How does Cloth diapering make Pollyanna green??

Cloth diapering our children, as you all may know, is better for the environment. Anything in general if reusing instead of disposing of it is being green.  Reusing cloth diapers over and over is avoiding us adding on more waste to landfills. It’s pretty amazing to know that if using disposable diapers from birth to potty training each baby will need about 6,000 diaper changes each diaper will need 250-500 years to decompose. Is that crazy or what?

We only have one earth; we need to take care of it. I mean there is only so many landfills. I’m sure we don’t want to live near waste landfills.  Cloth diapering my son’s is helping the earth be a bit greener. While some may say the investment is too much, you can get some good deals on new and used cloth diapers! Plus in the long run you will be saving yourself a lot of money, the environment, and the well being of your baby(s).  Not only do I use cloth diapers on my son but also use cloth wipes. Cloth wipes very simple to use. They're the same as using regular wipes except you're not throwing them away! They also don’t have harsh chemicals and will not irritate your baby's bum. There is many other ways to being green, but cloth diapering is just one way I help out the environment. We also use cloth napkins in our home, as we do not buy hand napkins. I will be cloth diapering two baby boys very soon as well. I want the very best for them and I will do everything in my power to accomplish that. I want to be able to change the world a little bit at a time.

How has cloth diapering your little ones made you greener???

How Cloth Diapering Made Nicole "Green"

Cloth diapering ended up taking over a lot of my life after I started in.  When I first started, I decided to start researching on why disposable diapers were being put down so much in the cloth diapering world.  What I found was HORRIBLE news to me.  The statistics of how long it might take for just one disposable diaper to decompose and realizing how many of those I put into the world is stunning!  That is when I started to research everything.

I found out how long it took for trash bags to decompose first.  And that is when we bought a hose.  Now we just put all the trash in the trash can, throw it out, clean out the trash can outside and repeat.  No trash bags for us which means that our trash decomposes MUCH faster than what it used to.  Not only that, now we only throw out about a total of 1 1/2 trash cans a week...which is awesome for a 4 person family!

We also decided to go to cloth wipes.  When we did that, of course the cloth wipe solution came with it...which meant that everything we were using for the babies bottom was now all natural.  So we just assumed that we should do the same thing for all of our showing/bathing soaps and shampoos.  Also our detergent.  We were buying natural detergent for the diapers anyways, so it just made sense to switch over to all Eco Sprout.

We also use unpaper towels and napkins and NEVER use disposable plates or cups...what a waist of money all that was as well!!!

I think cloth diapering has just really opened up mine and my families life on how easy it is to live a bit more naturally and a bit "greener".  Not to mention, I would LOVE for my planet to be safe for my great great great grandchildren to be living in instead of them all living on top of our trash!  Think about it :-)

Contributed by: Nicole

Cloth Diaper: Gateway to All Things Green?

I started my cloth diaper journey as a necessity. In order for me to stay at home with my son
most days, our family decided that we needed to cut back on expenses here and there. When
I found out about cloth diapers, I saw this as a HUGE way to decrease monthly baby expenses.
But as I learned more and more about the added benefits to using cloth diapers, besides saving
money, I began to have a “greener” outlook on life. Let me explain…

Not only are cloth diapers more environmentally friendly than disposables, but they make you
think about all of the chemicals that would have gone on your little one’s bum. The chemicals
found in disposables are not present in cloth diapers, thus your baby is not being exposed
nearly 24 hours a day to chemicals. This got me wondering…what other chemicals is my family
being exposed to that I never really thought about… detergents, fabric softeners, food, and
cleaners just to name a few. I quickly realized that these harmful chemicals were all around me.

Slowly over time my thoughts and attitudes about these harmful chemicals started to change.
I no longer wanted my son or my family to be as exposed to them. I started to do research
and discovered that there were little things I could change that wouldn’t break the bank. For
instance:

1) We grow our own garden, this saves us from having to buy organic produce during the
spring and summer seasons. When there is extra money in the budget, we try to splurge
on fruit and meats without added hormones, pesticides, etc.

2) I make my own cleaning solutions. Many with vinegar and other all natural ingredients
found around the house.

3) I make my own powdered dishwashing detergent.

4) I use Wool Dryer balls instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets.

5) I try to recycle as often as possible…either putting items in the recycling bin, or re-using
glass jars or containers.

So are cloth diapers really a gateway to going “greener.” For my family and I, the answer to that
question is yes. It was not a huge change all at once, but more so a gradual realization of what
was surrounding my family’s immediate environment.

What about you? Do you think cloth diapers are a gateway to other “green” lifestyle changes
in your families’ life?

6 Reasons Why I Love Smartipants Pocket Diapers

6 Reasons Why I Love Smartipants Pocket Diapers

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there seems like no better way to celebrate my love of

Smartipants than to list the reasons why I love their diapers! So in no particular order, the 6 Reasons I

love Smartipants.

Bright Colors - Smartipants carries a big selection of bright and bold colors. From pink to red

and even black they are sleek and stylish. In addition they have really cute names such as Hot

Chocolate and Think Pink.

One Size – Smartipants makes their diapers with snaps in the front to adjust the size of the

diaper from small to medium and then to large. The diaper is made to fit babies from 7lbs to

35lbs. Simply adjust a few snaps and you arrive at the next size. This feature helps to save a lot

of money.

Dual Pocket Openings - Dual pocket openings are when the opening to stuff the insert in the

diaper is located both in the front and the back. If there is a diaper with poop on it, you can pull

the insert out from the front, but if the diaper only has pee, pull the insert out from the back.

This makes for easy access to the insert and allows you to stuff your diaper easier.

Crossover Snaps – If you have a skinny baby, crossover snaps will come in handy. Crossover

snaps allow for a more snug fit around the baby’s waist by overlapping the flaps of the diaper. I

used this feature a lot, especially when my son was young.

Green Stitching on Inserts – Did you ever have the problem of figuring out which diaper inserts

goes with which diaper? Smartipants adds lime green stitching around the outside of the insert

to identify the inserts. I always know that the green stitching means that the insert belongs to

Smartipants.

Made in the USA – With many diaper brands going overseas to be made, you can rest assured

that Smartipants proudly employs and thus supports our economy here in the USA.

Contributed by: Julie

Ideas for Creating a Cloth Diaper Stash on a Budget

The upfront cost of cloth diapering can be quite scary. I know it was for me. I was determined to get my
hands on some fluff for my baby though! I knew in the long run that I would be saving my family a lot of
money.

I didn’t get my hands on cloth until my first daughter was 4 months old. Boy, do I wish I had just figured
it out before then and bought some sooner. I did the math and if I had purchased cloth from the
beginning, I would’ve saved an extra $300 during those first 3 months of my daughter’s life! $300! That’s
more than a pack of 24 Smartipants cost.
Buying your stash in bulk would be the cheapest option, but it’s also the most overwhelming. If buying
a bulk stash to receive a discount isn’t in the cards for you, you could always buy a few at a time. You
don’t need a full stash of cloth to start cloth diapering, even just doing one or two cloth diaper changes a
day until you can buy more helps save you money.
Another option is to consider buying seconds quality diapers. Smartipants offers seconds quality diapers
at a discounted price. If you’re on a tight budget, it’s definitely something to contemplate since they
are still useable, just usually have a cosmetic flaw of some sort. Smartipants sells their seconds quality
diapers for $7.95 a diaper, that’s nearly a 50% discount. So, if money is really tight and you don’t want
to purchase used diapers, I highly recommend looking for seconds quality diapers to build your stash.
A few other ideas for building a stash on a budget include, buying used, entering cloth diaper giveaways,
and if you’re really desperate for help considering applying for a cloth diaper loan through programs
such as Giving Diapers, Giving Hope. If looking to buy used, you can find people selling on Diaper
Swappers and Cloth Diaper Swap. You can find cloth diaper giveaways on Change-Diaper’s Cloth Diaper
Giveaway Round-up.

What have you done to help build your stash on a budget?

Contributed by: Alex

Velcro vs Snaps

When my husband and I first decided to cloth diaper we weren’t at all sure exactly what we wanted and
what would work well for us so we bought a variety of diapers and closures. We originally thought that
the snaps would work the best, but decided to also get some diapers with Velcro because we knew that
they would be easier for grandparents and babysitters.

Fast forward to my son’s arrival and I was very grateful that we had gotten the Velcro diapers. I have
rheumatoid arthritis and after my son was born my joints went into a severe flare (basically it was very
difficult to do anything and my joints hurt all of the time) and I had a very difficult time with the little
snaps on the diapers. For the first six weeks of my son’s life he was almost constantly in Velcro diapers.
The closure was very easy for me to get on and to achieve a good fit, even though I was having difficulty
using my hands. Once I got the mobility and strength back in my fingers, the Velcro diapers went in the
regular rotation with the snap diapers.

When my son was about four months old I noticed that the diapers with the Velcro closure were
wearing faster than the others. I made sure when I did the laundry that the Velcro closures were
securely on their laundry tabs, but the Velcro was still wearing pretty quickly. Since I didn’t need to use
them as much because my joints were feeling better, I decided to pull them out of our regular rotation
and save them for when my son was with his grandparents or a babysitter only.

By the time my son was eight months old, almost all of the diapers with Velcro closures were worn out,
even though they had only been used full time for a few months. While I love the simplicity of Velcro,
I can honestly say that since those original ones wore out, we haven’t bothered with replacing them.
One of the reasons we wanted to cloth diaper was because it was so cost-efficient and since the Velcro
diapers wore out so quickly, they just weren’t as economical.

If I were recommending cloth diapers to somebody I would make sure to tell them that while the Velcro
diapers are easiest, and I would definitely keep some on hand for those not familiar with cloth diapers, I
wouldn’t plan on building my stash out of them because they just don’t wear as well as the snaps.


Contributed by: Katy

The Challenges of Cloth Diapering a Toddler

When I initially started cloth diapering my son I figured everything would be fine and dandy. I mean just stuff the diaper, put it on your baby, rinse and wash and do it all over again. Much to my surprise as your “baby” gets older things tend to change some for the best and some not so much.

1.  Poop – As your baby grows so do their poops I was not able to breastfeed my son so I cant say much on breast milk. What I will say is that formula milk when he was little was not bad at all. Now that he is older and eats solid food, its like “dude what did you have to eat?” His poop changes everyday some days its those ones that your like “ahh really” then it’s the pebbles kind. Which if it’s the pebbles its awesome because I just toss them in the toilet but if its those sticky ones. That’s where my awesome DIY diaper sprayer made by my husband comes in handy. A sprayer will become your best friend. Also if you don’t have a diaper sprayer disposable liners is another alternative.

2.  Heavy Wetter – Say what?? You mean you need to stuff more into the pocket?? I thought that the one or two inserts that cloth diapers come with when purchased was all you need. Wrong! As my son has gotten older he is drinking more fluids, and wetting his diaper more frequently.  I get that, I just didn’t know that I would have to stuff his diapers more. Even just during the day I have to add the regular size inserts plus a doublers, when before I got away with just the regular insert. Not to mention for night time diaper I have to stuff that baby up. My son ends up having a really fluffy butt J Sometimes but It works and sometimes I doesn’t so it’s a trial and error try different options even fitted diapers sometimes seem to be your best bet.

These are the two challenges I have been faced with while cloth diapering my mini toddler. Again this is all learning processes so don’t give up just find a solution and then just stick to it. It’s easy peasy !

What challenges do you face with cloth diapering a toddler? 


Contributed by: Pollyanna