Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday!  This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which have changed as we've proceeded. (As things have settled down to a nice steady conversational pace, for example, I've deleted the rules about only one tip per person per week and about limiting the length of comments; I was worried early on about people flooding the forum with too much too fast, but I think we're past that risk.)

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

[ecosophia]

Congratulations!

You might see if there's a local cloth diaper service. Those can be competitive with disposable diapers, and they're a lot easier on the environment.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you! I had never even considered that before, it looks like there are some around my area I can add to the investigation list.

Diapers

[ritaer]

I used diaper service diapers for my three in the late 70s early 80s. At that time disposables were so inferior that I didn't even consider them, so the question was between home washing and diaper service. I read a book on baby care and expenses by a home economist who calculated that between cost of heating water, wear on machine, extra rinses, detergent, drying costs and original purchase, diaper service was more economical. I don't know how those figures work out now with all the changes in energy cost, more water efficient washers, and so forth. It is possible that Consumer Reports has covered the subject.

When mine were little the basic diaper was a rectangle with extra layers down the center. The user had to fold the sides and ends to fit the infant, changing the folds as the child grew--also putting the extra material in the front for boys. There are now different shapes and styles of cloth diapers on the market as well as different styles of waterproof pants to protect outer clothing. If you and your wife don't know any recent mothers, I would suggest contacting Le Leche League or some other new mother's group to get input from those who are using the newer diapers. Be aware that some members of Le Leche are complete breastfeeding fanatics. I have heard of women with bilateral mastectomies being urged to "just try"--insane. They weren't that strange when I was a member.

Good luck and remember that you, your wife and your child are the ones who will live with your decisions. And don't be too conscientious to let convenience be a factor--time and energy for new parents is in short supply and you won't save the planet if you let yourselves be run into the ground. I will note that modern disposables are very effective at guarding against diaper rash because they really pull the wetness away from the infant's skin. Be prepared for the pediatrician to recommend disposables if your child has very sensitive skin and develops a rash--he or she isn't just being a shill for the manufacturers. I was amazed to see this with my grandchildren.

Blessed be,

Rita

Re: Diapers

[jenniferkobernik]

We do cloth diapers (though not a service; I didn’t know that was a thing). It is vastly cheaper, especially compared to the more eco-friendly/less chemical-laden disposables. My advice is to remember that it needn’t be strictly either/or. We ended up using a disposable at night after a few months because we and the baby got much more and better sleep. We’ll also use disposables periodically if diaper rash becomes an issue or if we’re traveling. The savings in money and landfill trash is still huge. Also, don’t make any hasty decisions for the first few weeks where they poop with every feeding. It gets better. I still remember my poor husband staggering in from the clothesline at 3 am because we didn’t adequately prepare for the sheer number of poops those first couple weeks and had to maintain an extremely aggressive laundry schedule.

cloth diapers

[(Anonymous)]

I used a diaper service for my first child, and the first part of my second, then I just bought some and started washing at home. There are alot of fancy wraps and such, but I was broke at that time and used prefold, diaper service quality cloth diapers, diaper pins, and at that time you could by nylon, coated nylon pull on ( "rubber pants") the realy cheap plastic "rubber pants" do not last well enough. Like these https://www.changingtimesdiaperco.com/products/taffeta-pant-dappi

A nice thing to do is to use the diaper service, if you can afford it for the first 3 months or so, then start doing it your self. Often it is a nice baby shoower gifst to be bought for the parents. Not only are you busily adjusting and not sleeping much then, but there are 2 basic sizes of prefold cloth diapers, newborn and then the regular size. SO this way you only have to buy the regular sized ones.

My eldest, for her baby, me and my brother bought her a "system", som eof the fancier all in ones with snap covers. Very cute. Someone else got her from the same place the little washclothes to use for baby wipes, and washable bags to transport the dirty diapers home in in the diaper bag. If you want, I will ask her the name, as I forget, but we researched it well, and the system did work well.

The issue she ran into had to do with modern washing machines ! They do not wash or dry as well as the older models. I went thru 2 children drying cloth diapers on a laundry line, but she has a different climate. The new washing machines are not as good as they do not fill as well with water, it still worked, but not near as well as an older top loader, so I would recommend getting an older Maytag, or kenmore top loader off of craigs list for $50 to wash the diapers, as it is easier.

It is better for the environment and way, way cheaper to wash yourselves, and as JMG says, still cheaper or at least no more to use a service.

The added benefit is that you wont be putting nasty chemicals next to such a vulnerable area of babies body ! Those disposable diapers have gel beads in them, and I used to do daycare so I have seen that those beads do migrate out sometimes and then you have even more chemical exposure right on their skin. Also, since disposables can hold more, people leave wet diapers on the baby way too long. And, lastly, it is easier to potty train later as with cloth, the then toddler can feel the wet, so they figure out sooner the body feelings that lead to feeling the wet bottom. The disposable they dont feel the wet as the gel beads absorb it, so they dont get the connection between feelings and wetness, and the disposable "training pants" just hte same, no feedback as to getting a wet bottom

Atmospheric River

[(Anonymous)]

There are several manufacturers of cloth diapers that include gathers at the legs and velcro closures. We got a set of those and a diaper pail in the bathroom that contained vinegar and water, and had a tight lid! We would rinse the diapers in the toilet, then plunk them into the diaper pail. The vinegar water did a good job of deodorizing the diapers and loosening the remaining dirt. Then it was a simple matter of doing a load of diapers several times a week. One set will last through several children.
Here is a link to a discussion of different types of cloth diapers-- Caveat emptor - it is sponsored by a manufacturer, but the discussion seems objective to me;
https://www.charliebanana.com/blog/types-of-cloth-diapers-cloth-diapering-guide/

Cloth Diaper recommendations

[(Anonymous)]

We just finished using cloth diapers; week three with only training pants! :)

We used disposable newborn diapers, then size one fitted diapers with size one covers for the first few months, then due to surgery switched to disposables, then finally went to one-size pocket diapers with cotton pre-folds wrapped around bamboo boosters as inserts. I didn't use a service and laundered all the diapers myself.

If I were to do it again I would use flats with hook and loop sized covers. This is due to ease of laundering. Flats are just a large fabric square and the hook and loop sized diaper covers don't have the second layer of TPU that snaps require. It is significantly easier to get soiling out of a single layer of fabric.

The covers are reusable (usually 3-4 changes) so you should be able to get away with only 3-4 for each size and 36 should be a good starting number for flats. Thirsties makes good diaper covers, Osocosy is a affordable brand for flats, pre-folds, or fitted diapers, and Snappi is considered to be the best fastener for flats or pre-folds (but if you're willing to add plastic snaps to the flats, I think those are the best.)

As for laundry routine I suggest a 5 gallon bucket with a screw on lid and a hand held shower head on a extra long shower hose. Add detergent to the bucket and fill half full with hot water. Rinse each newly dirty diaper out in the tub and add them to the bucket. Don't forget to screw the lid back on with enough force that the baby can't get it off. When the bucket is full or every second day empty the water into the tub, rinse again if there is a strong odor, and wash in the machine. Pre-treated diapers can be washed with other laundry. Covers can be washed in the machine, but should be hung to dry out of direct sunlight.

If staining is an issue I suggest getting a small hand held wash board (the kind that hooks around your thumb) and scrub the area with soap before adding it to the bucket.

When diaper rash happens don't use a cream or paste because it will "waterproof" the flats. What I have done is use provodone-iodine in a spray bottle and just sprayed the red areas. It seems more effective that using zinc creams and has the added benefit of washing out of fabrics easily.

Laundry detergent choice matters, but I've found that the unscented Kirkland brand detergents liquid or powder work well and have no long term build up issues. This home-made detergent recipe is also diaper safe:

https://www.budget101.com/do-it-yourself/3993-original-moms-super-laundry-sauce-laundry-soap-recipe/

wool diaper covers

[mskrieger]

Seconding everyone else who suggested cloth diapers. Way cheaper than disposables (I washed them at home in a high efficiency washer.)

What I haven't seen anyone mention yet is wool diaper covers. In the winter, we used these a lot. You have to learn how to take care of them--wash by hand, re-lanolinize occasionally--but they don't need washing that often, and they are super warm if you live in a cold climate. We purchased a bunch of long legged wool covers made of old sweaters lined with felt from someone off Etsy, and my middle daughter essentially lived in them every winter the first two years of her life.

--Ms. Krieger