Lessons from 6 Months of Cloth Diapering

If you’re unfamiliar with any of my “fluffese” words or terms, please see my earlier cloth diapering post here for definitions!

On May 11th my little baby will be seven months old.  I can’t believe my bitty, 7 lb, 7 oz girl is going on 17 lbs, eating solid foods (or purees, actually), sleeping longer at night, and showing some beginning signs of crawling!  All this brings me so much joy, and each day I’m eager to discover the changes she’ll make.  It also presents me with new challenges to our cloth diapering system.  

As you know, Dan and I’ve been happily using cloth nappies since Alice’s newborn days.  You’ve heard it before, and I’ll say it again: I LOVE FLUFF!  I love that we never have to run out in the middle of the night for diapers and that we don’t have to drop $60 a month on them.  I love that we’re saving space in the landfills.  I really love limiting Alice’s chemical exposure.  It’s fun to try different strategies and products as she grows.  The fluff love community provides enjoyable conversation about diapering, but also about parenthood in general.  I’m so excited about cloth, and I think you will be too, if you try it.  Let me share some of the lessons I’ve learned over the last six months to get you started.

Have a few disposables on hand.

Stay with me here, Purists.  Having a new baby in the home is crazy, even for the most “together” parents.  Between sleeplessness, visitors, and just getting to know your new mini-human, the ball sometimes gets dropped, and that ball often takes the form of soiled diaper laundry.  A newborn needs to be changed about twice as often as older babies after all, so twice the laundry accumulates.  Depending on the size of your stash, you may run out of clean diapers before you have a chance to address it.  That’s when, in my opinion, it’s perfectly acceptable to slap a disposable on the kid, guilt-free.  Repeat after me: “I’m doing enough.  I’m a good parent.  I will not kill the planet, my child, or myself by using this disposable diaper.  I need more coffee…”

Wash at least every other day, no matter how many diapers you own.

Any longer than that and you’re going to have stink problems.  If your diapers come out of the dryer with a “barnyard” smell, or if they reek of ammonia right after Baby wets, you may need to consider washing more often.  If you’re already washing every other day (or more), and your dipes still smell like wet cow, check your detergent…

“Fluff safe” detergent sucks, and prewashing/extra rinsing is key.

There are actually people who swear by this or that brand of “safe” detergent.  There are also people who get by without a prewash or extra rinse.  I am not one of those people.  A prewash rinses all the pee-pee away so you have clean water for your wash cycle.  An extra rinse removes any leftover detergent so it doesn’t cause bum irritation or repelling.  Some how-to sites recommend large amounts of detergent, some very small amounts.  I use the “regular” amount I would on any load of clothes, and it’s always liquid Tide.  I switch back and forth between the “Pure and Free,” and the “Original.”  Whatever’s on sale.

Blow outs are a phenomenon of disposables.

I’ve had fewer than I can count on one hand with cloth!  It’s a whole different story with ‘sposies.  The only poop-splosions I have had with cloth happened when she was wearing diapers made to work like disposables.  No kidding!  Even the cool, modern nappies have more issues than… well, this is a perfect segue to my next point…

Grandma knew what she was doing.

Flats.  Don’t hang up!  I know what you’re thinking.  That flats are old-fashioned, high-maintenance, and not fun.  I assure you, they’re not your grandmother’s nappy.  Gone are the pins and awful rubber panties of yore.

As I wrote this section, I realized that I have way more to say about flats than what will fit into this post, so stay posted in the next few days for a post on their many benefits and how we use them.

Nearly one in three American families struggle to afford diapers… and we can help!

There is NO public assistance for diapers.  None.  When I think of the desperation a mother must feel when she realizes she won’t have enough diapers, my heart breaks.  To have to choose to leave the wet diaper on for a bit longer so your supply will stretch until payday is… unthinkable.  But 60% of those below the poverty line have access to laundry!  Cloth diapers could be the saving grace for these families.  Check out this YouTube video from Dirty Diaper Laundry, then visit Giving Diapers, Giving Hope to see how you can donate some fluff love.  You know that’s where my nappies are going when we’re done!

What lessons have you learned from your fluff journey?  I’d love to hear about it!

Digital Declutter

About a month ago, I decided a decluttering and general life simplification was in order.  I found myself having to trudge through STUFF to get anything done.  I felt weighed down, inefficient, and buried in junk.  It was time to make a change.

I started with my clothes.  Brutally, I assessed each garment’s worthiness to hold real estate in my closet.  I built a Project 333 capsule wardrobe and stored seasonal items out of my way.  

Then I dug a little deeper and culled some distractions and habits that were not enhancing my life, increasing my productivity, or bringing me joy.  You can read about it here.

My next project took much longer.  Digital declutter!  I’m talking computer files, email labels, photos, and subscriptions.  The victory won here is the ease with which I can move about my digital world; no more racking my brain trying (in vain) to remember what I’ve named a file so I can find it.  Let me walk you through what I’ve done…

Email: Labels, filters, and Subscriptions

The first thing I did was clean up my Gmail.  I had labels galore and was saving almost every email that dropped into my box!  I generalized my labeling system and deleted a megaton of unnecessary archived data so that using the search function would be easier and more productive.  From there I started unsubscribing from everything I didn’t need.  

The difficulty I had with unsubscribing came when, though I had hit the “unsubscribe” button and filled out whatever online form was needed, certain solicitors continued to spam me!  That was when I started to employ the filter function.  I simply create a filter that automatically deletes correspondence from a certain sender or email address.  Boom!  Clean inbox.

Photos

I was never one of those girls who took thousands of pictures of everything.  Mostly, I try to enjoy everything in the moment, but how do you keep from capturing every facial expression, every milestone, and every outfit change when you have a beautiful baby?  With the birth of Alice, I turned into a photo freak!  My iCloud quickly filled and my data was unable to back up.  That’s when I discovered the album creator in iPhoto on my Macbook Air.  I was able to choose my favorite photos and arrange them into an album, which I can order on the cheap.  I trashed the unused images and plan to order my first album soon.

Here’s the thing: I’m not going to stop taking pictures, so I worried that my iCloud would fill right back up again.  To prevent this, I turned off syncing on my phone.  That way I can choose which photos are good enough to back up, protecting my Cloud from clutter.

Text messages

iPhones store all text correspondence until you delete it or until you run out of memory.  When I finally got around to going through my texts, I had over a year’s worth.  Before deleting a thread, I checked it for important information like addresses of friends and family, which I saved elsewhere.  It’s amazing how much faster my phone runs without the unneeded junk!

Downloads and Trash

It’s easy to end up with a gazillion documents in your Downloads and Trash files on your computer.  I try to go in every Friday and clear them out to keep my machine empty of unnecessary, slowing clutter.

More work to do

I haven’t completed all I wanted to yet.  I still haven’t gone through my old Toshiba to see what I want to keep and what I no longer need.  When I do, I’ll upload all files to Google Drive, instead of filling up the hard drive of my new computer.

I guess that’s about it.  It’s amazing how quickly digital clutter can pile up!  What do you do to keep it at bay?

Don't Get Cocky!

Hello to my fellow first-time mommas!  I have another how-to for you today.  This is big, people.  Seriously.  Really big.  Huge even.  Get out a pen.  Paper.  Maybe consider taking screenshots and saving them, because this is important wisdom that I am about to share with you.  Are you ready?  Here it is:

Don’t be like me.  Stop trying to figure everything out on your own and get help from experienced mommas.

Did you get that?  Let me elaborate.  Do you have friends with multiple children?  Perhaps you attend a family-oriented church.  Are you close with your own mom or grandma?  Get the 411, Momma!  As hard as it is to hear (I know I was humbled by it), they know more than you.

Notice I did not say, “They know better than you.”  You know your baby better than anyone.  You certainly love your baby more than anyone (except maybe her father).  There are things that your baby needs that only you could possibly provide, and that feels good, doesn’t it?  You get to keep that.

But, believe it or not, you are not the first woman to ever have a baby!  Other women have done it.  Many women have done it several times.  I know, right?  Why do you care?  Because these beautiful, strong, wise women are treasure troves of useful information.  Veritable encyclopedias, written by experience and by God for you to study and heed.  If you do this, you may find joy in something that earlier caused you stress.

Let me give you an example.  Alice and I had the hardest time during spring break.  She was exhausted each morning and took long naps.  When it came time for her afternoon naps though, she refused to go down, no matter how tired she was.  And, make no mistake, she was very tired.  This caused her to fuss almost every waking minute in the afternoon!  I didn’t know what to do for her, and I was losing my mind...a fact that came bursting out of my mouth when asked how I was doing at church on Sunday.

The inquirer was none other than my lovely friend, Jen, who is raising three adorable, blond, well-behaved children.  Being unsurprised at my reply to her banal “How’s it going?”, she grew pensive and asked a few follow-up questions.  When she got to Alice’s sleep schedule, I could practically see a bulb illuminate over her head as she smiled knowingly.  

“I don’t know what your parenting method is,” she started, “but maybe check out Babycenter.com.  They have a sleep chart that might help.”

She went on to suggest that Alice wasn’t sleeping enough at night, leading to a too-long morning nap, resulting in the afternoon sleep-striking.  She advised a limited morning nap and an earlier bedtime.  

“Just take a look at the chart,” she said kindly, “I hope it helps.”

Even before arriving home, I was fervently studying.  If you’re wondering, a five-month-old baby should get between eleven and twelve hours of sleep per night.  Alice was getting around seven.  Also, four hours of daytime napping is advised, broken into three shorter segments.  We weren’t even close to hitting the mark on that either.  With this discovery, Dan and I made the decision to embark upon an immediate sleep overhaul.

It’s been about a week and a half, and the difference is amazing!  Alice wakes up on her own, smiling her drooly, toothless smile at the same time each morning.  When nap time arrives, I place her into bed, tuck her in, turn on her ocean sounds, and give her a kiss.  She closes her eyes and goes to sleep on her own.  Giggles and chatter abound until her afternoon nap, when we repeat the process with success each day.  A final mini-nap keeps her happy until bedtime, when she stretches herself out between us on the bed, puts her hand on Dan’s arm (so cute!) and dozes off into dreamland with little to no fuss. Can you believe it?!

So First-time Mommas, I know it’s hard to have to take advice.  It’s difficult to admit that you don’t always know exactly how to take care of your child.  It’s certainly humbling to ask for help.  But...listen now… It’s worth it!!  I can’t tell you how much easier my life is right now than it was two weeks ago.  All three of us are doing much better.  Now seek out those courageous women who went before you and buy them a cup of coffee.  Have a nice, long chat, then share what you’ve learned in the comments!

Product Review: Moon Valley Organics Moon Melt Lotion Bar

Moon Valley Organics Moon Melt Lotion Bar.  You’re welcome.

I don’t often recommend beauty and skincare products because I don’t really use many of them.  The ones I do use are often made for people with extremely sensitive skin, eczema, or psoriasis, and that isn’t helpful for most people.  Still, sometimes I come across a product that is worth mentioning, and the Moon Melt Lotion Bar is one of those products.

Moon Valley Organics makes skin and body care products with sustainability and ethics in mind.  Their ingredients are grown on a permaculture farm and are 100% organic.  What they can’t grow themselves they buy from suppliers who support fair trade and the Rainforest Action Network.  The packaging is 100% recyclable and made from recycled material, plus it’s BPA free (all information taken directly from the Moon Valley Organics website).  In other words, you can feel good about supporting this company.

Now, back to the lotion bar.  It comes in a cute little tin about the size of my palm, so it is easy to carry in a purse or diaper bag.  You can get it in four “flavors:” lavender, coconut lemon, bergamot geranium, and lemon vanilla.  They smell heavenly!  

But does it work?  

Yes.

Even on dry, chapped, winter-in-Colorado hands?  

Yup.  

Even when you work in a school and wash your hands with antibacterial soap about three thousand times a day?  

Uh huh.  

No kidding?  

No kidding!  

It’s made with calendula and comfrey, which are often used in all-natural eczema care products, so you know they’re hydrating.  They help your skin hold water, so I suggest using it after washing your hands.  

Finally, it works overtime by being terrific as not just a hand cream, but a lip chap and a cuticle cream as well.  I’ll even apply it to some of my milder eczema patches to keep them from worsening to the point of needing a stronger remedy.  It’s really a product that ticks all the boxes!

If you’d like to buy your own, click here, or check out any of Moon Valley Organics’ products.  I haven’t found any that I don’t like.  Be aware, I’m not affiliated with this company in any way, but if they offer, I’ll totally be their spokeswoman!  

*Please make me your spokeswoman, Moon Valley Organics!*

Did you find this review helpful or interesting?  Do you have a great hand cream solution for winter?  Let me know in the comments, and see you next time!

Project 333: Finished Spring Capsule 2016

What’s that?  That’s my armoire.  What’s in it?  The entirety of my spring wardrobe for Project 333.  Just that?  Yup.  Just that.

If you’re just joining me, Project 333 is an online challenge in which you only wear thirty-three pieces of clothing, including accessories, for three months.  You don’t count sleepwear, loungewear, workout clothes, or things you wear everyday (like a wedding ring or watch).  The compilation of your thirty-three items is called a “capsule wardrobe,” because you should be able to fit the whole thing into one capsule (suitcase, carry-on, etc.).  

Above is my second attempt at creating a workable capsule wardrobe.  You can see my winter 2016 attempt here, the recap here, and my final thoughts and lessons learned here.  

This time around may be more difficult for a couple of reasons.  First, I plan to be in this wardrobe for two months this time, instead of one like the first time.  It’s still not the full three because I decided to change the recommended April-June spring timeline to March-May.  Second, spring in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is not known for being predictable.  For example, our local weather woman, Kathy Sabine, predicts snow tomorrow.  No big, right?  Did I tell you it’s seventy degrees today?  How do you put together a wardrobe of only thirty-three items if you have to plan for such extremes?  I actually don’t know.  But I’m going to try!

This time I stuck with a color palette of black, grey, sand, burgundy/pink, and olive.  I’m hoping this will help it all go together, and let me mix and match.

Here is what I ended up with for this upcoming season…

Tops

1-3. Solid tanks- one from Gap and two Apt 9 from Kohl’s

The grey one from the Gap was in my winter 2016 capsule, and I found it difficult to wear because the arm holes are so big that they show my bra.  I’ll layer it over another tank or under a sweater.  If it doesn’t work out this season, to the thrift store it goes!

4&5. Patterned tanks- both from Kohl’s

Hoping it’ll be warm enough to wear these on their own, but they layer well under solid sweaters.

6&7. Short-sleeved tees- one from Apt 9 at Kohl’s, one bought at a yoga shop in Old

Town Arvada

Both have sleeves that hit at the elbow instead of in the middle of the upper arm, which is more flattering for me.  The burgundy one has bat wing sleeves and a fitted waist.

8&9. Two long-sleeved shirts- one sparkly sand one from Banana Republic and one

olive one from PINK by Victoria’s Secret

Both featured in my winter 2016 capsule.  Both great for chillier/snowy days in the Rockies.

Bottoms

10&11. Jeans (Lee Classic Fit) and *Fake* silk pants from Kohl’s

I’m kind of excited to get out of the yoga pants.  I’ve been frumping it up...just a little.

12&13. Two below-the-knee pencil skirts from Kohl’s

I debated putting these in my capsule this year.  They’re prepregnancy and still a tad bit small, but I’m actively losing weight (thank you, nursing!) and they’re stretchy, so I think I’ll be able to comfortably wear them.  

14. Mini skirt from the Junior’s section at Kohl’s

Yes, the Junior’s section.  Yes, mini.  I’m not confident enough to wear a mini skirt on its own, so I thought the coolness of spring would make this a perfect time to pair this one with leggings and get some use out of it.

15. Checkered shorts- hand-me-downs from...gulp...my mom!

They’re actually pretty cute!  Good job, Mom.

Layering and Outerwear

16. Oversize cardigan from Gap Body

Held over from winter.

17. Oversize wool cardigan from Banana Republic

Held over from winter.

18. Puffy black coat

Sadly, I’ll probably need this at least once more.

19&20. Two pairs of leggings- one from Dansko, one Cuddl Duds

Accessories

21. Pink infinity scarf

I didn’t get much use out of it in the winter, so maybe this spring I can wear it with short sleeves to make them warm enough on cooler days.

22-24. One slouchy beanie, one wide-brimmed sunhat, one straw cloche hat

Accounting for very cold and very hot days.

25. Black belt with silver buckle

26. Birkenstock Gizeh sandals in burgundy

27. Clarks boat shoes in slate

28&29. Pink pearl earrings and necklace

A gift from Dan early in our marriage.  He heard me mention that I would love to have a string of pink pearls someday.  They were under the tree the following Christmas.  Isn’t he wonderful?

30. Canvas tote

My mom got this for me when she visited Butchart Gardens last year.  Because I carry my big, Boken Essentials Everyday diaper bag (a product review and “What’s in my bag” on the way soon), I decided not to include a separate handbag this season.  I’ll put this tote into the diaper bag, and if I need to carry something extra (groceries, financial binder, extra sweater, etc.), I’ll take it out and use it.

Believe it or not, I can’t think of anything else to include!  I’m sure I’ll realize I’m missing something as I go, so I’ll just leave it at thirty and add three more pieces as I need.  I can tell you right now, if I find a retro floppy sunhat I’m getting it!  Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the next one!

Project 333: Winter 2016- Beyond the Clothes

After doing Project 333 for one month, I realize that dressing with less was about more than just outfits.  Here are some follow-up thoughts and lessons from my first capsule.

People thought I was brave.

The number of times I heard, “Wow, only thirty-three items?  I could never do that.  You’re really brave!” Or some variation thereof struck me as odd.  I guess I never thought choosing clothing was important enough to require courage.  Sure, it takes a certain amount of guts (or lack thereof, haha) to put on that crop top, but if you’re reasonably comfortable with your body, dressing it shouldn’t be scary.  If you want to shed some more light on why dressing with less could be scary, please leave a comment!  I’d like to understand more.

That being said, I suspect most people only regularly wear a small selection of their clothing anyway.  They certainly have only a few “favorites” that make it out of their closets frequently.  It’s just about shearing away the bulk.  That’s not too frightening, is it?

I did way less laundry.

Laundry used to be a twice-a-day affair.  During my first month of capsule dressing, I did one load of colors and one load of whites a week!  I still do quite a bit of general washing because we cloth diaper Alice, but I’d say we cut it back by about half because of my thirty-three item wardrobe and the fact that...prepare yourself…

Only changing accessories, I wore the same outfit twice in a row.

The horror!  If something didn’t smell fresh or had a stain, I didn’t wear it again, of course.  Otherwise, the same pants and tops went on for two days in a row, and I’d add a scarf or a hat or something the second day to change it up.  It didn’t seem to matter, which brings me to the next point:

Nobody cared, or even noticed, that I wore the same things all the time.

If they did, they didn’t say anything.  It’s amazing how, as long as you’re dressed at least semi-appropriately, people don’t give a second thought to what you’re wearing and whether or not they’ve already seen it that week.

The Project 333 timelines don’t work for me.

For example, the winter capsule is supposed to be worn through March, but I think of March as the first month of spring.  As such, I’ll be changing the timelines to fit the seasons as I perceive them, making March-May “spring,” June-August “summer,” September-November “fall,” and December-February “winter.”  That means that this upcoming capsule will only be worn for two months, but that’s alright.  I’m still practicing, and my first capsule didn’t go very well.  The shorter time period will let me make mistakes without committing to them for so long!

There is a whole world of ethics surrounding the fashion industry.

I won’t go into it too much here, as I’m sure it would fill an entire post by itself.  To briefly summarize, though, I learned that my shopping choices mean a whole lot more to the world than I knew.  It’s about more than looking cute.  There’s sustainability, environmental impact, animal cruelty, factory conditions, fair trade, and a slew of other considerations to take into account when I shop.  I’ll be thinking much more about it next time I need a new piece for my wardrobe.

Who knew I’d learn so much in just one month of changing the way I get dressed in the morning?!  My next Project 333 entry will be a display of my spring capsule wardrobe and a description of how I put it together.  Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss it!