Cloth Diapers...what was I thinking..

So when you have a baby there are two things right off the bat that empty the wallet: formula and diapers. When people cringe and say, "We can't afford a baby!" they are most likely thinking of the ridiculous cost of keeping a kid full and the pee off the couch. When I told the husband I wanted a baby, my "business proposal" contained the stipulation that I would use cloth diapers, because my Mom used them on me, they are good for the environment, keep diaper rash at bay, and save you money if you diaper more than one child. He looked at me like, "you're gonna put poop in our washer?" But since I would be master-diaperer he thought it sounded good. I got a newborn cloth diaper stockpile from a friend who was in between kids; I didn't want to invest until I was sure I could do it.

Well baby came and those cloth diapers sat in a box. I had diapers as shower gifts and some earth-friendly ones I got on sale (for outings and road trips) and I got sucked in by how easy it was. Take it off, in the trash it goes along with the nasty wipes too. I was running on empty: the only laundry that got done was my husband's uniforms, and I was lucky to shower. So I convinced myself I would start cloth diapering once I had the time to actually wash them. Then D-Day arrived: Tabitha started sleeping through the night. We were rested and now I had no excuse. I pull out the box of cloth diapers and........none of them fit! I had waited too long. Oh well, disposables, welcome back! Well then my greenness kicked in...........

I knew it was awful to be putting all these diapers into the landfill, with poop in them for God's sake, and I'd read about all of the chemicals in the diapers and so on, and I just told myself that like it or not I needed to cloth diaper. I met with a mom from Craigslist and got a variety or cloth diapers to see which kinds I liked: all-in-ones, all-in-twos, prefold, pocket, I'm-an-origami-magician whatever. My husband waits in the car while I haggle; when I get in with my bag full-o-diapers and my pockets empty, he flips. He can't believe that I've just spent a buck fifty on cloth diapers that will require me to touch poop and pee, and even worse, require him to touch poop and pee. We get home and after initial stripping and washing, I begin.

What was I thinking? I can't get the stupid things to fit her right because she is super skinny, and the elastic doesn't get tight enough around her legs so there is pee everywhere, and I assume there isn't enough absorption going on so I pad it some more..nope that doesn't help. What sucks is that they really are beautiful things: they have cute prints, and the fleece wicks moisture away from the bum so it's like she is sitting on a fluffy cloud. But I am dunking poop-covered diapers into the toilet, and the stuff isn't coming off because thanks to starting cereal this kid is excreting glue. I am determined though, because as a wife I will not let my husband say, "I told you so." Tabitha spends her days in her colorful cloth nappies, covered by shorts or pants so I can easily tell when she has wet through...oh yea, and I have to warn people who pick her up. But I really do love not having to run to the store for diapers. Dear Earth, you'd better be happy.....

Damn you Morgan Spurlock!

I can't believe it has been over a year since I've posted. A lot has happened since then, a lot of bad, and tons of good. Most importantly, I became a new mommy to a beautiful baby girl, Tabitha. So many things have changed for me. My frugal life has been turned upside down, and it's all your fault Morgan Spurlock.

A few years ago, a show aired weekly called 30 Days, where Morgan Spurlock (director) and other volunteers spent thirty days in the shoes of someone else, sometimes their complete opposite. My husband and I would watch together, me taking the PETA activist's side while he took the game hunter's side, me the commune hippie, him the city dweller. You get the idea.
A free trial for Netflix came up, and since the last 5 months I've been posted up in the house, waiting for the depths-of-Texas-hell-heat to die down, I figured I could use some moooovies. 30 days had been running episodes on Planet Green and I thought to myself that I had never seen Super Size Me (if you've never seen it, there's no time like the present.) I think, when it came out, I was afraid to watch it. Like most Americans, I am afraid of the truth. Ignorance is bliss let me tell ya. So there I was, baby in my arms watching a harmless documentary about fast food.

Damn you Morgan Spurlock! Because of your movie I no longer eat most fast food. Because of you I question every advertisement, every company, every school lunch program. A chain reaction began of documentaries, books, articles, research and a world turned upside down. Because of you I no longer "take their word for it." By the way, thanks Morgan.

Here is my current life in a nutshell: I've realized that things we hold to be truths are no such thing, and we are lied to so much we might as well be friggin North Korea. Having a baby has made me want a better life, a cleaner more sustainable life, on a budget, with a Texan husband who thinks Cinnamon Toast Crunch 'made with whole grains' is healthy food. Watch me squirm!

An Alternative to Composting..for Now

Well I have been daydreaming of starting a compost bin for the past few weeks. I had a compost pile once, but in my sand trap of a backyard, it was hard to march over there at night to drop scraps into it; not to mention I didn't feel like pitchforking that thing with Texas-sized critters running around. So after I saw Frugal Babe's Worm Composting article, I decided that this was a better solution because I can keep it in the garage or close to the back door. Unfortunately, these magical ideas land in my lap right when things are taking a turn for the worse. I just can't afford to get the supplies at this time. So I have been sticking to my can't-really-compost-but-I-don't-want-to-throw-it-away method: I just toss the stuff in the backyard.

Now this may seem icky to some people who actually don't want to share their backyard with "visitors", but not us. Our backyard needs an overhaulin', and since we can't afford to do that either, we only go out there to hang up the laundry. So whenever I have scraps I just open the back door and practice my baseball arm. And to show that this method works, and it makes me feel like I am part of the circle of life, here's a few pictures...


There he or she is..just a friendly neighborhood squirrel trying to carry some stale homemade bread up the tree. (You may wonder why I didn't make bread crumbs out of it, but hey, baby steps here.) I watched this squirrel for about a half hour trying to chew his way little by little to make the bread light enough to carry. When he finally achieved victory, he got to the top, got spooked and dropped the bread. Whoever says that squirrels can't look like "Oh crap!", they're lying. I left him alone and later that day the bread was gone. So yes I may not be inviting the best creatures into my yard, and I may have more luck with the worms, but this is working for now.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Homemade laundry detergent is one of the easiest and cost effective things you can do to "frugalize" your home. Not only is it cheap, it is eco-friendly, easy to make, and sufficient for high efficiency (front-loading) washing machines. Combined with the use of vinegar as a softener, your clothes will be cleaner with less residue and a better smell!

There are three ingredients needed to make a basic powdered laundry detergent: washing soda, borax, and bar soap.



Washing soda and borax (all-natural!) can be found in the laundry care aisle of most stores, usually on the top or bottom shelf. For the bar soap, the milder the better. I sometimes use organic lavender soap from the health food store because it is very soft and has a mild scent. Sometimes I use plain old Ivory. It is up to you. Try not to use moisturizing bars such as Dove because these are more creamy and don't rinse out as well.

The recipe:

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 borax

1 cup grated soap flakes

Grate soap flakes using a box grater, or dice into small chunks and put in a food processor. It should look like this.



Combine soap with soda and borax in a sealed container. Shake it up! Use 1-2 tablespoons per load. I keep mine in a large plastic coffee container and use a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon. (I made a triple batch of detergent, that is why my container looks very full.)



On the front of this container, I used a label maker to print up the recipe so it is always there.
I also recommend using vinegar as a fabric softener in the rinse cycle. It is cost effective at less than $1.50 per gallon, and it removes most soap residue. It is especially helpful if you hang dry your laundry, because vinegar will help achieve that sunshine smell. And your clothes won't smell like vinegar I promise.

This detergent can be used in front-loading washing machines because it does not sud. It actually suds less than HE laundry detergent.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I am a former woman of waste. No matter what it was it went into the garbage can. When my husband and I lived in an apartment, it was a generous hike to the dumpster and yet I still didn’t grasp the idea that there was just too much trash! When we moved into our house, we were enlightened by the world of recycling.

Each house in our area comes with two recycling buckets provided by the city, picked up every two weeks. I began recycling some paper, plastic, and aluminum. It was until I realized how much less actually goes into the trash bag until I started hardcore recycling. Not a piece of paper, plastic, or aluminum gets thrown away. I have a pile set aside and every so often I take everything to the garage and separate. I also ordered some extra bins from the city so I could separate items and make it easier on the workers. Since starting this practice, (along with some composting of kitchen scraps), I have almost removed the need to buy trash bags more than once every couples of months (and I buy a box of 15). I figure, I am paying for the recycling service whether I like it or not, I might as well use it!

Now you might ask, how am I supposed to recycle? I live in an apartment, or we don’t get curbside pickup… Well, start recycling in other way. I reuse plastic jugs of all sorts to make iced tea and lemonade. I save margarine containers to use as Tupperware. You can also FREECYCLE (a free trading group offered through Yahoo) anything that is salvageable or you think someone might need. Crush those aluminum cans, store them, and make a trip to earn a few bucks! Do your part to help save the earth, and those trash bags!!