Penny Lane Living: cloth

So today I want to tell you about my adventures in cloth diapering. I will admit, before doing my homework, I was one of those "Ew! You mean folding those big sheets, pinning them, and covering them with rubber pants??" type of people. Yeah, silly me, that's the old way of doing it. Now we have modern cloth diapering systems!

At first it all seemed over-whelming. There are LOTS of choices to pick from! But finally I decided that the hybrid system seemed like the best choice for during the day and a pocket diaper for the night. So far, it seems like I was right! Not only do I think its easy and am happy with it, but even Jacob is down with the whole cloth diapering thing. That, of course, makes things a whole lot easier.

So we have a system of using the Flip diapers with Stay-Dry inserts during the day and BumGenious 4.0 diapers for nighttime. We also use cloth wipes with a spray-on wipe solution. I'm still learning to make my own diapers and inserts, but I've already become proficient at making my own cloth wipes, wipe solution, and even diaper detergent. So here are those recipes!

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~ Homemade Cloth Diaper Detergent ~

What you will need:

~ 1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
~ 1 Cup Borax
~ 1/2 Cup Oxiclean (we use the generic brand)
~ Storage container for finished detergent

~ [Optional] 2 Cups Calgon Water Softener Powder for if you have really hard water (like we do)

** For a price breakdown to see how much you can save... check out my fellow SweetPea's blog Life In the Men's Room! She shows how much she saved by switching from Rockin' Green Classic Rock! **

What to do:

1. Pour all ingredients into your storage container and shake to mix.

We use 3 TBSP per load. This is what I have found to work best for our family, but you might need to adjust it to work with your diapers, water, or other factors. This detergent is low-sudsing, so its also safe to use in HE washers!

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~ Homemade Cloth Wipe Solution ~

What you will need:

~ 1 TBSP Baby Lotion (we like the lavender scented)
~ 1 TBSP Baby Soap (also lavender scented)
~ 1 TBSP Baby Oil
~ 1 Cup Warm water
~ 3 Drops Tea tree oil (can be omitted)
~ Container for finished solution

What to do:

1. Pour water into storage container. Add in the lotion, soap, oil, and tea tree oil.

2. Shake together to mix. Let sit until suds dissolve.

We like to put ours into small spray bottles so we can spray it directly onto Penny's bum and wipe with a cloth. So I will make a double batch and fill a larger container that I can use to refill our small bottles.

This solution will separate after sitting for a bit. So just give it a little shake and its ready to go again!

Please remember, this recipe is what we have found to work best for us. Some babies might have a reaction to the tea tree oil. So please use caution and test a small area to check for irritation.

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Now for the cloth wipes, I have found that my favorite has been our fleece wipes. I seriously just took one of the many fleece blankets we had and cut it up for the purpose of wipes. The best dimensions, to me, are about 3 inches by 6 inches. Not too big, but not too small! Fleece is great because: 1) its so cheap, 2) because it's so cheap, if it gets too worn out, just toss it, and 3) you don't need to finish the edges of fleece. You just cut and its ready to use!