Since today is an open topic day I thought I would share a little about how we are making cloth diapers work while we are camper living at the farm until we get our house finished this summer.

Our camper isn't as small as the one in the picture above but it's a definite downsize from our current house.  I mentioned earlier this week  that the challenge inspired me to get back to cloth diapering and to purge our excessive amounts of diapers.  

When living in such a small space with 3 very active kids you quickly run out of room.  While in the beginning of my cloth diaper journey I adored pockets stuff with microfiber inserts over time my love for them faded.  They get build up and need to be stripped, they start to feel funky and take up a ton of space!  

I love the simplicity of flats and covers, we even have a few pockets thrown in but use flats to stuff them as well.  These are the pockets that are workhorses or I am in love with the print.  But still how do I fit everything for 5 people in a camper??

For starters our cloth diaper stash use to take up 2 entire clothes baskets at least (honestly I'm not sure they were ever all clean at once)...you know the big ones that are about 30" x 15" and over a foot tall.  Now I can fit all of our diapers in a 15"x 10" x 12" bin that has a lid!!  Did you see my post earlier in the week?? We have over 40 flats and 14 covers and all of them FIT into one box!!  That is so much easier to store than 2 giant laundry baskets.  

Since we use diapers multiple times a day they have to be readily accessible so the box sits at the end of our loveseat.  This makes it easy to reach but also out of the way.  We put the lid on it so we can use it as an end table as well.  I always have a few ready to go diapers & cloth wipes in a basket on the shelf on the other end of the loveseat so that anyone can change a diaper.  (Heck who am I kidding...if I am home I do most of the diaper changing LOL.)

Check out my Instagram this weekend for pictures of #camperliving storage solutions.

Do you live in a small space?  How do you make it work?

  

When someone says the words hand washing...

everyone's mind to women beside a creek scrubbing clothes against rocks.
However that is not the reality for most folks.
While I do know there are people who still must wash their clothes this way.
Most in the US have access to a sink and/or a bath tub.

So what do you need to hand-wash diapers?
Small dish pan (less than $2 at a big box store)
Laundry detergent
Bar soap (I use pink Zote)
and some type of washboard (I am using the bottom of a cheap plastic dish drain).



We are staying in our camper at the farm this week so I am washing inside the bin our camper tub.  This gives me a space to contain any splashes and sit while I work which at 6 months pregnant with baby #4 is a blessing.


Step 1: Dispose of any solids and rinse diapers as soon as possible after use.  I typically rinse and drop them in the bin throughout the day.
Step 2: After the baby is down for the night I empty the bin into the tub, rinse it out and dissolve a small about of our regular powdered laundry detergent in warm/hot water.
Step 3: Make sure all diapers are unfolded and drop into the wash bin.  Swish them all around and up and down a few times.
Step 4: Let them sit.  I leave them overnight to soak as I handwash in the morning before work so they can dry outside.
Step 5: Empty wash bin/rinse bin and rinse each diaper.
Step 6: using my Zote bar I rub both sides of each diaper/cover/wipe and scrub up and down on my makeshift wash board.  Stains get scrubbed extra hard.
Step 7: Quick Rinse diaper and hold it up to see if I got everything.
Step 8:   Rinse diaper really well to ensure all soap is gone and wring out.  Place in clean bin.
Step 9; Shake out each time and snap any excess water you can out.
Step 10: Hang outside on the clothes line to dry.

It takes be about 30 minutes in the morning to wash diapers and hang them out without any "helpers."  I love seeing the diapers on the line.  If I am at home I tend to wash as we go and this week most diapers have been completely dry within an hour for flour sack towels and 2 hours for the Geffen baby & flannel flats.


If you have more questions about handwashing my go to resource is Fluff Love University.

Do you handwash regularly?  What tips and tricks do you have?