We're Down to a System!

Who would have thought that in just two weeks (one week for The Father,) we'd have our diaper routine down pat?!

First I should speak about our preferences.  I love, love, love prefolds.  Please don't ask me why, because I have no idea.  The Father likes pockets, AIOs, and fitteds.  I try to save the AIOs and pockets for use when we are out of the house.  When we are out and about for the whole day, disposables are used.  I don't have a wet bag nor do I have a diaper bag large enough to carry bottles, formula, a change of clothing or two, 2 pacifiers, a toy or two, my wallet and cell phone, etc... along with 5 fairly bulky diapers.  Ain't gunna happen!  We also use disposables at night because they last a bit longer and the last thing we want while bleary eyed at 2am is to change a diaper.

So here's how it works.  When LBG wakes up for the day, I strap a prefold on him with a snappi along with a cover.  When it's time to change, that prefold goes into our trusty Ace Hardware bucket and the cover is laid out to dry (usually they aren't wet at all!)  We then use a second cover and will continue to rotate covers for the entire day.  Lather, rinse, repeat!

When The Father returns from work and offers to do a diaper change, he usually goes for his favorites.  I have no issue with this because he is using cloth and that's all that matters! 

As bedtime rolls around, the disposable diaper goes on and the rest of the cloth diapers go to bed for the evening.  The two covers are placed in the pail so two fresh ones can be used for the next day.  Very rarely do we end up using three covers a day, but occassionally it happens. 

I do diaper laundry every other day.  I could probably go an extra day, but choose not to.  The process is super simple!  Everything is dumped into the washer and given a quick rinse with cold water.  Then I run a regular wash and rinse cycle *hot/cold* with my cloth diaper detergent- recipe below.  Finally, I add a 1/4 cup of vinegar as a softener and give everything one more quick rinse, just in case.

During the warm month, drying will be a bit more fun.  I'll be able to hang everything outside!  For now, prefolds, inserts, and liners go in the dryer for a little while to get the bulk of the water out.  All covers, pockets, and AIOs go straight to our little drying rack.  Once the dryer finishes, I add the mostly damp contents to the drying rack!

Morning rolls around and we start the cycle over again!  I find a few minutes to stuff the pockets and put away all the cloth.  I want to ensure that everything LBG fits is used so I have a system of stacks.  All the clean items go to the bottom.  That way everything gets used!

Ok, breathe!  Did you get all that?  Don't worry, neither does The Father.  It's ok, we have a mutual agreement that I'm the only one allowed to use our washing machine! 

So here is my cloth diaper detergent recipe!  I also use it for my towels!

1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Oxyclean

Does this remind you of anything??  Hmmmm?  It's just like regular laundry detergent minus the soap!  Soap can cause build up and then I'd be stuck doing that grueling stripping process all over again!  I'm considering add some regular baking soda to the mix but I'm not sure.  I haven't had any stink issues as of yet, but if I do, I'm sure some baking soda will help!