Day 6: Open Topic, Why I think this is and isnt an option for low income families

`      Both of my kids are sick today so I have No video on this, Day 6 of the challenge. I do however have a brief list of pros and cons, and reasons I do and do not think that  hand washing are a good choice for low income families.

        First let me start by saying my family is single income, low income. We have made sacrifices for me to stay home with baby because I believe my children need me at home, it is best for our family. We financially qualify for many assistance programs including The Rebecca Foundation Cloth Diaper Closet which operates at 0 cost to its clients. We don't participate in all these programs but we do qualify. We used our tax return to get a top load Amana washer and when we had baby, a friend gave me diapers, I got diapers on free-cycle and I have won about 25 diapers in giveaways. I actually had to buy flat diapers to try them and have not purchased many diapers besides those, and I usually hand wash once a week while I have the pockets and AIO diapers in the washer, I like everything to be clean for the weekend!

Taking my financial and diaper situations, into account I can honestly say that I dont think HANDWASHING flats is a legitimate option for families in my situation. Our washer uses by far less water than I have used this week and I wash twice a week I think taking diapers with your laundry to the Laundromat once or twice a week would be a better option for low income people. You can rinse them at home. I absolutely believe using Flats is a great idea, I have called around and almost all the daycare centers in our area will use cloth diapers, you must bring a wet bag and several changes daily (1 diaper for every 2 hours they are in the facility) and I would say that having flats in Pockets or Gdiapers would be a very low cost way to put your daycare baby in cloth during the day. Also at least in my area a week of daycare for baby costs more than a part time job pays so maybe . I also think that most people homeless or not are washing their clothing at least once a week some place and they can easily take diapers with them to the laundromat.

       I have used a few different detergent options this week, Tide, Ecosprout, Ecosprout with baking soda, Ivory and ivory with baking soda. They all got the diapers clean but hand washing in Tide should be done
 with gloves because it was very abrasive.

          This exercise has taught me that I could diaper in a situation that left us with out the use of a washer, I live in Florida and we have terrible storms that can knock power out for days. It is good to know that I can last a week with flats and hand washing, I could do this while camping or on a vacation where I may not have access to a washer.

          I believe the following, Flat diapers are a legitimate option for people who ant to cloth diaper, they can be used to expand a stash or used while building a stash. Some people use them exclusively because they can be easily washed both in an automatic washer and by hand. I DO NOT think that hand washing is a ligit option to use flats all the time and while it is something that CAN be done if you cant get to a laundromat, it uses a lot more water than a washer does and it is not as efficient. Hand wash any diapers in an emergency situation is a great option and using flats inside of pockets and with covers is a wonderful idea for people who need to put babies in daycare and since they can be washed easily and dried quickly it is a good option for people who dont have a lot of money to buy a ton of diapers.



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