It’s not so easy being green when all they want is your $$$. June 8, 2009

We took our family vacation this year and I decided that in the name of convenience (and my sanity), I would use disposable diapers instead of my cloth ones. The biggest reason for choosing it was the 10 hour drive to Kissimmee, FL.  and staying in a place we’d never stayed before and not knowing what laundering facilities would be available…if any.

So as I was passing through Wal-Mart while doing some last minute shopping for the trip…sunglasses, earbuds, batteries etc.  A diaper display on the end cap caught my eye. Huggies “pure and natural”.  Knowing that Wal-Mart is offering more organic and natural products everyday. I grabbed a package, threw it in the cart and off I went.

Thankfully I had to make a stop at my favorite market where I purchase a lot of my organic foods and they happened to be having a sale on 7th generation diapers and I just happened to have a coupon in my wallet so I grabbed a package and added that to my cart.

I want to tell you without doing any research and just from a performance standpoint, the 7th generation diapers out did the Huggies hands down. Even though I bought the size that my 10 month old is in (and according to the weight chart on the Huggies package) they were unbelieveably too small. Her cheeks kept hanging out on one side or the other and they leaked like a sieve. I also paid about $11.00 (before tax) for 26 diapers.  For the 7th generation diapers I paid $10.49 (before tax) for 35 diapers. The 7th gen. out performed the Huggies in every area as far as fit (and I have an agressive crawler/pre-walker), didn’t leak…even when I forgot to change her at one of our gas stops and she was way over due by the next one (I was sure we’d end up cleaning a carseat with that one) and was easy to use…the tabs kept sticking on the Huggies and the 7th gen. were easy to use while trying to diaper a very wiggly child on one of those plastic changing stations in the rest stop (the safety straps were broken).

I have to say, I am impressed with 7th generation yet again. I’ve used their household products for several years before making my own and I’ve loved their company for its environmentally responsible practices, for producing products that are safe, non toxic and perform (and in many cases out perform their unsafe counterparts), but I’d never used their diapering products before. If I have another trip to take, I’ll definitely use them again.

Back to the research….after getting home and taking a closer look at the Huggies brand…they aren’t much different from the typical Huggies disposable diapers. They have a partially organic cotton cover (not the part that is next to baby’s skin, which is where I’m most interested in), the OUTER layer contains aloe and vitamin E…(and exactly who is that of benefit to ?) and the liner “includes” renewable materials…but is not made of renewable materials…so basically I just bought a VERY high priced environmentally green “poser” diaper.

While 7th Generation stands behind the fact that their diapers are chlorine free, latex free, environmentally sound…and they disclose ALL their ingredients…which Huggies doesn’t. hmmmmm I think I’ve been taken.

So learn from my mistake and don’t let yourself be taken in…you want to feel good about making the right choice for your baby, family and being a good steward of the environment ?  Check out the company that you are buying from.  In the meantime, I’m back at home and using my G-diapers with prefold inserts, using the disposable/compostable liners when we’re out and about…and will definitely use the 7th Generation disposables the next trip we’re taking.

Liquid Fabric Softener:Minty-Fresh May 13, 2009

Helps remove tough odors from clothing.

1 gallon vinegar
10 drops peppermint essential oil

Add essential oil directly to the bottle of vinegar. Add 1 cup to the rinse cycle for each load.

Homemade Baby’s Laundry Detergent Recipe April 23, 2009

2 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)
2 TBS liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronners)
1/4 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup borax
1/4 cup white vinegar

If using essential oil, mix with castile soap. (If using Dr. Bronner’s, you can purchase scented …I like Almond and Lavender scent for baby’s detergent)
Add this mixture to washer along with washing soda, baking soda and borax. Launder as usual.

Homemade Cloth Diaper Whitener Recipe April 22, 2009

A good soaking recipe for dirty diapers

Add 1/2 cup borax, 1/4 cup white vinegar and 6-8 drops of tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus or citrus essential oil to a diaper pail of hot water.
Soak diapers for 30-35 minutes, or longer if really soiled. Then launder as usual.

I just got my Chinese Pre-Folds in! April 17, 2009

I am so excited.
I just got my cloth Chinese pre-folds in. (and the doublers I ordered)
I am amazed at the quality. I bought the diapers on sale, they are the stained and “retired” cloth diapers from a diaper service. But they are in such fabulous shape. They aren’t stained like I thought they were. Looks more like rust “pin” stick stains rather than poo stains. Plus some very tiny small holes in the top layer but for $1.00 each for a 4×8x4 I got such a great deal. The doublers are all new 8 ply and so incredibly soft. I can hardly wait to try them.
What a bargain for such great quality!!!!
I also got my imse vimse inserts in over the weekend. So all I need now are the diaper covers and we’re ready to start our cloth diapering adventure!

I’ve order 2 yards of PUL fabric which should come in this week and all I’ll need to do is to take the fabric to my seamstress who is currently working on the pattern and prototype. We’re almost there.
My husband is going to install a hose with a “spray” nozzle on it in the utility room so that I can clean/pre rinse the diapers more easily before laundering.

Homemade baby wipes recipe really does save you $$$ April 8, 2009

I was in the store the other day purchasing some more Organic baby food, I make my own but sometimes they have some on sale…
When I noticed that the natural, chlorine free wipes, were being sold for $4.99 for 80ct tub.
Do you realize how much money you will be saving by using my recipe ?
While I was out shopping, I picked up an 8 pack of Brawny select a size package of paper towels. They were the cheapest and since I bought in bulk they were even cheaper. 8 rolls for $6.74 @ 180 sheets per roll.
I already had the ingredients at home but if you use the basic recipe calling for 2 TBS of baby wash (I use the Earth’s Best by Jason OG), 2 TBS olive oil (or I use Sweet Almond Oil by Aura Cacia)
Now I purchased a 2 pack of the Earth’s Best 2 in one baby wash and shampoo from our organic food co-op for $6.00 and I purchased the Sweet Almond oil from the co-op for $4.45 (but it was on sale this month for $2.74 a bottle so I stocked up).
So my savings were even more but let’s say I purchased the baby wash/shampoo in the store for the average price of $5.99 each and the Almond Oil for the average store price of $5.93

1 bottle of Earth’s Best baby wash and shampoo will make 16 basic diaper wipe recipes.
1 bottle of Sweet Almond Oil will make 4 basic diaper wipe recipes.
1/2 roll of Brawny 180ct pick a size paper towels will make 1 basic diaper wipe recipes.
Cost per recipe:
Paper Towel=0.42
Baby Wash = 0.37
Sweet Almond Oil = 1.48
Water = free
Total = 2.27 + TN tax = $2.47 yields 90 wipes.
Compared to $5.99 + TN tax = $6.51 yields 80 wipes
Savings: $4.04

I also made a batch using the Olive oil (I bought from Sam’s Club) I had on hand since I ran out of Sweet Almond oil.
Paper Towel=0.42
Baby Wash = 0.37
Olive Oil = .30
Water = free
Total = 1.09 + TN tax = $1.19 yields 90 wipes.
Compared to $5.99 + TN tax = $6.51 yields 80 wipes
Savings: $5.32

Significant savings over purchasing the other brand + you know whats in it AND you don’t have to worry about nasty toxins and rash causing chemicals.

Affordable Cloth Diapering April 7, 2009

I was at a community yard sale this past weekend, when I ran into a friend who used cloth diapers with 5 of her 6 children.
Since I am looking into switching to cloth diapers for Anna, I took the opportunity to pick her brain.
I had started to use cloth diapers with our 2nd daughter, Abby, but my husband had visions of folded diapers, pins, and plastic pants that he had used with his older sons and so refused to help change the girls should we go the cloth diaper route.
I wish I had stood my ground then, but better late than never. Cloth diapering has really evolved in the last 14 years since Abigail was a baby. I’m having to relearn a bit.
There are so many diapers to choose from these days that its easy to get overwhelmed at the sheer volume of information and the different products available. So much so that its hard to determine what to use.
My friend told me that the best diapers that she had ever used were from a diaper service that someone had gotten for her as a shower present. She said that they were the most absorbent ever and that the service was wonderful.
That got me thinking. We have 6 children and I don’t have $400.00-600.00 to invest all at once into a cloth diaper set up. Plus there are so many options and I know that I want the most absorbent, leak resistant (you know given a the right circumstances, they all leak..the disposables do so why not the cloth as well ?) but which ones are prone to leak and which ones aren’t under normal wear? Hard to know without trying them…and who has the $$$ to put into buying several covers for $15.00-$20.00 a piece. WOW! Cloth diapering is big business.
So, I started thinking…..
Now I have a close friend who is a fabulous seamstress and we found some cloth diaper patterns online and she is currently making me a batch of fitted cloth diapers. I gave her all the old receiving blankets I had and burps cloths and flannel I could find in the house. And I’ve been trolling the flea markets and yard sales looking for cloth diapers to line the middle of the diapers with. (recycling at its heart…you’d be so proud)
I started looking at diapering services online and found only one in the state of TN. They are based in Nashville and do not service our area (about 2 hours away) BUT they do have used inventory that they sell for $1.00 a piece. The Chinese pre-folded diapers, 4×8x4…for only $1.00. Not bad if I do say so myself.
There are so many covers to choose from: bumGenius, Hemp Babies, Happy Heiny’s, Imse Vimse, Swaddlebees, Kissaluvs, Thirsties, Diaperaps, Bummis , Litewrap, Cot’n Wrap, Aristocrats
You can spend as much as you want on a diaper cover, but what my research shows for those who are interested in making their own is that there is a special material that is recommended for cloth diaper covers…I’ll do another post on PUL fabric. This is the option that I’m looking into.
In the meantime, check out your local (or as local as you can get) Diaper service and see if they will sell you their old pre-folds, or stained ones…they still have plenty of use and washings left in them and you can buy them up at very affordable prices.
Happy diapering!