How to Make Your Own Cloth Diapers

So, remember yesterday, how I said I was going to try out the cloth diapers from Handmade Home? Well, I did. And here's how it went:

From The Diet Coke Diet

Which means it went well. I kind of didn't follow her "pattern" at all, but I DID use recycled materials.

COOL! 

So, I have toyed with cloth diaper making for years, but ulitimately, couldn't justify buying raw materials for MORE than it cost me to just buy the freaking diaper. 

But NO LONGER. 

I went to Deseret Industries (which is like Goodwill) and got 12 receiving blankets in the "domestics" section. You know, those flimsy little flannel things everyone has but doesn't know what to do with? Right. So, they were a dollar a piece. I chopped them up into 17"x20" pieces, sewed them four thick, with two pieces- of terry cloth in the middle and viola: 

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(Poor Oliver kept asking me to put his clothes back on as I was chasing him around with the camera.)

So, to do it, I used (like I said) 12 receiving blankets that I cut up into 17x20 inch pieces. You need four 17x20 inch rectangles sewn together. There wasn't enough flannel to do ALL of the pieces I needed so I started taking the leftovers from the rectangles, and sewing them together for inner layers. You can't see them, and they'll work just as well. 

Then I did two 6"x 20" soakers with baby towel I also bought at DI. Two towels made enough soakers for six diapers with leftovers. (One on top and one on bottom sewed into the diaper.) 

I sewed around the outside and trimmed the edges. DO NOT sew them inside out and then turn them right side out. It absolutely makes the edges TOOOO bulky and they aren't flexible at all. Use pinking shears close to the seams to keep them from fraying. 

(Those of you blessed with a serger, just you know, serge the edges...)

Then I sewed down the soaker on the OUTSIDE to keep it from rolling up inside the diaper. So, while the soaker is inside, the seams holding it in place are on the outside, does that make sense? 

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You can kind of see the seams for the soaker on that top diaper, made from planet material. 

So, I used Handmade Home's toddler sizing for these (17"x20") She suggests that you do 12"x13" infant diapers with the soakers being 4"x13". 

Fabrics she suggests are 1. Flannel 2. Old T-shirts (Jersey knit) and 3. Terry cloth. I didn't find cheap enough t-shirt material, so we did all flannel and terry cloth. I am happy with how they turned out. 

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By the way, these are chinese prefolds we're making here, so a cover is absolutely required. I didn't have a cover on Oliver for the pictures. But it went on immediately thereafter.

It took me about 2 hours to make six toddler diapers.

Anyway, if you're a cloth diaper-er or want to be one, hit the thrift stores for materials, and get to sewing. Simple, straight seams, some trimming and you've got the cutest little poop rags on the planet. :) 

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For the CUTEST babies of course.

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 Really, the best thing about this project (For me) was spending $1.50-ish per diaper AND recycling used materials. I feel very very green this afternoon. :)

If you're not a cloth-diaper-er then you can use this same idea to make burp rags. Use the infant size and you can skip the terry soaker. Just sew four layers of flannel together, trim the edges with pinking shears and look! Adorable spit rags for cheap, cheap, cheap!

You're welcome. 

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Product Review-- Ikea's Kalas dishes

Did I mention a GIVEAWAY?

I know, please try to contain yourselves.

So, first the review.

Ikea is a fun and magical place that tends to be a bit overwhelming if you've ever set foot in one. But, if you have the time to really dig, Ikea has INCREDIBLE stuff and a lot of it is priced so astoundingly low that you'll hardly believe it.

Such is the case with the Kalas dishes collection. Now, these are "technically" for kids, but I must say that Derek and I have been known to eat lunch off the plates and ice cream out of the bowls.

Look how pretty!

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The pros:
- Perfect portion sizes for kids (and adults)
-Fun colors
- Cutlery is not dangerous in the slightest and easy to hold
- Dishwasher safe
- Made of 100% BPA free plastic (and ALWAYS has been)
- Very durable
-Recyclable if you ever get tired of them

Cons:
The stupid cups don't come with lids.

Seriously, that is the ONLY thing I would improve upon these.

The Kalas dishes are a great alternative to paper plates and cups. They are small and so they don't take up the whole dishwasher, they are lightweight and durable so if a kid chucks them, they don't break. Like I mentioned, I eat off these more than my nice dishes.

I highly HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend them to anyone with small children, big children or just for anyone who wants a nice, easy cheap dish. 


FANTASTIC! 


Now, for the 


GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right, folks, one lucky winner will be receiving an entire set of Kalas dishes. That includes plates, cups, bowls and cutlery.

THE WHOLE SHEBANG.

You are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lucky.

How to win?

1. Leave a comment


2. Join the Facebook group (if you are already a member, then just leave a second comment saying, "Already a fan!")


3. Add a Diet Coke Button (HTML code on the side bar) to your own blog page. (If you are already a proud owner, than leave a comment stating, "Already a proud button owner!") 


4. Follow us via Blogger or Google Friend Connect (already a follower? Leave a comment that says, "Already a follower!") 


5. Chat up The Diet Coke Diet AND the Giveaway on your own blog or Facebook. 


Then come back and leave a comment for each thing. FIVE! You can enter up to FIVE different ways.


You are so going to win!

It's okay, keep breathing. I know it's VERY  VERY exciting.

The giveaway closes on Monday, May 17th at NOON. Got that? MONDAY, MAY 17th AT NOON!

So, ENTER.

You will seriously love these dishes.

LINKS:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50096905
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10096907
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90096908
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30096906

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Going Paperless---Tissue Edition

Thanks to Springtime, all is snot and watery-eyes around here. While I am free from seasonal allergies the men in my life (small and tall alike) suffer something awful. So with that I say, "All hail the HANDKERCHIEF!"


First and foremost I feel that I must point out that poor old handkerchiefs have REALLY gotten a bad reputation, thanks to the tissue industry indicating that they are "unsanitary" and "germy." (I put those words in quotes like I know that the tissue industry said those exact words, but I do not!) It all went down in the 80's, or maybe it was the 70's... either way, one day we were all happily blowing our noses and wiping our eyes with soft cloths and suddenly Kleenex revolutionizes the world and we now all blow our noses with scratchy pieces of paper that have to ADD lotion and aloe to keep our under-noses from bleeding.

Ridiculous.

Now, don't freak out. Snot on a cloth is really almost no different than snot on a disposable piece of paper. IT'S NOT. (HAHAH, get it? It...snot? HAHAHAHAH! Woah, back to the topic at hand...)

I do not use store-bought handkerchiefs. Why? Because they aren't super helpful, or soft. I wipe small children's noses an upwards of 12 times a day EACH during spring and summer (no, I am NOT exaggerating.) So, I made my own. I use the term "made" very loosely. I bought some fleece and chopped it up into small (About 3 inches wide, and 4-ish inches tall) rectangles.One yard can make dozens of "hankies."

Why fleece? Because the edges don't fray, thereby rendering this project "no-sew" which means any dolt with a sharp pointy object can do it.

Why fleece? Because it's very very soft. I can wipe and wipe and wipe and my army of boy's noses stay happy and without any pain or redness.

Why rectangles? To allow for them to be "single use" I made them small and easy.

Why rectangles? Because then I didn't have to measure exactly. Squares have to be exact, rectangles can be eye-balled.

The only way I could make this easier for you is if I made them for you and mailed them to you. But I'm not going to.

Now, get a few cute baskets from the craft store and place them where your boxes of tissues live. Once they get used, throw them in with your regular laundry. Replace them back in their baskets when you sort laundry.

It's SO SO SO easy.

SO EASY! I say.

"But Morgan!" you cry in disgust, "It's germy! It's SNOT! I don't want to ever touch that much less wash cloths full of it!"

To which I say, "Why? That is silliness. I mean, come on, do you not WASH your hands after you wipe a snot-nosed kid anyway? Because if you don't then YOU'RE GERMY! Regardless of the mode of wiping, you're going to get germy, paper or cloth. That is just a fact. So wash your hands. Throw the used hanky in the laundry and then WASH YOUR HANDS. It's simple."

There is NO reason why you can't just throw a couple of fleece wipes in your kids' pockets when they are snotty. They can wipe and shove them back in their jeans. Then when they don't take them out, unlike PAPER TISSUES there is no gross tissues bits in your laundry. The cloths get washed just as they needed to, and you're not grumpy because your lint trap is full of gross paper.

See? This is a brilliant plan. It is. You know it.

Give it a whirl.

Do I NEVER have paper tissues? I would be remiss if I said that I never do. Why? Cuz I can't seem to get my husband on board. He likes his paper tissues. But the kids? They don't mind  the cloth ones in the slightest.

And in closing, am I the only one who always refers to tissues as "Kleenex" regardless of whether they are "Puffs" or "Kleenex" or "Generic"? Like how people in south call all soda "Coke"?

Hello?

Just me then?

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Going Paperless--CLOTH DIAPER Editon

There are a lot of links. CLICK ON THEM!!

Wait! Don't click the "x" and close this window. I'm sorry! I'm SORRY! I know, it's like totally crunchy, out-there, weird, wackado-ish. BUT! It can also save you BUTT-LOADS of money.

BUTT-LOADS!

I'm not joking.

On average, disposable diapers cost from birth-toilet training about $2500*.

Even with factoring in laundry detergent and water to wash, it's a FRACTION. A FRACTION, I say. At the VERY cheapest version, it's like $400. At the fanciest, it's around $1400. It will SAVE YOU MONEY!

And who in the world doesn't want to save money? HELL-O!

So, peruse that there website I linked and see for yourself.

I will NOT be discussing all the different types of cloth diapers. There are All-in-ones, pocket diapers, chinese prefolds, flats, etc etc etc. Go HERE and see for yourself.

Now, a bit of history for you (aren't you SO excited??):

I've been cloth diapering for four years, ever since I got downsized at my job. We went from barely making it with my 40 hours a week to really really really not making it on 20. So, I knew what i had to do. I went CHEAP. Gerber cloth diapers from Wal-mart, pins and plastic pants. My entire investment was 24 dollars. Less than one large box of disposables.

Over the years, I have increased my investment to wonder wrap covers, chinese prefolds and snappi closures.  (Each of those is a link, CLICK ON IT!).

Now, I am on baby #3 of cloth diapering, and I have it down to an art.

HOW TO CLOTH DIAPER:

Regardless of the type of diaper you select, you pretty much do it the same. You diaper baby, you change every two or so hours. If it's poopy and solid, you shake it off, if it's just wet, chuck it in the diaper pail. It's runny poopy, that's your own call. You can swish in the toilet and plop in the pail or just chuck it in the pail.

SIDENOTE: Did you know you're supposed to shake and flush poop even with disposable diapers? Don't believe me? Go check your packaging. It's in small letters, but it's there.

WAIT! Diaper pail? EW! The very name makes you creepy right?

Relax. It's just a bucket with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to hold two days worth of dirty diapers and covers. This is one is VERY cheap. It's the one I have, it's perfectly workable. I've used the same one for the entire time.

If you WANT you can use a pail liner. You don't have to. Either way, you DO NOT put any sort of cleaner, water or solution in the pail. That's just plain gross. EW.

Anyway, so you dump the contents of the pail into the washer, run a cold rinse cycle, then a HOT wash cycle with detergent (how ever much is recommended by your diaper brand, it's usually a VERY SMALL AMOUNT.) If you're worried about the smell, you can put 1/4 cup of vinegar in it as well.

NO BLEACH.
NO STAIN SPRAY.
NO FABRIC SOFTENER.

These destroy your diapers.

Line-dry if you can. It bleaches out any stains. If they are crunchy after, throw them in the dryer for like 10 minutes.

If line-drying isn't an option, just pop them in the dryer for a cycle. NO DRYER SHEET.

And bam, you've got clean cloth diapers.
****

Now, the decision to cloth diaper does not have to be an all-or-nothing choice. Lots of people just cloth diaper at home. Or during the day. Lots of people use day cares that won't allow cloth diapers, but you can do it in the evenings and weekends if you want. You do what works. But any amount of cloth diapering is going to save you money.

Let's talk about the environment. There is some argument to suggest that potty waste dirties so much water with flushing poop, AND washing that it is not actually better for the environment than disposable diapers. This is poo-poo. Water is restored, cleaned and renewed all the time.

Disposables end up in landfills.

From Wired.com:
Diapers made up 3.4 million tons of waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage, in landfills in 1998 -- the last year this information was collected, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Diapers in landfills in underdeveloped countries are especially problematic because they often aren't properly disposed, and excrement leaks into the local water supply.Read More http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/04/63182#ixzz0jzMT1VKS


Now, look, I get that cloth diapering isn't for everyone. I GET IT. I have a good friend who is a great mom and cloth diapering is NOT her thing. That's COOL. I truly understand that lifestyles differ, finances are different, everyone's "ew" factor is different. But if you have ever considered it, if you think, "Yeah, that's not so bad," then it might be worth trying. Give it a whirl. Most people are nervous at first, and most people end up loving it. It's very easy. It's not leaky or dirty. It's just a totally viable option for people looking to simpllfy their budgets and their lives. 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week, that's it.

There is an initial investment. How much that is is YOUR choice. But once you pay out, that's it. ONCE. You may to buy a new cover or diaper on occasion, especially if you diaper multiple children, but it's a few dollars here and there.

(We'll cover wipes another day, but there ARE cloth wipes!)


Don't stress if you simply can not fathom cloth diapering. But do TRY and consider it, if you're in that place in your life. It's good for baby, it's good for your budget and it's great for the environment. It's a really good all-around thing to do. It's BEAUTIFUL!

If not, we can still be friends. HONEST.

*photo from hatice2.bloguez.com

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How to Go Paperless--Paper Towel Edition

Okay you guys. Don't freak out. Going "Paperless" does not mean going without paper products of any kind.

That would be massive silliness. We only support small amounts of silliness at a time here at The Diet Coke Diet.

So, since I'm the Bob to your Larry (if you get that reference, you are AWESOME), I am here to talk about using LESS paper not NO paper. (I'm not sure if the grammar in that sentence is correct.)

Now, there is so much paper-waste in this country it is ghastly. 40% of the solid waste in landfills is paper and paper goods . That is a huge amount. Now, do not lecture me about trees being a renewable resource. I KNOW. That is less the point than the filling our landfills with paper. I am a wee bit on the granola-crunchy side of things, so I support efforts to lower waste. I have guilt when I throw things away. I recycle. I like love the earth, Dude.

So, combine a tree-hugging hobby with serious amounts of NO money, and enter: MORGAN'S PAPERLESS QUEST!

It all started four years ago when I had Henry. And I am continuing to streamline my efforts.

Today, we are going PAPERLESS by undoing our addictions to PAPER TOWELS!

Oh, paper towels. How we LOVE THEM! They are quick, absorbent and on a roll. A ROLL for crying out loud. What's not to love?

Well. Nothing, except that there are ways to cut down on them, or eliminate them entirely.

How?

Laundry.

Calm down. It's okay. The small amount of laundry that will be added to your weekly tally will be nearly unnoticeable.

So, go to the store, Target, or Walmart, or wherever, and buy a dozen or so washcloths. They even come in very cheap packs of 12 (or maybe 10, what do I know?) They do NOT cost a lot. DO NOT buy the fancy bathroom washcloths that are all thick and soft and spongy. NO! They need to be the super cheap ones that are a bit scratchy and are all bundled in a piece of paper. Do you know what I'm referring to? CHEAP!

 Some people (my mother) feel strongly that kitchen dish rags are different than wash cloths. They are. Dish rags suck and washcloths are quite helpful. Do not waste money on dish rags, they absorb nothing. NOTHING, I say.

Woah, I got a little excited there. I always get worked up when my opinion differs from my mother's. It's like going against nature.

So, now, when babies' faces are messy, instead of a paper towel, reach for a washcloth.

Kitchen spill? Baby vomit? WASHCLOTH WASHCLOTH WASHCLOTH!

And I absolutely do not approve of using paper towels as napkins. NO! That is forbidden. I mean it. We'll talk about napkins another day. I don't want to overwhelm you.

Keep your washcloths in the cupboard under the sink or in a drawer. If you're seriously short on space, get a cute little basket, and keep them on the counter top. (Oh, that would be SO cute!)

I usually use TWO in the kitchen at once. A KITCHEN cloth and a PERSON cloth. It's easy, just hang the PERSON cloth on the back of the high chair.

The PERSON cloth is for baby faces, or sticky fingers. The KITCHEN cloth is for a counter-top, table or floor issue. The twain should NEVER meet.

I do NOT agree with gross, slimy and smelly cloths. EW EW EW. So, if you're skeeved out like I am, use a new one every day. Okay, even if you're NOT skeeved out, use a new one every single day. It's ONE or TWO a day. It's a TINY amount of laundry.

In fact, it's totally okay if you use MORE than one a day, you're still not using paper towels.

All you need to do it hang it to dry on the oven door, or if you have a little hanging bar in your cupboard, somewhere so it can lay flat and dry, do NOT leave it all bunchy in the sink. The cloth will smell sumfin' awful in just a couple of hours. EW!

Seriously. It does not have to be a pain in the tushie to NOT buy paper towels. I haven't purchased a single roll in three years. I do not miss them.

So, your challenge? This week, NO MORE PAPER TOWELS.

Go spend $2 on washcloths and free yourself. You'll be FREE I tell you. FREEEEEEE!!!!

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