Search for the "Perfect" Cloth Diapering friendly Diaper Bag

So I have been successfully cloth diapering most of the time, which I'm pretty proud of due to our lack of a washer/dryer.


However I have been trying to find a diaper bag that would help me stay organized (no easy feat) and that would hold a decent number of cloth diapers.


I have looked at SO many: Petunia Picklebottom, Ju-Ju-Be, Kate Spade, Eddie Bauer, etc and have found that yes, they are pretty, but they are also pretty EXPENSIVE.


Yes, we could afford it, but do I really NEED a $150 diaper bag - um no.


While researching diaper bags, I found that the most "organization" is just different smaller bags to fit in a bigger bag (i.e. the be mine, be quick) so after I ordered what I thought to be the most amazing diaper bag - the Ju-Ju-Be B.F.F. from amazon, I quickly regretted it.


It is very pretty and the "mommy pocket" is nice - its not any bigger than my $15 WalMart bag. While the changing pad is memory foam, its not any bigger than the one that came with my old diaper bag and most of the time I just end up using paper towels from the bathroom anyways since Tristan's too long for it.


So on one of my insomniac quests, I went through our storage room in the basement of our apartment and while organizing found many of my old bags (Before Tristan I was a huge shopaholic) I have SO many I have totes, messengers, small duffel-like bags, the list can go on and on. I found one of my bags I absolutely loved and decided to re-purpose it as a diaper bag...but how?



the bag I chose.


I ended up finding some old makeup/toiletries bags and was thinking that I could use these small bags (3 of them) for the bulk of my diaper bag (my "quick bags") to stay organized.





Ah, genius!!
Here is a list of what is in each bag:


Bag #1 - Eating - Quick Bag





2- small burp rags (rolled up)
1- bib
1- spoon





Bag #2 - Accident - Quick Bag





1- change of clothes (shirt and a pair of over-alls)
1 - disposable diaper (rolled up)





Bag #3 - Home-Made First Aid Kit





Some Alcohol Swabs
1- nose-sucky thing
1-pair of nail clippers
1 - Baby Tylenol
1 - Hand Sanitizer
1 - Anti-Bacterial Ointment
1 - Travel Benadryl Spray (for bug bites)
1 - travel package of Kleenex
about 5 bandages







And everything stays organized and right where I know it will be (and I can switch bags without too much of a hassle :) .




Currently in my re-purposed purse I have:
My three awesome quick bags :)
2 pocket diapers w/inserts
1 wet bag
1 small spray bottle of Bac-Out to spray on messy diapers (helps with the smell)
2 4oz. bottles
2 small containers with pre-measured formula (in case nursing isn’t possible right then)
1 travel size wipe container with my awesome homemade wipes
2 binkies on a clip (so they’re easier to find when needed ASAP)
2 toys
1 small baggie with other baggies inside just in case there’s a major poo-explosion
my keys
my wallet
and my phone



everything that needs to go in - excluding my phone :)






inside







inside again (other side)







outside - all finished


and I didn’t pay anything!


and the awesome thing is that you can really use any purse for this every size (within reason) can be used, my medium sized purse is perfect for a trip out while a tote would be more useful if we were going to be gone all day or something.


Also be sure to use the pockets inside and outside the bag, mine has one zip up one inside in the back (that’s where I put my folded up wet bag and my baggie with other baggies), it also has two inside pockets, like two cell phone pockets (in one I put the containers with the formula and in the other I put the Bac-Out) my bag also has two outside zip up pockets, one in the front and one in the back (the one in the back is where I keep my wallet and the front one is empty because I like having my keys on a clip attached to the outside -just so I know I didn’t forget them anywhere)


so needless to say my $150 diaper bag will be shipped back today for a return and that money will be going into savings :)

budgeting

I finally have our budget worked out after having months and months of stress about whether or not we can pay all of our bills. 


Ultimately it works out to where both my husband and I have a joint checking account where all the bills will come out of and we also have three joint savings accounts; one for trip money, one for Tristan's college savings and one as our "emergency fund" as my hubby calls it. And we will both also have our own checking accounts where our "allowance" will go each paycheck.


So our bills, which include rent, groceries, cable, internet, utilities,etc. (but not personal things like makeup, haircuts, shopping trips, etc.) will be paid directly from our joint checking account (i.e. checks or debit card) with each others knowledge of what bills are paid and which are still due, mainly so we don't think we're "helping" by paying the bills without each other knowing because in the past we ended up paying one bill twice and it would completely mess up our budget.


Then after the bills, on the 15th since my hubby is Military and that is his biggest paycheck, we put about 10% into our "emergency fund" then put 5% in both Tristan's savings and our trip savings account. 


After both the bills are paid and the savings accounts are in order, we then split up the remaining portion and transfer it into our separate checking accounts (where we can pay for our own things) and that way, we are responsible for the amount of money we spend versus how it was before we made our budget where we would just go out and buy stuff and then wonder why there was no money in the checking account.


I'm really hoping this budget goes according to plan so that all of our bills will be paid, we will start saving money (finally!) and we both can spend whatever we want. It's fair for both of us to be responsible for our own wants and it would help us learn how to live within our means as both a couple and independently. 

day 2.5 of cloth diapering - washday

So today was the second day I washed the diapers, but it was the first attempt at cleaning dirty diaper, not just wet ones :/. So I gathered up all the diapers and everything I would need to clean them (homemade detergent, scrub brush, a bar of Fels-Naptha®, my drying rack and a fan). I started by emptying out my makeshift diaper pail into one side of our double sink and started rinsing them out one by one to make sure each one was mostly poop free, while filling the other side of the sink with cool water and just putting the bar of Fels-Naptha® in the sink when it was filling up (seems to work really well for getting out the leftover stains). I then let the prefolds and covers soak while I rearranged our budget (about 30-45 mins). After that I took them out and re-rinsed them under running water while draining the other side of the sink to get rid of the left over poop-ies. Then refilled the same side up with hot water and adding 1 Tbs of my awesome detergent, again, let it soak while I finished re-working our budget and checking FaceBook (another 30-ish mins). Then finally drained the now-cooled water and added fresh cool water to each side, I then "swished" the diapers around (making a figure 8) for about 3 mins in one side then kinda "smushed them down to get rid of any left over soap that was still lingering. After that I switched them to the other cool side of the sink by taking each one out of the "dirty" sink wringing it out over the water then placing it into the other sink until the "dirty" sink was empty. Finally I "swooshed" them around some more to be certain all the soap was removed then took them out one by one and wrung them as best as I could to remove all the water then hung them up on my drying rack with the fan pointed at them. They should be dry by the time I get to wash the next load :)


Oh and for stubborn stains, especially on the covers, I just took the bar of Fels-Naptha® and scrubbed it on the stain and lathered it up (it wont be very much) I took the scrub brush I had and just scrubbed the stain, working the soap into it. then continued with the rinse and the stain came right out. 


The same method can be used to clean out the "diaper pail" (my little waterproof laundry carrier I got from Wal-Mart. 

adventures into cloth diapering.

I'm patiently waiting for my prefolds, AIOs and inserts to come in the mail to start my CDing stash. My husband is semi-excited about starting cloth diapering (except for cleaning them-that's my job). I basically sold him on the idea when I shared my estimate on the amount of money we will be saving. I've been looking into ways to start saving, diapers and wipes seem like the best place to start. They are basically just trash you pay for in essence, you can only use them once. I mean I can spend $20 per box, another $3-ish for the wipes and have that maybe last us a week. So in my mind I can spend that money to have that last us a short amount of time or I can spend a couple hundred dollars and use those last until our son is potty trained, and the fact that we will be saving approximately a ton of garbage going to the landfill appeals to my inner hippie.  

I found a recipe for detergent for cloth diapers:

1 c. Borax

1 c. Washing Soda

1 c. Oxy-Clean Free

*I made 6 batches (24 cups total) which is 384 Tablespoons for $11.97 with some leftover.

If you use a washer you are supposed to use 2 Tablespoons per small load, but since I am hand washing I'll be using about 1 Tablespoon per wash. 

I'm so excited to test it out instead of spending $19.99 for detergent that would last 128 loads making it $0.15 per load, I made enough for 384 loads for just under $12 which equals out to be right around $0.03/load. I just started and I'm already saving!

When I was at Wal-Mart gathering the ingredients for the detergent I found a laundry bag that is almost exactly the same as the diaperpail liners all the CDing websites try to sell you for around $20, for exactly $7.97, I felt very accomplished. 

So far to date I have spent right around $100 for the diapers (including 1 on-the-go wetbag), $13 for 18 cloth wipes & solution, $11.97 for the detergent and $19.97 for a "heavy-duty" drying rack for the diapers. Oh, and $7.97 for my "diaperpail".  Which in total is: $152.91. And hopefully *fingers crossed* that's all we will have to purchase on the diaper front.

I plan to handwash and air dry since we live in an apartment and the washers and dryers cost $2.75 a piece per load!! So needless to say I am determined to start saving. 

introduction.

I am 19. Currently I'm a stay-at-home mom and I love every second of it, even when I call my mom crying at 6am due to lack of sleep and dealing with a baby with reflux-my son is my world and I couldn't ask for a more supportive husband.

My hubby is AD in the AirForce. He's a complete geek but I love him. We met in February 2010 and we got married in May 2010, we didn't know each other very long but I wouldn't trade our life for anything. Marriage is hard but totally worthwhile. We welcomed our son, Tristan, on April 14, 2011.

This will mostly be about the trials and tribulations of cloth diapering, co-sleeping, breastfeeding and balancing finances. However, there will be times when I'll need to vent about my hubby (who doesn't?) and I will do that here as well.