I love talking to people about cloth diapers. But I hesitate when people respond to my passion and enthusiasm with things like “Oh but you have to wash them. and the poop.” “Oh but there is so much laundry…” “Oh but they are too much work!” As RDA volunteers and cloth diapering advocates, how do we respond to reactions like this?

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Usually I say something like “They’re easy to wash – just throw them in the washing machine.” or “It’s really not that much work.” But these answers aren’t telling anything useful or informative. This answer assumes that the person already understands the full range of modern cloth diapering options. Below I have constructed 3 simple statements and corresponding scenarios that you can summarize in your own words and experience for a truly honest and straightforward, simple yet informative, answer to any variety of the reaction “Cloth diapers are so much work.”

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1. “There really is not much difference between how you change a disposable diaper, and how you change a cloth diaper.”
Scenario A: Your baby is wearing a disposable diaper. He pees and you change him. You throw the diaper in the garbage and put a new one on.
Scenario B: Your baby is wearing a cloth diaper. He pees and you change him. You throw the diaper into a wetbag/pail and put a new one on.

*The only word I changed was from “garbage” to “wetbag.” Not so different!

2. “‘Dealing with poop’ is not that gross.”
Scenario A: Your baby is wearing a disposable diaper. He poops and you change him. You dump the poop into the toilet (as advised on package) and throw the diaper away. Or if not solid you throw the diaper away.
Scenario B: Your baby is wearing a cloth diaper. He poops and you change him. You dump the poop, or if not solid you take 30 seconds to spray the poop off, into the toilet, and throw the diaper into your diaper pail/wetbag.

*The only difference here is that in the case of cloth diapers, you want to remove the poop. In either case, you are ‘dealing with poop’ because you do have to get the poopy diaper off and wipe the baby clean! The extra step of poo disposal really only takes a minute or less, and after doing it a few times, becomes routine and like second nature. It doesn’t feel like work, just part of changing.

3. “It is not ‘a lot of work’ to launder cloth diapers.”
Scenario A: Your baby is wearing disposable diapers. After 3 days your diaper pail is full and you throw away the full bag of dirty diapers. Then go out and buy more diapers.
Scenario B: Your baby is wearing cloth diapers. After 3 days your diaper pail is full and you throw them into your washing machine. Set your machine to rinse, wash, rinse. Scoop in a spoonful of detergent. After drying, you have a basketful of nice clean diapers for your baby to wear again!

*On the surface, washing dirty diapers seems a bit of a chore compared to tying up a bag of them, bringing the bag outside, then getting more. But realistically when you compare the two it does not actually take up that many more minutes of time!

Most people are not sitting on their hands and knees at the bathtub scrubbing. We are just turning a few buttons and then transferring to a dryer, then to a laundry basket. Then even if I wanted to carefully sort my diapers into their drawer I would only spend another 5 minutes (to lie inserts flat and stack them, snap up covers neatly in a pile). I would personally estimate the amount of time it takes me to do a load of diaper laundry at no more than 15 minutes total. Not very labor intensive and not taking up a whole lot extra of my time.

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So next time someone says to you, “Oh cloth diapers… but they are just so much work!” you can say “Really? I cloth diaper and I think it’s just so easy!” and then you can go on to tell them just exactly why.

- Stacy Mojica, Low Country Real Diaper Circle Leader

In a meeting of strategic partners of the Reuse Alliance, I made contact with one of the consultants working on the Zero Waste plan for Oceanside, a city just north of San Diego.  When a community attempts to reduce their waste through recycling and composting initiatives, there is a residual waste component that still remains – a large portion of which (15-20%) ends up being single-use plastic diapers.  Therefore, this consultant asked me to submit recommendations for the types of cloth diaper programs Oceanside could adopt to reach closer to their zero waste goals.

This being a new area for me, I did a lot of research on existing zero waste plans, focusing on the types of programs that best support the use of reusables in place of single-use alternatives.  The recommendations I submitted include cloth diaper educational programs, financial incentives for families to use cloth diapers, support for institutional (hospitals, daycares, elder care homes) cloth diaper use, cloth diaper business support, and increased access to diaper laundering facilities (laundromats, hotel machines).  (If you’re interested in the details: oceanside zero waste diaper recommendations.)

I’ve been told that solid waste managers need to periodically update their plans.  If we provide recommendations to these managers as to programs that can reduce diaper waste in their municipalities, they just might adopt them.  Want to see a cloth diaper subsidy locally?  Ask for it!  Join the Diaper Aid Hub Facebook conversation and share your experiences with others advocating for similar incentives.

Heather McNamara

Executive Director, Real Diaper Association

This is a guest post written by Janice of MommaWords. Janice is a mother of toddler twins, registered nurse, and accredited cloth diaper circle leader in Newbury Park, CA.

Once you accumulate your cloth diaper stash you might wonder “How do I store theses diapers?” One option might be to keep them in the laundry basket you dumped them into when you took them out of the dryer or off the line (for those of you who line dry)! Don’t think that I haven’t done this myself, because there are those days when I just don’t have time to sit and fold my diapers in to the beautiful masterpiece they can be. Somedays, we are running out the door and I grab a couple diapers straight from the dryer! This can be the quickest storage method but might not be the most effective. If you find yourself doing this frequently you might also find yourself realizing a little too late that it is, indeed, time to wash.

Cloth diaper storage caddy option

So, what are the other options? Well they have those diaper caddies that hang off the side of your changing table. This might be a great option for the infant stage when you may use your changing table more often than not. We used a diaper caddy for quite some time. After folding diaper laundry, I would split my stash up and take some upstairs and leave the rest downstairs. We used the diaper caddy upstairs and we used our pack ‘n play (with the bassinet insert in it and changing table attachment on) to store the diapers downstairs. This might seem overkill to you, but we have twins and therefore have quite a stash so that we can wash every other day. We have mostly all in one diapers and all in two diapers and, while it’s not a lot of work, they do require some assembly before using. I prefer to put them all together when I pull them out of the dryer so that they are ready to use. I would snap all my inserts in or together and fold them closed. Then I would line them up in the pack ‘n play or diaper caddy.

When the twins got older they started pulling everything out of the pack ‘n play so we had to find another way to store diapers and wipes. We started using a bed. One bed is quite close to a closet and I found a wonderful hanging sweater wrack on sale. (They have them all over the place. They snap on to the hanging bar in your closet.) I got a very inexpensive one that didn’t have cardboard to hold the squares’ shape but it worked out just fine. See below.

Cloth diaper storage basket option

The top drawer of your changing table works just great as an easy access diaper stash depository as well. This is for those of you who want to hide away diapers and accessories or keep them from being “refolded” by your little toddlers helping hands…

I also found it was quite nice to set a couple/few baskets on the bed (this way it was easy to move the entire stash off the bed). You can line the baskets with a receiving blanket if you like for added cuteness. This was very handy. I could separate nap/night time diapers from the rest (for easy use for daddy or grandma) and have a place for things like coconut oil, other diaper rash barrier products, cloth wipes and diaper area wash, all in one convenient spot! I have pre-stuffed diapers, extra inserts, and fleece liners together and ready to use. It winds up looking pretty colorful and neat when you take a new mom in to check out what cloth diapering is all about!

What is your favorite way to store your stash? I’d love to hear a comment below!

Transitioning to Cloth, One Diaper at a Time

A friend of mine just had her third baby.  She watched me cloth diaper my children and is entertaining the idea of using them on her third child.  However, it can be pricey and their budget is already stretched pretty tight.

Another friend has a daughter who is already 18 months old.  She just learned about modern cloth diapering but is wondering if it is even worth trying since her daughter will hopefully be potty trained in the next year.

Perhaps the idea of cloth diapers intrigues you, but you can’t fathom spending hundreds of dollars to buy a system that may or may not work for you.  Cloth diapering doesn’t have to be an all or nothing commitment.  You can dive right in with a stash of fluff all ready and set to go when the baby is born or you can ease into it one diaper at a time.

Some people ease into the cloth diaper world because they simply cannot afford to buy all the diapers and accessories at once.  Others start cloth diapering slowly just to test it out and see how it works for their family.

What do you need to get started?

Most cloth diaper mommas have a stash of between 12-24 diapers.  They might have a couple of hemp inserts for nighttime diapers, a pail liner to hold dirty diapers at home, a wetbag to travel with dirty diapers, a couple dozen cloth wipes and maybe a special detergent.  However, all you need to get started is one cloth diaper.

How to build your stash

Every cloth diaper momma is at a different place in life with her children, family and finances.  Here are some ideas for how to collect cloth diapers:

• Buy one diaper a month.  You pick the time frame, maybe you can buy one every three weeks.
• Buy gently used cloth diapers.  I recently found some extra diapers and inserts at our local children’s consignment shop!  I have bought others from families on Craig’s List.  Some great websites to check out are: the Cloth Diaper Trader, Diaper Swappers and Padded Tush Stats.
• Try inexpensive cloth diapers. Prefolds can always double as burp cloths or rags later.  (Buy DSQ – Diaper Service Quality – prefolds for best absorbency).  A dozen prefolds and a few covers can be had for less than $50.
• Be on the lookout for diaper giveaways from manufacturers or local stores.  If it means I have a chance to win a free diaper, I’ll give my email address to anybody! (Well, maybe not anybody.)
• Watch for great sales incentives.  I recently went online to buy another diaper and some detergent samples and found one site giving away a free diaper with a purchase of $29 or more.  I was so excited to get a free diaper just for choosing to buy from them instead of another store!
• Look into receiving donations of cloth diapers from organizations such as the Cloth Cooperative. They provide cloth diapers to families in need to help start or supplement their diaper stash.  (More organizations that do similar work are listed on the Diaper Aid Hub Facebook page.)
• Ask for cloth diapers for a birthday gift, shower gift or even for Christmas!

Laundering a Small Stash

Most companies recommend that you not wash more than 8-10 diapers at a time to ensure that the diapers come out clean.  So, what do you do if you only have 1 diaper to wash?

Handwashing is always a great way to clean a small stash of cloth diapers.  Amy, the owner of Zany Zebra Designs, posted a great article on handwashing cloth diapers and provided detailed instructions as well as helpful tips.

Does the idea of handwashing not sit well with you?  Then wash them in the washing machine but on a smaller load setting.  However – be careful with this – you want to be sure there is enough water to clean the diapers well (often triggered by the weight of the load) and enough material in there so the diapers have something to rub against to get them clean.  You could add some towels to the load to fill it up.

Every Little Bit Helps

Regardless of whether you jump in with both feet or you just stick a toe in to test the water, using cloth diapers is worth it.  Each disposable diaper not thrown into a landfill makes a difference.  A quarter saved in your piggy bank for every time you use a cloth diaper adds up to a lot of money – - to buy more diapers or ??? (can you come up with a way to spend some extra money???).

Kate, RDA Volunteer, Cloth Diaper Momma

- Veronica Rathbun, RDA Volunteer, Owner of Diaper Momma Cloth Diaper Service of Dayton, OH

This is a cross post from www.themahars.com. Sarah is an RDA Volunteer, and she blogs about cloth diapering, family, natural parenting, baby wearing and life in general. She lives in Washington (the state) with her husband Joshua and their children Ainsley (3.5) & Liam (15 months). They are expecting a new baby to cloth diaper in August.

Most of you probably know that we are huge cloth diapering advocates. There are a zillion reasons for this, but I will be talking more about that in future posts. Today, I am simply in awe of cloth wipes.

When we started cloth diapering Ainsley, I didn’t even know that cloth wipes existed. In fact, I have only used them on her once or twice. I heard about them when I was pregnant with Liam. I was intrigued by the idea, and yet admittedly a tiny bit grossed out. Reusing the thing you wipe poop with?!? (It’s not really that gross, by the way. You DO wash them!) Then there was the question of how does one use them anyway. I read. And I read. And I read some more.

I realized that using cloth wipes didn’t have to be hard, I just had to be willing to try. At first I used a spray solution to clean Liam’s bum, but this kid is so sensitive that even that stuff made him red. So now, I just get our handy cloth wipes good and wet & wipe away!

Reusable cloth wipes - for at home and away!

Here are the things I love most about cloth wipes:

• They are multi-taskers. When not using then on bums, they are frequently used to clean hands, noses, windows, etc. Right now over half of our stack is being used to wipe sore, snotty noses.
• They get the job done faster. I use one or two cloth wipes for the same amount of poo clean up that would take at least 4 disposables. Win!
• No red bum. While I have finally found disposable wipes that don’t irritate Liam’s skin, it’s nice to have something that will get him clean without causing pain.
• Less money! Who doesn’t love saving money?! Just like diapers, you have an initial buy in cost, but these suckers are so totally worth it. For the cost of two boxes of Costco disposable wipes or less, you can buy all the cloth wipes you need. You can even make your own from flannel receiving blankets! Plus, they’ll be useful even after your little ones are all done potty learning.
• No laundry sorting. I don’t have to remember to fish out the disposable wipes from the diapers before washing. Everything goes in the same place. Hooray for simplicity!

Seriously, cloth wipes are awesome. I think every home (even with older kiddos) should have some. They just do everything!

- Sarah Mahar, RDA Volunteer

Oh… The Great Outdoors!

There are so many wonderful things about camping with your little ones with you; exploring, discovering and playing.  The first time that they catch a fish, see a butterfly or go swimming in a stream are magical moments.  The last thing that I worried about as a parent camping was diapering, let alone washing the diapers.

To be honest, my wife and I have been fair-weather campers (at least until our kids get older), but we still enjoy the Great Outdoors.  Our past year has been mostly in camp grounds with the basics in plumbing and little else.  We knew when we started cloth diapering we didn’t want anything to stand in our way, not even the lack of running water to wash.

There are many ways that camping with cloth diapers can be tackled. We hope that you can take a little from what we learned to make your experiences that much better.

Option One: Pack enough diapers to make it through without having to wash.

Pack enough diapers / wipes and wet bag to make it through the trip.  You will need to know how many times you baby goes to bathroom and make sure to pack at least a couple extra diapers per day.

This is great if have enough diapers, or if you are taking an overnight trip.  Chances are, this is not the most practical option.  There are always unforeseen problems and it is always better to go in with a Plan “B”.  We have done this before in a hotel in NYC and realized about 3/4 of the way through the weekend that there was no laundry, which is why familiarity with hand washing is important…

Option Two: Hand washing diapers in a toilet, sink or bucket, with access to running water.

You find yourself in a location with current plumbing, but no laundry.  If you are a cloth diapering parent, these are the basics that you should know.  It is always handy to have an idea of what it takes to hand wash your diapers in a sink or toilet if the situation arises.

• There are a couple things to remember… get the solids off first and you don’t have to use as much detergent per diaper.   If you are washing them all in the sink or a bucket together, use about the regular amount of detergent. and be sure to rinse a couple times.  There are some great ways to use a home made camp washer for your diapers, a quick YouTube search of Camp Washers Cloth Diapers will bring up some great tutorials.
• This is tricky, you will need a place to hang dry the diapers, and be sure to give yourself enough time for them to dry.  This works best if you break your stash in half and know that once  1/2 has been used, it is time to wash and dry.

We have done this as well, even forgotten our stash completely and used kitchen towels found at the closest Mom & Pop Hardware store (1 cover and 10 towels over 3 days).  We did have to clean a couple of diapers every 3-6 hours, but I wasn’t going to let the situation ruin my weekend out with the family

Backup Plan: Cleaning diapers with no running water in the great outdoors.

You will need some form of bucket or wet-bag (waterproof), a good eco-friendly (stream and river safe) detergent and some form of water (safe natural or bottled).  There are a ton of steps, but being out in the wild comes some responsibility as well.

• Dig a hole far from your camp or near a “bathroom” area to scrape the solids off into, this hole will be covered when finished.
• Place all of the dirty diapers into the bucket or bag and fill with water & soap and agitate thoroughly.  You will want to use the container to rinse the diapers in as well, so make sure that you ration your water accordingly.
• Make sure to dump all waste water into hole that was previously dug as well.  We do not want to contaminate natural waters with the detergents or human waste.
• Rinse the diapers with clean water, again agitating.
• Cover the hole when finished or at the end of each day, depending on how long you are out.
• To dry the diapers hang on a line or on a nice sturdy tree branch.
• Just like above, you will want to make sure that there enough diapers to make it through the drying time.  Depending on your total number of diapers, cutting the stash in half has always proven to be the best method.

We have yet to try this method personally, but have talked to families that have.  It is the most labor intensive, but what is easy when camping?

I know that this may seem a little overwhelming, as it seemed to me.  But, being a guy, well the guy that I am, I wasn’t going to fail.  We actually used a camp fire to help speed up the drying time, but just be careful not to get the diapers too close. This could end a wonderful trip quickly

If anything, I hope that you take away that cloth diapering isn’t just an option while in the comforts of your home. These methods can be used on any get-away, not just camping.

- Josh Fox, Central New York Real Diaper Circle Leader

This is a cross post from www.cottonbottommama.com. Elle is an RDA Volunteer, and she blogs about cloth diapering, crafting, home renovations, family, natural parenting, speech-language, and life (not in that order!). She lives in Omaha with her husband Josh and daughter Penelope, who is one year and five days old.

My family spent last weekend in Ohio celebrating New Year’s Eve with my husband’s brother and his fiance. When my brother-in-law got engaged at Thanksgiving, we decided that we’d better get out to Ohio to meet his fiance and her daughter before the wedding, so we planned this visit.

When we were getting ready for the trip, I was trying to figure out what to do about diapering my daughter. In all of our other travels, we’ve washed diapers at our destination. I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask if I could wash diapers at their house. “Hi, I just met you. Can I wash dirty diapers in your washer?” Maybe a little weird. I could’ve packed enough diapers for 3 days, but I don’t really like to pack pocket diapers because they take up so much room, and I didn’t have enough other diapers to get through the whole weekend. We could’ve made it work, but I decided to look into using a diaper service for the weekend. I’m so glad I explored this option because it worked out really well!

The service dropped off the diapers and a large wet bag the day before we arrived, and they picked up the dirty dipes a few days after we left. We brought our own covers (6) and a couple of small wet bags to store the used covers. It was hardly anything to pack, and the diapers were in great shape. They were all high quality prefold diapers. The service gave us an individualized rate just for the weekend and number of diapers we needed. I made a conservative estimate and asked for 30 diapers, but we only used 18. I had actually guessed that we would need about 18, but I wanted to be extra sure that we wouldn’t run out. My daughter is using the potty several times each day lately, especially for number 2. We hardly ever change a dirty diaper anymore (mostly just wet ones), as we usually get her to the toilet in time. I didn’t think to contact the Ohio diaper service until 3 or 4 days before we left, so it doesn’t even seem to take a lot of lead time.

I think a diaper service is a great option for vacation diapering. It’s also a great option if you are opposed to washing diapers. It’s no more expensive than using disposable diapers, but you still get the environmental, health, and other benefits from cloth. I think most diaper services mainly offer prefold diapers, but you might find other options. Our local diaper service in Omaha actually offers pocket diaper service as an alternative. Or, you can have them wash your own diapers for you. This way, if you’re using cloth and having problems laundering them, you could opt for that service. Maybe your local service has additional options. Although, I do think prefolds work just fine.

The next time you’re going out of town and thinking of switching to disposables while away, consider using a diaper service! It seems like most communities offer some kind of diaper service these days.

Morton Family on vacation - - in cloth diapers!

–Elle Morton, RDA Volunteer

Executive Director’s Note: For a diaper service at your next travel destination, check this directory of RDA business members!

The Real Diaper Association’s mission is to get more babies into reusable cloth diapers. Our three main reasons for promoting real diapers are simply that they’re better for the environment, for babies, and for family finances. With all of those benefits, cloth diapers are a worthwhile cause.

Worthwhile or not, though, there isn’t a lot of money to support a cause that effectively takes money away from a powerful industry – the single-use disposable diaper industry. Who are the beneficiaries of our message? Parents who are struggling to afford diapers, babies, and future generations living on this planet – - none of whom are financially able to support spreading this message on their behalf.

Do you fall into one of the following categories?

• A parent grateful for having found and used cloth diapers for their child.
• A parent who wished they would have had / known about the current cloth diapering options available.
• Someone who believes in the benefits of reusables and/or rejects the use of single-use plastics (like bags, cups, etc).
• One of my friends or family members who was planning to give me some useless tchotchke that I’m going to be forced to find a place for or carefully regift.
• 70+ and temporarily allowed to gift up to a $100,000 distribution from your IRA or Roth IRA to a charity tax-free.

If so, here’s an idea – help change diapering practices in 2012 by supporting cloth diaper awareness and education.

Join our fundraising effort Wednesday and Thursday (12/14 and 12/15).  From 7am Pacific Time on Wednesday through 7pm Pacific Time on Thursday, all donations to the Real Diaper Association over $25 will be partially matched by the San Diego Foundation!

PLEASE NOTE: Only MasterCard, Visa and AMEX donations will be accepted and matched for this event. Discover donations will not be accepted or matched.

To participate, please go to our website at http://realdiaperassociation.org.  On our homepage, you can enter your payment information and make a contribution, which, of course, is tax-deductible.  If you have any trouble, go to http://giveBIGsandiego.org, search for the Real Diaper Association and donate from there.

I’m warming up my hand for the thank you notes now…

Heather McNamara

Executive Director, Real Diaper Association

We’re poised, POISED, I say!!

The public is focused on the environment, on the health of their children, and on their tightening budgets. Cloth diapers have undergone a transformation and the industry is now able to provide realistic, simple solutions to benefit every family.

The Real Diaper Association leads a growing, passionate grassroots movement of parents ready to help other families find and use reusable cloth diapers. We have the research to support our efforts and are making inroads with hospitals, daycares, municipal governments, social service agencies, and pediatricians to change diapering practice to one that is more environmentally and economically feasible. We also work directly with parents via volunteer-led support and outreach groups across the country.

With growing awareness of the downsides of single-use plastics, the public is ready for our message and we are positioned to make a clear, immediate impact on diaper choice.

In order to do so, we need funding. Therefore, we are participating in the San Diego Foundation’s giveBIG event on December 14th and 15th.

Here’s the great news: For 36 hours (beginning 7am Pacific Time on Wednesday and ending 7pm Pacific Time on Thursday), any donation (up to $10,000) to the Real Diaper Association through Better Giving will be matched by the San Diego Foundation!  What a way to make an impact with your money!!!

Please plan to join me in participating with a year-end donation!  And please spread the word by sharing this post with your friends before the event and announcing your donation on the day of the event.  Thank you!!

Heather McNamara

Executive Director, Real Diaper Association