Change 3 Things (C3T)

A week ago I joined a Revolution – A Cloth Diaper Revolution! Have you joined yet?

I know that not all of my readers use cloth diapers. Many of you visit here because you are researching cloth diapers. Some of you just delete my cloth diaper posts and read some of my other natural parenting posts. Some of you may be friends or family who think my cloth diaper obsession is a little crazy. I know that not everyone I come in contact with will decide to use cloth diapers and I accept that. I try not to force my obsession on others but I will continue to try to show you how easy it can be.

Example – this weekend we headed back to the Little League field for opening day. One of my friends from the park has a one year old and I had introduced her to cloth diapers when she was born. Like most new parents I talk to about cloth diapers with she politely explained that she didn’t think cloth was for her. One year later (this past weekend) when she went to change her babies disposable diaper I explained one more time how I could save her hundreds of dollars a year by switching to cloth. I even told her that my stash was so large that she could borrow a few to give them a test drive. She looked at me with deep respect and just rolled her eyes. Again she said that she just didn’t have the time to add cloth to their routine.

I also have several new mommies at church who I’ve shown our cloth diapers to – explained how easy it is – how much money they would save – how they could save the planet! Again, they each politely explain that it’s just not their thing.

What if each of these families made a commitment to use just 3 cloth diapers a day instead of disposable diapers for one year?

If 100,000 families decided to change just 3 cloth diapers a day for one year here are the results:

30-50 million pounds of solid waste would be diverted from the landfill.
100 million disposable diapers NOT be purchased.
$24 million dollars would be saved in just one year combined by each of those families.
Finally we would increase the awareness of the environmental, health, and monetary benefits of cloth diapering.

If you are currently spending $10-20 for a pack of disposable diapers every few days here is my challenge for you. Spend $50 now and you will end up saving $260 (on average) in the coming year. It doesn’t look so scary when you look at it that way.

Here is how you could incorporate just 3 cloth diapers into your daily routine:

Day 1 –
9:00 AM: Change baby into a cloth diaper.
12:00 (Noon): Change baby into a cloth diaper.
3:00 PM: Change baby into a cloth diaper.
6:00 PM: Toss the 3 dirty cloth diapers into the laundry (small load). Wash according to manufacturer directions which should look similar to this: 1) Wash on cold/cold with 1/4 amount of recommended detergent. 2) Wash on hot/cold with 1/4 amount of detergent. 3) Run an extra cold water rinse. <TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes approx>
8:00 PM: Toss the diaper inserts into the drier and hang the covers out to dry.
8:05 PM: Pour yourself a glass of wine with the money you’ve saved from today and relax knowing that you’ve made one THREE small changes in just one day!

Day 2 – REPEAT!

Day 3 – REPEAT!

Day 30 – Take the money you’ve saved this first month and invest in a few more cloth diapers. Try a different brand or style. Many retailers run specials and have coupon deals throughout each month. At Kelly’s Closet you can currently spend $25 and save $5 off your total purchase price (coupon code FEBFIVE). You can get two more bumGenius 4.0 pocket style diapers for only $30 plus shipping OR if you bought another 3 pack for $50 you can have them shipped to you free. Or try a Kawaii pocket diaper for only $9.95 each and save even more. There are many different options available to fit any budget!!

Now tell me – can you see yourself making these three small changes every day? Can you accept the challenge? Go join the other 5,000 (++) parents who have joined the Revolution and “Like” the Change 3 Things fan page on Facebook. Together our small changes will add to to one very large REVOLUTION!

Want to know more about cloth diapering? Be sure to visit my cloth diapering archive page, follow me on Facebook, and join the conversation on Twitter. Welcome to the community – the cloth diapering community!