Cloth Diapers are the New Black

Charlotte, her toes and her Fuzzi Bunz.We cloth diaper.

Yes, I said it. We use cloth diapers. We used them with our oldest, Peyton, and we're using them again for our baby, Charlotte.

Again, as usual, we didn't start our cloth diapering because we had a burning desire to do well by the environment (isn't that horrible? I think we're like a lot of people...we want to be good to the planet in theory. But, in practice, it's not as easy to be green as it is to be convenient and quick.), but rather to do well by our daughter. Peyton had constant bleeding diaper rash. We tried EVERY disposable--because believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was cloth diaper. One of my closest friends, Amanda, cloth diapered her daughter from birth. We were pregnant at the same time, and I remember very clearly telling her "Good for you, but there's no way I'll cloth diaper. I'm too lazy!"

I also remember her laughing at me and saying that I'd like it ifPeyton and her Fuzzi Bunz. I tried it.

Anyway, back to the bleeding diaper rash. We tried EVERY brand of disposable diapers. Luvs, Huggies, Pampers, generic store brands--we even tried chlorine free and environmentally friendly brands, and she STILL had the rash.

So we tried medications. We tried Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Dr. Smith's Diaper Rash Ointment, A&D, Desitin, prescriptions, super nasty mixtures of Maalox and Aquaphor, everything. Still the rashes.

I was out of ideas. I gave in and called Amanda to find out about cloth diapers.

I'm like most of you--I thought of those horrible flat diapers that you buy when you're a first time Mom to use as burp cloths because everyone tells you to. I thought of safety pins and ugly plastic pants. I thought of wet pails and smelly nasty diapers that take forever and ever to wash using some complicated methods of laundry voodoo. I thought of leaking wet messes everywhere and swishing diapers in the toilet to remove messy poos. I thought of the hassle, of the constant loads of laundry. I yearned wistfully for the convenience of wrapping up the mess and throwing it away.

Butt. Right, the butt. The poor baby bottom that wouldn't heal no matter what. Gusty sigh, then, and we went for it. We dropped $500 (which bought me enough to do two loads of laundry a week, at a rate of four diapers a day) on some Fuzzi Bunz, which Amanda assured me were the "Cadillac" of cloth diapers. And we waited.

In the meantime, I researched the advances in cloth diaper technology and was surprised that things have changed since our Mamas cloth diapered! Don't get me wrong, flat diapers are still in--and are called Prefolds--and are still one of the most economical ways to cloth diaper your baby. But oh, it just gets better from there. Let me introduce you to the variety of diapers you can find now!

First, there's the All-In-One diapers. These are the closest to disposables--you put them on just like a disposable, take them off and put them in the bin. You wash them when you need to, and you dry them. We didn't use these--I bought some, but they take a LONG time to dry because they're pre-stuffed with enough absorbent material to make sure they don't leak. And the ones we bought had velcro closures which were fine until she mastered the pincer grip. And then they were taken off frequently. And they're awfully bulky and gave Peyt a big ol' booty! For an example of an All-In-One, look at Kushies Cloth Diapers.

Next there are Fitted Diapers. Fitted Diapers are basically a Prefold diaper, but they're contoured to form fit baby. Some of them still require a fastener (but not safety pins! Check out the Snappi.) and a cover. Most have snaps or velcro closures. We didn't use these. They seemed like a lot of work, and it's hard enough to get a diaper on a wiggly baby without then having to put pants over it. For an example of a Fitted Diaper, look at Kissaluvs Fitted Diapers.

Then there are Contour Diapers. Contour Diapers are, again, like Prefolds, but all require a seperate fastener. They need to be covered with a fitted wrap. We didn't use these either, for the same reason why we didn't use Fitteds! Kissaluvs makes Contour Diapers, too.

I have to stop here to say that we did use Prefolds and covers for a while. Because not only are cloth diapers better due to technology, they're CUTE, too! I found a woman who made adorable, affordable covers for cloth diapers at wigglewormbottoms.com. Here's my oldest, Peyton, in some of her covers.

Eventually, though, we settled on Pocket Diapers. Pocket diapers have all the convenience of an All-In-One diaper, but with the benefit of being customizable. You purchase the diaper, and then sized inserts. You can use multiple inserts to make the diapers more absorbent, and fewer for a less absorbent diaper. That means that you can have nighttime diapers and daytime diapers without buying different diapers for each time. You just add more inserts! There are hemp inserts which are good for babies who wet a lot, there are microfiber for babies who wet fast. They're easy to wash and take only as much time as regular clothing to dry, since the inserts are removable. They're not nearly as bulky as All-In-Ones, and they stand up to some heavy usage. Fuzzi Bunz are THE pocket diaper--you can see them here.

They're not really all that much more work, either. We bought a mini-shower/diaper sprayer which attached to the toilet and we used that to spray off any yuck into the toilet. Then we dropped them into a dry pail, shook on a little baking soda (remember, it's an awesome air freshener!) and washed them every three days or so. And washing wasn't that difficult either. We used our regular detergent, but not as much as you'd use to wash your clothing (I know, contrary, right? But if you use too much soap, you get soap buildup on the diapers, which can cause diaper rash and irritation. It's better to use less soap and more, hotter water.) and a lot of water. Occasionally I add a drop of Tea Tree Oil to the wash for its anti-microbial properties, and every once in a while I add some vinegar to the rinse to kill any smell. I never notice any smell really, but I do it anyway. When we have staining (like when Charley eats blueberries!), I wash them as usual and then hang them up on a clothesline on the patio to dry in the sun. The sun removes the stains and makes them as white as new!

And consider this: we spent a total of about $800 on diapers that got us from the time Peyton was four months old until she potty trained. That's a real savings if you do the math on disposables! Plus, we kept the diapers we used for her, and when Charlotte is big enough, she'll use them too. So, that $800 diapered two kids--one from birth through potty training!

Washing diapers does require water, which I know is a bone of contention for people who are on the fence about using them. I wish I could tell you that they don't use much, but they kinda do. They require an extra rinse sometimes, and there is the argument against them that says that you don't have to wash disposables. But, on the other hand, disposables contain a gel chemical that absorbs the waste and they are not biodegradable. And, although most people don't know this, solid human waste is not supposed to be disposed of in the trash--even disposable users are supposed to shake off any solid waste into the toilet. I'm wagering the majority of disposable users aren't doing that.

In the end, I feel a lot more comfortable using the water to wash the diapers and flushing the solid wastes in the toilet than I do leaving thousands and thousands of dollars of disposable diapers in our local landfill, where they will sit forever. No, cloth diapering isn't for everyone--if you use a laundromat, then I would not consider them at all--but a lot of people could make the change, realize a significant cost savings AND do a lot for the environment without adding a significant amount of time and work to their schedule. Maybe it's time to revisit a classic and go "retro" with your baby's tush!

If I've convinced you to change your diapering strategy, here are a few places to look at to purchase your cloth diapers:

Thanks, Mama
Nurtured Family
Kelly's Closet
Lil Bunz

Cleanliness is Next to Greenliness

I like to think that Student Saturdays aren't strictly about students, or just kids. I like to think of this section more as a green family primer--not just a blog about student/child activism, but a blog about making a planet we're happy to leave to our children someday, and about making our homes and lives healthy places for kids to be.

In that vein, today I'd like to talk about "green" household cleaners. Not the kind you can buy in the store, because that would be first, a very boring and short blog post, but also kind of a no brainer. No, I want to talk about homemade household cleaners that are not only safe for the enviroment, but dirt cheap, too!

I've been using homemade cleaners in my house for a long time now. Granted, I'll allow that my original motive was not environmental friendliness but rather a desire to ease the breathing problems I experience with commercial cleaners. For years and years I'd darn near asphyxiate myself trying to scrub out the bathttub or the kitchen sink--just the fumes of commercial cleaners made not only chest hurt, but routinely made me sick to my stomach, too.

I know I'm a little more sensitive to this than most people, but there you have it. When our oldest daughter was born, I realized that I couldn't take the chance that she'd have the same reaction to chemical off gassing, so a better alternative had to be found. I did a lot of research online and checked out book from my library called "Clean House, Clean Planet" by Karen Logan. I got a lot of great ideas from all of that research, and the book was awesome for getting some basic ideas of things to try--so much so that I bought it (and you all know my commitment to reducing clutter in my house by not buying books unless they're worth it. It was worth it!).

But I saw a few problems.

What the heck is Washing Soda? Can you buy it at Wal-Mart? And Borax and Castille Soap--this venture could get mighty expensive and time consuming if I let it! There has to be an alternative that doesn't take a degree in chemistry and venture capital to start with. There has to be!

So, I'll let you reap the burdens of my experimentation and failures. I'll post my "recipes" and then a handy shopping list that you can take with you to the store that'll get you started. You might want to tweak a thing or two here and there, but this is what gets stuff done in my house!

Air Fresheners -- I insist on a clean smelling house, but I can't handle air fresheners from a can. First of all, they smell chemically and second, they never make anything smell better--just like whatever the stink is, buried in a vat of perfume. Candles are out, as I've got two small children who are both curious and clumsy, and who thunder around like a herd of wild Girl Scouts. Open flames are no go! So we keep the air in our house smelling clean and fresh in a lot of different ways!

• We have a lot of plants in our house. Plants are constantly freshening the air by recycling stale air into fresh oxygen. And nothing smells better than fresh air!

• If company's on their way and I want things to smell really great and have that citrus-y tang we all associate with cleanliness, I'll boil some orange peels on top of the stove--maybe toss in some other spices if I'm feeling a little crazy. It does double duty, since it's not a great idea to put citrus peels into our worm composting bin, I can use them this way and feel better about what I'm throwing away when it's done. Just fill a pot about halfway with cold water and toss in the peels. Let the water boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and boil until things look mushy and disgusting and stop smelling good. Toss away the disgusting (or add it to your non-worm composting bin) and your house will smell fantastic for the rest of the day! This works well with lemon and lime--any citrus fruit will work--the essential oils of the fruit are in the rind, so you're really just diffusing essential oils into the air.

• Sometimes I don't want my home to smell like fruit, though. Sometimes I want it to smell like lavender. Or mint. Or..something else. So I came up with my own "air freshener spray". It's basically one cup of water to a few drops of essential oil--but a caution on this. Essential oils are strong, so you might use more or less than I do, to your own preference. I don't like strong scents, so I use about three drops, depending on the oil. Also, oil and water don't mix easily, so you need to shake this before you use it. I put my mix in a small spray bottle that had a previous life as a travel-sized bottle of hairspray and spritz it around when I need it. I use some Tea Tree Oil around my trashcan, diaper pail and in the bathroom and kitchen--it's got some natural antimicrobial properties that make it a good idea for germier areas.

• Baking soda is a natural deodorizer. Putting a box in your bathroom and kitchen isn't a bad idea--it's not only useful in the fridge! If you don't want the box to detract from your decor, you could put it in a decorative box that has holes in the top--or hide it behind something. (It also makes an awesome carpet deodorizer--just sprinkle it around, wait half an hour, then vaccum!)

• If you just baked fish or something smelly in the kitchen and have that leftover gross fish smell, fill a pie plate with some pleasant aromatic herbs--or our old friend, the orange peel--and put it in the cooling oven. As it warms, it'll freshen the air around the oven.

Dry "Scouring" Cleaner -- You know when you let the bathroom go a hair too long and the shower gets kind of narsty and scummy? When I was a kid, my Mom used to bust out the Comet for such an occasion, but I value the skin on my hands too much to work with abrasive cleaners anymore. Now I just make a thick paste out of baking soda and use it and a sponge or old toothbrush (or an old scrubber from the kitchen that's worn out it's food related usefulness) to scrub away the scum and slime. This works really great for cleaning out your kitchen sink, too. If it's really bad (who, me? Never!), I'll put some vinegar on it and let it sit for a while, rinse, then scrub. Just be sure to rinse the vinegar before you put the baking soda down, otherwise it's that unfortunate volcano science fair experiment all over your shower walls. Although...you can put that reaction to your advantage--

Drain Cleaner -- Drain cleaners are the most caustic and environmentally dangerous household chemcials you can buy. If you're committed to removing household pollutants, start here. If your drain is just slow, not completely blocked, put about a cup of baking soda in and add a cup of vinegar. Let the foamy reaction occur for a while, then flush it through with an entire teapot of boiling water. DO NOT try this on a completely blocked drain!

Household/Window Cleaner -- One gallon of water and 1/2 cup vinegar. I mix this in an old milk jug and store it under my sink then I just refill an old spray bottle and use as needed--I dry my windows with old newspaper. Even if you don't subscribe to a paper, the grocery store ads we get every week work just the same. Streak free shine, every time! ;)

Toilet Cleaner -- I spray the inside of the toilet with a little bit of my Household Cleaner and then sprinkle on some Baking Soda and then walk away for about 10 minutes. I'll then come back and scrub it down and flush it away.

Disinfectant/All Purpose Cleaner -- Mix two cups of water, 25-30 drops of Tea Tree Oil and a few drops of Castile soap in a spray bottle. This is good for kitchen surfaces and bathroom counters and such--cutting boards, toilets, sinks, tubs. Tea Tree Oil is an excellent anti-microbial product, so it gets rid of germs, but it's safe enough to eat off of.

Fabric Softener -- just substitute an equivalent amount of vinegar for your usual fabric softener and add it at the same time you would ordinarily do. The smell will rinse out in the wash, and your clothes will be just as soft and clean smelling as with your usual fabric softener. My friend Amanda swears by this for washing her towels--they're more absorbent when not covered with all that fabric softener goo!

That's about all we use! It's really easy, and I find I can go about a month or two without re-mixing my products. As promised, here's a handy shopping/find around the house list.

1. Vinegar. I use just plain white vinegar, but I buy a HUGE amount of it. It's good for lots of things--excellent at removing food crud from plates that have sat out a little long.
2. Baking Soda. Again, buy in quantity.
3. Tea Tree Oil. This can be expensive, but it goes a LONG way. Try your local organic market, otherwise it can be found online all over the place--try here.
4. Castile Soap. We use Dr. Bronner's, and I know for sure you can find it at Whole Foods. If you don't have a Whole Foods or would rather buy online, try here. It comes in a lot of scents, but we prefer the Baby Mild. I'm tempted to try the Tea Tree sometime, too. As an added bonus, Castile soap is excellent to use on baby bottles and breast pump attachments--it's mild, natural and leaves no residue that could harm the baby.
5. One spray bottle for each thing you'd like to make. We have four bottles for our mixes, one bottle for straight vinegar one bottle for straight water.
6. Parmesan Cheese Shaker--no easier way to sprinkle baking soda on a surface without wasting a lot of it!
7. Sharpie marker--just like caustic chemicals, you need to label each of your spray bottles with the contents. Not just the name, but what's in the bottle, too--as an added benefit, if you put the recipe right on the bottle, you'll never need to hunt for the recipe.
8. Gallon jug for mixing/storage. There's really only one two of these recipes I make in enough quantity to require storage outside of a spray bottle--the window cleaner and the disinfectant cleaner. I made the disinfectant cleaner in a recycled milk bottle, then just waited until I had another milk jug to make the window cleaner. It only took an extra week and I didn't mind having dirty windows for a little longer.

There you go! That's my low-cost, green way of keeping our house sparkling clean. As an added benefit (besides the green and cheap benefits!) I don't feel bad at all about asking Peyton to help me clean the house--after all, there's no cleaner on my list that would harm her if she got it on herself, nothing that would cause anything more than a small upset tummy if she ingested it. Also, no chemical burns and no respiratory issues. And that's the epitome of cleanlines to me!

Hybrid Soccer Moms

I want to drive a hybrid vehicle.

I really, really do.

However. I have two small children (read: carseats), and neither my husband nor I are small people.  We also plan to have another child biologically, and perhaps adopting one or two after that. There's no world in wich a Prius fits our needs. In fact, with our transportation and cargo needs, we're looking at something in the small SUV or minivan range. I can't fit me, the husb and the girls as well as a week's worth of groceries into an economy car.

I'm not even going to be going into how unutterably impractical a SMART car would be for even a single Mama with one little one, much less my herd.

So today I want to talk a little bit about driving green with a family. Face it, some of us are just not going to fit into a Civic or a Prius. Either you're large people (take my best friend--she and her husband both are over six feet tall. And not just an inch or two, significantly.) in general, or you have a large number of people in your family. Heck, even with two kids, you've got to factor in carseats, then booster seats, then carpool for us Soccer Moms, carpool to the pool, carpool to the mall.

Come to think of it, us Soccer Moms have been green in our travels for a long tome--we OWN the carpool!

Carpooling is a great way to manage transportation resources. We've chosen to send our oldest daughter to an Elementary school that's in our district, but not our home school. As such, we have to provide our own transportation and give up our seat on the school bus. I don't mind driving Peyton to school, but I admit, I am concerned with the amount of gas I'll be burning every day. Burnt gas = exhaust = greenhouse gas emissions = bad juju. But, I do know of at least two other families in our area whose Kindergarteners will be attending the same school, so we're planning on setting up a carpool come August. Not only will I save at least a tank of gas a week (likely more!), there will be one car on the road for our combined families instead of three.

That's green on multiple levels!

But, like I said before, I REALLY want to drive a hybrid. Specifically, I want to drive THIS hybrid. That's right, kids. It's a hybrid minivan.

I'm in love!

Why has it taken so long for the minivan to go green? Why aren't there more hybrid minivans? Why isn't there specifically a Kia Sedona that's a hybrid? Why--wait. Why can't I buy one now?!

I got so excited when I saw the Toyota Sienna Hybrid. I want one. I'm ready to sell my Kia for one. It's paid off in July, I'm ready to roll that payment over into a brand-new hybrid minivan! But...I can't. Not yet. For now, the Toyota Sienna Hybrid is only available in Japan as the Toyota Estima.

Have no fear Moms and Dads. There are other options that ARE available at your local car dealership--just not minivans. Check out these two links for Hybrid SUV details:

HybridCars.com
US News Ranking and Reviews

I know. Some of you are thinking "Hybrid SUVs? Aren't they still gas guzzlers? What a waste of money!" But, to quote the article from hybridcars.com,

"It’s true that hybrid SUVs do not reach the level of fuel efficiency of smaller hybrids in terms of miles-per-gallon. Yet, miles-per-gallon is a non-linear and counter-intuitive form of measurement. An apparently small jump in fuel efficiency—for example, from 14 to 16 mpg—saves as much oil as increasing fuel economy from 35 to 50 mpg, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists."

Is it the same as going from an SUV to a small, economy hybrid? Likely not. But if you need the room for carseats and cargo and, well, people, going from a standard SUV to a hybrid SUV is still a green idea. It's not a big change, but those small changes we're all making add up. Recycling here, canvas grocery bags there, standard SUV traded in for a hybrid--it's one more change that can accomodate your growing family, but still help to respect our environment.

After all, even one small drop of rain raises the level of the sea!