Flats and Vacation...The End

Sigh...


That's me taking a deep breath since the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is done. It was certainly enlightening. In the end, I washed 41 diapers. It does not sound like much but when you're wringing each of them multiple times, it does add up. Of course, the weather could not cooperate this week but as you saw, I made do and the laundry room did fine drying them over night.


Where do I go from here? Well, I've opted to switch out all my pocket diaper inserts and fold the flats into them. I like my microfiber inserts - they are super trim. However, they do hold some stink and I have noticed the natural fibers like cotton do not. Plus, the flats dry faster and absorb more. They are a bit more bulky but nothing too bothersome.


I did notice this challenge did motivate me to have our daughter practice elimination communication more frequently. I think I only counted 3 or 4 BMs in her diaper this week. She usually does 2-4 per day so that's actually about 75% to 80%. We're doing good. I think she enjoys the story time on the potty. Lately she's been signing to go potty but I think it's because she wants to have one-on-one reading time because she knows Brother is not allowed in the bathroom with us. (Don't worry, he gets his morning privacy and reading time, too.)


What did this challenge demonstrate to me? Well, cloth diapering on a very tight budget is possible. It is possible to cloth diaper a baby from birth to potty training for less than $150. This would buy flats, covers, and soap with some extra for water and power usage expenses.


Something I thought of while I was writing this posting was, the old proverb, 

"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown 

Let me change this up a bit : 

Give a family a box of disposable diapers, and they can diaper their baby for a few days. Give them a box of cloth diapers and covers, and they can diaper their baby for its lifetime.  


I think this was the key point of the challenge from my perspective. It is possible to help low income families keep their babies dry and clean and it does not have to cost thousands of dollars and waste tons - literally - of resources. 


There you have it - my take on the flats challenge.


The vacation was lovely. For four days no cooking or cleaning for me. Bebe Sister and I pulled a couple of all-nighters as she is teething but T Rex Dad was wonderful about letting me sleep in and catch up on my rest. And I did finish one more small project during today's nap time. I'll be previewing this week.


In the mean time, a shout out to all our service men/women past and present. Thank you for the freedoms I enjoy. Even just being able to write my thoughts and opinions in this blog is something I do not take for granted. And thank you all for listening to my opinions and being supportive. Some of you are so wonderful to me - I know you don't use cloth diapers or even have an interest, yet, you support me. I cannot tell you how much this warms my heart. 

Now, I'm off to enjoy the last few precious moments of vacation time with T Rex Dad before tomorrow comes and he's back to work. Me? Well, I'm still out of school for the summer but I have a shower to scrub, strip, and reseal as well as some items to drop at the consignment store. Plus, T Rex and I have our dental appointments this week. We'll keep you posted.


If you've read my postings this past week on the Flats and Handwashing Challenge - what do you think?  What do you think of my quote from above - "Give a box of cloth diapers..."? Would it work? Why or why not?