Cloth Diapering Passion!

(Please note:my hand is hovering just out of frame to catch this little sweetie bug in case she rolls, she hasn't learned that yet as she is only 3 months, but we can never be too careful) A look at part of my fluff stash of cloth diapers!

A topic completely unrelated to my crafting or Sweetie Bug Creations is cloth diapering...something I've really gotten into over the past 3 months. Although this is my 3rd child, she is the first that I have cloth diapered. I was extremely apprehensive about it and assumed (incorrectly) that it would be difficult and time consuming. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only is it easy - it is also actually fun! It's fun to collect a stash of all of the cute different covers that are out there. I am on a fairly tight budget so I am primarily using prefolds and covers, but I have been able to snap a few pocket diapers and some fitteds. I am using several different brands including Thirsties, Bummies, G-Diapers, Fuzzibunz and Ecobumz. I have found all of them to be wonderful! I use a wet bucket method - a flip-lid garbarge can from Walmart filled with 6-12" of water (so that the first day's worth of diapers get a good soaking before I launder every 2-3 days). Then I can remove the plastic tub of the garbage can and tip right into the washer without having to touch anything nasty! A rinse cycle, a hot whites cycle with a tiny bit of Tide Free and Clear and then an additional rinse cycle are all it takes. They also only take about 5 mintues to fold and put away! A breeze! I don't really know why I was so intimidated but I am very glad that I decided to change from disposable diapering. I am saving a lot of money and maybe doing some good for the environment as well. I encourage others to give it a shot.

I came across this article today http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/04/almost-free-diapers-how-to-diaper-your.html that gives several options for cloth diapering for super cheap (like $20!).

Also, if you have a bit more of a budget you can sometimes snag wonderful cloth diapers on the one-a-day deal sites such as www.babyhalfoff.com, www.babysteals.com and www.mamabargains.com - I also got several very gently used on a local online classified site.