I made it to the last day of the Flats Challenge! Only a few more hours left. I will hand wash today's load, and then I will probably hand wash tomorrow's diapers as well, just for good measure. Will I continue to hand wash our diapers? Not every day. I am very excited to be able to take my new wash bucket with us camping, and hunting. I would love not to have to use disposables on those trips! Plus, I think it would be an awesome feeling to be out in nature, handwashing my son's cloth diapers (or our laundry!) enjoying the sounds and smells. I might have an unrealistic picture in my head of that! HAHA! But it sounds good.
So how did I do? Well I had a couple hiccups. The major one being on Thursday. My son was sleeping and I decided to run to the fabric store and leave him with my husband. I left out a cover with a pad folded flat inside. That way he could change him if he woke up, and it wouldn't be too difficult. (My husband doesn't change diapers that often, seriously maybe one diaper a month.) Well I came home to this...
Apparently somehow he unfolded the pad folded flat, couldn't get it back in the cover, poop and pee were everywhere... well you get the idea. I wish I had a video of that whole situation. I was pretty upset at the time, but now I can laugh about it. (A little)
I also used a couple disposable wipes, which really wasn't a rule that I couldn't, but I was trying to see if I could use only cloth for the whole challenge. Not a big deal though, I still was able to use A LOT less than I have been using. I honestly don't know why I haven't switched to cloth wipes sooner!
I was able to line dry every day except yesterday. We had a birthday party to go to and I wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not. So I hung the diapers inside.
I knew I kept this bag of pants hangers for something!
Overall, I am very happy I was able to participate in this challenge this year. It really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, even with 2 extra kids in the house! I really am convinced this is definitely an option for families today. It can be done, and I really don't think it is a huge amount of work. If it is a matter of re-using disposables, or hand washing cloth diapers... we would all want to chose what is best for our babies, no matter how much work involved, right?
Going forward, I am glad I have the experience to know how to do this if the need ever arises. My washing machine is getting a bit old, who knows what could happen? No, I'm not a prepper, but I do like to learn valuable life and survival skills. These things, in my opinion, shouldn't be overlooked as something people did in the past, but as normal skills that should be passed down generations. I don't want to be so reliant upon technology, or modern conveniences that I can't live without them.
Whatever the circumstance, even in today's modern society, cloth diapering is a real, viable option. It can be done, and it can be done with very little expense.
