{bits & pieces} and cloth diaper troubleshooting
The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
I’m going to check in for real (meaning: include some baby pictures) next week. For now I want to give you a glimpse of what would currently be in my {happy} category if I ever had it together enough to do {phfr} (speaking of which – did you see Suki’s announcement!?).
To wit: my clothesline.
As you know, the Chesternest is quirky. When we were considering moving here, I balanced a few considerable drawbacks against some major pros. One of those major pros was this clothesline, pins included, installed on the porch. Now that the sun is fiiiiinnnaally out, I am cashing in on a longing that sat deep in my soul all winter long: hanging clothes out to dry in the sunshine. Every time I do it, my soul is filled with contentment. Seriously.
We made the switch over to cloth recently, and I’m loving it. I got a good deal on one big batch of Smartipants diapers via Craigslist (where I get All My Things). I have put a gift card to use to get just a few more. I think that, once the new ones that I’ve ordered arrive (they will be BumGenius), I should have enough to have both kiddos clothed in cloth but still only have to do laundry every other day.
Okay yes, I love laundry nowadays, but I still don’t want to do it every day. Since my goal here is less cost and less waste, it seems worth it to shoot for not running the machines and all that water on a daily basis. I also know that all of this will be considerably less fun when another New England winter sets in and I have a chilly walk to the dryer in the storage space rather than a sunny respite at the clothesline.
Now for troubleshooting: I have a few questions for those of you experienced with cloth. Can you help me out here? (NB: if you are not actively interested in cloth diapering, the following section will mostly likely be wicked boring to you.)
– The diapering station. It is currently in the nursery, where Finnabee takes a daily nap and goes to bed before the rest of us retire. So what do I do about changing the baby’s diaper when she’s in there sleeping and I don’t want to disturb her? Sometimes I’ve been taking the diaper bin out of the nursery before nap/bed time and pulling it out into the kitchen or wherever we are and having a small stash of cloth diapers out and about with me. But this seems rather silly. As much as I love the fragrance and think it makes a great accessory, I don’t actually want to be dragging the bin around the apartment all the time.
However, as I’ve mentioned, I don’t have a ton of options as far as using floor space in our (again, quirky) apartment. So I don’t really want to move the whole station somewhere else (there’s really only one place where I’d put it, and it’s currently an attractive sort of Little Oratory spot in our bedroom which I’d rather not displace with diapers…. but if it comes to that, it must I suppose. It’s not our main LO.).
Another thing that I’ve been doing is just having my wet bag handy during those sleepy hours and then emptying the wet bag into the diaper bin when the naptime is over. Maybe I should just have a mini changing station – like a basket with a few diapers, wipes, and spray, and the wet bag – near, say, my bed for those times that I need to change the baby when the nursery’s not available?
What do you think?
– Leaking. The first few run-throughs with cloth were basically seamless. Then we hit a rocky patch (that we seem to still be in, to some extent) with leaking wetness. Seeing as how the diapers worked perfectly for the first week, I don’t think it’s a design flaw. Are we talking a detergent buildup here? I have followed washing instructions and haven’t used any fabric softener. So maybe I just used too much detergent a couple times ago and it’s taking a while to rinse it all out? I use Tide Free & Gentle, which was listed as an approved detergent in a video that I watched right on the Smartipants website itself. Hm.
Any tips for me? Preferably ones that don’t include switching to a more expensive detergent?
And on to this week’s links!
Literature-related:
A quick, fun read: If Jane Austen Got Feedback from Some Guy in a Writing Workshop. Mainly, this made me chuckle. But secondarily, it made me think how important a canon of great works is. I would like to think that, had I never heard of Pride and Prejudice, and simply happened to pick it up in manuscript form, I would notice that it was brilliant and a lasting work of genius. But would I? I don’t know. Hopefully we can discern great work when we come across it, but it’s a good thing that there’s a collective memory on this topic to help us out, in case when can’t.
Since I have a policy of sharing almost anything Kristen Lavransdatter-related: Kristen Lavransdatter’s Crisis Pregnancy and Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy
Random practical items:
Some photography chatting and tips from a favorite haunt of Auntie Leila’s: photos tips from Under the Sycamore. From my mom: “practice them and then link up with {phfr}! – or just link up. :)”
A thoroughly researched piece on how important it is not to reward a mass killer with any attention: What Mass Killers Want – And How to Stop Them from the WSJ (the author is a friend).
If you are needing a boost, may I suggest unclogging your tub drain? Not to brag or anything, but I totally unclogged my bathtub drain all by myself this week and it was amazing. I went around mentally flexing my imaginary muscles for the afternoon. For the next time your tub gets clogged (for example, like maybe approximately 8 weeks after you have a baby, when your hair starts falling out): a video on unclogging the tub drain in five minutes. I’ve decided that, while I have no patience for instruction manuals, I have at least a little bit of patience for instruction videos.
Other lovely/interesting:
I found a lot of insight in this piece on The New Religion of Food from Word on Fire. The author makes a strong case that current food trends are taking the place of religion on many people’s lives, sometimes in an ironic way. I found the conclusion of his piece strange, however. It seems that maybe he’s ignoring or forgetting the age-old practice of fasting, as well as other bodily manifestations of our Faith (genuflections and other rubrics at Mass, for example). What do you think?
Very sweet images and a moving story behind them. If Jesus had been Korean: 20 Rare Paintings of the Life of Christ
A suggestion for a wedding dance song. Auntie Leila recommends the whole site as something worth checking out – thoughts on marriage from a kindred spirit.
Top Six Liturgical Quotes by Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship.
From the Archives:
Housewifely. One of my Archives favorites, and not just because I’m a line-drying enthusiast.
Also, from just about exactly one year ago: other pictures of my laundry. Because not only do I just love drying clothes on the line – I also love to talk about drying clothes on the line.
Picky Eaters, and the best Beer Batter Recipe
Auntie Leila gets into the very nitty-gritty on the topic of sponges and washcloths, etc. Because laundry.
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