Welcome to the January 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Green Confessions.
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about areas of their life where they aren't as "green" as they may want to be.
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I know, you crunchier mamas will say it doesn't really make sense, does it? We are already cloth diapering so it's not like there isn't some level of poop or what not getting into the wash already so that can't be the drawback. Plus, I'm a mama cloth convert as well so that kinda contributes to my previous point. For us, it really just was the sheer inconvenience of the cloth wipes that did them in.
We tried the cloth wipes. I made up a few batches of different fabric match ups, hoping to find a combination that would not only be gentle on Natalia's bum, but also be tough enough to get the job done. Jake felt they didn't work as well and although I will never, ever complain about him helping out and changing diapers, the poor guy does use more wipes than I'd like to. In his defense I also have to add that even though Natalia is 2 now, her diapers don't get filled with the easy plop-into-the-toilet poops. They are everywhere and no matter which wipes we used, whether with a solution or water, pre-soaked or adding solution as they were used, we were still having to use a hefty amount per dirty diaper and it was hard to keep up on the laundry. Neither of us wanted to tackle diaper changes and we had the added time into each one for getting the cloth wipes ready to use. With a wiggly toddler, it just isn't working. (Plus, since Jake is a work at home dad and I'm pregnant with our second, it's really nice to have him be more willing to tackle diaper changes.)
Back to disposables we went.
I have, however been looking into DIY solutions for disposable wipes to come to a compromise. Maybe you'll see more info on that in the future. ;)
What non-green habit or product do you still find yourself unable to give up?
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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival!
Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:
Wipes are just so easy...at least you are cloth diapering. You have to admit even if you are over using the wipes they are taking up less landfill space than diapers!
ReplyDeleteMy husband really struggles with giving up paper towels even thought we have cloth ones, ugh
ReplyDeleteMine does too. I didn't buy them for about 6-9 months. We do eat a lot of bacon and foods that need to have the excess drained so it was nice to have them around for those occasions. He went shopping with me last time and we ended up getting another pack, but now he's using them for everything!
DeleteYup! We are guilty as well. I have a great stash of super cute cloth wipes and we do use them but most of the time its not for their intended use!
ReplyDeleteCJR @ TMB
http://youtu.be/qoUQbatuKzo
i've been using disposable wipes too... ugh
ReplyDeleteHeh, it took a while for me to get on the cloth wipes wagon. My husband is still not too keen on them. I mostly use them (and tons of them), but I just presoak a handful in water at the bathroom sink and then keep them in a wipe warmer. I'll still use some regular wipes to deal with smell cleaning.
ReplyDeleteWe used disposable wipes too. I like the Earth's Best ones. However, we do use unpaper towels for most things now. We used to go through at least one roll of paper towels per week (hubby would use them for everything). Now one roll lasts us 2-3 months. It took a while to get everyone on board :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. It's hard to give up some stuff, like wipes. But we do the best we can and are always trying to improve.
ReplyDeleteYou can wash your disposable wipes and use them as diaper liners. That's what I do. The washed wipes also make good dusting cloths.
ReplyDeleteWe did disposable wipes until they could sit. Then we stuck them on the potty training seat that went on top of the regular toilet seat, and washed their bums with water. Kept doing that after they were well out of diapers, in fact. We had a bucket that we filled with nice warm water. Eventually I installed a thermostatic faucet connected to a garden hose type sprayhead, which acts as a bidet. Bliss. And clean.
ReplyDeleteAt least you balance out the wipes with your other cloth uses. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to give up paper towels. I completely realize this, and I want some un-paper towels quite badly. I have a huuuuge long list of DIY/sewing projects though. I'm so behind!
ReplyDeleteMy husband feels the same way about cloth wipes, so we use cloth wipes "part-time" . He uses disposable wipes everytime, and I use cloth for wet diapers and dirty diapers after using one disposable wipe first. When I can, I buy biodegrable wipes to make me feel a little more eco-friendly :-)
ReplyDeleteI have always felt the opposite. I feel like the cloth wipes work better because I use less and they are easier to grab a hold of when you are in a cloth diaper changing frenzy. Along these lines though, my problem is paper towels. Ug!
ReplyDeleteWe have plenty of cloth wipes that we use for other things, but with child four I tend to reach for disposable wipes. My 5 1/2 year old also prefers them for wiping himself. The niggling idea that we should switch to family cloth is there, though.
ReplyDelete