little time left in the day. I think it will really give me some perspective on what it's really like for some families.
I also want to prove to myself that I can do it. When I first starting using cloth diapers, my husband bet me that I would hate it and wouldn't last a month. You see who won that one! I genuinely love cloth diapering. But would I be willing to stick with it if it came down to me having to hand wash them? We shall see...
Another reason I want to do this is -- and it's kind of off the wall -- my husband is pretty into post-apocalyptic survival. We talk, quite often, about how we would react in different survival situations. We don't have a huge stock pile of food or crazy bomb shelter or anything, but we do have some pretty interesting conversations about what we'd do if life as we know it were to come to an end. That being said, learning to wash laundry, exclusively by hand, would come in very handy if we had no electricity to run a washer and dryer. I know, kind of crazy, but nonetheless, it's a real reason to me :).

Tomorrow: A rundown of my $15 stash. Really, a complete stash for $15!

The Flats Challenge: Day... Zero?

Okay, so technically, the flats challenge started last night/ this morning. But I had to go out of town for the day and didn't have all my supplies ready to go today for Evan's Granny to use. She keeps extra diapers (non-cloth :/ ) at her house, so she just used them today. But he's in a flat tonight and I'm ready to go for the rest of the week. I machine washed my last diapers this evening and so I'll be a day behind every one else taking part of the challenge. I am, however, taking this challenge to the next level (for me, anyway). I keep my 7-month old nephew at least two days a week and this week, I'll have him three. So along with my own two kids, I'll have another little one to tend to while trying to do my part in the challenge. We'll see how it goes... I'm excited/nervous/anxious to see how hard it's going to be to wash diapers by hand and tend to three kids (plus my hubby). Another great thing, they are calling for rain for a good chunk of the week, so my wonderful clothesline may sit empty :( and this will probably make it even harder when it comes to drying since my drying rack is big, but not THAT big. I may end up trying to wash as I go and see if that is more manageable. We'll just have to find out!
Last year, I really enjoyed reading all the blog posts surrounding the flats challenge. Even though I wasn't able to participate last year, it really was a great learning experience. If you feel inclined, head over to Dirty Diaper Laundry and you'll find a blogroll of all the bloggers participating.

Gearing Up for the Challenge

Yesterday marked three weeks until the official start of the Flats & Hand Washing Challenge. As it gets closer, I am getting more and more excited about going old school on the diapering front. And because I am trying to go as cheap as possible, it offers another aspect of the challenge.
As it stands right this moment, my stash is as follows:
* 18 -- receiving blankets. All but seven or eight were left over from Ian and Evan's newborn days and I received them as gifts. The rest, I purchased at a consignment event on half price day. Total cost = $3.00
* 4 -- Homemade fleece covers re-purposed from a of fleece blanket we received as wedding gifts (almost eight years ago). They are no longer suitable to use as blankets because they have gotten pretty tattered and thin from many washings. But I doubled them up and sewed them together and they have made excellent diaper covers. They don't look awesome or anything (because I am far from a grade-A seamstress), but they definitely do the job. I have another blanket that I have yet to cut and sew into covers, so when it's all said and done, I'm hoping to have 8-10 covers. Total cost = FREE!

One of the covers I made.

* 12-15 -- Fleece liners from blanket leftovers. Total cost = FREE!
* 4 -- Diaper pins. I'm going to kick it really old school on the fastening front. Not everyone has access to Snappis and other fasteners, but you can readily find diaper pins at any store. Total cost = $1
* 1-- 5-gallon bucket. I probably could have gotten one for free, but I wasn't sure where to find one, so I broke down and just bought one. Total cost = $3.50 (including lid)
* 1 -- Plunger. I haven't actually bought it yet, but I'm assuming I can find one for less than $5.00. At least, that's the budget I'm giving myself. I have a trip to make to the Goodwill this week, so maybe I'll get lucky.
* 1 -- Travel wetbag. I got it at a seconds sale and it will hold 3-5 diapers. Total cost = $3.00

So, to sum up the total I've spent for the flats challenge... $10.50 - $15.50 (depending on how cheap I can find a plunger).

I'll have to see how the handwashing goes, but I'm going to safely say you can definitely diaper for less than $20!

Diapering on a Dime

For some, cloth diapering is not a choice, but a necessity. Last year, there was a call to action after an article surfaced about low-income families reusing disposable diapers. It broke many hearts, including mine. Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry challenged the cloth diapering community to only use flats and covers and only hand wash them for a week, to simulate what things can be like for some families. For reasons I can no longer remember, I did not get to participate (but wanted to badly). I did, however, devour all the blog posts surrounding the challenge. I think it opened many eyes to the hardships some families face when raising babies. This year, I fully intend on partaking in the challenge. I'm gearing up, and I just bought my 5-gallon bucket to use as a camp-style washer. But I am trying to take the challenge to another level and will attempt to "diaper on a dime" using as many "found" items as possible. I will see how cheaply one could really get away with being when it comes to diapering.
Using flats doesn't intimidate me, I got into using them after the challenge last year. And now, I love them and use them everyday. The hand washing, however, does. I am a bit nervous about that part. But having seen the challenge last year, I learned a lot by reading the trials and errors of other bloggers. So I think I can handle it. But I will be updating throughout the week of the challenge and letting you all know how it's going. Right now, I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row to be ready. If you're up to it, feel free to jump into the challenge yourself. The challenge runs from May 21-27.