Tomorrow marks a special milestone that I can’t let slip by without mentioning; it’s the 7th year of Dirty Diaper Laundry. In 2009 on April 9 I hit publish on the very first blog post. I wrote it knowing only friends and family would see it, and continued to write that way for a while. I made my videos and just assumed people would find them if they needed them. Eventually I learned more about networking and marketing my own website through places like Twitter (my earliest social network) and beyond.
Things have obviously changed since I started my blog. The biggest change is that I have no babies in diapers! While I used to worry this would mean I’d have to stop blogging that hasn’t been the case. My focus has shifted to other things but I’m still able to give DDL love on social media and even blog occasionally too. Lara helps tremendously by lending her expertise for the reviews we post here. My main goal was to continue posting those videos because that is what made Dirty Diaper Laundry a favorite resource. It was too important to stop giving people helpful videos and reviews.
I have to make time for my family (we recently purchased an RV and have been adding camping to our family time), Dirty Diaper Laundry, speaking engagements, Put a Cup In It (a growing website!), freelance work, and running Giving Diapers, Giving Hope.
Time is spread thin these days since I’ve added other roles to my life and those roles have grown to take up more time than I probably even have. They’re all things I enjoy but I’m sure at some point something will have to give. DDL will never go away- it’s an invaluable resource that’s still helping thousands of families a day with their cloth diaper questions. Everett goes to Kindergarten in the fall, gifting me with an extra 2 hours of work time a day. That could be just what I need to accomplish the things I WANT to do and just can’t get to.
As a quick note to those who may have noticed a diminishing number of ads on the sidebar, I have dropped the ad network that served me for several years. Their poor customer service lasted years but only recently have I finally decided I’d had enough. I’m letting ads that have paid their time remain then I can shut down the entire account. I’m using this time to decide how I want advertising to look on DDL in the future and if that means a fresh design or not. Losing all ads hasn’t been easy financially and it was definitely a hard call to make, but in the end, it will be for the best. I’m not shutting down, just planning the next move!
On to the celebration! For the next week I’m going to be posting flash giveaways to my Facebook Page and the new @dirtydiaperlaundry Instagram account! I have over 20 amazing sponsors giving out prizes.
Look for goodies from Thirsties, Mom’s Milk Boutique, Bambino Mio, The DivaCup, PumpEase, One Love Diaper Co, Spray Pal, Kelly’s Closet, AppleCheeks, Smart Bottoms, and many more!
Thank you to everyone who chooses to support this website as a reader, a sponsor, a referrer, and so on. It’s been a true gift to be part of the cloth diaper community. This website has brought so many amazing people into my life and enriched it beyond words. I’m proud of the resource 7 years of work has built and hope it’s helped the millions who have made their way to my corner of the Internet.