Laundry and such...

You'll excuse me, please, for not having a picture
for this post; who wants to look at pictures of
someone else's piles of dirty laundry anyway...

About two times a year I have this convergence
of cold weather clothing and warm weather clothing
in the laundry room. I feel like I'm drowning in
dirty clothes. It is always such a relief to get past
that point where the weather won't commit, and
FINALLY pack away last seasons clothes for another
year. I'm experiencing that drowning sensation
currently, and have been carefully selecting summer's
items to pack away, that will no longer be worn
despite the days when the temperature suddenly spikes.

My whole house can be in disarray ( as it has been the
case pretty much since Max arrived), but in this one
area, if I can have control and keep up, I retain my sanity.

Piles of clean smelling, and LOOKING, folded laundry
are somehow therapeutic to me, even more so when
they are deposited in their respective homes until such
time as they are called upon again. I used to try and do
all my laundry on a certain day, and then hold off until
the next week. But somehow, as the days have progressed
and the laundry has piled more quickly, I find the machine
is constantly in use.

Which brings me to my next point. Cloth diapering. I've read
so many blogs that are a bit OVERLY enthusiastic about
cloth diapers, that understate the truth, and extoll its virtues
to the extreme. So I'm going to try and be moderate in
my examination and report on my experiences thus far.
So by now you're wondering if I'm really doing it or not: I am.
But that doesn't necessarily mean you should, or that I
believe everyone else should and those who don't are earth
haters.

It has been almost two weeks since I've used a disposable
diaper. While my purpose for looking into CD's was motivated
by preparedness, I did intend to actually use them, thus
justifying the expense and hopefully saving some money to boot.
But the waters regarding the virtues of cloth diapers are quite
muddy. Some claims and analysis:
1). It is more environmentally friendly. I suppose that's subjective,
depending on how many you buy, where you purchase them from,
how often you launder, and HOW you carryout that laundering
process. Most cloth diapers recommend special detergents
to keep them clean and absorbent. They also require A LOT of
time to dry (70 min. on HIGH in the dryer) or up to 2 days on your
drying rack. And they're not immortal; eventually they die and
need to be replaced. Thankfully, this wasn't my reason for trying.

2). You save SO much money. Well that depends on how old your
baby is when you start, how many children you'll still be having
that you will pass your CD's on to, how many you purchase, what
type(s) you buy, and how enticed you are by all the extras available
in the CD world, i.e. wetbags, inserts, liners, snappis, etc. If you have
a reasonable amount of self control, I think you probably do save
money. If you buy every new thing that hits the market, I think
you don't. As I said, muddy water.

3). It's better for your babies bum. Well word has it that disposables
are filled with an array of toxic chemicals that lend them their
absorbent properties and fresh scent. I really take these claims
with a grain of salt. While I do think it's a good idea to try and
get back to basics and simplify, I don't think the gov't and the
diaper manufacturers are covering some grand conspiracy to
profit at all costs despite the risks to the rising generation.
I've never been one for conspiracy theories anyway.

4). So now we come full circle with the preparedness side of Cd'ing;
one point, I rarely see mentioned, and the only point I think
that really merits some serious consideration. While the other
merits are debateable, this one stands to reason. IF you could
suddenly no longer rely on your regularly scheduled trips to
Target, Costco, or the likes, you COULD continue to maintain
some semblance of hygience and cleanliness in your home by
having a stash of cloth diapers to rely on. This gives me peace
of mind, and the resolve to continue. I guess I should mention
here that I DO plan to have more babies too. So I find it
infinitely more manageable and reasonable to stash a supply
of cloth diapers than to try and have boxes and boxes of
disposables in all the various sizes.

Next time I post I'll discuss how I launder them, and
the convenience factor.