In the Beginning

It all started with cloth diapers. Yup, that's how it began, at least the latest streak of creativity. For a while I have wanted to put my girls in cloth diapers, but I was afraid. Afraid of dunking and swishing. I looked into a diaper service thus avoiding the "hands in the poopy toilet" part. Problem was, a diaper service cost more than twice as much as I was spending on disposables. Finally when my oldest was 2 and a half and my youngest just one I couldn't help myself. My morbid curiosity got the best of me and after consulting with my husband, I went the cheapest route possible to begin, and purchased prefolds and proraps. Well, I loved it and wanted more. I have learned that cloth diapering can become an obsession. There are those who spent much much more on cloth than they would have on disposibles. I am frugal by nature, so this was not an option for me. The internet statistics say that you will spend $2000 diapering a child from birth to 3 years in disposibles. According to my calculations (and I've kept track of every diaper I've purchased since my first was born) our number is only $900 a child for 3 years. I suppose in theory that means I need to spend sixty percent (or so) less on cloth to gain the same savings that those $2000ers are gaining. Instead of buying $20 pocket one-size diapers, I turned to ebay and china and only spent $4. Instead of spending $20-$100 on wool longies, I made my own for about $4. I have also made a wet bag and 5 pocket diapers. This has reawakened my love of sewing. The machine has been out for about 2 months now, with no plans to return to the closet soon. And I've made much more than diapering related supplies. Stay tuned to find out what!