Flats Challenge 2012 Day 1

I am taking part in the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all. You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post. This year there are over 45o participants from all over the world!

Last year I thought about taking part in the Flats Challenge, but I had hit the EOD…End Of Deployment Wall. My husband had been gone for  more than 10 months & I was burnt out to a crisp. I did, on the other hand, discuss and demonstrate flats as the monthly topic of our cloth diapering group. It helped get a lot of moms thinking about using something other than what they were using. And because we all lived in Europe, it got them thinking about how to better travel with cloth diapers. Not a bad trade off.

So this year I’m teetering on the edge. My dd is finally beginning to use the toilet more & so if I’m going to do this challenge, it has to be now.  I even made a camp bucket washer last night much to the delight of my older children who watched the how-to videos with me last year & can also origami fold like a pro. The older ones are actually my favorite prop. Inspired by YouTube videos, they race to see who can do the origami fold the neatest, the fastest. (Score one for mom!) I expect fights over the bucket at some point. (This will be score two for mom)

Because the NOVA Real Cloth Diaper Circle started taking donations of cloth diapers for area families in need during the Great Cloth Diaper Change I hope to grasp a better understanding of cloth diapering in conditions less than ideal during this challenge. Instead of just talking about how to wash if you don’t have a washing machine, I’m going to do it.

My expenses so far are: bucket – $2.60, lid – $1.28, plunger – $5.99, for a total of $9.87.  Everything else I have on hand.

The irony of it all…it’s raining and the toilet in my bathroom isn’t filling with water correctly so now I have to call the plumber.  Hopefully saving some cash by not washing with the washer & dryer will help with that. 😛 Typical.