Pad Folded Flat in a Thirsties Duo Wrap

Today is the third full day of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge.  As a reminder, this is a 7 day Challenge where participants can only use flat cloth diapers and have to ditch their washer and dryer in favor of good ol’ fashioned handwashing.  We are close to 500 participants this year and many are blogging their journey.  You can find their posts linked at the end.

Since we are a few days in I’m hoping many people have begun finding their groove with using flats.  The learning curve is certainly steep and because we lost a few generations to disposable diapers the wisdom of flat folding is non existent.  These days we can easily turn to YouTube for tutorials (I even have a playlist with all of my flats video tutorials) but many people need in person guidance.

Last year I scoured the internet for folding techniques and found that the Pad Fold, Origami fold, and Kite fold were used the most and referenced often on diaper forums.  I found another fold I adopted as my favorite and since then it has seen quite a bit of popularity.  It is called the Diaper Bag fold and is my go-to for overnights.  I have pinned in the past and I prefer my snappi but for now I am testing out Boingo’s to see how those work.

Beyond the Flats Challenge many of us will go on to use the diapers even if we start washing them in our machines once again.  Here are some of the amazing things flats will come in handy for-

• They work as Pocket inserts- pad fold them and stuff into your favorite pocket diaper for a natural fiber, inexpensive, fast drying, easy cleaning insert.
• If an emergency arises a stash of flats can come in handy as long as you have a water source.  Your handwashing experience will once again serve you well.
• Changing mats- I often grab a flat and lay it under my son if I know it is a messy poop.  If it gets soiled it gets tossed right in with my other diapers.
• Traveling?  Consider only packing flats and covers.  They pack tight and will withstand the differences in water types/detergents when away from your usual wash routine.
• Burp cloths/cleaning cloths around the house for the big messes.
• Pay it forward by passing your flats on to a local family or mail them to GivingDiapersGivingHope.org where they will be sent to a qualifying family.

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Today is Day 2 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and our topic of discussion is “Supplies.”  What are we using for the challenge in terms of flats, covers, acessories, and washers.  Scroll to the bottom to see the other blogs that have linked up!

The reason this is the “Flats” and Handwashing Challenge is because flat cloth diapers are the most versatile and inexpensive cloth diapering option in existence.  Nothing can match them.  Think about it- every cloth diaper you own started as a simple piece of cloth.  They are all variations of a flat diaper that has been cut, sewn, snapped, shaped, and attached to a waterproof cover.  Did I just BLOW YOUR MIND?!

Getting back to basics can save you money but it can also save you frustration over many of the more hotly debated aspects of cloth diapering such as the perfect fit, or the easiest to use, the fastest to dry, and so on.

A flat cloth diaper will cost as little as nothing to a few dollars but most cost between $1.00-$2.00.  They can be found in unexpected places (Target sells Tea Towels that make great flats and Ikea sells Burp Cloths that are even better) and can be used in so many forms that fit is virtually not an issue.

The modern waterproof cloth diaper covers aren’t as inexpensive but because they last many uses before needing to be washed a family can get away with only owning a handful.  For full time cloth diapering 4-6 is totally doable.  Look for covers with a wipeable lining.  If you aren’t sure whether a cover has a wipeable interior look it up in the Cloth Diaper Finder and read the description, I have this for every cover.

My Diapers and Covers- Expect to see a large variety of flats and covers being used.  In my case I will be using a variety of Osocozy and Ikea burp cloths.  I’m using the covers I have with me while I live in North Carolina including Flip, Thirsties Duo, Swaddlebees Capri, and some gDiaper pants. (some links to affiliate Kelly’s Closet)

To secure my flats onto the my son when I’m not using a pad fold I’m using a set of Boingo’s- a new alternative to pins.  I don’t have my Snappi or pins with me in NC so these are all I’ve got!

Many participants are taking it to the next level and using only upcylced materials such as t-shirts and bed sheets made into flats.  They will use upcycled wool sweaters made into covers, homemade fleece covers, or other homemade covers.

Washing- As for washing you will find this can be done so many ways!  I will once again be using the Camp Style bucket washer system I made last year {my tutorial}.  I feel the quick, repeated agitation gets the diapers very clean.  Others will use bath tubs, sinks, wash boards, gloves and hand scrubbing, or non electric crank washers.

Drying- For drying I’m using the large drying rack my Mother-in-Law has from Ikea (as you may recall I am still stranded in NC while we wait for our home in Florida).  Last year I used a smaller Ikea rack and the Octopus, also from Ikea!

I’m looking forward to learning all about their experiences with these.  Read along with the many bloggers taking part in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge to see what supplies they are using.

get the InLinkz code

Today hundreds of parents will begin the 2nd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge.  The Challenge means that for seven days the babies will only wear flat cloth diapers (1 large square of fabric, just like grandma used on your parents) and the parents can only handwash and air dry them.

I’ve already gone into a lot of detail about WHY I decided to take start the challenge last year (refresh your memory).  In a nutshell- I want to prove that any family can save money by using flat cloth diapers and handwashing.  When it comes to buying food or diapers there IS an alternative that can meet both needs.

This year I asked participants why THEY are taking the Flats and Handwashing Challenge.  Here is what a few of the nearly 500 who signed up had to say:

To help bring awareness about cloth diapers. I work with teen moms that sometimes are unable to get diapers for their babies. I too was a teen mom, but l was lucky to have an aunt that showed me that cloth diapering was cheap and easy.   12 years later my husband and I are still cloth diapering.

I keep making excuses saying that I don’t have the testicular fortitude to stick to the hand washing with 2 heavy wetter boys & all I have going on with 3 kids and working at home. I’m no wimp, so I’m gonna do it!

I would love to help raise awareness. I would also be able to know that I could diaper my baby in the event of an emergency where water was scarce, or there was no electricity. In a time like that I couldn’t imagine how stressful trying to get all of the kinks out would be.

It’s a neat way to demonstrate to friends & family that cloth diapering can be shockingly inexpensive and accessible to anyone – no matter their financial situation. I’m a mouthy little broad so I’ll be sharing my experiences with this on my FB each day. You wouldn’t believe how many people I know who have claimed to not be able to afford CLOTH diapers while purchasing disposable diapers. I’m seriously considering just using whatever I have on hand as my flats. . .towels, receiving blankets, etc. to absolutely prove that cloth can be ridiculously economical.

I believe each & every child has the right to healthy & comfortable diapering. I hope that this program can help in raising awareness not only about cloth but about the dangers to reusing disposables. If we can all do something to help those who need it, why not?

I am participating to prove that even WOHM can do this!

The flats challenge last year is what made me start on cloth. We are a low income family living in an apartment without a washer/dryer and I thought without a w/d and lots of money to start there was no way to cloth diaper, but the flats challenge got me started on flats and I still use them! So this year I am participating to help out the cause and help raise awareness for other low income families to use cloth!

As a Women’s Studies graduate, I have been trying to find ways to fulfill my need for advocacy in my every day life. I am a stay-at-home Navy wife and this is often seen as contrary to being a feminist. One of the areas of advocacy that I have fallen in love with is cloth diapering. After participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Change I have been looking for more ways to advocate for cloth diapering. Making cloth diapering available to those who want to cloth diaper but are not able to is quickly becoming a desire of mine. I am participating in the Flats challenge to understand the challenges women who have to hand wash will face.

As a primarily cloth diaper store owner – I felt like it my personal duty to the community to be able to provide first hand experience on inexpensive alternatives – and cloth diapering without facilities. Last year — I only participated for the weekend — but this year will be the full 7 days — with an infant and toddler in flats!!

We are poor. Text book poor people here. We’ve been very fortunate to have family and friends buy us diapers, to win some in contests and giveaways, to have beautiful people give us beautiful hand-me-downs. We are lucky. But if we didn’t cloth, we would have had to not change DD as often as we should have or reused dirty diapers. My husband was laid off a little over 2 years ago, just days before we found out we were pregnant. His unemployment benefits have ended, he hasn’t found a job yet, and we’ve been scraping by. I want to remind ourselves that it is possible to make anything work. And bring to light the ease of cloth diapering, how fun it can be and how great it is for both baby and the environment.

I am hoping to reconnect with my flats. I’ve been dependent on prefolds for a long time. When using flats I am a better EC advocate for my daughter. I am hoping this challenge is what I need to get back to basics.

I own a cloth diaper store, teach classes, and am an RDA circle leader. I have also started a diaper bank and often hear that lower income families will not be able to wash the diapers. I want to experience that it can be done. I am hoping that I can teach others through my experiences.

I have been doing this challenge for the past 2 months since we have been on the road traveling for my husband’s job. There’s really no reason for me not to sign up since I am basically doing everything that is in the rules for a while, temporarily. I think it is very important for families to see not only how inexpensive cloth diapering can be, but also how EASY it can be to wash by hand!

To help raise awareness among my faith community of the need for education and simple diapering supplies. So many churches offer food aid to those who are in need, and I would love to see mine and others also help meet the need for families who are left to choose between diapers and food.

To see if I can do it.

It sounds like fun.

So there you have it! This is just a tiny representation of the truly inspiring, funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful reasons people are participating in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. I kept these quotes anonymous but if you see your words feel free to claim yourself!

Out of the nearly 500 people participating this week many will be blogging their journey. You can visit them and see why they are taking the challenge as they link up. Each blogger will link up every day.

The Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge will begin on Monday, May 21!  Since the date is rapidly approaching I wanted to help get those participating a little more prepared. I’m also going to address the bloggers participating and offer some helpful topics to cover each day during the Challenge.  Visit the announcement to learn the rules and more about this event.

To everyone who would still like to participate but has yet to buy flats there is still time!  No, you probably won’t be able to buy from an online store but you can find Tea Towels from Target (in the kitchen towel area in a pack of 4 for $4.00) or from Ikea (burp cloths in packs of 2 for $2.99 in the baby items).  You can also utilize those everyday items around you such as old  receiving blankets, unused cotton sheets, terry towels (not microfiber towels), or t-shirts.

Using flats can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.  There is no law saying you have to become a master of folding flats “Origami” style or in any other fashion.  A simple “Pad Fold” is totally acceptable!  Pad Folding is making the large square into an insert sized rectangle.  Pad Folds are fabulous- they turn any cover into an “All-in-Two” system when you lay it inside or they work inside pocket diapers.  There are no pins or snappi’s required and they are absorbent because there are a lot of layers in the wet zone.

If you still want to experience what it is like to truly fold a flat, just like your grandmothers or great-grandmothers used to do then by all means, please do!  I compiled videos and illustrated guides to the most popular flat folds around during last year’s challenge.  The Diaper Bag fold was by far my favorite and worked great overnight.

• How to Pad Fold Video
• How to Kite Fold Video
• How to Origami Fold Video
• How to Diaperbag Fold Video

Washing Tips-

I learned a lot from my experience last year and will save you all some trouble with a few tips about handwashing cloth diapers.  To see a video on how to make your own bucket washer (also called camp style washer) visit the post from last year: How to Make a Camp Style Washer.  

• If using a plunger/bucket washer wear rubber gloves to prevent sore hands and callouses.  Also use gloves for wringing diapers as this can also cause soreness and chaffing.
• Roll your covers in a dry bath towel and apply pressure (by kneeling) to take out as much water as possible to expedite air drying.
• Line dry your flats in a well ventilated area if at all possible.  Outdoors if it isn’t humid or indoors under exhaust or ceiling fans.
• Iron your flats if you need them to dry faster.  This can also kill leftover bacteria that may not have washed out.  Think of it as sterilizing while making them pretty too.
• Use a light hand with the detergent- too much and the extra rinses will be time consuming.  Remember the volume of you washer/sink is likely a lot less than your washing machine.
• Rinse with warm water.  According to a laundry expert warm rinses=easier to wring out more (or spin out more in machine)
• Let the water work for you- if you can leave soiled flats in a SAFE place to soak then do so to remove waste.
• Practice EC!  Nothing like handwashing diapers to make you more observant of your little one’s cues!  Let your baby go coverless and you might just notice a pattern to their pees.  Start putting them on a potty, cue them, read to them, and just see what happens.  One less pee/poop in a diaper= one less diaper to wash.
• Don’t use wet bags.  Store dirty diapers in your bucket or sink because handwashing the bags will take valuable space.
• Wash daily or at every change.  Washing larger loads means harder work, longer work, and the potential for the diapers to get less clean.
• Beat the crap out of your dry flats to make them soft again.  Air drying=stiff.  Wring, snap, and roll your flats and this will remove the crunchy feeling.
• Got stink?  Probably not enough detergent or not washing long enough.  Set a kitchen timer because a few minutes handwashing can feel like a lot longer.

I’d also like to remind people that even though this challenge is fun to a lot of people it is only fun because we are ALL aware that the majority of us will stuff our diapers in the washer the minute this is over.  Simply knowing the temporary nature of this will make the week tolerable and even fun.  Put yourself in the position of NOT having that option.  How would you feel?  What can you do to make this doable if this was your reality?  Would you do this if you had no other option and couldn’t afford disposable diapers?  Keep in mind that all participants will be required to complete a survey at the end (this will also be my way of determining how many people completed the challenge so don’t forget!) and hard questions will be asked.  Be truthful to yourself and to the world.  To better understand the challenge and to get tips from my blog posts, vlogs, and from others you can visit each day from last year and the linked blogs.

All participants are encouraged to tweet using the #flatschallenge hashtag and continue the discussion in the Facebook group.
For those who will be blogging their experience I have outlined some topics that you can use per day.  It is not MANDATORY however I find having a prompt makes blogging easier in these events.  Another reminder to read through the blogger rules and follow them to have your link included.  Each blogger will need to add their link each day to the InLinkz which will be hosted on my post for the day.

1. Monday- “What Do I Expect to Learn/ Why I’m Taking the Challenge”
2. Tuesday-“What Supplies I am Using”
3. Wednesday-“Favorite Way To Use Flats”
4. Thursday-“How I’m Doing- My Thoughts on Handwashing”
5. Friday-“What Tips I have Learned So Far”
6. Saturday- Open Topic Day
7. Sunday-“Final Post- Reflections on What You Learned.”

I’m looking forward to experiencing this challenge again, this time with a toddler who poops about 3-5 times a day (not even kidding), and who isn’t a fan of diaper changing.  These are the realities of life with children.  The point of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is to determine whether it is possible to handwash and use inexpensive flats.  In real life would people supplement with disposables or go to a friends or laundromat too?  Probably.  We are pushing the extreme end to prove that the real life scenario can be done.

As mentioned in the announcement post I am donating $1.00 per participant (determined by how many answer the end survey, up to $200) to Giving Diapers, Giving Hope- a Non Profit providing cloth diapers to families in need.  Kelly’s Closet is also matching my donation of $200.00 to Giving Diapers, Giving Hope as well.  You can also help by choosing to make a personal donation to a diaper charity of your choice (I have a list of other diaper banks) or send your spare cloth diapers to a charity.  Most will accept those in need of repairs too!
If you are a blogger participating add your blog URL here. Each day you will come back to DDL and link your post for the day May 21-27.



Stay up to date-

After almost 4 years of parenting I have discovered the secret to getting a baby to sleep through the night: never go to bed yourself!

The longer I stay awake in anticipation of my son waking for the first time, usually between 11 PM and 12:30 AM, the longer he waits. If he hasn’t woken up by 12:30 I usually wait longer. Once I decide to give up, typically around 1 AM, he starts to cry as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Coincidence? I think not. More like a conspiracy to rob mothers of their sleep even when they are sleeping.

Damned if they do {sleep}, damned if they don’t {sleep}.

The gDiapers Review was made possible by The Ultimate Green Store- Your One Stop Green Shopping Destination- and they have also offered to host a giveaway for a $25 E-Gift Card to spend at their store.  This is a really fun giveaway because anyone could enter and find something they need or want!

About:

The Ultimate Green Store doesn’t just sell cloth diapers!  I had far too much fun browsing their selection including Green Toys like Hape, fun purses and bags made from recycled seat belts, organic tee’s for kids like this adorable “Stunt Man” shirt,   and even luxurious eco-friendly bedding.

It can be a bit daunting to shop around because they do have an enormous selection but it is just as exciting to discover new brands and products!

Now that you know more about the product selection at The Ultimate Green Store why not enter the giveaway?  It is super simple and won’t take but a few moments of your time.  You never know, you might win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

gDiapers- we have all heard of them.  Many of us have used them at one point in our cloth diapers career or those new to cloth are wondering if they really are a better solution than disposable diapers without the hassle of washing cloth diapers.  I’m not going to battle the “are hybrid inserts as good as cloth if you consider the water and electricity used to wash”  because my review is for the function of the cover and the inserts.

I will say that as a cloth diaper advocate I am not anti-hybrid diapers. For the record my stance is that hybrids are a fine way to dip your toes into the alternative world of cloth or a good alternative to disposables while traveling.  I can count many, many families that started using gDiapers and then went to full cloth diapers in a matter of time.  Yes, others stick with G’s on a full time basis but this isn’t an affordable option for most families considering gDiaper inserts do cost more than using plain disposables and certainly more than using cloth diapers full time.

Finally- I will add this story:  I was attending the ABC Kids Expo in 2011 and went by the gDiapers booth.  I met the fun loving owners 2 years prior but this time they were out but other reps were there.  I asked one rep (forgive me for not remembering her name) what the company thought about the high rate of conversion from families who start with gDiapers and make the switch to cloth diapers after.  She responded that they were just happy to see families using cloth diapers even if they converted and no longer used their products.  I’m not a perfect judge of character or truth but I really felt her response to be genuine.

Fletcher in a Medium gDiapers at 8 Months old (2009)

Ease of Use ✩✩✩ I won’t go into details and explain the features of the diaper itself because that is why I make videos. The ease of use for gDiapers is really dependent on how you dispose of the flushable inserts, if you are using those rather than cloth. gDiaper inserts are flushable but the company recommends you use the swish stick and tear them a bit before placing in the toilet. I have used gDiaper inserts but have never felt comfortable enough to flush them and risk a costly repair to my plumbing. Since I didn’t want to use too many disposable inserts for testing I only chose to use them while out and about (like many people do instead of going full cloth) and here and there around the house. I even tried them overnight. If I were comparing them to disposables I would say they are more tedious to use because you have to carefully stuff that insert into the liner and I was always like “what the heck, how do I hold this wet insert” between throwing it away and putting the new diaper on. I’m almost never changing a diaper in a bathroom, I choose the back of my car or benches. With a sposie you roll the diaper into itself, same with a cloth diaper in many cases.  Out of the dryer if you leave the piner in the diapers can come out a twisted mess so be aware of that too.
Bang for the Buck ✩✩✩ Using the hybrid inserts is a choice that is probably better than disposables but the price can be much more. Many gMums will say you can always find coupon codes and deals. Same can be said of disposables but not every parent is willing to do so. Even the individual gPants are pricey considering that they are mostly cotton. However gDiapers have some of the most adorable designs seen in the cloth diaper world. The new Chevron has me drooling. Unlike PUL/TPU cotton is easier to make in these designs so they have a lot more freedom than traditional cloth diapers. I’ve also heard amazing things about the gDiapers work place and how they treat their employees.
Performance ✩✩✩✩ The first time I ever used gDiapers I wasn’t impressed. I was also new to babies and cloth diapers. I used them on my first son when he was a few months old and had several leaks and lots of wicking. My impression of them wasn’t great. I was asked to review them officially and decided to try one more time for the sake of having them in my video library. This time I feel like I was more aware of how to get the insert in the liner *just right* and this made a difference in how they performed. I only had a wicking issue (wicking means moisture has traveled from the saturated insert to the outside of the diaper- in this case the cotton pant which will absorb) 2 times and both could be explained by a very wet insert that needed changing. The inserts are absorbent abd do have some SAP gel, though less than a disposable diaper. The other times I used the diapers I chose my own cloth inserts or pad folded flats and these worked just as well, if not better, than the flushable inserts and can be reused over and over. Overnight I used just one flushable insert and found my son woke up with dry pajamas. To be fair he isn’t a heavy wetter, but I was surprised with this outcome.
Fit ✩✩✩✩ I’ve tried the size Medium gDiapers on Fletcher when he was around 6-8 months old, and I’ve used the Medium on Everett at 18 months. Both fit as they should in a baby that age. My only issue with both was how the wide elastic band around the stomach could sometimes gap although this was mainly an aesthetic issue and had no effect of the performance. They also now offer adorable newborn gPants and if I ever have a another baby I will have to try a few, with some preemie prefolds or small flats. My biggest issue with gDiapers is how the snaps for the snap-in liners are exposed. The snaps are flat but they almost always leave red marks on the baby. Not all red marks are painful but I guarantee you that many parents stop using gDiapers due to red marks. I keep thinking there has to be a solution to this issue and wonder why they haven’t re-designed their diapers to solve the problem.
Overall: As a cloth diaper gDiapers aren’t my favorite and I would rather use a true waterproof shell just to avoid any chance of wicking. As a hybrid the G’s are really good at what they so and make a lot of sense. They can be washed with regular laundry and parents don’t have to be concerned about delaminating or elastic wearing out due to typical laundry additives so non cloth diapering parents can wash away.   I even noticed that they have improved their laundry tabs and velcro tabs since I first tried them 3 years ago.  They used to come undone very easy and create awful diaper chains but these are holding strong so far.  They come in handy for travel, even if you are using flats and handwash them and wash the g pants in the coin laundry or handwash those as well. As I said before I am all for families embracing cloth diapers and even gDiapers have a place in this world. The cute factor reels them in (especially since they are found in most mainstream baby stores and even Big Box Stores) and then the families get tired of spending so much on inserts so they buy cloth inserts or switch to a different brand. I’m pro-cloth and pro-saving money.
Where to Buy The Ultimate Green Store sells gDiapers and provided 2 gPants and a package of inserts for me to review.

If you didn’t get that “Cloth Rocks” shirt you were hoping for now is your chance!

Save 20% on Women’s Size cloth diaper shirts from ShopDDL.com until 5/20/12.

I have a terrible memory.  One of the reasons I take photos of my kids virtually every day is because I use them as ways to recall the moments I don’t want to forget.  If it weren’t for my excessive iPhoto catalog I wouldn’t be able to remember some of our trips and adventures and only by seeing the photo can the memory return.  Medical problem?  Maybe.  I don’t know why this has happened to me when I used to remember everything but this is my new normal.

I really pride myself in being the family historian and think every family should have one.  I make sure we always bring the camera, always video what we should, and utilize both by making video montages of my children for every year of their life to look back.  I have several reasons for doing this:

• I like to send the DVD’s to my family so that they can relive the year they missed because geographically we are far away.
• I like to play the DVD at the birthday party (for the same reason)
• I like reliving those moments while I make the video and it is a way to reminisce each year as I both mourn the fact that my child has grown so much and celebrate the child they are becoming.
• My biggest motivation is to have a well made, well thought out video that my children will cherish as adults and that they can re-watch with their own children one day.  I have one home movie of myself as a baby.  That’s it.  I want my children to have so much more.

Over the years I have made several family videos using iMovie and their themes, or made my own from scratch.  Here are the ones I have online for your viewing pleasure so you can see my style and what your own could look like:

This guide is for mostly people who use Macs and have iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD.  You can use many of these tips if you use a different movie editor including Windows Movie Maker, however the technical aspects will differ.  This post contains helpful images-click them to see their larger version if you need to.  In some cases I have also linked the moment I am referencing in a film so you can skip right to the segment rather than watch the whole thing.

The Photos

The biggest advice I can give you is to FLAG PICS OR CREATE A FOLDER IN iPHOTO OF YOUR FAVORITE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ALL YEAR LONG. If you wait until the weeks leading up to the birthday you will be swimming in thousands of clips and photos to wade through (in a 12 month span I have 6,000+ images in my iPhoto library).  Like me, you might recall one particular photo you really wanted to include and search for hours on both computers and your phone only to never find it.

Decide what kind of movie you want to create- Chronological order, Themes, or Tell a Story.  An example of a themed movie would be organizing clips by milestones, holidays, or ideas (Best Friends, Holidays, Things They Said, Messes They Made, Quiet Times, Park Days).  I think themes make a nice video for older kids who aren’t changing by the weeks, whereas chronological order is best for the 0-1 Year olds.  For Fletcher’s 3rd video I was speaking to him and recounting his year.  Clips and photos fit into these lines such as “You learned shapes, numbers, and your ABC’s” and “You make friends wherever you go.”

I’ve recently added photography to my hobby list.  I have a tradition of taking birthday photos of the kids (Ev poses next to Pumpkins in the shape of a number for his age, Fletcher next to leaves making the shape of his age) and I’m excited to see how my studying (I mostly use Clickin’ Moms forums) will affect my photos (and thus, movies) for next year.

Once you have an inkling of what kind of clips and photos you’d like to include then you can start saving these in a folder or flag them to go through.  Lightroom users can also utilize keywords to better catalog photos.

For me I like to include certain types of photos in my videos regardless of the style I’m going for- sleeping pictures, messy pictures (showing kids in the real messes they create), crazy outfits (when kids or dads choose- always funny), sick pictures (when they are sick and pitiful), with family (since we don’t see them often these are cherished and it will be special to look back on for them to see the people who loved them), a photo from each holiday, outdoor fun, bubbles and splashing photos, birthday number photos, and travel.)

Watch Me in Action

I made a 9 minute video showing the very basic features of iMovie and put together a short video.  This should really give you a good idea of the layout inside iMovie.  Also keep reading for more diagrams in the post.

Drag and Drop- Getting started couldn’t be more simple.  In iMovie begin dragging and dropping each item you want in the video onto the timeline.  I have a long video showing this in action but you can see the iMovie interface below.  There are lots more editing tips so keep reading too.

Get Wide- For videos landscape photos (those that are fit the whole screen) are best so keep this in mind when taking photos and choosing.  Even if a portrait photo is best for the situation I always try to throw in a landscape that I might be able to use in the video.

Polish it up- For added drama and a more polished look consider adding the Ken Burns effect which will make the photo slowly pan in or out.  This is a cropping feature.

 The Videos

When I made my first birthday slide-show for Fletcher to document his first year of life I was using Windows Movie Maker.  It was 30 minutes of pictures with no music or videos.  Oh how much I have learned in 3 years!  Videos make the movie.  As much as I love including my favorite photos in my movies the videos give life to the whole thing.

Most of us rely on our smart phones as our camcorders.  I am guilty of this.  The good news is that we can capture special moments anywhere, anytime because we keep our phones on us most of the day.  The bad news is that the quality isn’t so great, especially when you are watching on a 60″ TV.  But we have to embrace what we have!

Make sure you are backing up your iPhone videos to your computer and again on another backup.  If your phone gets lost you lose ALL of your videos and this is something no one wants.  Once your videos are uploaded on your computer you can again organize your videos.  In my iPhoto I have what is called a “Smart Album” that automatically puts all of my videos inside.  This is easier to then go through this album and choose what clips I want to include.

Please use your iPhone to video in landscape!  

Must include- Good types of videos to include would be those that represent milestones, park days, animal interactions, eating food (and making a mess), those “caught in the act” videos, holidays (unwrapping gifts, excited faces!), water play, tender moments with family, and for older kids who talk get them on camera saying their first words or funny phrases.

Be a cut throat editor-  I’m so guilty of thinking everything I caught on film deserves to make the cut.  It is only after realizing that I’ve made a 2 hour long film that I cut it down.  That 5 minute clip of your child crawling?  Cut it down to 30 seconds or even less.  Trust me- those are enough to convey that yes your child learned to crawl.  We live in the YouTube age where more than 5 seconds is too long.  If you are tempted to put an entire clip in because the first part and last part are really good remember you can splice your clips together, cutting out the “fat” and leaving the best parts.  You can still watch the full videos when you want but this video should just be a glimpse of all that your child did in a year.

Polish it up with effects and timing- Fast forward is also a tool you can use (sparingly) when you want to use more footage but it is far too long.  Or add slow motion to add some drama.  I did this to the end of Fletcher’s 3rd Video of him chasing seagulls.  Now I think I may have overdone it (in conjunction with a fade to white effect) and it kinda seems like he died.  Still, it was a nice idea and a lesson learned.

Make it flow- Edit your video to have a few photos in between each clip and organize so that they go with the photos in theme or topic if you can.

To work with some videos you will need to drag the movie clip into an Event in iMovie.  This is the most time consuming drudgery so having all the videos you want to include ready in a folder will make this easier (if they aren’t housed in iPhoto videos).  Choose a time and select all the videos and drop them in or upload them directly from your camera into iMovie.  Watch a show or sleep while this all processes.

The Music

Videos make a movie more interesting but MUSIC is the heart and soul of a good video.  I’ve left music out of videos before and now I kick myself for it.  Last year for Everett and Fletcher’s videos for their 1st and 3rd birthdays I spent more time finding music to match the videos than anything else and it paid off.

Because I make these primarily to be a time capsule for my boys to watch later I like to include popular songs of the year.  Am I a huge fan of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know it?”  Not really.  But it was topping the charts and it did fit a montage of the wacky outfits Fletcher wore so I used it.  In twenty years we are all going to have a good laugh at the song.

Find Good Music- Some resources I used to locate good music included Spotify Playlists and NPR Music’s Best of (insert year here).  I admit that I am not up to date on current music and filling a video with Smashing Pumpkins just won’t do.  I found an amazing song by Jonsi (singer of Sigur Ros) thanks to NPR for the intro to Everett’s first movie and love how it all fit together.  You can add a favorite song you think might work to a playlist in Spotify and re-visit your list later.  I would play a song in Spotify while my video was playing where I thought it would work best.  If it did in fact work I went into iTunes and purchased it.  iTunes is integrated into iMovie and you can easily drag and drop the song into your video.  (see the first and second images for locations of music in iMovie and in your timeline)

Spotify Playlist for Everett's 1st Birthday

Timing, Timing, Timing- Another way to make a more professional video is to match your music’s timing or wording to your video.  This one is tricky and I certainly don’t follow this rule all of the time.  Sometimes I lucked into it.  An example would be a song’s lyric’s saying “I can tell that we are gonna be friends” during a video of Fletcher playing with his best friend.  It makes me teary eyed every time.  Music is such a powerful transporter and can bring out emotions we weren’t expecting.

In the beginning of Fletcher’s 3rd Birthday video I used the beat as a marker for a new photo.  Each time the the guitar string was plucked I timed a photo to begin.  When the entire section was finished I was amazed at what a difference this little technique had on the overall feel and look of the video.

Another fun way to add a lot of depth to the video is to tie in a video or photo with a particular moment of a song.  My favorite use of this in my own videos was the very last note of “Shut up and let me go.”  I just happened to have a 5 second clip of Fletcher blowing a pouch of food out of his mouth.  I added this to the last note so that the “HEY” matched this moment and it worked out awesome.

I can’t emphasize enough how these little touches make an OK video into an AMAZING one.  I spent many extra hours rearranging, cutting, and finding a photo or clip to match a song, or a song to match a clip.  I have been editing videos in iMovie for years so I know I’m a little more advanced than most users but the interface is simple to use and with enough practice you can learn your way around iMovie enough to start getting more advanced too.

Themes, Transitions, and Text

iMovie comes with a small number of Themes.  I can’t take credit for the cool effects often found in my personal videos of my family.  I’ve used many of the default themes included and this makes compiling a polished home movie much easier.  Do I care that a million others have a videos that look similar?  Not really when they are for my own personal use.

Above you see the themes in my version of iMovie.  My biggest complaint with this software is that they do not have any options for getting more themes, something found in an older version of iMovie.  You can recycle through these but if you want more you need to upgrade to Final Cut Pro.  I have only once found a good use for the other option, Move Trailers, and while I think it turned out adorable I don’t see myself using it for many other projects.

Themes will automatically insert transitions and title pages into your project as you drag and drop your photos and videos into your timeline.  It isn’t perfect so don’t be afraid to change out these with others.  If you don’t like the theme’s transitions consider using the ever popular “cross dissolve” effect or play around with the myriad of other transitions like page turning, mosaic, swipe in/out, etc.

Titles and Text- iMovie comes with limited (in my opinion) ways of adding fun text to movies.  The themes have a few more styles but overall you get simple Centered, Upper, and Lower text options and a few “fancy” onces that are pretty corny.  I’ve started using Motion to get more custom titles and text but that is nothing you need to bother with, however it is a cool program!  FYI- I used a combination of Motion and Final Cut Pro to edit some minor segments of my movies to achieve a desired look not possible in iMovie.

Use Title Pages with blank colored backgrounds or add the title onto video or photos to start a new segment in the film.  Add captions to the movie to describe an event.  One feature in the title options I do use and love is the Date/Time stamp- a classier looking option than the old school red stamp of traditional camcorders.  Utilizing your phone/camera’s internal exif data this will automatically put in the time and date for you (so make sure your settings are accurate).  I found this useful in my Christmas videos I made in 2010 and 2011 because I liked documenting how insanely long it took to open presents.  If my kids ever complain about not having a great Christmas mornings I have evidence to the contrary.  This would also be rad (and useful) in a birth video.

Burn, Baby, Burn- I mentioned before that I do these videos to share my children’s lives with the family that doesn’t get to be an active part of it.  Grandma and Grandpa aren’t hip to YouTube but they are alright with inserting and playing a DVD.  I use iDVD to burn copies for the family and a hard copy for our own library.  iDVD is even easier than iMovie and takes just minutes to make a cute Menu.  You can include multiple videos in one DVD and just like a real DVD you can add chapters.  I add a song from my movie and a favorite photo to the menu.

If you found this guide helpful please share it!  If you have specific questions ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.  

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