Last night, I realized that I needed to COME CLEAN about something... I've used bleach 3 times this week.

I don't know the ins and outs of it, but I know that bleach is toxic stuff... not to be used by tree huggers nor homemade cleanser users.

However, after 2 years of homemade laundry detergents and 2 months of homemade dishwasher detergents, it was time to accept defeat.

• cloth diapers that knock-out 1/2 of the county with their ammonia smell
  
• the increasing dingyness of our whites
• spots of mold developing on the dishwasher door

To be fair, all users of cloth diapers eventually succomb to stripping their diapers in some form.  The dingyness of our whites is a result of using well water that is over & around old coal mines.  We spend over $60 A MONTH treating our water, yet there is still a trace of redness to our water.  As for the dishwasher, there's no excuse for that one!  I LOVE the homemade cleaner, it's SO cheap and easy, but I can't help but point out that we never had the mold issue until I switched to homemade.

Here's my Google Docs of all my recipes.  It's constantly changing as I make notes, find new recipes, etc.  Feel free to check it out, use it &/or give me new recipes that will solve world hunger... or at least my current problems!

Anyone else struggle with these problems?  More importantly, anyone SOLVE these problems?

I have written about my preference for the Thirsties Duo Wraps many many times.  I simply love them.  They grow with the child, but there are still 2 sizes so they truly are able to be work from 6 lbs- 40 lbs (well, Zel hasn’t hit the upper number yet, but I’m confident she could still be in her Thirsties.  Oh God, please don’t let my baby be in a diaper at 40 lbs.  Amen.).  I use my wraps NONSTOP and they still look brand new. 

When I was a CD (cloth diaper) virgin (blush), the saleswoman at my (then) local CD store (Mother Natures in Portland, Oregon) suggested that I go with the Thirsties Wraps.  The selling point:  LEG GUSSETS.  I pretended to understand why they were a big deal way back then (about a year ago).  You see, most CDs have elastic around the leg, but Thirsties has 2 layers.  So one is always snug (in a good way) against the skin and one is always snug against the inner diaper.  GENIUS. 

WHO AM I KIDDING... you are gonna get a lot more than my 2 cents today and many other days.  We are a cloth diapering household (except for those few times when I've procrastinated laundry and the times when we're traveling and I just can't be bothered with packing all the CD supplies). 

This post is part of the Real Diaper Facts carnival hosted by Real Diaper Events, the official blog of the Real Diaper Association. Participants were asked to write about diaper lies and real diaper facts. See the list at the bottom of this post to read the rest of the carnival entries.

I wasn't planning on entering the Cloth Diaper discussion just yet on this blog, but I'm excited about the Real Diaper Event... so here I go!  I'm going to repost something from my personal blog and update it.  You'll get my opinions on my cloth diapering at 3 months and now at 10 months.

 Do you feel it?  The pressure to be all things to all people at all times?  I do. 

Mamas, let's make a pledge to ourselves to take things one step at a time.

I'm starting this blog with quite a few "aces in the hole".  (ooo... I like writing within quotations almost as much as I love writing within parentheses!).

So, I'm gonna start with a topic I've been asked to explain many times:  CLOTH WIPES.

CONTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT LADIES!

Yes, cloth wipes are the easiest way to green up the output process of your wee ones.  (Ha!  I just came up with that- "output process"!  I feel clever.)

If you already use cloth diapers, this will be an easy addition for you!  The wipes go right in the diaper pail.  If you use disposable diapers, this is a way to be a little greener, a little healthier for your baby and a little more confident around any tree-hugger friends you have.

For the first 8 months of my baby's life, I found a zen-like joy (only slightly exaggerating) in folding the wipes accordion style after washing* them and then placing them in my Prince Lionhart wipe warmer (hey, now they sell one with bamboo wipes!  glad they jumped on the band wagon!).  Just remoisten the little sponge thing every day and your wipes are always the perfect moistness and a pleasing temperature. 

Now that my baby is a little hardier, I'm relishing the freedom to be a little lazier with my wipes.  I toss them into the dryer (ok, sometimes I line dry them, but only sometimes!) and then stuff (emphasis on the helter skelter here.  no folding allowed!) them into the unplugged wipe warmer. 

Now, if you aren't a cloth diaper mama, you may be a little squeamish about the idea of having to wash poop (that word makes me smile).  If that's the case, no biggie... use disposable wipes on those diapers and cloth wipes for all the others!  If you want to go all-out and use the cloth wipes for everything, I've been really pleased with the bumgenius bottom cleaner
that I received as a baby gift.  I spritz a little on the dirty bum and everything wipes cleanly off.  One 4 oz. bottle has lasted a LONG time!  However, once that runs out, I'm gonna fill the bottle with ye ole H2O and a squirt of Dr. Bronner's (I'll let you know how that goes).

As for the cloth wipes.  I really like these thin unbleached flannel squares.  I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to make your own flannel wipes, but come on... this is MY blog!  I have also tried cloth wipes that are more terry cloth (bumgenius brand, though they don't seem to be for sale online anymore).  These are great as washcloths, but too thick for a wipe.

What do you think?  Do you already use them?  Will you try?

*How I wash:  I wash my wipes with the cloth diapers.  1. cold rinse; 2. hot wash with 1/4 the amount of detergent (Dreft or any free & clear); 3. extra cold rinse.  If you don't wash cloth diapers, throw the wipes into the washer for a cold rinse before adding whatever else.  The wipe-to-skin contact is brief, so let's not over think the detergent!