Flats and Handwashing Challenge

This week I'm doing the "Flat's and Handwashing Challenge" over at Dirty Diaper Laundry blog. So someone decided to come up with a challenge to test out an idea that I've been saying for over a year now...giving cloth diapers to needy families that can't afford diapers, or who need to save money on diapers...the problem, apparently a lot of these needy families don't have access to a washer and dryer even, or at least not one that they can wash diapers in...so her solution...give them flats and have them hand wash them...but is that really feasible? That's what we're aiming to find out!

I've pledged to use only flat diapers for 1 week, from May 23rd-May 30th. I can only wash them by handwashing, or using a non-electric washing machine...like a camp style washer. You can also only use 5 covers per child, for the whole week. I forgot to buy my plunger, so I'm handwashing in my bathroom sink for right now...luckily my 18 month old hasn't pooped yet! lol! I should be getting my plunger in a few short hours, so we should be good to go then.

Why am I doing this? 1. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good challenge! 2. I've wanted to try flats for awhile and figured this was just the push I needed! 3. They are super economical so I could up my stash for cheap! 4. I want to raise awareness about cloth diapers. 5. I want to raise awareness about families being in need of diapers. and 6. I wanted to show that maybe there are another option for families in need other than donating disposables, or (yuck!) them rinsing the disposable of solid waste and re-using it. Part of my business is making cloth diapers, but I love to try to help mama's in need to and hope to eventually donate cloth for families in need on a regular basis.

I've taken a few pictures already, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet, but I plan to post some pictures through out the week of my babies in differently folded flats. As well as update on how it's going.

How it's going on day 2...not bad...I didn't have the time or funds to order nicer, more expensive flats before the challenge, so I bought bleached gerber birdseye flats from my local Meijer, prepped them with the boil method, and have been using those...and they are rather thin, so I am having to change them pretty often. It's fun doing something different. They are surprisingly easy to use, even if you don't fold them a certain way, you can kind of fudge your way through it and still make them work! lol! They wash up very easy and they dry SUPER fast, which is awesome...and I actually prefer line drying them because they dry faster than drying them in the dryer (I did with a dozen that I prepped before the challenge started) but you really need them to be flat when you use them, so I ended up ironing them because they were so wrinkly! lol! I'm even starting to make friends with diaper pins a little! I will say though that it's a little more work since I have to change more frequently and head out to the line multiple times per day to hang, dry, and take down diapers. Well, my 7 week old is fussing so off I go!