Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 6: Going Out

Flats are cheap. Flats are readily available. But are they realistic to use outside the house? Definitely! The important thing to remember is to keep it simple and be prepared. 


When we go out, I pad fold our flats into GroVia shells. Most of the time, this works great. It can be a challenge with Jaxon, though, since he's very squirmy and can take the diaper apart with one hand in about 2 seconds. If I know I will have to do a quick diaper change in the car or might have to change his diaper somewhere that's cramped, I will stuff a pocket diaper. It really just makes things easier. My Mabu Baby covers have also made changes easier, since a pad folded flat fits nicely into the diaper pad holder and keeps the pad fold from sliding around while I struggle to keep Jaxon still. When handwashing, a simple wet bag, like those from GroVia, work best.


Yesterday was our anniversary. We weren't able to do anything last night, so Jason wants to take me out tonight. Alone. Without Jaxon. He asked his parents to keep Jaxon for a few hours while we go have a quiet dinner. We've never left Jaxon anywhere before! I have only left Jaxon a couple of times with Jason. This will definitely be a test for me!


Since we've never left him, no one has ever changed Jaxon's diaper except for Jason or me. When I realized that my mother-in-law's introduction to changing cloth diapers would be with flats, I decided I'd stuff pockets instead. Here I've been bragging about modern cloth diapers and how easy they are for all these months and then I show up with flats & covers for her to use? It hardly seemed fair. I have a Softbums Omni shell in Aplix that I used at the doctor on Thursday. It washed up nicely afterwards and was dry by morning. I also stuffed an Applecheeks the other day for nighttime use and so I'll use it again. I will probably send a BumGenius stuffed with a flat as well, and some pad folds inside GroVia's just in case. I haven't had any issues with my pockets repelling, so this is a realistic option for using flats on a daily basis, even when handwashing is necessary. 


I didn't post on any tips yesterday and most of the ones I had were covered by other bloggers anyway. I haven't seen this one yet, though, so I'll mention it now. I have found that blue Dawn (many people use this for stripping diapers) works well to clear up stink (I had one cover that was stinky) and helps with staining (it got all of the staining out of one of the pocket diapers I used the other day). I've never used blue Dawn for stripping since I've heard conflicting things about it with front loaders. However, it really did work nicely for this purpose and I've been using it for the past 2 days now. 


On a side note...my husband was outside processing chickens (that's the nice way of saying he was killing them so they can be eaten) while I was hanging my handwashed flats out. I felt all pioneer like for about 15 minutes. Then I came back in to the air conditioning and felt much, much better. I don't mind using flats, but I'm so glad that handwashing isn't part of my daily life.

Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 4: Handwashing Therapy

I didn't wash diapers last night, but I should have. Jaxon had a doctor's appointment today and I stuffed a couple of pockets with flats so we'd have easy diapers for that. Since I wasn't in need of my covers, I just had to make sure I had enough flats. There were 6, which isn't enough for the whole day. But then I remembered I had two extra flats in the van, stashed there for emergencies. I figured that would be enough.

A large load of flats and covers soaking in the tub 

We had an uneventful doctor's appointment and headed home. As soon as we got home this afternoon, I started the diapers to soaking. No matter how much I swish the diapers around, they hold their folds unless I am deliberate about unfolding them. Then I agitated them for a few minutes until Jaxon called for me. Jaxon was very tired since he only took 30 minutes of a nap in the car. I nursed him on and off for a while and then finally remembered that I had wanted to get the diapers out and drying in the sun. At that point, it was almost 5. Still a couple hours of sunshine left!


I went to wash the flats, leaving Jaxon with Daddy. While I was washing, I got to thinking about all kinds of things. We are dealing with a lot of stuff this week...negative, yucky stuff. As I was washing and thinking through things, I realized what handwashing is good for: stress therapy. If you're stressed, you should totally take it out on a load of flats. The bottom of our tub is textured and I scrubbed them against the tub bottom and against each other over and over again. Then I rinsed them well. My flats are clean. They smell clean and are rinsing clean. I wrung them out over and over and over again. Wringing is hard work - the worst part of handwashing, in my opinion. I then took them outside, wrung them out again, and then shook them out, which helped release even more water. I must have looked like a crazy woman, but I could feel the water flying in the air so it must have helped. I wrapped my covers in a towel to help get excess water off of them since I didn't want to subject them to my brutal wringing. 

Flats and covers drying outside!

It's like a million degrees outside so I think that everything will be dry pretty quickly. (updated to add: most of the flats were dry by 7:30, all of the covers are not -they are now drying inside under the ceiling fan - I had used a couple of pocket diapers which are taking much longer to dry than my Flips & Econobums)


I don't find handwashing to be difficult. When you're stressed, it can even be therapeutic. However, wringing the diapers out is awful. I have a callus on my hand where I got a little carried away with the wringing today (wearing rubber gloves might prevent this). I could see myself washing diapers this way on a regular basis, but I think I'd have to come up with a more creative way for getting the diapers wrung out (does anyone have one?). 


All in all, this is a viable diapering and washing option. Even if it's just to supplement disposable use, it's definitely something that is feasible and affordable for most people. If I can handwash with Parkinson's, then almost anyone can do it. I don't throw my Parkinson's around often like that, but it fits here. Sure, it's challenging, but it's doable. Lots of things in life are a challenge, but we handle them. Handwashing is certainly better than reusing soiled diapers or choosing between buying diapers and buying food. Want to help provide cloth diapers to a family in need? Check out Giving Diapers, Giving Hope to find out how you can help. 

Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 2: What I'm Using

It's Day 2 of the Flats & Handwashing Challenge. For more information on the challenge, you can read my Day 1 post. 


Today's topic is supplies. I didn't prepare much for this year's challenge. I already had flats that I had been using since last year's challenge. A flat is any large square piece of material so you can use anything from a receiving blanket to a towel to a birdseye flat actually sold for cloth diapering. 


I'm going to be using flour sack towels from Target, Osocozy flats, a Snappi, homemade fleece liners, and a variety of covers. I am using covers from Econobum, GroVia, Rumparooz, and Mabu Baby. I'll also be stuffing some pocket diapers with flats since I find these to be more convenient when we're away from home. Jaxon is very squirmy and pocket diapers just make things easier. 


As for washing, I've been washing in the bathtub. I'm using Clean B Grape Cabernet detergent because it smells amazing and actually makes handwashing pleasant. I'm doing everything by hand, using the textured bottom of the tub to help scrub the diapers clean. They've been coming out smelling fresh and clean, but I'm not doing well with stains. I'm hoping to sun the diapers later this week. 


I'm drying my diapers indoors because I've been washing at night. I have a drying rack, and I'm turning on the ceiling fan to help them dry faster. Last night, I hung them out around 10 and they were dry by this morning. 


Have you ever used a household item such as a towel or receiving blanket to diaper your baby?

Second Annual Flats & Handwashing Challenge, Day 1

Today kicks off the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all. I participated last year as well. You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post. This year there are over 450 participants from all over the world! I'm participating for a few reasons: to help raise awareness, to help prove it can be done, and to practice being a little more self sufficient. I'll readily admit that I'm a little spoiled by modern conveniences. It's always good to know how to do things in a more "old fashioned" way, even if you only have to use your skills every once in a while when the power goes out. 


Last year, I was more excited than I should have been about handwashing diapers and folding flats. I was so happy to be participating in something that could help show that cloth diapers don't have to be expensive and that you can use cloth even if you don't have a washing machine. This year, I'm still happy to be participating, but not as excited for some reason. It could have something to do with the headache that's been plaguing me for about 3 weeks now! I also think the novelty has worn off for me, which has me wondering if I'm going to make it through the challenge! 


Flats aren't hard to use and I use them about once a day anyway. But handwashing can be a pain- it makes my hands tired. However, it's an integral part of the challenge. Many people who would need to use flats just don't have regular access to a washing machine. I'm pretty committed to having Jaxon in cloth so I think I would still use cloth if I didn't have a washing machine. However, I'd probably be looking to borrow access to a machine once a week or so to give myself a break.  


I went ahead and put Jaxon in two flats last night, diaper bag fold, with a pad fold in the middle for extra absorbency, inside an Econobum cover. No leaks, even though he also pooped! Since I normally rinse Jaxon's nighttime diapers before dropping them in the pail each morning, I decided to just go ahead and wash these two diapers this morning. They are now drying on the hanging rack inside since it's raining outside.


In doing this, I learned that our hall bathroom sink stopper doesn't work. I left the flats to soak and came back to a sink with no water in it. I also learned that two flats, a cover, one wipe, and one fleece liner fill up the tiny sink. If I want to wash more than one diaper at a time, I'm going to have to use the tub.


I'm definitely going to have to wash diapers tonight. I'm not sure where all my flats have gone to, but I thought I had 20. However, I only have 6 left after today and I know I didn't change Jaxon that many times.


Are you participating in the Flats & Handwashing Challenge? How did your Day 1 go?