Bulldog: Seat Removal

I have not been keeping you all up to date as well as I had wanted to. Of course life gets busy. When you add a big ol' bus conversion to the mix, things can really get interesting. Okay, so you all got to see our Bernadette "Bernie" the Bulldog when she came home.

At that time, she was very much a kid toting school bus, seats and all. Those seats were the first thing that had to go! I of course did not think to get a picture of when we had all the seats in Bernie, but we all know what that looks like, now don't we.







At first, Hubs tried many different ideas to get the seats out. It was hot, the bus was hot, and those seats, wanted to stay put. Hubs tried unbolting the seats much like they had just gone in. It worked on maybe one or two bolts. Boy was it slow and tedious!





Finally we went to a quick but hot and dirty method of seat removal: the grinder.
Every seat had to have its aisle bolts ground off. When on a hot bus in the middle of summer, the last thing you really want to be doing is using a grinder, but it had to be done. You can see Hubs taking a little break when he had about 1/2 of the passenger side done.

The kids loved when we got 1/2 of the seats out as they had more room to run around. That was their idea of helping. But hey, no way could they be on there while the grinder was going, so helping was a bit out of the question. While bummed, they did enjoy playing inside the nice cool house. 

 Finally, we got all of the seats out of the bus. I must say, Hubs got it done in record time once we (he) started just grinding those suckers out of there.

And now we had our first look truly at the amount of space that we had in our bus.
I think this is going to be one awesome adventure to go on. And then, it will take us to so many more! Continue with us as we keep working on the demo part of our dream camper build. Next up, our walls and floor get ripped out.

The Skinny on Skinny & Co.

Who doesn't love reviews. More often than not, when I am looking for a new product, I look for reviews before I buy. Here is where I help you find a great new company; Skinny & Co.

Coconut oil has become huge as we learn all the ways it can benefit our health and beauty. Skinny Coconut oil is made in small batches that are cold pressed, and they only use 100% pure raw coconuts from the jungles of Vietnam. 

I received a few products that I want to share with you today. I received five products to test out and will cover most of them here. I tried out a sugar scrub, oil pulling, body butter, facial oil, and a pure coconut oil. 

First, my favorite product. I am a sucker really for scrubs. I love how they make my skin feel, and this one is just down right awesome. When I opened the jar, I just wanted to eat it up, it smelled that good. The best part, I could! See, not only can I use this as a sugar scrub on my skin, but I could also use it in coffee or tea, or on my lips. Everything is completely natural in it, so it is totally edible. I have not tasted it yet, but I have been super tempted to.

I was in one of my best friend's wedding in September, and I got these products just in time. My legs really needed some tlc, and I started with this baby. The sugar and vanilla in this scrub send you straight to the spa. After using it, my legs did feel so nice and soft. I was in love.

This was actually the very first product I tried from this line, and it was my first time using anything with coconut oil. To be honest, I had to look up oil pulling just to know what this was for. For those who do not know, oil pulling is taking a small amount of coconut oil and swishing it in your mouth for 10-20 minutes. It can help freshen breath, whiten your teeth, and remove plaque. With those kinds of benefits, I was going to give it a try. Skinny oil pulling oil is infused with peppermint oil to really freshen your breath while pulling. I loved the peppermint in this. Truly, I only pulled once, as it was not something I was really in to. Although it is not my cup of tea, for those who do like to oil pull, I would highly recommend this product, as it was nice with the added minty feel.

Of course you cannot try out a bunch of coconut oil products without trying the good stuff, just by itself. I was so happy when one of the jars I received was their pure coconut oil. I have been wanting to try out coconut oil for some time, actually since my mom started using it when fighting her cancer. So, it has been over two years. My family is not big on the taste of coconut, so I had to be careful with how much I used at any one time. This jar stayed in my kitchen. I liked using it to help replace some of the oil I use in cooking. If I can boost my metabolism at all, I will be a fan. This oil has not been overpowering at all, and the family hasn't even noticed when I do use it. Another win. 

 

These are the last two products that I was given for review and testing. This is where I had some pause with my review. I love using the oil for how it can help my health and the scrub is nice. With these two products I would end up with a little more of an oil feel to my skin that I just was not a complete fan of. I know that others truly love these products, but they were just not necessarily my forte. There are many ways that I can use the body butter, but some I have to wait on. The body butter can be good to use after getting a bit too much sun, for now I have to wait until summer to really test that out. Also, it can be use for skin rash or baby acne, and I don't really come across those much anymore. So, I don't want my pause to make you not try out these great products. They could be awesome for many others. 

Overall, I have loved working with the company and trying out these great coconut oil products. They have been so wonderful to work with.

Now, I want to give you all a chance to try out their products as well. The great people at Skinny & Co have given me a discount code for you all to use! Just head on over to their website and you will receive 15% off any Skinny & Co. order, when you use the discount code - SKINNYCO15.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. All opinions are completely my own.

Our Newest Adventure

After much thought and discussion, we have embarked on a new adventure as a family.

WE BOUGHT A SCHOOL BUS! 

Yes, you read right, a school bus. No Hubs nor I are becoming bus drivers. 

     I would like to introduce you all to Bernadette "Bernie" the Bulldog.

"Bernie" after purchase, but before coming home.

She is a 1996 66 passenger International school bus. She will be stripped down (it is actually already happening) and turned into our dream camper. The official name for this type of thing is "skoolie." Skoolies have been around for decades, really.
     
     We are doing this as a family and the kids are so excited. In all honesty, they are bummed when we say they can't help with some part of the demo.

     You will be seeing a bit of this gal I hope, as I plan to chronicle this adventure on the blog. We are pretty excited for this chapter in our lives. I leave you for today with a picture of "Bernie" in her new home, until next time...

Time Lapse

More than a year has gone by since I posted on this blog. More than a year has gone by since I really gave much thought to this blog. So much has happened. It got me to thinking about what started this whole venture in the first place. LJ. When I started blogging back 2009, my little LJ was a wee munchin.

It always brings a smile to my face to see pictures when he was so tiny. And this is when he was 2 already.
It wasn't long after that we learned that LJ would be a big brother. He wasn't quite 3 when he did become a big brother, though he still was not really big at all.
Fast forward to today and my little LJ is growing to be such a little man. This spring was his very first season of playing soccer. Amazingly enough he was not the smallest kid on his team. There was one boy just a smidge smaller than him.

Even at the very first game, he wanted to try being a goalie. He did pretty well at it too. He really did enjoy soccer this year and we will be doing it again this fall. Even after his tournament day with four games in one day, he loved the game. Actually, he loves the games more than practices he says. Of course who wouldn't. Practices aren't always as thrilling as games. I get it.
Speaking of games, how about one good action shot?

That is my little man about to kick the ball back down the field. I don't know that he ever was one to make a goal, but he had so much fun. He ran, and played, and got all sweaty, and had fun.

Now, I know I mentioned by baby girl earlier in the post. I would be remiss if I did not give a glimpse of her since she has grown so much since I last posted. Here is a picture of my "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" at our town's annual fair. Thing 2 has helped her big brother come out of his shell a bit and we got him to try the tea cups, and he loved it! He spun their cup while she lounged back and enjoyed the ride.

Where has the time gone? The lapse in time from then till now has been astounding. In 6 years we went from a tiny little one, to two ever growing not so little ones. Before I know it, I will be registering Thing 2 for Kindergarten. Then I will have two in school! TWO!

*Powerocks Magicstick {Review and Code}*

I have been very quiet on here. Life has been busy. What mom would not say that, especially around this great time of year. We all get busy and some things are left undone. A big part of life these days is technology. It seems everyone has at least a cell phone if not a cell phone, a laptop, and a tablet, or some other form of electronic device. Now, how often do you find yourself away from outlets all day, and while heavily using your phone, you are notified that you have almost no battery life left?
My phone is not very old (less than two years). It isn't top of the line, either. I have to charge my phone every night. If I need to use it for more than the occasional call or checking email, it very well could be dead before the end of the day. If I am out, I am done. At least, I was.
Now, I have a great little life saver! Enter the Powerocks Magicstick!

I was contacted by Powerocks about checking out their Magicstick and then telling you all about it. When I checked out the website a bit, I knew I had to try this! I jumped at the chance really. It sounded like something I really needed. I have a feeling some of you might be thinking the same thing. 

The Magicstick by Powerocks is a portable charger for your USB electronic devices. You charge it through USB and charge your device using the same cord. 

If you need a special cord to fit your device, that is fine. You can use basically any USB cord you need to. So, let's go through this. Here is everything that came in the box:

I love that they sent me a red stick. Love it. And it is about the size of a larger lipstick tube. Then you get a short charging cord, a travel pouch (nice touch), a reg. card, and the little booklet telling you how to work it (though really, even with slight tech abilities, you figure it out on your own). 

This is super simple to use. The end of the stick has a light telling you how charged it is. Mine was glowing green so I even got to do a little test run with my tablet to get some pics for this review.

I fell in love very quickly with this. It is nice and compact. I can actually hook this up to my cell phone and put everything in my front pocket. Only a little bit of each item actually runs above the pocket line. Perfect.

If I had to find anything that could be a con to this product, it would be that it can quite a while for the Magicstick to charge. But for this, you have to consider that one charge on the Magicstick could give you up to two full charges depending on your device.

All in all I think this is a great product. It would make a perfect last minute stocking stuffer too. Like I said, who doesn't have some kind of electronic device that travels with them everywhere? It can really be a life saver if you keep it with you. Being a USB charged item itself, charging in the car wouldn't even be that difficult to do. 

If you would like to look at these more, check out Powerocks Magicstick's website. The Magicstick I received retails for about $49.99. 

Want a better deal? Just for my readers, I got this message: "Here is a promo code for 20% to your readers for the Magicstick: Powerblog20." 

That's right! You could get 20% off your order if you use the above promo code. Better hurry though, you only have 8 days until Christmas to get these and fill everyone's stocking!

Disclaimer: I received the above product free of charge for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own. 

Cascade Platinum Pac Review

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Cascade has come out with an all new powerful dish washing detergent. Not only will it get your dishes sparkling, but it will help to keep hard water build up to a minimum in your dishwasher itself.

There have been plenty of times that I end up with some left over "stuff" on my dishes if I let them sit a little too long without pre-rinsing them. And let's face it, who really likes pre-rinsing when you are just going to put it in the dishwasher any way? That is one thing I am liking about Cascade Platinum over what I have used in the past. I have a lot less re-washing than I had before. Now, I must say, that there are still plastic items that have needed some wiping down to remove a slight film. But as you can see in the picture below, the ketchup came off the plates nicely, and my glass dishes were sparkling.

All the sparkling plates got me wondering, what makes this new Cascade Platinum so special? Luckily, though, for me, I had some fact sheets to help me learn more. ;) The new Cascade has a triple action power-pac that:
• Delivers Cascade’s ultimate clean for dishes
• Scrubs away tough 24 hour stuck-on food
• Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes
• Provides exceptional dishware shine
• Contains the Grease Fighting Power of Dawn

Now, Dawn, I use often. But that is mostly for handwashing at my sink. Knowing that these new Cascade Platinum Pacs have Dawn in them, makes me feel better that my dishes will get nice and clean. When I make dinner for everyone, I like to know that when I put the food on the table, the plates will make the food look even better. We all eat with our eyes. That is a sentiment shared with Gail Simmons, from Top Chef, who has joined with Cascade to emphasize how much we really eat with our eyes. One thing Gail reccomends:

“The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations. Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep your presentation sparkling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests. ”

You can hear more of what Gail has to say at Cascade's Facebook Page.
Now, to make this debut even better than just getting your dishwasher and dishes clean, you can win prizes! Cascade Platinum is hosting an Instagram contest. You can get full details at their main landing page here. Each week of the contest, upload your photos that match to the week's theme.
Week 1: My Platinum Plate (Entry Period: 6/3-­‐6/9) Show us your best dish styled from the sparkling plate up!
Week 2: My Platinum Bite (Entry Period: 6/10-­‐6/16) Show us your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware!
Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-­‐6/23) Show us how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers!
Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-­‐6/30) Show us your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!
Grand Prize Winner (Entry: 6/3-­‐6/30)

{Flats Challenge} Wrap Up

Today is the final day in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. I can't believe it ends tonight, already. I think that is part of the awesomeness of this challenge. When you begin, you think it may never end, the end of the week looks so far away, but it isn't. By the time Saturday and Sunday roll around, you want to keep going. Yes, I may stop with hand washing absolutely every diaper, but I love this challenge. I know I will continue to use flats. I did after the first challenge two years ago. I may keep using the larger quantity that I have been and not use microfiber near as much. These flats have been staying so nice and clean with no smell issues and they do dry so quickly. It is nice.

Don't they look so nice hanging on the line like that?! I do love hanging all my laundry on the line when it is nice out. But back to the topic at hand. 

This week has been nice really. I have talked about to a few people, though it has mostly been family or close friends. I do not know many who cloth diaper or who have little ones in diapers. But I know that some day, I may have those families close and I can talk to them about cloth and about flats. 

If something were to happen at home and I needed to, I could do this for as long as needed and help those around me in need of diapering options when all else fails. I think the events of May 20th in Moore, showed some of us exactly why we were challenging ourselves to do this. If that ever happened, would we know what to do? Would we be able to come along side those who needed help and offer it to them? This is the time to get the information out there! This is when there is a big need that we need to know how to fill. 

One thing that I am taking away from this week didn't even happen to us. It was a suggestion or idea made in the Facebook group. One lady said she was thinking of putting together a bucket with supplies and a pamphlet that could be used by a local crisis pregnancy center. Cloth does not get much attention. This is a perfect place to bring it out more. Women who visit these centers need help. One thing that could quite possibly save them a lot is to teach them about cloth diapers. Teach them about the cheap or free diapers and how they can diaper their child for almost nothing. Teach these women that they do not have to forego paying a bill so that they can buy disposable diapers for their baby. They do not need to dry out a disposable so they can re-use because they cannot afford to buy more diapers. A simple bucket with supplies like the one I have used now could mean so much to a woman who has no idea what she is going to do next with her pregnancy or new baby. 

For me this week was truly not a big challenge. But what if one day I am challenged to do this because I have no other option? Now I know I can do it. I can do it full time. I can teach those around me that they can do it too. That is what this challenge has been.

Do you struggle with buying diapers for your little one? Would you let me or someone close to you help you learn of your options? 

Until next time... Challenge yourself with something new!

{Flats Challenge} Day 6 - Well, but what do you do at night?

I must say, one thing that had me very hesitant with taking this Flats and Handwashing Challenge was night time. I would use cloth on BG during the day, but she can be a heavy wetter. I didn't want to have her wake in the night soaked and have to be changing bedding. I was happy when I emailed Kim at Dirty Diaper Laundry and she told me that  we could whatever nighttime diaper we wanted (of course flats or cloth of any type was preferred). That made me willing to sign up.
Then as the challenge got closer, I began to think that maybe we could try a night of cloth and see how we do. Other moms were talking of their heavy wetters and what they did to keep them dry through the night. On the first night of the challenge I decided to take the plunge and try cloth.
I wanted to make the combination of elements bullet proof. What could I use to do everything I could to keep this kid dry all night? At least outwardly dry.
First, I doubled up on the flats. Yes, I still used flats. I did a simple pad fold flat inside of (I think) an origami fold. We covered that with our trusty Thirsties cover. I didn't stop there. Then I went even farther and put on a pair of wool longies. They were given to us for review when LJ was in diapers. I have not lanolized any wool items in quite some time. I have not used wool at all on BG. I knew that they might not keep moisture in as much as if they had been lanolized recently, but I gave it a shot.
Do you know how things went?
She stayed dry to touch!
She slept all night!
We have done this every night since!

I just had to show off the back of these longies
(It says lil' monkey under the monkey)

I didn't think we could possibly use cloth all night on our heavy wetting little girl. This challenge has shown me that we can. Now, the mostly full box of disposables that sits next to me as I type this is looking like it will last longer and longer. I love it!
I now know that I could use cloth absolutely full time and keep BG pretty dry. Yes, we have had two wet throughs during this week, but it has only been when she decides to hold it all through nap and then drink even more before emptying her bladder.
I am so happy that I decided to take this challenge this year and that I went ahead and tried using cloth that very first night. I think this has been the biggest lesson learned. This is one thing that I have definitely found that works.
This Challenge may only last a week, but its effects are felt long after it ends.

Do you use cloth? Do you use it at night? What is your nighttime diaper of choice?

Until next time... Happy Sleeping!

{Flats Challenge} Day 5 - How can you even make something like that work?

We are now more than half way through the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. From may 20-26th, I am using only flat diapers for diapering BG and I am handwashing them. Being that it is the 24th, I have had some time to see what is working for me and what isn't. That is going to be today's topic.
What works?

all set and ready to go!

First, having my flats pre-folded and ready to go is a big thing. I need that to be done, and really, it isn't that hard to do.
When I take a diaper off of BG, I am doing my best to wash it right away. This is helping me stay on top of the laundry aspect of this challenge, and I do not run the risk of running out of diapers because last night's batch didn't dry fast enough.
I have also been keeping BG pants-less for much of her time in the house. Then I can use the fleece covers I made and we don't go through so many pants. I may keep this up after the challenge too. :)
I check BG often for dampness and change her a little more often that I did when she would have one of her other diapers on.
I have been using mostly Origami, Jo fold, Angel wing, and the Diaper-bag fold for this challenge. I have also used the pad fold, but that is nothing new to this house. We used it all the time before. :)
If I need to dry my diapers inside (rainy days and at night), having my drying rack sit under our ceiling fan with the fan on second speed, gets them drier faster.

What isn't working?
Really, there isn't a whole lot that is going all that bad for us this week.
I would have to say that one of the biggest things is some of the folds. I have been trying to test out the different folds that all of the other participants are mentioning. I have also been referencing a post on DiaperSwappers. This post has a ton of various folds and fold variations.

Origami Fold on the left, Kite Fold on the right

Some folds might work well for others, but I am thinking that with the flats I am using (not actual flats but flour sack towels and receiving blankets) the folds are just too big. One fold in particular that comes out too big for my taste when pre-folding is the kite fold. Even with the flour sack towels, it is the largest fold I have. That prompted me to unfold those diapers and do a smaller fold.

What are some goods and bads of your diapering journey with your kids? Did you use cloth, or disposables? Would you have changed anything?

Until next time...Happy Diapering!

{Flats Challenge} Day 4 - Handwashing?! Why?!

Well, another day down. Today is day 4 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. From May 20-26 families around the world are using nothing but flat diapers to diaper their children and then handwashing what they use. We all hope to raise awareness that anybody can cloth diaper.  You do not have to re-use disposable diapers because you can't afford to buy more. You do not need to have a washer or dryer to use cloth diapers. It is possible to diaper your child for very little cost. Many have shown it can be possible to diaper a child for no more than one months worth of disposable diapers.

Anyway, back on topic. Today I want to talk about washing all of these diapers. Yesterday you got to see some pictures of my nice clean diapers hanging to dry. This year I am doing some things a bit differently than I originally planned. In the beginning of the challenge I noticed that another lady taking the challenge posted her video of how she washes the diapers as she goes, and does it in her sink. I watched and really liked how fast everything went. After washing two buckets of diapers the first day, I wanted to try out the wash as you go method. I am in love. Of course, I do not do this if BG has a messy diaper. Then it goes into the bucket to soak for a bit and gets plunged, not hands on washed. I have been sort of enjoying the washing as I go. It gives me a small break from everything else and then I have a clean diaper hanging up getting ready for the next time that I need it. I have found that this also helps me have enough diapers at all times. I do not have a whole batch of diapers that all got washed together so now I am short on clean and dry ones.
How do I wash as I go?
First I work to open the diaper up and fill my sink about half full of warm-ish water. This is my pre-rinse. I am usually amazed how yellow the water can get (especially when washing a nighttime diaper). I agitate it a bit with my hands and make sure it gets nice and rinsed. Then I drain the water and try to get as much water out of the diaper as possible.
Next, it is time for the hot water and just a little bit of Rockin Green. If you look closely at the picture below (close up of diaper i nwater) you can see the small amount of RnG powder on the top of the diaper, before I began agitation. Sometimes I have to add just a tad bit of cold water just so that I can put my hands in the water. Again, agitate and get the water to move through that diaper to get it all nice and clean. Empty the sink and wring the flat a bit.
Then, a warm rinse.

Followed by a cold rinse if there are still soapy bubbles. Usually by this rinse there are no soap bubbles and the water runs very clear. I drain the sink for the last time and wring out my diaper to get as much water out as possible. This is the one that you really want to get out that water.
Hanging to dry can be a challenge at times. The beginning of the week was pretty sunny and diapers would dry in just a couple hours. Now, we are having clouds and possible thunderstorms all day. This means drying has to be done inside. And when just drying one or two flats and maybe a cover, I just keep them in the bathroom, like in the picture  Yesterday, though, I got a great tip from another Challenge taker. I put my entire drying rack under our ceiling fan over night. They were all dry by morning. YAY! Other mornings, they would all still be pretty damp.
Everything is the same for the bucket method, except you are using the bucket and plunger instead of your hands. the larger the load, the longer you want to agitate and the more detergent you use as well.
How do I feel about the hang washing?
I am not minding it too much. Yes, it would be a ton easier if I could use my washer, but at the same time, I don't have a ton of flats. I would have to build up maybe two days worth of diapers to run a load and then if I didn't want to use my dryer, well, then I would probably run out of diapers before they were all dry. I do sort of miss having my dryer to fluff things after hanging them out to dry. Overall, it really is not that bad, especially if you are able to wash as you go or only do one bucket full a night. Yes, we have done that too. Yesterday we were out of the house most of the day, so I washed at night, but only had one bucket load to do. That really isn't too bad.

Do you think you could hand wash your diapers? What if it was only a week or for a vacation? If you are taking the challenge with me, how have you been doing with your washing? What is your routine?

Until next time... Happy Hand Washing!

{Flats Challenge} Day 3 - Wordless Wednesday - Sort of

I am taking part in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. From May 20-26 I will be joining families around the world in using only flat diapers and only hand washing what we use. No dryers, no washers, no fancy cloth diapers. Just the basics for one week, though this could be done full time if the situation warranted. Join me in spreading the cloth diapering love. :)

Until next time... Happy Diapering and Picture Taking!

{Flats Challenge} Day 2 - What do you use for such a time?

Today is day two of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge that is being hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. This is a week where I will be only using flat diapers on BG and hand washing each and every one. I will also hand wash all covers and anything else I use to diaper BG. It runs from May 20-26.
Yesterday I talked about why I have wanted to participate in this event. Today I want to give you an idea of what I using this week. How much would something like this cost a family? Now, keep in mind, I am all about frugality, and I did not let that get in my way, and I had fun finding the cheapest things I could.
Bear with my as we go through some pictures of my supplies.

So, I have most of my supplies in one location. The diaper caddy holds most of my flats, that I have pre-folded. My flats consist of receiving blankets and flour sack towels from Target. I also have some doublers (smaller flats) in side pockets for naps and such. Liners if I really want to use them, but usually we go without. Also, two wetbags (Kushies brand) and a pockets with my pins and snappis. I bought the pins at Baby R Us because Walmart and Target both did not sell pins. I love that I was able to find cute pins for my girl. They did also have solid blue and solid white pins.

I also have a wooden bucket that holds all of our cloth wipes and a solution spray. Many of these wipes were made by me. I cut up one or two old receiving blankets I found at a consignment sale for really cheap. I also found the cute fabric that you see in the picture on clearance at the store and bought it to make more wipes. I do have a few in there from a store, but they were sent to me for review on here, so they were free. I like free.

Here you see pictures of my washing bucket (plunger and lid are upstairs, though I have not been using the lid). Also, I have found that using the iron can really soften the flats when they are line dried. It works! The Iron was a great find on Freecycle.

Here are my covers. The two light pink were made by me with some fleece I found in the remnants bin at JoAnn Fabrics. Remnants are 50% off, always. The two one size covers are from a great store (Assunta Store) and really low cost. I really like them a lot! There are two covers missing. A Thirsties cover and another cover made by me (You will see it soon on BG). The last cover is a gDiaper. The "g" has since come off since it has been in our possession since LJ was in diapers.
There you have it! These are my supplies. There are some flats not pictured because they are still drying. I washed them last night and they are still  very wet, because it is very humid around here right now. The sun is shining at the moment, so I am going to hanging them outside to get them drier faster.
My Cost Breakdown:
Iron - FREE
Ironng Board - Bought for the house years ago (no cost remembered)
Bucket - About $5 at Walmart
Plunger - About the same as the Bucket ? I truly do not remember the cost from two years ago (say $5)
Cloth Wipes - Mostly FREE ( say $5 for the fabric I bought for the cute ones)
Wipes Solution - FREE (reviewed item on here) normally $10.50 at Kelly's Closet (affiliate link)
FST from Target - FREE from Freecycle
Receiving Blankets - Mostly FREE (bought maybe 4 for $3 at consignment sales years ago)
Fleece covers - $6 for the fabric tat can still make 3-4 more covers
One size covers - $5 each at Assunta Store (not affiliate, but I love their store!)
gDiaper - paid for itself years ago
Pins - $3 at Babys R Us
Snappis - $5? No clue as they were bought when LJ was still diapered
Total cost that I remember: $53.50 to cloth diaper my daughter. This is enough that I could cloth diaper her full time as well. If you wanted to factor in costs I may not be thinking of, I would maybe round to a max of $75.
As you can see, I have found ways to get things for very low costs. Yes, I can sew, but it is something that is very easy to do and can save you much money in the long run. I use Freecycle as much as I can. If I am looking for something specific, I ask, otherwise I just keep my eyes open when seeing what others post.
Now, to leave you with a picture of BG sporting her red cover that her momma made. :)

Do you think you could do this? If you are unsure, talk to me, I think we could easily find how you can do this. You can save the money you would normally spend on disposable and use it for other things that have to be paid, like bills. Let's chat it up in the comments!

Until next time... Happy Diapering!

{Flats Challenge} Day 1 - Why would you do such a thing!

I'm participating in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  This event Challenges moms around the globe to use flat diapers for one week and only hand wash them. This year over 400 people have signed up. Today is the very first day. Each day of this challenge those who are participating and are bloggers are going to blog about their experiences. Kim from DDL has provided prompts to help us mommas who cannot always think of what to write about. It also helps to guide each one of use to hit some key points during this challenge. 
This is the third year that this challenge is taking place. You may or not may not remember that I participated in the very first challenge when BG was just a few months old. We didn't take the challenge last year, but I had to do it again this year. I was compelled. This all began when it became known that more and more families were going to some pretty yucky extremes to diaper their babies. Even going so far to re-use disposable diapers. Drying them for later use. I am having trouble even understanding this. I mean, those SAP inners swell so much, would they really go back to normal size when dry?
Anyway, I took this challenge a few years ago to see if I could do it. I also had never tried flats and I was intrigued. Now with BG being 27 months instead of 3-4 months, I wanted to take the challenge again. 
I want to diaper a toddler who is a decent heavy wetter with just flats. Flats do not have to be just to little ones who don't wet much at one time. You can use these for any stage of diapering. You can use them for any season of life you might be going through. I have two very active children. BG holds her own when playing with her 5 year old brother. She is squirmy and doesn't always want to lay there while I figure out a new fold with a flat. But I can still do it! Once you use a flat for a few changes, it is so quick and easy. 
I have two children who want to be around mommy and be big helpers. This can make hand washing a challenge, but I can still do it! 
We do not have money to be spending on all kinds of diapers and accessories. I can still do it! I have found different things that I probably have around the house that I can use for diapering BG. Most of my little girl's stash cost very little. If I only look at what I use for say, this challenge, then it is even less. I find ways to cut the costs and it works! 
I can still do this, even though it may not be the most convenient thing in the world. I hope more people see that we can do this. We can diaper our children for very little. The ick factor is not as big as some think it is. 

WE CAN STILL DO THIS!

If money is tight, you do not need to reuse disposable diapers. You do not need to feel like it costs too much money to cloth diaper your child. If you are willing to put in a little effort, you can do this!

That is some of why I am doing this. If I can do this, so many more families out there like mine can do this too!

If you are taking this challenge with me, why? If you are not, would you consider it? I can help you get started. It is very simple, really. 
Let's hear it all in the comments! 

Until next time...Happy Diapering!

Get your covers ready!

We are quickly approaching the beginning of the Flats and Handwashing challenge. It starts in just 6 days. I am so happy that I will be able to participate in the challenge this year.
When this year's challenge was first announced I thought I might not be able to participate because BG is such a heavy wetter, we cannot use cloth at night. There was no way we could use just flats at night and not have her waking every couple hours with a soaked bed and jammies. Right now she sleeps through the night and I really don't want to break that. That is when Kim so kindly pointed out that the rules have changed since the first challenge and I can use my diaper of choice at night. What a relief! I quickly signed up to participate.
Now I have the fun of making sure we have the flats and covers to last us the week. Flats are not too much of a problem. We have a bunch and I have hundreds of t-shirts sitting upstairs unused. I can easily have more than enough flats to last a day or so between washing. I also have my camp style washer from the first challenge.  Now, the covers are a different story. We would have had enough if we didn't have to retire two awesome covers. We have two Mother-ease covers that I really liked. They worked so well and covered so many different diapers. Well, Bg's legs don't like those covers. The elastic around the legs always leave bright red marks that seem fairly irritated. It was saddening when I had to stop using them. I really did like them. I have even considered if I could redo them with new FOE and see if that makes them better for her. Who knows.
Well, luckily I get in kicks of wanting to sew. Yesterday BG got a brand new mommy made fleece pull-on cover. I even put a piece of PUL on the outside of the wet zone to help hold in extra wetness. I literally whipped it up in 30 minutes. It was so easy to do and I may end up making more because of that ease.
So, what does that leave me with for this challenge?

I have these four covers plus two more that are either on BG right now or in the wash. thepink one in the upper right corner is the one I just made. I am thinking of making a tie on patchwork kind of cover to use up some fleece scraps I have filling a drawer upstairs. That could be pretty cute. I want to use things I have already on hand to complete this challenge. Cloth diapering does not have to cost a lot of money. Even my regular stash did not cost as much as some. I got many for free or very cheap (used). I also tried winning as many as possibly. I believe I have maybe 4-6 that were won. This point is one thing that I always try to stress when talking cloth to those who do not know.

Are you preparing for the Flats Challenge? Would you ever consider participating? Tell us your thoughts!

Until next time... Happy Prepping!