Now that I’ve told you about why we use cloth, what type we use, and how we make it work, it’s time for the ‘extras.’ Here is a list of my personal must-haves, or at least highly-recommendeds.
Diaper Pail – like I mentioned before, we literally have a pail; a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. This works fine for us, and was gifted to us when I was pregnant. Now that I know what our routine is like, I would probably choose a kitchen trash can with a foot pedal with a pail liner. Since I pull the inserts out of the pockets when I’m putting them into the pail, it would be nice and easy to open the lid with the pedal while both hands are working on the dipe. Some days at our house, the lid just stays off the pail [depending on what else is happening at the moment].
Pail Liner – a waterproof, drawstring [usually] bag that lines your diaper pail. This is not something I have, but I’ve been thinking about making/buying one someday. It would be nice to just take the bag full of dirty dipes to the washer, dump it all in, including the liner and have a second one to rotate with the wash cycles. It seems like it would also work out well while traveling, at least for packing clean diapers in, as I’m not sure about how the closure is with wetness/smell.
Wet Bags – some people use a large waterproof zipper [usually] bag instead of a diaper pail at home. We have one to use while traveling. We have 2 other smaller ones for the diaper bag. These are great! I highly recommend that every parent have some of these for the inevitable messes, spills, pool trips, etc. I think we’ll be making use of these for a long time. I’m thinking of making one to send with Josh to soccer games for his wet clothes too. The only reason I don’t use our large wetbag for dirty diapers at home is because I think zipping and unzipping every time would be complicated/time consuming for me. It’s simple, but like I said, sometimes the simple pail lid doesn’t even make it back onto our pail! I do know lots of parents who use wetbags at home, and I think they are great depending on your system/space.
Charlie’s Soap [or other cloth-diaper-safe detergent] – We use Charlie’s Soap, and I can’t rave about it enough.
Cloth Wipes – If you’re using cloth diapers, why bother with disposable wipes? With cloth, you just toss everything together into the diaper pail. Easy to make or available to buy. Soft on baby, easy on the routine, and an additional savings. Cloth wipes solution is also available to buy, there are many recipes available to make your own, or just use with water. We have a spray bottle with water at the changing table.
Good Attitude – Sometimes things happen. There are still leaks & blowouts. Some days there are no clean diapers, and sometimes you need to tweak your routine or strip diapers. I think this is just a part of parenting.
Baby – My favorite must-have for using cloth diapers is the baby! The baby makes it all worth it no matter the work/mess/hardship/money you have to put in.
Disclaimer: As with all things in parenting, each family must find the type/style/system/products that work for them. And I realize that for someone else these things might not be the best, but these posts are about what works for us. I [obviously] believe that cloth is the best option, but that does not mean I judge you if you're a disposable user. If my writing comes across as passionate, it is just that. Do not take it personally!! I think that most parents are uninformed when it comes to cloth diapers. There is enough new ground to pioneer when you become a parent, and going against the social norms can seem extra overwhelming.
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