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-

3 years ago Dirty Diaper Laundry was born when I hit “publish” on my very first post.  I had no idea what DDL would become.  I had no clue where I was going with the blog or that it would become a popular resource for cloth diaper information.  For fun I browsed my own blog in the Wayback Machine and saw the progression of designs and headers long forgotten.

I began with a default WordPress template then moved to my first header designed by my husband.  The photo of all of my diapers at the time, mostly Coolababy, GroBaby, and bumGenius was the background.  I still love this photo.

Next design included this little header.  It matched the button I still used until recently of the little fluffy bottomed baby.

The light blue header with sketched diapers on a line, a theme for DDL, was next.  As much as I wanted to love it I just wasn’t happy with it.  The idea was better than the execution.

Most recently I decided to design my own header and button and “re-brand” with a theme along all of my platforms, including my YouTube and Facebook pages.  I based the color scheme on a beautiful book “Caps for Sale.”  This is still the current design.

I’ve published over 1,000 posts since April 9, 2009!  They weren’t all gems or groundbreaking, or even full of content.  I use my blog for more than cloth diaper reviews.  I post about other passions in life like breastfeeding, babywearing, living a greener life, crafting, and of course my family.

Over the course of DDL’s existence I’ve filmed and uploaded 215 videos to YouTube.  130+ of those are cloth diaper video reviews.

DDL, the blog,  has been a springboard for many other ventures including my cloth diaper database- Cloth Diaper Finder, my App, and most recently my line of Cloth Diaper Advocacy T-Shirts called DDL Apparel.  Yes!  I have a clothing line!  And it is all thanks to this little blog.

I get a lot of joy from helping others begin their path to cloth diapers.  Even though I do my work from behind a computer screen it affects thousands of cloth curious parents.  Every so often I receive amazing emails or comments from the families DDL has helped inspire to use cloth diapers.  In some cases I even get emails regarding other subjects I touch on, even the most sensitive and personal post I have ever published.  Because I don’t often get to interact with the people who read my blog it really does a girl good to receive those reminders that I am doing a something that is appreciated.  The long hours, late nights, and tired typing hands sometimes want to take a break.  Getting feedback through Twitter, Facebook, comments, and emails always rejuvenates my passion and desire to keep DDL one of the best resources for cloth diaper information on the web.

When my youngest, little Everett, is no longer using cloth diapers I’ll have a decision to make about how to continue Dirty Diaper Laundry.  At his interest level in the potty it could be sooner than later.  I absolutely love blogging and having this outlet.  I also love spreading the cloth diaper love.  For now I am continuing to enjoy what I do.

A special thank you to the advertisers who make it possible to keep Dirty Diaper Laundry on the internet.  I recently started designing cloth diaper shirts by DDL Apparel to fund the blog in a more tangible way.  I appreciate the support and enthusiam for this new venture!

Because I am starting a new phase of being a WAHM and celebrating my 3 year “blogiversary” I thought it was as good a time as any to sponsor a giveaway for a “Cloth Rocks” shirt from my own line of cloth diaper shirts.  There is also a coupon code for DDL readers, FRIENDOFDDL, for Free Shipping on your entire order.  You can visit ShopDDL.com to see what is in stock.  I will have more sizes and a new design coming in a few weeks so keep an eye out!

Read the full story

<rant>

Being original and having my own ideas is extremely important to me.  I started Dirty Diaper Laundry with the unique idea to allow potential cloth diapering parents the opportunity to “virtually” shop for diapers using my library of videos.  I didn’t start out with a clear path- blogging and cloth diapering were both new to me.  I shaped my videos and molded them into what I feel has become my signature style.

In my career I have made it a point to be ignorant of other cloth diaper blogs.  I pride myself on having original content thought up while laying in bed each night and not by reading another blog and saying “Hey, that is a great idea I should write about that too.”  A part of me wants to be supportive of the other blogs and moms but I can’t take the risk of inadvertently stealing an idea so I don’t often visit them unless I see a link to a post that I’m comfortable visiting.

What that means to the readers is that they can trust my content and my intentions.  What that means to me is that I can sleep soundly at night and be at peace with my conscience.

When I see other posts, blogs, and videos that are farming ideas from my own or from friends it pisses me off.  I have run into other blogs that have taken my Star Rating System and made a minor change to it for their own uses.  I’ve noticed the style of my videos down to the letter being copied.  Even ideas for posts I felt were very original seemed to then pop up elsewhere.

I’m not afraid of competition but only if the competition is playing fair.  

I can’t copyright my ratings system, the style of my videos that I developed over almost 3 years, or the ideas I come up with.  I can’t even prevent people from copying my blog format (I believe I was the first cloth diaper blog to independently sell ads in this format.)  The only thing I can do is hope that enough of you recognize the hard work I have poured into Dirty Diaper Laundry and continue to visit and tell your friends!  I don’t have an ad budget; I rely on word of mouth to help DDL grow.  I also hope that anyone who has taken my ratings or other ideas will quietly do the right thing and revisit your system and come up with something that is your own and not mine.  I’ve considered emailing the parties in question but since they obviously visit my site it is just easier to do it in a post.    Sadly, I’ve had ideas that I thought were great and when I researched to see if it existed, and it did, I backed off.  No need to redo something that is already working.

Blogging is a hard job and there is always someone out there ready to take your place as soon as you let them.  The competitive part of me is afraid to take any time off during our move for that reason.  Besides, I am brimming with good ideas that I want to share with the world.

I may be coming off as catty (I am) and bitchy (I am) and pissed off (I defintely am) but I have stood by while others benefit from 3 years of learning and development on my part.  I didn’t start out as a successful blog- I worked my fingers to the bone to get here.  And I’m not even the most successful or popular.  Seeing a video this morning that was a clone of my own except with different hands/voice was the straw that broke this blogger’s back!

I truly appreciate all of you that come here for cloth diaper information.  I just love seeing the comments you have here and on my fanpage.  I love even more when I see someone talk about DDL on a messageboard.  Blogging is an ever evolving job and I have to do my best to keep up with the medium but I make damn sure to do so with my integrity in tact.  I may get inspiration elsewhere but the core ideas behind my posts, my videos, my design, and my database are purely my own.  That is my pledge to you and me.  I am a nice, giving person and I feel taken advantage of.  Nothing hurts worse than feeling used.

</rant> (a little html humor for the geeks out there!)

For some reason I decided to join #NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).  In November.   The same month that includes a major holiday and a 1.5 week trip to North Carolina for our family.  I’ve been filming cloth diaper reviews for weeks to stock up so that while I’m out of town and celebrating Christmas I won’t have to film.

Why then would I decide to blog every day for a month?

One reason I took the challenge was because I would like to blog more about my family.  Sometimes weeks will go by without a post about my kids except maybe a Wordless Wednesday.  I like having this written record and being prompted to write more often means I HAVE to write about them.  I can’t talk cloth diapers 24/7.

I also happen to like being challenged.  So there was that.

Today I was supposed to film and post my answers to reader questions but my son has a terrible ear infection and he has been stuck to me like glue for 2.5 days.  My dishes are in a huge pile in my sink because it is the only chore I can’t do while holding him.  I tried putting him on my back in the Boba and he protested.

Since I have to post today I thought it was a good time to explain why I am doing it.

If you have any topics you want me to write about, leave them in the comments.  I might need some inspiration for the rest of the month!  And since I am posting daily make sure you come back every day to see what I am up to!  I normally take Saturday and Sunday off but I’ll be posting those days too.

I am not a “controversial” blogger. In fact, when writing out my posts I am constantly asking myself “Will this offend someone?  Can this be taken the wrong way?” And so on.  Yet, just the topics I write about are controversial in themselves so I do get the upset mother commenting every once in a while.  I’ll admit it, it sucks.  I get a little sweaty just reading it.  Did I really just hurt someone’s feelings?!

I have been afraid to “push buttons” my entire life. When I have had confrontations in the past they never really went that well.  If a boss of mine was stepping all over me I let them.  The only time I ever stood up for myself was in high school.  I worked as a waitress at a steak house; the manager was a tool.  One day I found out from a friend that he was mocking me and my laugh (which is rather unique and it is a love it/hate it thing) and calling me names to the staff.  I was so upset but not sure what to do.  I stewed over my shift.  I wanted to walk out and tell him to kiss my ass.  So I did.  I calculated my totals and handed him the money for the day from my food sales and the tip share.  I let him know I had heard the things he said and I couldn’t work with him anymore.  As I stormed off, dirty black apron in hand, he shouted after me “You better have all my money!”  To which I replied, “Every last penny!”  I was shaking, sweating, and a little nauseous.  I was also only partially employed (I was working 2 jobs to support myself.) and nervous.  I told myself I never wanted to have that happen again.

Then in college I was the Customer Service Coordinator for TJ Maxx.  This was a stressful job, mainly because no one was preventing the theft of goods and the return fraud occurring many times a day, every day.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I became a vigilante, upholding righteousness and truth.  I refused returns, I stalked the thieves and called them out on their crap.  It was exciting and got my blood boiling and my heart racing.  This was a different kind of confrontation.  I was fighting for morality.  It was black and white; stealing and fraud are bad, mmmk?  Don’t do it or I will catch you.  I had no problem telling a customer to their face that they are pulling crap, bye bye.  If I ever see you again I will catch you.

Blogging is different and the same. I can sit behind my computer and write about my passions; cloth diapering, breastfeeding, babywearing, homebirth and natural childbirth, co-sleeping, and so on.  It just so happens that a lot of these topics polarize the mommy community.  When you say breastfeeding is good, the formula feeding moms often hear “formula is bad.”  When you say natural childbirth was the best choice you made the mom who chose an epidural hears “Epidurals are wrong and bad for the baby.”  If I say “Disposable diapers are wasteful and toxic” I am interpreted as telling moms they are harming the earth and their baby.

Is that what I mean?  Of course not.  But by praising one topic the other gets put down.  It isn’t like I am equally supportive of disposable diapers but I just happen to be writing about cloth diapers; that simply doesn’t jive.

For the record, here is where I am coming from.

I had a homebirth and it was all natural.  I also had a hospital birth, induced with pitocin, and had an epidural.  I loved my homebirth experience, but the hospital experience made me who I am today.  I don’t look down on any woman for choosing pain medications.  In fact, I wish the US had the option for Nitrous Oxide, a pain relief method commonly used overseas including homebirths!  It is safer, it is fast, and can be administered off and on at will.  Having a natural birth doesn’t make you a better mom but it is something to be proud of (but not brag about, big difference.)

I also love breastfeeding and I think every mother should attempt it.  It is cliche, but that is what they are there for!  Boobs are many things; they are food for babies, nice to look at and play with for your significant other, and they make nice pillows.  It doesn’t have to be a one or the other thing.  If you choose to formula feed for that reason then maybe I do have something to say about it.  If you fell prey to the many booby traps in the world that came between you and your baby’s nursing relationship I am sorry.  Then there are the moms who had to for other reasons that are out of their control.  I don’t think you are a bad mom, you are feeding your baby.  In the end, that is the most important thing.  Babies need to eat and need to be loved.  In my world, that means breastfeeding and cuddling my baby.

Cloth diapers….. oh boy.  Cloth is my thing.  I love cloth diapers, if I didn’t I wouldn’t spend the considerable time and effort that I do maintaining this website.  I would like everyone to use cloth diapers for whom it is feasible.  Unlike some others, I know there is a time and a place for disposable diapers and hybrid inserts.  I have used them myself.  I have never tried to hide that fact.  When we have ammonia issues (far too often than I should but dammit I can’t get rid of it!) my toddler sleeps in a disposable.  *gasp* Yes he does.  If not, he wakes up with a gigantic burn.  I have been reduced to tears before at watching my son not want to sit in his bath because it hurt his privates.  Nothing stings more than knowing the choice you made to better the environment and protect your baby from chemicals back fired.

Other reasons cloth might not be for you: no washer/dryer access. I won’t lie to your face and tell you that I would hand wash diapers daily in order to use cloth.  Call me names, I don’t care!  Some of you have commented that you do just that, and that is cool.  It isn’t for me. Update! I decided to try handwashing and using flat cloth diapers for 7 days. I found it possible, not ideal. My journey can be found here: Flats Challenge

Discussing cloth diapers in a mommy forum (I have been trying to put into words a post on mom boards, one of these days I will post it) can conjure up some serious feelings.  Usually the disposable moms get sick of hearing about how awesome cloth diapers are.  I have seen the alienation of moms when a group of women get to chatting about fluff.  And then, if you say something bad about cloth, the fluffy moms can get nasty.

I’m not gonna rehash it, but I wrote about The Great Divide of Cloth Diapering and why maybe we should promote to the middle class and not say “well if you can’t afford disposable diapers, why don’t you use cloth?” to families who just can’t.

If a low income family does have the ability to wash cloth diapers, often times they are unaware that it is an option or cannot afford the start up cost.  A friend of mine is working on starting a local diaper loaning program for these families.  I’d love to see more reusable diaper banks on a local level!

You will never hear me say that your choice to ______ was wrong.  Advocacy, in my eyes, isn’t about black and white.  Stealing is wrong, but getting an epidural- that was your choice and you have the right to do so.  I’m just thankful there are so many options in life.  I know that many of you are here because you come here often, you “get” me and my ideas, you share many of my passions.  Then there are those of you who might have ended up here from following a link on Facebook or Twitter, or you googled something.  Maybe you are here to leave a comment on a different post telling me I should be ashamed of myself for not seeing the other side.  I do.  I might not agree with it, and it isn’t for me, but it is for someone.

Finally, one thing I have learned in the 2 years I’ve been a parent is this:

Never, ever, ever say “Never.”

I have eaten my words more than once when it comes to my parenting ideals and what happened.  ”My son will never watch _____” or “My son will only eat ______”  Guess what? He watches ____ and he eats a ton of ____.  Overall, things have gone my way but toddlers sure know how to manipulate their parents.

I remind myself of this every time I see another parent holding a bottle or giving their kid a sucker, turning on the TV, or putting them in their crib and receiving protests.  I don’t know where they are coming from or how they got to where they are and neither do you.

I will be linking this post again and again when I take to blogging about something that might “offend” others.  If you do read a controversial post here, it is a rare one!  They do seem to bring in the most traffic so I get why there are so many blogs dedicated to pissing people off, but that is not me! Still, when I see something that needs to be said in the name of promoting or defending my passions, I am sure as hell going to write about it!

image via flickr user Tony3 using the Creative Commons License

This post is part of the Cloth Diapering Bloggers and Dirty Diaper Laundry hosted Cloth Diaper Carnival that is held every month.  Many bloggers get together and write about the same topic.  This month is “Where did you first hear about/ see cloth diapers?”

July 20, 2008.  I have an entry in my pregnancy journal titled “Cloth Diapers.”  I was 21 Weeks pregnant, and I was already stoked about cloth diapering.  Lame?  Maybe…. I had already been researching for a few weeks at that point.  I know that I first saw cloth diapers online.  I don’t recall which, but it was on a pregnancy forum I was sort of stalking.  I never participated, but I checked the different forums.  There may have been a board dedicated to cloth diapers on it, or someone mentioned them.  I was pregnant and had the memory of an ant.

When I saw them the idea immediately clicked in my head.  While I never considered that there was an alternative, I never even thought about diapers.  Looking back, I find that odd.  I never considered the disposable ones, or diaper genies, or throwing trash bags of garbage away.  The moment I saw that there were modern cloth diapers I began frantically researching.

I googled price comparisons, brands, types, how to wash, what to do with the poop.  Everything.  I also joined a cloth diapering forum on Justmommies.com and started picking the brains of women there.  I later joined Diaperswappers to buy used diapers and save money, but that was much later in my pregnancy.  I wanted ammo when I broached the subject with my husband.  I knew this was going to be one hell of a conversation.

“Honey… I want to use cloth diapers.  And wash them.  But don’t worry, I am breastfeeding and the poop goes in the washer, so you don’t have to dump it out.  And it will save us a lot of money.”

“You want to put what in the washer?  Poop!?”

I know my husband never gave diapers much thought while I was pregnant either, and he had never changed one in his entire life.  That was my leverage.  He didn’t know the difference!  I researched the many cloth diaper websites for the easiest, Daddy Friendly Brands.  I decided velcro was it, and wanted Bum Genius 3.0′s for my stash, along with some prefolds and Thirsties XS for the newborn stage.

Convincing my husband was not easy.  My ammo was the cost savings and the fact that I would be doing all of the laundry.  After some convincing, he agreed.  The rest is history.

I think, what if I never saw cloth diapers online?  I would NEVER have known.  I don’t see mothers changing cloth diapers at the changing station.  I never see babies running around in cloth diapers.  I don’t see billboards or commercials about them like I do for disposables.  Cloth diapers have a huge online community but how people stumble upon cloth diapers is still predominately online.  I have talked to moms in person and I try to bring them up in conversations.  I have converted a few people, and that is great.  I know there are a few people working on starting a Real Diaper Association Circle in my area, which would hopefully work on spreading the word locally.

For me, just like breastfeeding in public, I like to cloth diaper in public.  I like to pull out my diapers from my bag before I change him.  I just take a diaper, wet bag, and wipes to the room, and leave my bag at the table or whereever.  Or, in the warmer climates I let him run around in a diaper and T shirt or put him in babylegs.

Hopefully my son in cloth diapers will trigger something in someone else, and they will be able to say that I was the first person they saw with cloth diapers.
If you are participating in the carnival, please leave a link to your post below. You also need to put that you are entering the carnival at the top of your post, like I did, with links back to CDB and DDL. Here is the code for your post. (I have had comments already that the code isn’t working.  UGH.  I am emailing you, so if it doesn’t work email me.  kdrosas at gamil dot com.)

Non WordPress Users

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Blogger Users (Thanks Denise for playing with the code.)

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Starting a blog is not as simple as it sounds.  Depending on your goal it can be a lot of work.  A personal blog for friends and family, piece of cake.  A blog that you want the world to see is a bit harder.  At MomDot they recently did a blog link-a-thon, which I participated in.  Here is a list of a few hundred blogs.  If you are looking for more blogs to subscribe to, follow, or just read on occasion then check out this list here.  You are sure to find something fun to read.  I have already gone through a few and there are some really great mom bloggers out there.  Show ‘em some love!