Cosmetic Pads

 Like most women I use cotton balls in my personal care routine. I have recently started using witch hazel as a face toner in the evenings and my cotton ball consumption was ever increasing. This is not only a tax on the environment but also my pocket book. Now I know I am not going to save hundreds of dollars by not buying cotton balls, but I will save a few bucks which is better then nothing. In the past I used a few of my old baby receiving blankets to make tissues and they have worked wonderfully, so I thought I could also use receiving blankets to make cosmetic pads.

First decide on how big you want your pads. I just used a three finger width for mine.
Cut a strip from the blanket to your desired width.
Fold the strip into thirds. I made some in half, thirds, and fourths but I like the thirds best.
Cut the strip into squares. Each square will be made up of three pieces of fabric. Then cut each square into a circle by curving the corners. Cutting into a circle is not required but it makes sewing them together much easier.

Here is a picture of the blanket, the cut squares, and some cut circles. 

 Next using your sewing machine stitch together the three pieces of fabric. I use the over edge stitch which works quite well and does not use up as much thread as some of the tighter serge stitches.

 Cut off the excess thread and they are ready to use. To wash just throw them in with you regular clothes. If you are using them to remove something you fear might stain clothes be sure to wash them separately.

This is a really simple project and I am quite happy with the results. I will be making lots more for all of my cotton ball/cosmetic pad needs.

G-Diapers- Perfect for Travel

Another post I wrote a while ago, back in 2009.



I am a huge cloth diaper fan. I love them and I have tried just about every type out there. When traveling though cloth can be kind of cumbersome. They take up a lot of space in the luggage and sometimes you do not have access to a washing machine. I have done disposables during these times of travel and I have taken our cloth with us for travel as well. When planing our latest trip to Disney World I was looking for a better solution to our diapering problem. That is when I took a look at G-Diapers. They are a kind of hybrid disposable and cloth. None of the gross crunchy plastic stuff you have with disposables but none of the soiled diapers that constantly need to be washed.

A friend of mine was nice enough to let me try hers since they were not currently being used. I have now used them for 3 weeks of travel and I am very impressed. These are my current favorite for all travel needs. They are compact and you can buy them at many different places so you do not have to pack enough for the whole trip. Just remember to look on the site before you go to be sure there will be a store nearby that carries them.

During our trip we had a few episodes where the plastic inner got dirty, we would hand wash them in the sink and then hang them to dry. It worked perfectly. G-diapers also has cloth inserts you can use instead of the disposable ones. These would be perfect for at home use or for use when you have access to a washing machine.

Up Date on Cloth Diapers

I wrote this post back in 2008 a little over a year after I started diapers.

My Natural Babies

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to make an updated post on cloth diapering. It has been almost a year since I started using cloth and since I last posted on the subject. Over this time I have found that cloth diapers are very easy to use and I really wish I had started using them with Andon when he was born. It would have saved me a bunch of money.
I found with Brylynn I had to start with disposables we used Seventh Generation disposables for the first 3-4 weeks because she was so small. During this time she had a bad diaper rash that would not go away, but now she is in cloth all day and we no longer have a problem with diaper rash.

There are so many different kinds of diapers and when I first started out I did not know what to buy but now after using them for a year I have a good idea of what I like and do not like.

We use two types of diapers around here prefold cloth diapers with a cover and pocket diapers. The prefolds are the basic cloth diaper that has extra absorbency in the middle section. Over the prefolds we use a Wonder wrap cover which is a cloth diaper cover with a waterproof layer. The Wonder Wraps are a one size cover so although they are slightly bulkier they will fit a child from 9-35 lbs. They fit both Brylynn and Andon. I have not tried every type of cover but of the ones I have tried Bummis, Imse Vimse, and Wonder Wraps. They are the ones I like the best.
The pocket diapers we have used with Andon are the Fuzzy Bunz, I tried the one size BumGenius but did not care for them. With Brylynn I bought a pocket diaper called Pocket Change and loved them. They are a lot like the Fuzzy Bunz but they come with an extra insert and they have an opening at both ends. You never have to pull the insert out because they come out on their own in the wash. These are my new favorite. If I was to start from scratch with cloth I would probably just buy the Pocket Change diapers and nothing else.
For any one starting out with cloth I would suggest buying one of the trial sets that includes many different kinds of diapers so you can find your favorite.

For Andon we use a prefold with a diaper cover (pins are not needed) during the day. At night Andon wears a Fuzzy Buns pocket diaper with a prefold and an extra insert in it. Every once in a while the top of his pajama pants are a little wet but this is usually not a problem.

For Brylynn I have found I like a different combination. I use a Pocket Change diaper on her during the day because they are trimmer then the prefolds and cover on her little body. At night since I am changing her every time she wakes to eat we are using the prefolds with a Wonder Wrap cover. I want to buy about 6 more pocket diapers to use with her.

For washing diapers I have recently realized that I should be using a different detergent then I am so I am doing some research on what I want to use. When we just had Andon we were only washing diapers about twice a week. Now with two in cloth we run a load every other day.

Brylynn in a Wonder WrapBrylynn in a Pocket Change diaperAndon in a Wonder Wrap

Cloth diapers

I wrote this post back in 2007 when I was pretty new to cloth diapers but it still holds true and is a good honest post about starting cloth diapers.

Andon in his cloth diapers
playing with Linc.

As some of you know we have switched to cloth diapers. I do not know why I did not start with them but oh well better late then never. When we first decided to try cloth I went looking at the websites and found there were many different choices. All in ones, pocket diapers, cloth with a cover, fitted cloth with a cover, and for each choice there were a number of different types.
We decided to go with cloth prefold diapers with diaper covers. We bought a number of different covers in order to find the ones we liked. It has been about two weeks and besides being bulkier then disposables it really is not a big deal. In fact Andon’s diaper pail and room do not smell at all now when it use to smell a lot when we were using disposables.

In case you are interested in the logistics (because I was)
Andon wears a cloth diaper folded in thirds with a diaper cover over it. The diaper cover is fabric with a waterproof layer so there is no leaking and no diaper pins. When he is wet we change the cloth diaper but not always the diaper cover. If the cover is wet then we hang it to dry and use later. When he is dirty we change the cloth diaper, use a cloth wipe sprayed with water, and if the cover is dirty then we rinse it and put it aside to wash. We dump the poop in the toilet and place the diaper and wipe in the diaper pail. I have been washing one load of diapers on Thursday and Monday (which is my regular laundry day). We have not started cloth at night although we will soon and I will be sure to let you know how things go.

Cloth Diapering: The Basics

Why use Cloth?

Cost

• Diapering one child from birth to toilet training costs only hundreds of dollars with cloth vs. thousands of dollars with disposables.
• The same cloth diapers you use with your first child can be used again with your other children.
• Cloth diapers and accessories in good condition can be resold when you are done with them.

Environment

• A child will typically go through 5,000 -8,000 disposable diapers from birth to toilet training but you only need about 5 dozen cloth diapers for the same period.
• Disposable diapers take up to 500 years to decompose and leach chemicals and human waste into the earth.
• Washing cloth diapers at home takes no more water then the amount a toilet trained child would use flushing.

Better for baby

• The chemicals used in disposables such as dioxin and sodium polyacrylate have been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and toxic shock syndrome.
• Cloth diapers allow for air circulation which helps keep baby’s skin healthier.

Types of Cloth Diapers

Pocket Diapers – place insert or prefold inside the pocket

All-in-One Diapers – most like disposables

Diaper Covers – place insert or prefold inside the cover

Prefold/Flat Diapers –fold and place inside a cover or pocket diaper

Inserts/Doublers – place inside a cover or pocket diaper

Cleaning your cloth diapers

Dirty cloth diapers, wraps, wipes, and diaper pail liner can be washed together in your washing machine. Washing diapers typically adds only 2-3 more loads of laundry a week.

When changing a cloth diaper solids can be dumped into the toilet no need to soak the diaper what ever does not fall off will be gone after washing.  

Normal Wash Routine

Use the longest wash cycle (usually includes a pre-wash cycle)

Use only 1-2 TBS of detergent (use detergent with no fabric softener, whiteners, or enzymes)

Use the rinse cycle twice (it is very important to rinse all detergent from the diapers)

Dry on low or high heat, depending on the type of diaper.

Out and About

Changing cloth diapers when out is as easy as using disposables, the only difference is you place the used diapers in a wet bag to wash later.

When going out I carry an extra diaper and wrap if needed, wipes, and a wet bag. I also always have extra diapers in my car.

What you need to start.

Diapers

About 2-3 dozen diapers and 4-6 covers depending on what type you are using.

Accessories

Diaper Pail – Any trash can with a lid will work.

Pail Liner – Get 2 so you always have one in the pail when the other is in the wash.

Cloth Wipes – Baby wash cloths work just fine.

Spray Bottle – Fill with water to wet the wipes.

Wet Bag – Carry with you for used diapers while out and about. Get at least 2.

Diaper Services

A diaper service will supply you with clean diapers and pick up and wash the dirty diapers for a monthly fee.

Resources on the net

http://www.theorganicreport.com/pages/59_diapers.cfm

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/joy-of-cloth.html

http://www.dy-dee.com

http://www.diaperpin.com

Online Shops

http://www.thanksmama.com

http://www.comfycozydiapers.com

http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com

http://www.cuddlebunz.com

http://www.bluepenguin.biz/

Natural Websites

http://www.terressentials.com/ingredientguide.html

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

http://www.organicconsumers.org/purelink.html

http://www.vinegartips.com/

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/