Diapers are just the beginning

…vacuum bag. Really.

I happened to purchase a vacuum who’s replacement bags are a pain to find. Stores have that size and then they don’t.

So I am out of bags and need to vacuum before some friends come over. I just took the bag and undid the bottom seam. Dumped out the contents in the trashcan outside and taped it back up with duct tape. So far I have done that four more times.

Anyone selling online knows how expensive new boxes are. The US Postal service offers free shipping material with you use their Priority Mail service, but there are some items that are so large that they won’t fit into the Postal Service boxes. If you are shipping to a business then you may get a better rate using FedEx or UPS. You are going to need a plain box to ship in.
Don’t buy them! It is really easy to find cardboard boxes in good shape in all sizes.
Go back to school. Really. Your local school goes through LOTS of boxes on a daily basis. Boxes that contained packaged food, boxes that contained paper or boxes, boxes from cleaning products - lots and lots of boxes. Ask the principal and find out who is in charge of recycling the boxes. You will most likely find someone who is more than happy to give you some boxes instead of having to break them down. If you collect boxes on regular basis you may even get your favorite sizes stored for you to pick up.
I have not purchased a box in years. I get to save money and recycle.

Sitting down to dinner with your paper plates and plastic forks on top of a paper table cover is a different experience than sitting down to your dinner served on china plates, eaten with silverware and framed by a beautiful tablecloth.

The paper exam gown that you used on your last visit to the Doctor is no match for your fuzzy robe at home.

Cloth diapers work the same way. They can be cute, comfy and very effective.  If you have never tried cloth diapering it sounds a little odd, but you will come to enjoy diaper changes just as you enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in your favorite ceramic mug. It’s a different experience.

I used cotton diapers because I love it! I used disposable diapers for quite a while until I “Saw the light” and started using cotton. When my son was first born I thought that it would be a huge pain to use cotton diapers and I didn’t think about it for a long time. I finally got totally fed up with having to go out and spend a good sized part (I have always been a stay at home mom) of our monthly budget on diapers and I heard about the chemicals used in disposable diapers (no wonder my son was getting so many rashes!) So, I started to use cloth diapers (home laundered).

Now I can’t believe that I spent so much on disposables and I have been able to use the cloth diapers on our second child, I feel like I am getting “free” diapers. I figured that at $.20 per disposable diaper, using 10 per day after three years I would have spent about $2,190. Plus in our area the garbage company charges per can and we have been able to cut back one can per week after I switched to cloth. Washing the diapers costs me about $1.00 per load. That’s $432 over three years. When you add in the cost of the diapers ($450-an estimate) I have spent $882. That’s a $1,308 savings for the first baby. You can see even more savings ($1,778) for each additional child that uses the same diapers. I have found that I enjoy walking past the disposables in the grocery store and thinking about what I am not spending. Kids that have been in cloth diapers usually potty train earlier, another great benefit.

What about those flushable diapers? In terms of water use with my front loading washer and low flow toilet I figure that as long as I wash 10 or more diapers at a time I am saving water.

I try not to rant - much - but what is it about throw away baby related items? As if all those diapers in the landfills are not bad enough, we have diaper wipes, bibs, placemats, swim diapers and I just saw some throw away face/hand wipes advertised. Now I realize that we have droughts occasionally and want to watch our water use, but we are stuffing our landfills full of things that just don’t need to be there. It does not take that much effort to wash a few bibs or washcloths with your regular laundry. Remember to recycle all that you can as well. OK, end of rant.