ScottyG
Lovin' The Homestead
My daughter is too young to be going to school yet (6 months old!) but when I was a kid, my mom always packed me leftovers from the day before, gussied up with a cookie or some fruit or something, and I loved it. I always thought I was so much cooler than the school lunch kids, especially because we only got 25 minutes for lunch, and sometimes they had to wait 15 minutes in line to get food. So, that's certainly an option. But for 55 cents, nobody could fault you for going with the school meals.
As far as diapers go, I'm a huge fan of the cloth diapering. We started with a diaper service, which we calculated cost us a touch less than disposables, and eliminated our fears of washing poo. It was super easy, and for our baby, with very sensitive pale skin, the only thing preventing her from rashing up. We bought 4 "diaper covers" (I second the vote for "Bummis super whisper wrap" covers that a previous poster mentioned) and the service brought a stack of 80 "prefolds" (what used to just be called Diapers in the old days) every week. Very easy, and felt like a positive environmental step.
We moved recently to a small town with no such amenities, and took the plunge into washing the diapers ourselves. I've been shocked at how simple it is. We bought 3 dozen prefolds for pretty cheap... and here's my routine, if it helps you decide:
We fold a prefold in thirds and toss it into the cover, which fastens onto her with velcro tabs. We re-use the cover until it smells bad or has poo on it, and then it gets tossed in the diaper pail. When we change her, dirties go into the diaper pail (which we've lined with "WAHMies" liners, basically washable trash bags made to fit in a standard diaper pail). If there's poo on them, they get swished around in the toilet, and sprayed down with enzyme cleaner to help break it down.
Once every 2 days, I toss all the dirty prefolds, and the dirty covers, and the dirty "WAHMies" liner into the washing machine with a tiny bit of detergent (straight detergent, no dyes, brighteners, scents, etc.) and let them soak overnight. In the morning, I start the washer, adding an extra rinse at the end to avoid soap residue. Then I toss everything in the dryer (no dryer sheets) until done. And presto! Cloth diapers.
I've given many details there, but really the whole wash process takes about 10 minutes total of work, once every 2 days. And it's so much cheaper and gentler on her bottom. Obviously, no one can judge what's best for you and your family. But in case it was the work that seemed intimidating, this is just to say that it's really not so bad, and it feels excellently wholesome to do it yourself. I use disposables on long road trips away from home, but otherwise, this is just as easy in my mind, and a nice thing to do, IMHO.
As far as diapers go, I'm a huge fan of the cloth diapering. We started with a diaper service, which we calculated cost us a touch less than disposables, and eliminated our fears of washing poo. It was super easy, and for our baby, with very sensitive pale skin, the only thing preventing her from rashing up. We bought 4 "diaper covers" (I second the vote for "Bummis super whisper wrap" covers that a previous poster mentioned) and the service brought a stack of 80 "prefolds" (what used to just be called Diapers in the old days) every week. Very easy, and felt like a positive environmental step.
We moved recently to a small town with no such amenities, and took the plunge into washing the diapers ourselves. I've been shocked at how simple it is. We bought 3 dozen prefolds for pretty cheap... and here's my routine, if it helps you decide:
We fold a prefold in thirds and toss it into the cover, which fastens onto her with velcro tabs. We re-use the cover until it smells bad or has poo on it, and then it gets tossed in the diaper pail. When we change her, dirties go into the diaper pail (which we've lined with "WAHMies" liners, basically washable trash bags made to fit in a standard diaper pail). If there's poo on them, they get swished around in the toilet, and sprayed down with enzyme cleaner to help break it down.
Once every 2 days, I toss all the dirty prefolds, and the dirty covers, and the dirty "WAHMies" liner into the washing machine with a tiny bit of detergent (straight detergent, no dyes, brighteners, scents, etc.) and let them soak overnight. In the morning, I start the washer, adding an extra rinse at the end to avoid soap residue. Then I toss everything in the dryer (no dryer sheets) until done. And presto! Cloth diapers.
I've given many details there, but really the whole wash process takes about 10 minutes total of work, once every 2 days. And it's so much cheaper and gentler on her bottom. Obviously, no one can judge what's best for you and your family. But in case it was the work that seemed intimidating, this is just to say that it's really not so bad, and it feels excellently wholesome to do it yourself. I use disposables on long road trips away from home, but otherwise, this is just as easy in my mind, and a nice thing to do, IMHO.
We would still be in cloth otherwise, cheaper, easier on environment, and usually more gentle on baby bottoms.
