reasons to use cloth – cloth for mommies

“It’ll take you ages to wash and dry them, who has time for that???”

Is it really that time-consuming? I got so many questions about that, I did a little “experiment”. I actually timed how long it takes me to care for my cloth diapers 😀

(I started cloth diapering as soon as I got out of the hospital with both of my kids. I felt good enough to even wash them myself with my younger one, and for my older daughter my husband took over the washing until I got better. So it really is not a big deal or a lot of work, but if you are unable, or you don’t have help after birth, do what feels right for you.)

BTW, making a fold with a flat cloth diaper takes 10 seconds max once you “master a fold”, and you can do it with one hand, while you hold a baby in the other. I can, and I’m clumsy as hell.

So here are my results 😀

Rinsing all dirty diapers from the day? 5 min, even less if you just rinse them in a washing machine (I have a 10 min rinse off program for small batches of laundry) AFTER you get rid of the poop, of course 😀

That’s 35 minutes a week.

Putting all dirty diapers in the washing machine 2 times a week, taking them out, spreading them on the drying rack and later folding them and putting them in the drawer? Max 20 minutes 2 times a week. So you have a grand total of 75 minutes a week, and bear in mind that for 5 days a week you only need to spend 5 minutes or less.

No, I don’t count the time my washer takes to complete a washing program because I’m not doing anything 😛

It actually takes me more time to get ready (and I don’t mean get ready with both of my kids :D), go to the store, buy the disposables and get back home. And this way, I don’t have to worry if I’ll ever be out of diapers.

Anyway, you won’t turn into a laundry lady with a broken back and rough hands 😉

Old black and white photo of servant women washing the laundry on a creek during winter. — Laundry ladies of Šestine (Zagreb, Croatia) from the 1930s. These women had really tough jobs, so let’s not pretend that in the 21st century washing the diapers is a torture 😉 Sadly, I can’t find the name of the photographer, I found this photo on Pinterest, by Mia Jashe.

Most people who use cloth, use modern cloth nappies. So why would anyone use flats?

Well, they may not be pretty and cute as modern cloth nappies, but they are much easier to use, clean and dry. And they are so cheap!

People usually don’t want to even try them because they think that folding is complicated and time-consuming. That is not true. If you can fold a paper plane, you can fold flats. I mean, even my father-in-law did it 😀

Can you use flats when your baby gets bigger and starts to wiggle around on the changing table? Absolutely. If you have everything prepped in advance, you can change a folded flat even on a screaming and kicking toddler (my son hates the changing table with a passion – joys of parenthood, right?). And if you are having problems, you can always use them as inserts for AI2 covers later.

Oh, and with a Snappi (or a similar) fastener they stay put even when a two-year old wild child is running around the playground.

It is not time-consuming. It literally takes me the same amount of time to wash and dry our cloth nappies as it would take me to get ready and go to the store to buy disposables. And with cloth, I never have to worry that I’ll run out.

You can travel while cloth diapering.

photo of a toddler during cloth diaper changing on a mountain peak vogel at 1500 m in spring time, along with images of woods, lake and beautiful mountains of slovenia. — flat cloth diapering at 1500 m 🙂 don’t worry, it was 20 degrees C outside 😉

Flats are also perfect for newborns because you can make them as small as you want.

There is no need for “stripping” when you use flats, because there can be no build up of detergent or urine.

They are much more durable than modern cloth.

Lower temperature inside of cloth diapers, especially flats.

They absorb the same amount as modern cloth and disposables, and there is far less leaking than with the disposables.

They are thinner than modern cloth so baby can move around easier.

You can use them as an all night diaper.

You can choose between many folds to suit your baby and use them with the AI2.

They are more earth friendly than modern cloth nappies, because they use less material (and no synthetic fibers), no colors, you use less water to rinse them out and you don’t need a dryer because they are dry in no time, even when it’s humid outside.

And, since you use covers on top of them, that baby bum will still look cute 🙂

Tag: reasons to use cloth

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