Permanent Marker on Toddler's Face

My toddler got a hold of a permanent marker and applied her lovely new makeup product to her nose and cheek.   I did worry what her face would look like for church the next day.

Turns our permanent marker is not all that permanent.
Here's what we did:
A little baby lotion on a cotton ball and it rubbed right off (to an almost unnoticeable state anyway).  I am sure baby oil would work just as well.

Whew, glad that disaster was evaded. 

Homemade Moby Wrap

My first kid loved to be held ALL the time!  We (Both baby and I) hated the carrier I had for her and I developed a very painful case of tendinitis from constantly holding her.

Expecting my second I started to look into other carriers/slings/wraps for baby.  That's when I saw the Moby Wrap.

Once again it was the price that I did not like. Then I thought, "I bet I can make that!"

I went online found about a dozen tutorials for homemade ones and sure enough each one was super easy, I'd be kicking myself if I paid $40 for one.

All you need is:

• 5 yards of fabric (My stretchy fabric's edges would not fray so it was a no-sew wrap)
• A pair of scissors
• And someplace long enough to roll out the fabric

After looking at all the tutorials, I went to the local fabric store and began to look around. (On a side note if you are going to need help picking out a fabric avoid going around Halloween when all the crazy crafty people are shopping to make homemade costumes.  It was like Christmas time at a toy store.) Anyway, after fighting crazy lines and looking through hundreds of fabric trying to find the right kind, we bought one that I hoped would work and took it home.

I rolled it out in my hallway and cut the fabric in half the long ways (hot dog style.)

And that was it! Two wraps for less than the price of one store bought.

You can undo that twist in the back and I usually knot it twice for good measure

Two Steps Further

After trying on the wrap- it worked!!!- I want to put a little iron on patch to mark the center. (Way cuter than a Moby Wrap tag).  I also want to tapered off the ends for easier trying.

Now my baby gets held and I have free hands to take care of my toddler.  Love it!

Snack Tray

I have a toddler who would live off of chocolate if I'd let her.  Decided to make a snack tray offering a variety of snacks she could eat.  Day two, so far it works. Haven't had her ask for chocolate once ...yet.

Took a large muffin tin and filled each section with a different  treat.

Cloth Diapers- Cloth Wipes

 Cloth Wipes

This is what I am most excited about when it comes to cloth diaper

Wipes are about $.02 cents apiece.  Some people make their own disposable wipes for cheaper, but I did not think the hassle was worth it, so 2 pennies it was... until I switched to cloth. 

I saw the price of cloth wipes online and laughed- fifty cents apiece!  I then went to the local fabric store, bought a piece of flannel for under $2 and made 24 of my own. 7 in by 7 in.

I also made my own diaper wipe moistener with water, baby soap and baby oil I already had- I’m not counting that cost, okay 2 cents to moisten 24 wipes, happy?

Each wipe cost me less than 8 cents apiece, so four uses and I begin saving. Six wipes a day and the savings began after 16 days.  They are thrown in with the diapers in the wash so no extra cost for washing.  After 16 days my wipes were virtually free! Love it!

Cloth Wipe Recipe

6 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp baby soap

1 Tbsp baby oil (you can use a scented kind to make the wipes smell nice)

Mix it in a container, add wipes, and mix until moist.

That is it. Once I tried it without soap and learned the soap makes poop easier to clean off of little bums. Still the savings is great!

HAPPY SAVINGS!!!

Love cloth wipes!!!

Washing Diapers

Washing Diapers

Other cost:

Unless you are washing by hand with no soap (gross!) there are other cost to consider.

How much does it cost to wash and dry cloth diapers?

Washing Energy:        

Expect to be doing two to three load a week- I figured 12 loads a month. Each load cost about $.40 in energy to wash. (Cheaper if you have a more energy efficient washer.)

 Drying:

            Line drying is free. Sun is a natural bleacher and kills germs. Out of laziness or being in a hurry I have used the dryer. One website estimate that to cost $.36 a load.

So add the initial $91 dollar plus $57-109 a year.

 Cloth diapering cost $148-200 a year.
That is a savings of $85-137 the first year and even more the second.

Now what about that soap? ...

LAUNDRY DETERGENT

My friend buys a detergent for hard water.  It cost her roughly $.18 cents a load.

I decided to make my own for hard water. Here is the recipe and cost:

Cloth Diaper Detergent

Here are my high estimates, rounding up dollar amounts and not counting buying it on sale or the store brand.

½ cup Baking Soda: $.25 at $1 for 2 cups (1 lb box)

½ cup Washing Soda: $.34 at $4 for 6 cups (3 lb box)

½ cup Epsom Salt: $.37 at $3 for 8 cups (4 lb box)

½ cup Free or Baby Oxiclean- $.80 at $8 for 5 cups (3 lb box)

$1.76 for 32 loads or about $.06 a load. (Rounded up- very up)

12 loads a month =__$.72__ total detergent cost per month or $8-9 a year.

Still, that is a savings of $76-129 the first year.
The second year you would save at least $132-171.
And those are conservative numbers. It can easily be double that! Is it worth the time, money, and poop rinsing?

Another way to look at is this way

If each load contained 12 diapers and the soap cost $.06 and the total cost of energy (I used Mr. Electricity’s calculator) to wash them is $.40 a load, that equals $.46 a load.

So each diaper will cost you less than $.04-.07 depending on if you use the dryer.  That is way less than the $.13 for disposables. Seriously, you would be cutting you diaper bill in more than half!

Okay, now comes a bonus:

When you are done using cloth diapers you can sell cloth diapers, if they are still in decent condition. So expect another pleasant return. Now they cost even less!

However, the biggest money saver, and my favorite thing about cloth diapering is the wipes

Coming next- FREE WIPES!...

Cloth diapers- Money Saver?

Cloth Diapers a Money Saver?

There is an economical cloth diaper on the market that claims you can cloth diaper a child for about $100-$200.  That’s the starting price anyway.  Then there is the cleaning, washing, wipes, etc. Small hidden cost.  Is it still worth it?  When I found an exceptionally good deal, I decided I’d try it out and see if cloth diapering is really worth it.

My disposable diapers are 12 to 15 cents apiece.

I use 6 diapers on a good day for a  young toddler and an infant goes through even more (8-12).

If diapers cost $.13 six times a day,  that equals about $285 a year. I realize that’s a low number, but is washing out pooh going to be worth it?

Let’s find out

I bought 4 diaper covers and 22 pre-folds for $56 dollars. If you have a newborn you will need more. These particular covers get dirty with almost every poop.

I skipped the wet bag. (They are about $6)

I also originally skipped the diaper sprayer since my shower sprayer can reach the toilet.  After one time of use I realized (as pooh went everywhere) the spray was too wide.  We bought one for $35.

That is $91 total.

In just under 4 months cloth diapers would pay for themselves.

Of course that is if there was no other cost…

Cloth Diapers- Pros and Cons

Now that my toddler is (or should be) potty training, I guess it's about time I get around to posting about those cloth diapers.  Did you know that one of the benefit to cloth diapering is that most children who use them will want to potty train earlier?  That's because disposables are so good at soaking away all that wetness that it doesn't really bother them.  However, cloth diapers don't and that can be uncomfortable.  Because cloth diapers don't soak it all in, you do need to be on top of changing. No sitting in a soiled diaper for hours or that could lead to some serious diaper rash.

There are several pros and con to cloth diapering.  I used to be against them as my earlier post will show.  Here are reasons for and against

Against-
Rinsing and washing poo
More diaper changes (possibly)
Large up front cost

The biggest pro can be the money.  Do they really save all that much?  I had cheap disposables and wasn't all that convinced until I did some math.

Coming next- Cloth diapers how much of a money saver...