This week I'm super excited to be participating in the Flats & Handwashing Cloth Diaper Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. Today through Sunday, May 22nd, Eleanor will be diapered in only flat cloth diapers (no pockets, no fitteds, no glorious AI2s), and all diaper laundry will be hand washed and air dried. Yes, I love my fancy diapers. Yes, I have a perfectly functional washer and dryer. So then, why put all of this extra work?
I originally ran across the information for the challenge while looking up ways to fold flat diapers. We will be vacationing in early June and I plan to take flats because of easy they are to launder, but I don't have much experience with them. I initally chose to participate in the challenge just to get my feet wet. To see if flats would even work for us. As I learned more about the challenge, however, my reasons for participating began to change.
Kim Rosas of Dirty Diaper Laundry began the Flats & Handwashing challenge 6 years ago after hearing that some low income families, unable to afford new diapers for their children, were attempting to "wash" and reuse disposable diapers. Take a step back from "OMG that's gross!" and put yourself in these parents' shoes. Can you imagine feeling as though you have no other option but to put a soiled diaper back on your precious baby?
I live in Kentucky. Our state has the 5th lowest annual income in the United States - a little over $10k below the national average (per the Kaiser Family Foundation). As of the 2012 census, 19.4 percent of Kentuckians were living below the poverty line, and regions of eastern Kentucky are some of the poorest in the entire country. Need is no stranger to my home state. Even with myself and my husband working full time jobs I often found myself standing in the baby aisle at the grocery crunching numbers to see which brand of diapers would give me the best deal and wondering if the lower quality was worth the few dollars savings that the bargain brand offered. I praise God that, while we don't always have everything we want, our little family has never had to make the decision "do we buy diapers or formula for the baby this week?" I know families who have. And it shouldn't be this way. There are options, You can offer your baby a CLEAN diaper even you can't afford the $10-ish per week it would take to keep my 6 month old in disposables full time (we average around 10 diapers every 24 hours and Parent's Choice diapers are $19.77 for a box of 144 size 3s). Even if you don't have a washing machine!
The Flats & Handwashing Challenge means to highlight diaper need and how cloth diapers can meet that need in a truly economical way. I am participating in this challenge in the hope that someone may see what I'm doing and realize that cloth diapering is an inexpensive and effective means of diapering, and that they might be able to breathe a little easier because of that.
Tomorrow I'll be talking about my "stash" and the cost of everything involved. You won't want to miss it!
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