In preparation for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge May 23-30 I have been creating lots of tutorials to help guide everyone as they enter the world of Flat cloth diapers!

I’ve already shown you the three major different folds (Pad Fold, Kite Fold, and Origami Fold) and how to make a Camp Style Bucket Washer.  Now here are two more videos, one on How to Prep your Flats by Boiling them and the other on How to Wash your Flats using the Camp Style Bucket Washer.

How to Prep Flats by Boiling:

How to Wash Your Flats (or other Cloth Diapers) Using a Camp Style Washer

For the challenge you can prep your flats in your machine however I wanted to use a method that would work if you didn’t have washer/dryer access. Boiling one dozen flats took an hour since I could only fit 2 flats in each pot. I was boiling the 33″ GMD Flats.

If you don’t want to use or make a bucket washer there are other washing methods. You can use your bathtub-video here-, your sink, a large wash tub, or a portable washer. You can also use your hands as agitation, or a breathable washer (20$).

The most beautiful thing about handwashing flats is that they aren’t picky. Our grandmothers used baby laundry detergent (my Grandma used Ivory Soap- we all know that is not “cloth safe” these days) because the flats aren’t synthetic! They don’t hold detergent as much as a suedecloth lining or a microfiber soaker. I’m not saying you should start using Dreft, but there is a little more wiggle room here.

As someone who tries to make Earth Day more of an every day occurrence rather than the only day a year I remember to bring my reusable bag to the store, I do still enjoy a reason to celebrate.

This year Earth Day also means that the Great Cloth Diaper Change is tomorrow! This event will set the record for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously.  There are over 400 locations around the globe, which means some parents will be waking up and heading to their event in the middle of the night!  And in case you didn’t know, I made the official video for the event which stars my baby Everett as he travels the globe having his diaper changed in some very cool places!  The video has been viewed over 10,000 times! I can’t wait to see everyone’s photographs and hear the stories from all of the amazing events! I will be attending the Syracuse, NY location hosted by Basic Baby Shop.

In other exciting news, Kelly Wels, founder of Kelly’s Closet, has written a book about cloth diapers and it is available for order from my affiliate Amazon.com today! The book is called Changing Diapers: The Hip Mom’s Guide to Modern Cloth Diapering.  She is putting all of her years of diaper knowledge into one manual for parents who don’t want to scour the internet for information.  Plus, the book has beautiful cloth diaper photographs.  I can’t wait to read it, I am sure I will even learn some things! (psst…. I also heard DDL and my Cloth Diaper Finder get a mention so I am so excited about that and very grateful to Kelly for thinking of me!) I’m thinking this book will make the perfect baby shower gift! Bundle it with a tiny newborn diaper with ribbon, who could say no to that?

I think I am preaching to the choir here, but cloth diapers have really pointed me in a better direction in terms of my thinking and actions in life and how I treat the planet. I stopped buying harsh cleaning solutions (in a previous life I used Grease Lightening for everything… I went through a bottle every couple of months), I stopped using paper towels, I recycle as mush as possible, and I think more about the origins of the things I buy and where they will end up when I am done with them. I am by no means perfect, but every bit helps. As green becomes cool I am feeling a little more “hip” than “hippy” too!

One of the things that I have noticed lacking in the cloth diaper world is an introduction to cloth diapers that is simple, not overwhelming, and that isn’t brand specific.  Generally speaking, the only people interested in putting the time and effort into this type of thing are big brands.

I got the idea in my head to make an introduction video to cloth diapers but a live video just wouldn’t do!  This video will be a permanent fixture on www.whatsaclothdiaper.com whenever I get the time to get that site up and running!

I would guess that I spent about 12 hours of solid drawing and editing.  Certainly someone with the proper software and know how could have done it in an hour or less but that someone wasn’t me.  The idea really grew.  I had not anticipated making it as animated or colorful as it turned out.  The initial idea would show a picture for one idea, then another.  The more I played with it the more complex it got, until an idea originally planned for 3-4 frames turned into 15-20 individual frames to make it “animated.”  In the end I had 195 frames.

Unfortunately some of the text just wouldn’t get bigger so it is only readable in HD formats.  And I probably could have slowed some of the scenes down but I figured if someone really wanted more time to read the text they would pause.

Special thanks to my friend and DDL contributor Kristen who watched about 20 unfinished versions of the video and gave feedback.  Kristen had the idea of adding a wetbag to the diaper scene.  I kind of hated her for it because I felt like the video was done, and it proved to be very hard, but it was worth it.  She also drew the dryer and baby trunk for me because I couldn’t get one to look good to save my life!  My husband also watched a ka-jillion versions and drew the toilet outline for me.

I hope this video converts a few people who just don’t understand what a Modern cloth diaper is.  Even prefolds have become more modern with the Snappi and easy to use covers!  Feel free to share this video with your friends!

The final phase of my QR project is underway.  Then we can all talk about how to get your hands on cards, stickers, posters, etc with this code and cloth diaper information that you can share with locals.

So begin sharing!  Let’s make this thing go viral!

Oh and…. ahem….. I made it!

Special thanks to everyone I bugged asking for feedback (Lisa from Weehuggers, Heather of the RDA, Kim from Rockin’ Green (who also had her friend make the video intro, that was not me!), Joshua and Colleen from Basic Baby Shop) and my buddy Kristen.  Extra special thanks to my husband for helping me set up the green screen, get the lighting as good as we could using our DIY shop lights, and for taking the hundreds of pictures it took to string together into video.  I hope you love it as much as I do!

Don’t forget to participate in

The Great Cloth Diaper Change!

I am sad to say the time has come.  My toddler is passing the torch of video cloth diaper modeling to his younger brother.  He first appeared in a video in April 2009.  He was 4.5 months old.  Since then he has been in almost all of my 81 video reviews.  At times I was forced to use a teddy either because he was asleep or because he was in a phase where he refused to be still long enough.  I went through the videos he was in where I could get a good screen shot and compiled those, in order, into a video.  You can watch my son age from 4.5 months up to 2 years old.  You can also look at how many different ways I tried to get him to sit still!

Baby brother is now the official model.  Fletcher isn’t potty trained yet but we are working on it.  I wish his retirement was for that reason!

Did you know I have 81 video reviews to date?  Me either, until I added all of them to a playlist on YouTube.  If you were to watch every single review I have made so far you would be in front of a computer screen for 5 hours! I have over 100 videos on my YouTube channel! All of my videos have been viewed 324,600+ times in total.  I’m not sure but that might make me the most prolific diaper reviewer on the interwebs!  So, not trying to toot my own horn, but……..

TOOT TOOT!

I have also set up a playlist of my informational videos, to which I hope to be adding more videos in the future.  If you have a request for a helpful video on cloth diapers let me know!

Subscribing to my YouTube channel gets you notified every time I add a new video, so take a moment and sign up!

I had a post scheduled for today but I decided this needed to be shared!  Lisa from Weehuggers was tweeting out her brand new cloth diaper rap video.  This beats the Huggies “I poo in blue” commercial any day!  Share it with your friends!

If you listened to me last Sunday on the Cloth Diapers Rock radio show from The Feminist Breeder then you know part of what is coming up for #operationfluffy.  If you didn’t listen, you should anyway just to hear Gina and I blab about cloth diapers etc.

June 8 I will be filming an awesome video of babies dancing in embroidered cloth diaper covers (donated by Kelly’s Closet!) with the phrase “Cloth. Dance. Ellen.” on the butt.  The diapers are being embroidered by Bottombumpers.  Mandi from Jillian’s Drawers is letting me invade her community room which is housed in her brand new store in Ithaca, NY.  I will be filming the babies there.  Where am I getting all of these babies?  I have asked some local residents in Ithaca to let me borrow their children.  My own son will be dancing as well!

I have something even more awesome for the video planned that is sure to make Ellen smile.  It involves a Shake Weight and babies.  You will have to wait and see if I can pull that off!

Once the video is finished I am sending it to her along with some custom embroidered diapers.  She is getting a Bottombumpers AIO with “Cloth. Dance. Ellen.” on the butt and her niece, Eva, is getting her own custom diaper with an appliqued cupcake and her name on the back.  I will also be including a few other brands of diapers in the box to show her how amazing modern cloth diapers are.

I am really excited about what is coming up.  Even if we don’t get the diapers or the video on her show, rest assured it will get some traffic on YouTube.  And any exposure for cloth diapers is great!

Have you dreamed about seeing beautiful fluffies on a major television show?  Yes, they have been on a few morning shows, local and nationwide.  But who is up that early?!?!

How many of you watch The Ellen Show?  I do.  I stay at home with my son, and I watch it whenever I can.  My son, 14 months, loves it and claps when the audience claps and dances when the music plays!

Today I decided we need to campaign to have Ellen feature cloth diapers!  Now, I need your help.

At 8:00 pm EST we will begin “Operation Fluffy Bomb” on The Ellen Show.

Here is how you can help:

Phase 1

First, follow @TheEllenShow on Twitter.  Don’t have a Twitter account?  You should!  Every monday we have a #clothdiapers chat.  Join us!

Then, think ahead.  Upload some photos of your adorable baby in #clothdiapers to a twitter photo sharing account like Tweetphoto or Twitpic.  Choose great pictures that really showcase how easy, modern, and fun cloth diapers can be!

Then, at 8:00 pm begin bombing The Ellen Show with photos of your babies in #clothdiapers.  I ask you to please be courteous.  Don’t demand, or pester their account.  While we want attention, we want it to be positive!

Also let Ellen know that we want to see #clothdiapers on her show!  Think of the thousands of moms watching.  How many know about the modern cloth diaper?  Not many!  The internet dominates the culture, we are preaching to the choir!

Make sure to @TheEllenShow in your tweets and include the #clothdiapers and #operationfluffy hashtag.

We will continue “Operation Fluffy Bomb” until we get a response.   Whenever you think about it, tweet to Ellen.

Phase 2

I have a vision.  I see a YouTube video of clips with dancing babies in only cloth diapers, strung together, to a funky beat!   I want it to go viral!  Starting now, try to film your baby dancing in a diaper.  Send me (kdrosas at gmail )your video using yousendit.com.  Please keep the length less than .20 seconds.  I will take the best ones and edit a video.  We will tweet this to Ellen as well.  If she doesn’t respond to photos, she will definitely respond to DANCING BABIES!!!  Hello, she loves to dance!