Here we are at day one of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge sponsored by Dirty Diaper Laundry already! For seven whole days I am going to be using flats cloth diapers with covers, and hand washing all of them! I decided to sign up for the challenge about two and a half weeks ago. I put some real thought into it because I had never used flats before and I have never ever hand washed my diapers before! So I knew this would be exactly what it was called, a CHALLENGE!
When I read Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry's blog post about the Flats Challenge I was shocked and concerned that there were so many families who struggled to put diapers on their babies. Some families go without other necessities, such as food, to be able to put diapers on their babies. And if you are struggling to buy diapers, you want them to last you as long as you can right? Well leaving a wet or dirty diaper on a baby for too long can lead to some pretty serious diaper rash. The thought of families in that situation just broke my heart. I myself, as well as a lot of friends of mine, started using cloth diapers to save money. Fortunately we have a washing machine and dryer to use and were able to afford the basic start up costs of using the more high end cloth diapers. But not everyone has the luxury of their own washing machine or can afford pocket cloth diapers that cost $15-$20 each. I want to do my part in raising awareness that anyone can cloth diaper and for a very little amount of money!
I also wanted to take the challenge to learn something new! I've been cloth diapering for over three years between two babies and I've never used flats or had to handwash! So I knew this would be a new learning experience for me and could very well come in handy for me someday if we ever were without power for a period of time or faced financial issues.
I'm very excited (and nervous) to start this challenge! I hope it helps to raise cloth diaper awareness and maybe helps inspire someone out there to give cloth diapers a try! I hope you'll follow me through this week as I blog about my experience using flats and handwashing!
Good luck in your challenge!!
ReplyDeleteThis will be my third year participating in the challenge. I'm doing it because I want to get my almost 3 year old potty trained.
ReplyDeleteI don't use cloth diapers, but if I had it to do, I would. This sounds like a fun challenge, although I'm not sure how long I'd last. lol Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year taking the challenge. Hopefully it works.
ReplyDeleteI am soooo happy that so many others are participating in this challenge! My husband and I were unemployed when our first child was born. I can't even begin to describe what a blessing cloth diapers were...and when our washer broke (only for a week before one was donated to us)...I had to handwash! Four + years down the road I decided to join in this challenge, not only to remind myself to be thankful for all that I have (especially for my washer!), but also to show others that cloth diapering is an affordable option that ANYONE can chose to have :-)
ReplyDelete