saving the planet one poop at a time
For the past 9 months, we have been using reusable diapers on Hola. It’s not a 24/7 kinda thing. (We use disposables at night and again while we’re washing the others.) But for the most part, we’re dumping poop in the toilet and using our washer to make what was simply DIRTAY, new again.
I thought it would be hard to do, so I just bought 3 to start. You know, ease myself into it. I tried working them into my routine and got comfortable with the small effort they took to use. And, for the love of God, THEY WERE SO FRICKIN CUTE. After a month or so, I bought 3 more. Then, a month later, the final 3. The kind we use are the Pocket diaper variety. They have a liner that goes inside the outer diaper layers and does most of the soaking.
Since we are saving money on diaper purchases, (WOO HOO!) (or at least extending the length of time until we have to buy disposables again) I feel ok spending an extra $5-$10 on buying “earth friendly” disposables. (My only beef about these diapers is they don’t do as much for the environment after you dispose of them as I would like, like DISAPPEARING, but I do love they do not contain chlorine among other advantages.)
I think the thing that I dig most about making this effort, cause in all honesty, it is an effort, (but you get used to it and it does feel good,) is not having to buy diapers EVERY TIME I turn around. Besides traveling, when we use disposables, it’s nice to have a box last, for what seems like, MONTHS.
So far, Hola hasn’t outgrown the 9 we have purchased. I hope we can get all the way through to potty training on these alone. If not, I don’t mind adding a few extra colors to our stash.
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(Man, I think I used parentheses more in this post than ever before. FTW!)
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Alright, I must know — wait just a minute here! The text in your comment box is green. That’s awesome!
Okay, back to thing I have to know. When you wash the used diapers are you able to get the, uh, stains out? If so, what type of detergent are you using? Because I’m struggling to keep cotton underwear pristine with a 9, 6 and 4-year-old in the house.
The potty training is down, thank Neptune, but we’re working on wiping the slate clean, if you get my drift. I haven’t found any detergent that gets it out for me. I have to scrub crazily to get it out. And my knuckles are basically raw.
So are these things clean like the day you got them?
Cardiogirl- It’s more in the way you wash, than the detergent, in my opinion. I first take all the diapers and inserts and run them on a cold RINSE cycle. Then, I add a small amount of All Free & Clear (some people recommend Charlie’s Soap for diapers, but I have never found it.) and run a HOT full wash. THEN, I run another cold RINSE wash. The last rinse is mostly to get all the excess soap out of the diapers, so I am not sure if you would need that with underwear.
Key is the COLD rinse first, then HOT wash.
The diapers look almost brand new. A little spot here and there, but only on the inserts. If I really cared, I could get more inserts (instead of paying for another diaper entirely.)
Comment by cardiogirl — November 24, 2009 @ 7:25 am
What kind are they?? I’ve been thinking about this for a while… and am a little overwhelmed. They’re expensive and I don’t want to spend the $ on ones that don’t work, you know? Any advice??
I have 3 BumGenius Size M (they have velcro) , 3 FuzziBunz Size M (snaps), and FuzziBunz All Size (snaps). I like all 3 kind for different reasons.
If you are ever on FB online chat, we can discuss? I bought 3 for a little under $50 one month and moved slowly. Can always sell them if it doesn’t float your boat!
Comment by Amanda — November 25, 2009 @ 3:06 pm