This is the culmination of the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. For 7 days I have used 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!
This last entry is late coming in. Being this is a holiday weekend and my husband is home, we’ve spent a lot of family time together this weekend. The blog posts are being written later & later. We took our flats and swim diapers out to the water park today so I’m just getting to this tonight. 🙂 Hey, DH isn’t in the Middle East, it’s all fair game, especially on a weekend like this one.
I really wish I had tried this challenge last year. But you can’t change the past so I am really glad I did do it this year.
For those that don’t already know I am also a Circle Leader for the Real Diaper Association. There has been a tremendous amount of discussion about helping the less fortunate in our respective communities spurred most recently by Giving Diapers, Giving Hope, the non-profit Kim from DDL is making a donation to at the end of this challenge. Direct diaper donations are not within the mission of the RDA. However, some really smart people have found a way to work with other, well-established organizations to educate & donate to these families in our communities.
I began taking donations to start a similar program here during The Great Cloth Diaper Change in April. While thinking about what to teach before the diapers are distributed I decided that I had to take part in the flats handwashing challenge. I could talk about the economical value and how to use flats, no problem, but I didn’t feel like I could talk about handwashing diapers without having any practical experience. I’ve only been doing this a week but I can see a few applications. There’s camping & vacations, lack of power, transitioning between homes, & not having a washing machine in the home. Even if you can get to a laundry mat once a week or every 2 weeks, washing by hand at home in between is absolutely a viable option. Yes, it’s hard work & yes, it takes some time & yes, there was a day or two I didn’t want to do it this week. But it can be done. And now, if I ever have to help a family learn to wash diapers by hand, I can say I know first hand how it’s done.
The last load of flats were washed after we returned from our watery adventure this afternoon & is still out on the deck in the dusk, drying. Am I ready to put my diapers back in the washer, yeah, a little bit. But I’ll say it again, I’m glad I made the decision to take part in the challenge this year. I’m honored to take party with so many dedicated cloth diaper advocates & enthusiasts. Take a minute to read the reflections of other participants by clicking the link below. And thanks for following along this week. 😀