of bum geniuses, fuzzibunz, and why i switched

Hi everyone! I’ve been getting some questions in my inbox lately about cloth diapering, so I thought I would go ahead and do a whole post about it.

We love cloth diapers. People do it for lots of different reasons (the environment, allergies, economics), but for us, it really just boils down to the moola. I haven’t calculated exactly how much money cloth diapering has saved us, but it’s a substantial amount.

When Lizzy was born, we spent a few weeks of experimenting with prefolds and covers. Once we decided to commit to cloth diapering, we dished out the cash for 12 one-size Bum Genius diapers, which are super easy to use. We freaking loved them and used the same 12, washing every other day, for about 2 years, no complaints whatsoever. We more than got our money out of those.

By the time Maren came along, the elastic and velcro on our trusty BGs needed replacement, so I replaced it myself, which was a royal pain in the butt (ha!), but it gave the diapers an extra year or so of life. Then a few weeks ago, our BGs started leaking, probably just because they’ve reached the end of their lives.

To replace the diapers, I decided to go with FuzziBunz one-size diapers, for one reason only: the leg elastic is both adjustable and easily removable. When it’s time to replace the elastic, you just button in a new piece, no sewing required (I feel like ripping out and sewing in new elastic in the Bum Genius diapers may have weakened the waterproof material, hence the leakage issues we’re experiencing now). I also really like the snaps; velcro gets all tangled up with everything in the wash, and I am happy not to be dealing with that anymore. I have to say that the shape of the BGs seem to fit my kids a bit better than the FBs, but ehh, it’s a trade-off.

Dirty diapers get disassembled, sprayed with Febreeze, and go in a lidded garbage can that’s lined with a nylon laundry sack. I have an HE frontloading washer; I do a full cold wash with no detergent, a “whitest whites” cycle with 1-2 scoops of Rockin’ Green, and usually an extra rinse after that. Inserts get tumble dried; the waterproof covers air dry. Everyone washes differently, and it usually requires a bit of tinkering, but there are a zillion online forums and articles out there to help you figure it out. We do use disposable wipes, as well as disposable diapers at nighttime and on vacations. I tried cloth at night, but it’s just kind of a pain.

It sounds like a lot of work, but really, once you get it figured out and do it a few times, you go on autopilot and it all becomes a no-brainer. Easy peasy.

If you are new to cloth diapering, don’t miss Cloth Diapering 101 on The Cloth Diaper Report. It’s the best resource I’ve found that explains the ins and outs (eeww) of cloth diapering in a clear, user-friendly way. There is a LOT of info out there and you could spend weeks trying to sift through it all.

More questions? Hit me…

is it market season yet?

I know I’ve said this before, but the North Country is a darned good place to be if you want to eat local. Even in the dead of winter, a certifiable cornucopia of tasties is there for the eating: meats, cheeses, eggs, milk, maple syrup, and storage produce like onions, apples, cabbage, winter squash, and carrots. We often see empty produce stands along the highways, and I can’t wait to see them fill up with the return of summer.

The idea for this tote hit outta nowhere while I was driving the other day, and I couldn’t wait to get home and make it. Eating local is something I feel very passionately about, so I’ll be putting lots of love into a limited line of market totes for the spring and summer. Snag a tote and help spread the word about eating local!

growth

Not much going on around here.

But my herbs are growing (on their super high-tech growing platform, i.e. the high chair) –

The babies are growing (four teeth and a wicked fast Army crawl now!) —

And the Etsy inventory is growing (skirts for an evening photo shoot with L under my arm) — we’re almost there! I’ll be back late this week with an announcement about opening day!

it’s gonna save me a butt-load

I hope you’ll pardon the crass title, but I do love a good pun. Because all this…

…is about to become a whole lotta these.

goal: eat healthy

This week at the library, I checked out Mark Bittman’s new book, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating (such a cool cover design!).

Bittman is the latest in a long line of writers to address our nation’s industrialized food problem. While a lot of what he has to say is a repeat of what others have already said (see previous links), I love his approach to the more practical side of rejecting Big Food. One of his points that I particularly love is the five-ingredient rule: “Avoid anything with more than five familiar-sounding ingredients.” So smart.

Bittman also emphasizes eating veggies in abundance, all day long (Richard and I love veggies but eat hardly any, and always only at dinner), as well as grains and legumes. The key for me, though, is having those veggies, grains, and legumes already prepared and on hand — because as we all know, you eat what’s handy. And Bittman provides plenty of strategies, recipes, and sample menus for doing just that.

So yesterday, in the spirit of high enthusiasm, I sat down and devised a whole new plan for The Way We Eat Around Here. We’re going to try it out for a week or so, see if it works, and go from there. In the afternoon hours, I cooked up a pot of black beans, a batch of brown rice, roasted a couple of pans of chopped veggies, and made both tomato salsa and hummus. It sounds like a lot, but truly, with a food processor, a slow cooker, and an oven going at the same time, it didn’t take much time or effort.

Each item went into a separate tupperware container on the top shelf of the fridge, and from there, it’s three minutes (or less) to an enormously healthy meal: scrambled eggs with veggies, breakfast burritos, beans and rice with veggies and salsa, or hummus and veggie wraps. This is a plus for us, because Richard always spends ten minutes before school or work, hmming and haaing about what to take for lunch — and I do the same thing at home, only sometimes Lizzy (and I) Must. Have. Lunch. NOW. So this is good.

Our whole family has eaten two or more meals from the stash since yesterday — and have enjoyed them immensely. I don’t feel like I’m eating rabbit food; I feel like I’m eating really delicious, whole, simple, good-for-me food. And that’s always a good feeling.

On the other hand (said in best Tevye voice), it was dessert night at the sorority house tonight: brownies with peppermint patty bits mixed into the batter, vanilla ice cream, and hot fudge sauce. I used the recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: My Home to Yours, but I think you’d get the same fantastic results by mixing 12 ounces of chopped patties into just about any brownie batter (for a 9×12 pan). Yum!

good job, wal-mart!

There was a great story on Living on Earth today about how, starting in January, Wal-Mart is going to start putting major pressure on its Chinese suppliers to be more environmentally responsible. Cool! Because, as the host aptly put it, “You know, so goes Wal-mart, so goes the world.”

Incidentally, last week, Lizzy and I treated ourselves to a hot dog, churro, AND a 32-ouncer at Sam’s Club after we finished the sorority house shopping (a little junk food feeds the soul, too, every now and again, don’t you think?). As I was slurping my Sprite, I was a little surprised to find a statement on the cup defending their choice to use styrafoam (more info here). There’s also an entire section of their web site dedicated to sustainability. Right on.