Day 1 of the 5th Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge - Why am I doing this?

The first time I ever folded a flat was at the young age of 10 years.  I had become an aunt, and a very willing one at that, who would do anything for my dearest nephew!  Maybe I already realised at that tender age that folding a flat perfectly can be very therapeutic, who knows?  But that was my (humble) introduction to cloth and somehow it just evolved from there that I would one day choose to use cloth with my own children.

When one of the ladies on our Facebook Page South African Cloth Nappy Users first spoke about the #flatschallenge I thought to myself "This could get interesting". I immediately read up about it and decided that I wanted to do it.  WHY?

1. Handwashing is the ultimate stain killer
Because I in any case handwash SOME of my diapers everyday (I'm a bit pedantic about stains and believe handwashing is the best stain killer!) so it would be interesting if I could keep it up for a week.

2. Sorting out contact dermatitis
My stash mostly consists of prefolds, terry squares and flannel flats, with a few nighttime solution cloth diapers, pretty pockets and AIO's thrown in for good measure.  My daugther recently started showing signs of sensitivity to several different types of cloth diapers (AND disposables), especially the elastic in the leg gussets, exposed fold-over elastic, exposed PUL, microsuede and bamboo fibers, which has now grown into a full-blown allergy with resultant contact dermatitis upon exposure.  It's at the point that we have to apply cortisone cream to get rid of the blisters on her skin where these fabrics / components gets into contact with her.  Thus this challenge could not have come at a better time.  No better way to clear up any rash than good old cotton flats!  I also had to make fleece soakers to overcome the problem of sensitivity to elastic (exposed or inside of casings) and PUL (polyurethane laminate - waterproof layer in modern cloth nappies / covers)

3. Overcoming the challenge of load shedding
This #flatschallenge would also allow me to be just a bit gentler on the planet by saving some electricity (and actually help me develop some strong arm muscles!).  If you're not living in South Africa, you possibly won't know about our load shedding problem.  We periodically have our electricity supply cut to lift the load off of the supplying power plants and generate / store more electricity for later.  This can wreak havoc if you have a BUNCH of diapers to wash! But if you're handwashing then this is no longer a problem.

4. Getting into practise for our holiday without a washing machine
We'll be going on our annual family holiday in 3 weeks' time and I won't have access to a washing machine at the holiday resort.  So this truly is a trial-run for then and to see how I cope.  Well, I actually have no other choice than to cope because my daughter is allergic to everything else.  Which means I can't take disposables on holiday to avoid diaper laundry.  But I don't mind because who doesn't like a cute big cloth bum baby?!

On Sunday night I moved out all the prefolds, replacing them with every.single.receiving blanket I own, as well as all the flats available in my house.  Included as waterproof covers are my fleece soakers and PUL covers (to go OVER the soakers as to prevent any further rash)

Snappi's, Terry Squares and Flannel Flats

Quickly drying the last of the diaper laundry to prepare for Day 1 of the #flatschallenge

Day 1 of this challenge saw me learning how to use the camper washer to save my precious hands, figuring out alternatives on effectively wringing out excess water from the flats and learning a new fold - the Jo-fold.  My husband even joined in on the fun by folding and fastening a flat onto our little girl - so proud of him!  I have also become acutely aware of just how much I use my washing machine for keeping up with diaper laundry, even though I tend to handwash a few diapers during the course of the day.  I have new-found respect for moms (and dads!) who have to make-do without a washing machine!  You ROCK!  Here follows a few pics of Day 1,

Starting the epic Camper Washer journey

And 100 plunges done = 1 wash cycle

Wringing out the flats by halfway hooking it onto the bath handle and twisting it.

The Jo-fold. SUCH and awesome fold and fit!

The Jo-fold even has a natural leg-gusset!

Daddy joining in on the folding fun!

Phew, I cannot believe I actually MADE it through my first day of the #flatschallenge.  What really kept me motivated was the fact that I had accountability partners - my Facebook Cloth Nappy User friends!  Which made me think, if I ever want to give up sugar, I should just start a challenge and get my Facebook friends to accept the challenge with me.  Accountability is KEY on Day 1!

Back to work...back to a nasty reality

My cousin once said to me that she decided to become a full-time mom after she realised that she couldn't be 100% engineer and 100% mom...  I now understand what she meant.

I returned to work on 26 November 2012, and what a hectic time for me.  The first day was not SO bad, since Linmari was with me.  Mind you, she was with me for the first 3 days!  And when I had to drop her off at her auntie on the Thursday, that wasn't so bad, either.  Rather, what got to me was having to get my girl ready and dressed at 06h00 in the morning when she was still FAST asleep, just so that we could be on time for work.  And the following Monday (2 December 2012) I had to go to work with my little one that was sick (teething is not so much fun!).  It broke my heart that she and I could not lie in bed all day, with her simply feeding and sleeping the miserable feeling away.

People have told me I would get used to not having my little one with me in the mornings, and that at least I have a half-day job so that I get to see Linmari more than the average working-parent.  But that's little consolation when I know that Linmari's CUTEST time is in the mornings, and that she sleeps most of her afternoon away!  I never thought I would enjoy being a stay-at-home mommy THIS much, but the 3 1/2 months with her at home has taught me valuable lessons:

• I have learned that housework is not such a dread (since I now manage my house on a daily basis, not a once-a-week-let's-quickly-sorta-clean-up-the-house-basis.  
• I have learned that every moment with my little girl is precious, and NO ONE can replace the time that I have lost with her, EVER. 
• Being a stay-at-home Mom is a FULL TIME JOB!
• You will feel guilt over not having done certain things with your child during the day, in my case I often-times worry that I haven't played enough or stimulated enough, even though I do this at every possibly opportunity!
• Being a Mom is more rewarding than being a career woman!
• Seeing your daughter smile at you first thing when she wakes up in the morning is irreplaceable.
• Experiencing your daughter's milestones with her is amazing - she really is growing up!

Our school broke up for Christmas-holidays on 12 December, and it has been LOVELY to spend all that time with my daugther!  She is beyond precious and being able to see her 24/7 is such a blessing!  We are currently fighting a bout of sniffles / hoarseness and snotty nose, but hey, we'll survive!

 See, even when she's sick she still finds the time to be silly!  She discovered yesterday how to suck her bottom lip...too cute!

Oh, and one last thing.  My cousin sent me the BumGenius AIO Version 4 Diapers (FIVE OF THEM!) from America.  WOW!!!  Now not even my husband can tell me he's struggling with cloth diapering!  They're amazing, and I'm seriously considering buying 5 more (just have to save up some money first).

Here's Linmari wearing one of them:

 They're super-soft, HIGHLY absorbent and very easy to wash! (And they're Noodle Colour, for those interested.)

I have to go and finish my Christmas baking, and then do some laundry, dishes and general housework.

One last picture:

 

My niece turned 7 in November, and she decided she wanted a Tangled-themed party.  Her Mommy did all the homework and then asked me to make her a Tangled-wig.  I found this tutorial and was SUPER-impressed by it!  It really was easy to use and helped me to make the perfect wig! For those of you that are still at a loss as to what to make for your daughter / niece / girl-cousin as a nice gift for Christmas, this wig should most definitely do the trick!  It's easy (PLEASE follow instructions carefully) and VERY beautiful!

Frugal Living

How come the more you earn the less you have? I've been asking myself that question quite often this year. Here's the scenario:

2008 I started working (after living off only Thinus' salary and money gifts from our wedding for the first 6 months of our marriage).

• I get a paycheck, and we suddenly have to start looking for a new car since we only had one working car which was OLD (1982 Datsun Skyline, Powder Blue colour! A WICKED cool car!).
  
• We found a 2007 Toyota Corolla 1.4oi (RunX shape) and bought it... but did not even consider negotiating the sky-high interest rate (things you don't know.)
• My entire salary goes towards paying for the car, the petrol to my work (which was SERIOUSLY far from home, but I couldn't change, I was assigned to work there as my community service year), and the insurance on the car.
• We buy a new Cloud Nine bed in Aug 2008 after discovering that Thinus had been saving up money for the past 3 years without him realising - that truly saved me years of more backache!
• The money that was not spent on the bed we put away for a holiday at some stage (which came in March/April 2009).
• I get my first bonus - buy something special for myself and save the rest.
  
• We pay some of the money for Thinus mom's home caregivers (She was terminal with lung cancer and Takiyasu Syndrome).
  
• We see my parents often, we make biscuits for Christmas presents and that's 2008.
• We STILL make end's meet!
  

2009 I start a new job with a hectic annual salary increase (or so I thought).

• Suddenly I only work half-days, I don't have to drive NEARLY as far as previously and Thinus gets a lift to work with one of his friends.
• Thinus gets a mountain bike from one of my sisters-in-law, which he uses to cycle to work 2 days per week. It keeps him fit and the petrol / gas costs down!
• I start studying for my Diploma in Hand Therapy, requiring quite a chunk of money from me before July 2009 to pay off the course -and fortunately I receive a pay-out from my pension for the previous year. It goes straight into my studies (okay, maybe one tank full of petrol as well for the car).
  
• We go camping TWICE (really a cheap way of having a holiday).
• We go visit Thinus' dad in Cape Town in March/April with the savings that was left over from Aug 2008.
• I get a bonus, buy a bunk-bed set for my brothers' kids for when they come for sleepovers, as well as one single-bed Cloud Nine mattress - and plan to buy the next one a few months later with savings.
• We make it through the year of 2008 with money put away from my bonus for two weddings.
• And another huge amount of my bonus goes down in November 2009 to pay towards a deposit for a new course: International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course
  
• My aunt requires home caregivers over weekends, and Thinus and I decide to pay for that.
• We visit my parents very regularly, really as often as we can.
• I make each of my brothers a calendar with all the birthdays on it for Christmas, and buy my dad a Sudoku Rubic's cube (that's just CRUEL!)

2010 - I get an increase,

• I still have some money left over for my bonus of October 2008
  
• PLUS we move to the school which was how we were gonna save up money for a deposit to buy Thinus a car...
• My aunt passes away...
  
• I go to study - which includes two trips flying to Cape Town on my account for my residential weekends (one of it includes taking Thinus along for a holiday)... OUCH
• We get invited to 5 more weddings... YIKES! Of which one is in Cape Town - amounting to an extra trip to Cape Town (but we just could not miss this wedding!). We also travel to Harrismith and for another wedding we go to Potch, then two in Jo'burg, and then the two we did budget for (one in the Vredefort Dome, and one in Nylstroom). We also get invited to our eigth wedding of the year - just outside Potch in December...
• I fall pregnant (YEAH!!!!), but after 5 weeks of happiness, our baby's heart stops at 10 1/2 weeks gestation... that amounts to 4 / 5 trips to the Obs/Gynae and an operation.
• We visit my parents nearly every second weekend.
  
• Our PC decides to die on us, and we urgently have to buy a new laptop for me in order for me to finish my studies.
  
• My studies are all paid for at the end of July 2010... and then my baby brother passed away in the beginning of August 2010 (the 8th).
  
• Funerals are expensive, incase no-one knew...
• Three days after my brother's death, my sister-in-law's brother passes away - August 11th.. We attend his funeral in Bloemfontein.
• The phonebill comes for August 2010 - it's astronomical and we just don't care because we were busy letting the whole world know of all these tragic events...
• Sept 2010 one of my varsity friends passes away from a pulmonary embolism - I can't attend her funeral in Cape Town, due to a lack of finances.
• Oct 2010 I get my bonus - it's gonna buy another mattress for the other bunk bed, and it's gonna be used to pay-off my laptop, and to give Thinus money for his Gamer's PC, and to save for next year's two weddings, and to pay for the wedding gift for December's wedding... basically to patch up lots of holes.
• November 2010 - my car gets serviced and sucks up a quarter of my bonus. Some money gets redistributed, some money gets used on books (too much, really)... I buy a portable DVD player for our car (I got an extra bonus for back-pay on a salary increase). We go back to the Ob/Gyn for lack of falling pregnant, only to discover that I have a cyst (6x3.5cm) in my uterus / womb and have to go on treatment for the next 3 months and if that doesn't work, surgery's the next step... SO I can no longer afford to buy my bunk bed mattress or save money for next year or buy a wedding gift for December (fortunately I did get them a very nice bridal shower gift ;-) ).
  

What is the lesson to be learned? I'm not living frugally, but even if I was, this year was so full of unexpected events, it showed me all the loopholes in my 'budget'. I am not making New Year's resolutions, I'm making New Life resolutions.

• I want to live frugally so that I can afford life's curve balls without feeling completely shaken.
• I want to spend less time on my cellphone, and utilise Skype / FB more often so that I can connect with my family.
• I want to pay off the outstanding amount on my laptop.
• I want to save money for future holidays without guilt.
• I want to save money for kiddies - those we want too and they come with a price tag!
• I want to visit my parents as often as I can, as well as Thinus' dad in Cape Town.
• I want to stay at home, and learn how best to save money using home recipes for removing soap scum in bath tubs, washing hair with vinegar and baking soda, processing food I buy in bulk from the farmer's market alongside my best friend Vici, just live a little.

So I am roping in the help of a few websites to

• learn how to budget,
• learn how to spend money on what's necessary and save money on what's not,
• how to use cloth diapers,
• how to make nice food from here that does not cost an arm and a leg.

I'm pretty excited to be sharing all of this information with my husband tonight - YIPPEE for frugal living!