Flats Challenge – the Finale

Want to know how the rest of my week of the flat’s challenge went?

I CAVED!  On Thursday life was just getting very hectic and I caved and used the washer.  Then accepting defeat I started using some of our regular stash again.  *hides head in shame*

I had one super nasty poopy flat, I was out late with friends celebrating their children’s bridging to Brownies, and I was getting the house ready to welcome my husband home from China.  I’ve never done the ‘single mom’ thing for more than a day (hubby does it all the time when I travel for work) and I was just exhausted.  He was gone for 9 days on a volunteer project with Habitat for Humanity leaving me in charge of the nest.  I decided that I wanted to welcome him home with a big Memorial Day Party with our friends.  That left me to clean the pool and whip the house back into ‘visitor’ shape.

Do I consider my challenge a failure?  Hell no!  I learned so much that I would have never experienced otherwise.

• I learned that I LOVE flats!
• I learned that flats would have been SUPER easy to travel with (i.e. our cruise when I caved and used disposables).
• I learned that I COULD hand wash diapers if I needed to.
• I learned that I can now teach others how to use cloth diapers on an extreme budget.
• I read so many wonderful blogs about re-purposing items into diapers, different tricks to hand wash, and challenges that others face.
• I learned that the cloth diapering community is strong and willing to work together to spread the word about cloth diapers – and how they really can be used by ANYONE regardless of their situation.
• I also learned that I HATE hand washing diapers and it’s the last thing I wanted to do at night before I went to bed.

I wish I had listened to a friend of mine (Heather McNamara – with RDA) almost 2 years ago when she recommended using flats for traveling.  Instead I was stubborn and thought they were too ‘primitive’ for me.  Yes, I’m just that spoiled – but at least I admit it right?  If/When we decide to travel again (if she’s not potty trained yet) we’ll be packing up our flats with us.

How did you do with your challenge?  If you didn’t take the challenge – do you think you would ever use flats?  Would you ever hand wash diapers?  Are you prepared for the next natural disaster when you may just be forced to using flats?  I’d love to hear your stories.

Want to read more about the Flats & Handwashing Challenge?  Check out my #flatschallenge archive or visit Dirty Diaper Laundry for more tips and links.