It has been raining quite a bit here lately which means my journey into the backyard entails a slosh through a mudbog. Something I'm trying to avoid at all costs.
Even so, LBG has 4 dipes that are desperately in need of Mother Earth's stain removal services. Since I wasn't about to give myself a mudbath just to lay them out on the platform above our slide, I had to deploy plan Expose-LBG's-Skidmarks-to-the-World. I pulled my bright yellow porch table out into the driveway and percariously arranged the dipes so the sun would hit the stains.
I had hoped LBG and I could sit outside and play in the sun for a little while, but it was a bit chilly and he's outgrown most of his warmer clothing, so we played inside with all the blinds pulled up and the front door open (the storm door was closed.) We all know time flies when you are having fun- and raising a child- so I have no idea how long they were out there, but it was long enough for me to get my sweet little boy down for a nap and fold up a few items of laundry.
I walked outside to check on the status of the stains. I was very much focused on my final destination and when I got there I almost had a heart attack! Someone ran off with two of my diapers!!!!!!!! I find it really hard to believe that someone on my street in the middle of a small town in the mid-south would actually be interested in fluffing their kid's bum. I only know of 4 people cloth diapering people in my area, a mommy friend, two mom's who sold me their stashes, and myself. It's a fair bet to say we are the only 4.
As I slowly come out of my state of shock and see the highschools, just got off the bus, come waltzing down the street- I look around and see on off to the far side of the front yard, mere inches from the street A DIAPER!!!! PHEW, not all is lost in the world. But where in the world is Wonderoo #2? I knew I should get those silly Wonderoos sold. They don't even enjoy living in LBG's diaper pail!
There she was-"she" becuase it's pink and really male babies wear pink diapers occasionally- slowly creeping her way into the neighbor's yard! Thankfully, not the one across the street. Just the one next door, who moved in less than a month ago, under the cover of darkness.
I'm pretty sure Neighbor saw the diaper nearing her property when she was getting her mail. I'm also pretty sure she is now giving me the major side-eye but I don't care becuase I love cloth diapers and I love sharing the love... in a very, very strange sort of way!
Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Our First CDing Water Bill
Today was the day we've been waiting for! Our very first water bill since LBG has starting living in cloth. I was expecting it to be at least 15 dollars more than our usual one. If it was $75 more, we might reconsider our choice of diapering method.
Keep in mind, in the month of January, The Father was away for 2 weeks. We also stripped two loads of diapers which each had at least 10 or so. Then, there was the very first load of diapers I ever prepped which was 5 wash and dry cycles. Not to mention, one load of diapers every other day.
The Father's trip doesn't really play into our water bill very much because he does shower at work most days. I just listed it because it was a change from the usual.
With all of our water usage our bill was....
Wait for it....
Wait for it....
$5 less than Decemeber!
I can't wait to see what our bill for February will be like since we are now in a routine and The Father will be home all but 3 days this month. Once our clothes line is installed and in use, I'll be just as excited to see our electric bill!
Keep in mind, in the month of January, The Father was away for 2 weeks. We also stripped two loads of diapers which each had at least 10 or so. Then, there was the very first load of diapers I ever prepped which was 5 wash and dry cycles. Not to mention, one load of diapers every other day.
The Father's trip doesn't really play into our water bill very much because he does shower at work most days. I just listed it because it was a change from the usual.
With all of our water usage our bill was....
Wait for it....
Wait for it....
$5 less than Decemeber!
I can't wait to see what our bill for February will be like since we are now in a routine and The Father will be home all but 3 days this month. Once our clothes line is installed and in use, I'll be just as excited to see our electric bill!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
It's Nine O'clock on a Saturday...
and the regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man sittin' next to me, wonderin' when I'll put the laundry in!
Ok, The Father isn't old... and he doesn't exactly care when and how the laundry gets done. I love Billy Joel so I needed to sing my version of Piano Man.
I had a bit of a realization this afternoon while hanging LBG's diapers up to dry on the drying rack in the kitchen. With out exactly trying, I've been adding some humidity to the kitchen area!
Just a random thought. Now it's time for this Mama to go to bed!
Ok, The Father isn't old... and he doesn't exactly care when and how the laundry gets done. I love Billy Joel so I needed to sing my version of Piano Man.
I had a bit of a realization this afternoon while hanging LBG's diapers up to dry on the drying rack in the kitchen. With out exactly trying, I've been adding some humidity to the kitchen area!
Just a random thought. Now it's time for this Mama to go to bed!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
...and you thought stripping was fun!
Today I met with a lady from Craigslist who was selling her cloth diapers. I won't get into all the crazy deets, but long story short:
I went thinking I'd spend $70 and walk away with 4 or so diapers and her Snappis. Yeah after a bit of haggling, I bought her ENTIRE... yes, you hear me right, ENTIRE stash of diapers. I have some Chinese prefolds, some Bum Genius All in Ones, a few Imse Vimse covers, a couple of Bumkins, Wonderoos, a million doublers, some adorable Work at Home Mom diapers, and 2 snappis. Included are 2 diapers with My Little Pony on them. We don't discriminate (we have a pink bottle, too) and the price was right! I think I walked away with 75 items!!!
::stops and catches breath::
All for the amazing $100! The Father and I'd estimated that we'd have to spend $800 on CDs to have enough to last LBGs entire diapering career. I think we may have enough to last us the entire time with our bare bones stash.
Yes, disposables will still be in the drawer for long outings during the day, nighttime, and road trips. They will also be the backups for those times that I just can't get the laundry done.
On to the "fun" project of stripping all the diapers. Stripping is a process in which you remove all the nasty buildup and stink from dingy diapers. You add boiling water to your hot water wash cycle with just a dab of Dawn. Then you do a rinse cycle. Another wash with something amazing called RLR (go buy some now... it's the bee's knees!) and then rinse and rinse and rinse until the water is clear.
Easy.
Yeah, no. 24 rinse cycles later... the inserts, doublers, and prefolds are complete. Now I have to do all the covers, AIOs, Pockets, and WAHMs!!!! Let's hope this isn't the same number. I can see my water bill climbing by the rinse.
I went thinking I'd spend $70 and walk away with 4 or so diapers and her Snappis. Yeah after a bit of haggling, I bought her ENTIRE... yes, you hear me right, ENTIRE stash of diapers. I have some Chinese prefolds, some Bum Genius All in Ones, a few Imse Vimse covers, a couple of Bumkins, Wonderoos, a million doublers, some adorable Work at Home Mom diapers, and 2 snappis. Included are 2 diapers with My Little Pony on them. We don't discriminate (we have a pink bottle, too) and the price was right! I think I walked away with 75 items!!!
::stops and catches breath::
All for the amazing $100! The Father and I'd estimated that we'd have to spend $800 on CDs to have enough to last LBGs entire diapering career. I think we may have enough to last us the entire time with our bare bones stash.
Yes, disposables will still be in the drawer for long outings during the day, nighttime, and road trips. They will also be the backups for those times that I just can't get the laundry done.
On to the "fun" project of stripping all the diapers. Stripping is a process in which you remove all the nasty buildup and stink from dingy diapers. You add boiling water to your hot water wash cycle with just a dab of Dawn. Then you do a rinse cycle. Another wash with something amazing called RLR (go buy some now... it's the bee's knees!) and then rinse and rinse and rinse until the water is clear.
Easy.
Yeah, no. 24 rinse cycles later... the inserts, doublers, and prefolds are complete. Now I have to do all the covers, AIOs, Pockets, and WAHMs!!!! Let's hope this isn't the same number. I can see my water bill climbing by the rinse.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Grating We Will Go...
OK, go ahead and laugh. I love, love, love doing laundry! I could sort, wash, and dry all day long. Folding, on the other hand, not so much. A few weeks ago, I decided I'd had enough of my current laundry detergents. They don't have labels with the ingredients and I'm sure they are laced with a million chemicals. It can't be good for baby's delicate skin!
Being a new mom, of course I went out and bought a beautiful bottle of Dreft. After a few weeks of using it, I realized... it smells really strange! I'd been using Tide Coldwater for all of my clothing since it became available on the market. Hey, I was saving the cost of heating water... right?!
After few trips around the block... I mean blog, and I finally found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent that interested me. Be patient. I might share said recipe. That's when the insanity started!
I quickly ran out the door, hopped in the car, and made a dash for Target; on Black Friday, no less! I returned with a bar of Lavender Dr. Bronner's bar soap, a box-style cheese grater, and a beautiful box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda! I already had a box of Borax just waiting to be opened and a Sam's Club size box of Oxyclean.
As soon as I hopped out of the car. My incredible workout ensued. Never in my life would I have thought grating a measly bar of soap would be so hard-HA!
15 minutes later, a bloody knuckle and thumb, trembling right arm, and a kitchen smelling of lavender my bar of soap was officially a flake! I added the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of soap and whisked with the tiny amount of muscle power I had left. Into a Mason jar, the mix went!
All my sources said to use 2 Tablespoons per large load. I found this to be a bit much for our water and washer. For me, 1 Tbsp is sufficient. Just two loads of laundry and I was sold! I later ordered 6 bars of the Unscented- Baby Mild variety of Dr. B's soap, bought a gallon sized jar, and make myself a mega batch of unscented detergent. I've since started using the unscented detergent for everyone's clothing. I saved my lovely lavender batch for a special occasion!
Since you were so patient...
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda
1/2 Cup of Oxyclean
1 finely grated bar of Dr. Bronner's Magic Castille Soap
Did you know- White vinegar makes a wonderful fabric softener? Add 1/4 cup to your rinse cycle and you will be shocked! No, your clothing will not spell like vinegar after they come out of the dryer. I promise!
Below is my beautiful detergent and fabric softener!
Being a new mom, of course I went out and bought a beautiful bottle of Dreft. After a few weeks of using it, I realized... it smells really strange! I'd been using Tide Coldwater for all of my clothing since it became available on the market. Hey, I was saving the cost of heating water... right?!
After few trips around the block... I mean blog, and I finally found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent that interested me. Be patient. I might share said recipe. That's when the insanity started!
I quickly ran out the door, hopped in the car, and made a dash for Target; on Black Friday, no less! I returned with a bar of Lavender Dr. Bronner's bar soap, a box-style cheese grater, and a beautiful box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda! I already had a box of Borax just waiting to be opened and a Sam's Club size box of Oxyclean.
As soon as I hopped out of the car. My incredible workout ensued. Never in my life would I have thought grating a measly bar of soap would be so hard-HA!
15 minutes later, a bloody knuckle and thumb, trembling right arm, and a kitchen smelling of lavender my bar of soap was officially a flake! I added the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of soap and whisked with the tiny amount of muscle power I had left. Into a Mason jar, the mix went!
All my sources said to use 2 Tablespoons per large load. I found this to be a bit much for our water and washer. For me, 1 Tbsp is sufficient. Just two loads of laundry and I was sold! I later ordered 6 bars of the Unscented- Baby Mild variety of Dr. B's soap, bought a gallon sized jar, and make myself a mega batch of unscented detergent. I've since started using the unscented detergent for everyone's clothing. I saved my lovely lavender batch for a special occasion!
Since you were so patient...
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda
1/2 Cup of Oxyclean
1 finely grated bar of Dr. Bronner's Magic Castille Soap
Did you know- White vinegar makes a wonderful fabric softener? Add 1/4 cup to your rinse cycle and you will be shocked! No, your clothing will not spell like vinegar after they come out of the dryer. I promise!
Below is my beautiful detergent and fabric softener!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
