Cloth Diapering - So far!

Every since little miss came home, we've been cloth diapering (okay, a few days after - we didn't want to deal with the nasty poop lol!).

Newborns are obviously tiny, and don't fit into traditional cloth diapers. Thankfully, we have an awesome cloth diaper shop 20 blocks north of us. We've done classes there where they literally walked us through everything cloth, which was super helpful (especially for Sean). But the best part? They do rentals. RENTALS. We've been able to rent cloth diapers in newborn size for 12 weeks - for $40.

It's awesome.

We've been able to jump right into cloth without having to worry about getting addicted to the simplicity of disposables. They're fitteds with covers, which means we're also used to the two step process - and to be honest, they're so easy. We wash them at home, which takes about 3 hours, but we're able to use regular detergent and everything. We have 25 fitteds with 4 covers, which lasts us about 3 days. And we've yet to have a leak. (and for those of you wondering - we only have snaps and velcro - no safety pins here!)

We haven't decided what diapers we'll be using after newborn size, but we're thinking about All-In-Twos. We're loving the two steps and not having to wash all the covers would keep costs down too. I love BestBottoms and Softbums (though Best Bottoms has a PUL layer that I like). They both run about $17/cover brand new, plus the cost of inserts. It's more of an upfront cost, absolutely. But it will definitely save us money in the long run.

I'm super excited!

Ch Ch Ch Changes - From Consumer to Crunchy.

Guys, I'm going crunchy.

And it's weird. And kinda scary (but not really).

I've never been an all-natural, no medication kinda girl. Ever. Nature and I don't really get along - hell, I almost went to the emergency room when they did my allergy test when I was 8. I did go to the hospital the first time I rode a horse. I probably would be dead from an asthma attack if not for inhalers, allergy shots, and regular doses of antihistamines.

But then I got married to a law student, and started supporting a family of 2 (+2 pets) on a single, entry level income. And I started getting thrifty. And all-natural? Yea, turns out it can be pretty cheap.

I don't really go out of my way for it either. I have a very limited amount of things too. I make my own frozen dog treats, I make my own face wash, and my own lotion. And I've started using oat flour and almond oil. And I make my own bread (sometimes).

I'm going slow. Maybe one day I'll make my own laundry detergent. But until then, know that I'm not crazy. Some of the crunchy stuff? Yea it doesn't work as well. So I don't continue it. But the stuff that does work? True Believer.

Oh, and as for allergy medications? I'll never give those up. And the local honey thing doesn't work when you're as bad as me.