BUT, since the cloth diapering is probably the one that got you, I'll spend some time on that. First off, cloth diapers are not what they used to be. You don't care you say? You still have to touch poo and pee, you say. Not so, my friends, not so, but more about that in a minute.
How did this moderate Republican end up going down this very green path? you might ask. Here's how: at least a year ago, maybe two, I watched a documentary called the Human Footprint. I believe it was on the Discovery Channel, but that really doesn't matter, it was all about how much "stuff" we use in our daily lives and how it adds up in the average lifespan of an ordinary person. The biggest shocker to me was the diapers. They piled up the number of diapers one baby uses in his diapering career and it would literally fill the whole bottom of my house. It was amazing. Taking into consideration that they do not decompose, EVER, I just couldn't get this piece of information out of my mind. (in my book 550 years is pretty much NEVER).Everytime I changed Carson's diaper, I had mildly nagging thoughts. In the middle of the day, when I changed his diaper only to find it minimally dirty, I would think "what a waste", briefly consider putting it back on him, sigh, and throw it away. I justified,thinking "Well , San Diego is on water rationing, it still takes energy to wash them, it probably all equals out." Yeah right. Not even close.
THEN we introduced solid food, and for those of you who know what I'm talking about already, things changed. For those of you who don't, by all means, let me explain! Poop is less gross now. Want more detail? Ok well, I'm happy to appease your dying curiousity. Solid food equals solid poop, simply put. The days of the blowout are over.
I recently went to a friend's party. I noticed her baby crawling around in orange diapers. What is he wearing? I asked. She told me a cloth diaper and pulled one out to show me. I was shocked at how different it was than I thought. I had diaper prejudice and she had cured my ignorance. These little diapers have snaps, they have velcro and they have inserts. They go on like normal diapers and they come in all kinds of colors. The snaps allow the diaper to grow with the child, the velcro is like the tab in disposable diapers and the inserts are removable from the back, so you just pull them out (the back part hardly ever gets dirty and if it does that is simply your own fault for waiting so long) and toss them in the wash. Ok, so the poopy ones are are a little different, you just take the diaper to the toilet, open it up an the poo just falls out. Flush as directed. Anyway, when they get out of the washer they are pretty much dry, but you can finish them off in the dryer if your heart desires. So thats it, my little contribution to Mother Earth. I hope you are proud of me. It's really no big deal, for those of you who know me - I wouldn't do it if was hard OR Gross. Here's a picture of a cloth diaper, just in case this little article has gotten you thinking about making the switch.
http://www.bumgenius.com/
http://behealthyandrelax.com/2007/11/how-long-does-it-take-to-decompose/
In all fairness, I do not use these when we travel, or when I have to leave the house for an extended period of time. I'm just not that good.
Until next time,
Kelly
No comments:
Post a Comment