Revisiting cloth diapering

Although I would love it if Elle would show interest in potty training, I've got to say I'm still in love with our cloth diapers.

It's been a while since I last blogged about cloth diapers, and while cloth diapering can seem overwhelming in the beginning, I feel like it's super easy now and I'm so, so glad we've done it.

Elle is in daycare about 22 hours a week. She's in disposables during that time, but at home, we're still cloth diapering. Two of our sitters (for date nights, meetings, etc.) cloth diaper Elle, too.

Over the last two years, I've learned a lot about cloth diapering. I know for a fact that I prefer snaps to aplix. Hemp inserts are pretty much the bomb. I have been fortunate to have had a good washing routine for the majority of the time. Any stink and build up I've encountered seems to have been fixed fairly easily in the grand scheme of things. I've learned about diaper creams and CD detergents. I've added to my stash slowly as well as sold some of the diapers that just didn't work for us. I've got a washing and drying routine down, I have favorite brands and styles, I've got a night-time diaper perfected for us.

While some cloth diaperers continue to add to their stash because the diapers are super cute and there are frequent sales, I think I'm finally at a point where our arsenal is complete. Many people say this is where the cost effectiveness of cloth diapering is negated, but I tried not to go overboard, and I haven't purchased new diapers in months. I've been mindful to buy gender neutral colors and patterns (except the pink polka dots below because they were the right price and too cute to pass up) so that if we ever have a boy he won't be stuck in pink and purple diapers, too.

Now that Elle is older, we prefer pocket diapers to our initial prefold+cover system - Tim actually refuses to use the prefolds now, but I'll often grab them because they're super easy, and because they are so affordable, we have the most of them.

This photo of Elle is from when she was about 7? 8? months old.
She's wearing a prefold with a cow cover.

It's pretty cool to be part of the "fluff" community - there are so many resources online for parents who cloth diaper. When I have questions (like "why do my diapers suddenly smell like they're not clean even though I just took them out of the washer?"), there is a forum waiting to help me. The responses are not one-size-fit-all, but the options and suggestions have led me to answers that work for us. I've been introduced to products that have worked miracles for our diapers and been alerted to issues to avoid as well as sales to take advantage of. Really, I can't say enough about the cloth diapering community - there are some amazing and valuable resources out there, and trust me, I take full advantage of them!

One other thing I adore is the versatility. Here is Elle in the same diaper:

I think this was circa December 2010 - Elle was about four months old.

July 2012 - almost two years old and it still fits great!

I know cloth diapering isn't for everyone, but I'm glad we did it and look forward to using the diapers on future kidlet(s) to make a good investment even better - after more than two years using many of the same diapers, they're in great shape. There are definitely some days or times when we grab a disposable just because it is convenient, and when we travel we definitely use disposables because I don't want to deal with diaper laundry on the road. I don't beat myself up for the times that she's got a disposable on, but I do love knowing that each time we use a cloth diaper we're saving cash, saving landfill space and it is good for Elle's bum, too.

Cleaning, naturally ...

Over the last few months, I've started phasing out some of our store-bought cleaners and replacing them with homemade, natural cleaners. While we do many other things, like cloth diapering, to save money in addition to environmental and personal concerns, this was more to reduce waste and cut back on the amount of harsh chemicals in our home (and therefore, around our precious daughter) than saving money. I was inspired largely by a post on Young House Love but have found some cleaning solutions elsewhere, too. I started small and figured if it didn't work, it didn't work, but so far, I've been happy with the ease and cleaning capabilities of every solution I've tried.

I love that many of the ingredients for these solutions are common - the only "special" thing I've bought so far is a bottle of castile soap. I had a large bottle of vinegar on hand from a time a few months ago when we had some ammonia build up in our cloth diapers, and I always have baking soda. Easy. Peasy.

I've been making our floor cleaning solution the longest - I bought a mop that allows me to use my own solution and reuse the cleaning pad. It smells strongly of vinegar when I use it, but as soon as it dries (which doesn't take long) the smell goes away. I use the solution from YHL to clean our kitchen floor:

Linoleum Floor Cleaner:

• 1 c. vinegar
• 2 gal. warm water

All-Purpose Cleaning Spray:

I also recently started making an all-purpose cleaning spray. I use it mostly to clean the kitchen. I Googled a bit to find a solution that I a) could find all of the ingredients for and b) liked. Here's the one I ended up with:

• 1 Tbsp. castile soap
• 2.5 cups distilled water

I want to keep the new bath tub looking great forever, so I've started with another recipe from Young House Love:

Tub And Tile Cleaner:

• Apply vinegar full-strength to a sponge and wipe
• Scour with baking soda

The old tub had some definite built-up grime, and to tackle that, I used something that I found on Pinterest:

• 1 grapefruit
• 1/4 cup kosher salt

It smells pretty, and I can put the chunks of grapefruit down the garbage disposal to freshen it when I'm done, too. 

We just ran out of furniture polish, so I started using this formula:

Furniture Polish:

• ½ tsp. olive oil
• ¼ c. vinegar or lemon juice

Mix in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces.

I used vinegar, which leaves a slight smell right away, but it isn't noticeable after a few minutes. 

The next store-bought cleaner I plan to phase out is our toilet bowl cleaner, using this instead:

Toilet Bowl Cleaner:

• Liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s)
  
• Baking soda or borax

Scrub with a toilet brush.

Has anyone else made the switch from store-bought cleaners? Any favorite recipes or tips to share?