Why am I joining the Flats Handwashing Challenge?

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Awhile ago several news stories came out about how some moms are washing out disposable diapers or leaving their baby in a disposable diaper longer than they should because of how expensive disposables are. It was a heartbreaking story, these babies deal with horrible diaper rashes related to being left so long and the moms feel like failures because they can't properly care for their babies.

Over at Dirty Diaper Laundry it was decided to take a week a show how easy and cheap cloth diapers can be. For less than $50 - $60 you can by enough flat diapers and covers to cover a baby's bottom from birth to potty training (translation: you can get all the cloth diapers you will ever need for the same price as a month's worth of disposables, 2 months if you use the cheap disposables). Of course there's the issue of how to wash if you don't have access to a washer/dryer. Flats can easily be hand-washed and  line dry in a few hours because it is a single layer of fabric that you then fold different ways for absorbency.

So why am I participating? Because I already know this. Because I've been doing it. Because I know what it's like to wonder if you're going to be able to pay the electric bill this month and to prioritize bills because state law says that if you don't have running water your child can be taken by DCF. I started out using prefolds, flats intimidated me, but after a few trys I found that not only do they work better than prefolds, they're even cheaper (I was about to have to buy larger pre-folds) and they're trimmer; they fit much better under clothes! I can dye them to make them cuter, or pick up some clearance flannel at Joann's and make them. I get the cuteness without the cost. (As a disclaimer I do have 2 pockets and an AI2 that I use on occasion when I know I'll be out for longer periods of time.)

I am blessed to have a washer and dryer, so I will be challenged by the hand washing. I was already planning on sun-drying them to bleach out a few stains, so this is the perfect opportunity.

I'm doing this, not to condemn moms who use disposables, but to say, "Hey! I'm there, I know what it's like and it can be done!"

Disposable diaper banks are a great blessing to many people, but imagine how many more moms they could help if they instead handed out Flat Cloth Diaper kits...

Will you join me May 23-30 in using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them to prove it can be done? Visit Dirty Diaper Laundry for all the details and to take the challenge!