My name is Gianna Kordatzky and I am part of a team of moms who created Family Fun Twin Cities. If you are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, looking for something to do, stop by our website. We review activities, events, and local businesses. We have a highlights list for the weekend: both a free one and a wish list. We also have a current calendar full of family friendly ideas.
My husband and I have four children from ages 4 to 9 and we live in a bungalow. We need to get out of the house as much as possible with our awesome and active kids.
I have a confession to make. I didn’t get into cloth diapering my children for the environment. I was told by my husband that we were going to use cloth diapers “because it would be more cost effective.”
And I’ll admit I wasn’t very happy with this declaration, and it wasn’t very easy to begin. But once we got into a rhythm, it was fine. It was just another part of life. And while I loved the occasional use of disposable here and there, I was very proud to call myself a cloth diapering Mama.
With each new baby, I loved to scour the internet looking for new products and wraps, but then I would go back to my current sets and realize they were just fine. Better than fine actually. They were so well-built that after four children, I was still able to give them to our cousin for her baby. So there have been 5 children who have used the same cloth diapers and wraps.
Being a mama who cloth diapers has opened my eyes to the Green Living movement. Green Living is not only a way to save the planet, but it also saves a lot of green in your wallet. We dumped a bunch of money into our cloth diapers right away. A bunch. However, if you divide the cost by the number of children who used those same diapers and compared it to the number of disposable diapers it would have taken to cover those little ones’ bottoms, the math isn’t hard. A lot of Green was saved.
Reusing old cottage cheese containers for snacks helps reduce the amount of waste, but it also keeps you from spending money on food storage containers.
Using a personal water bottle, carrying it with you, and refilling it is generally free. Bringing your own bags to shop at Aldi saves you nickels and dimes. Bringing your own coffee mug usually saves you a little money at a coffee shop. Using vinegar and water and baking soda to clean your house is safer for your kids, the environment, and your wallet.
It’s easy to look at the price of many of the eco-friendly products and think it’s so expensive, but the sticker shock shouldn’t scare you off. Many of the environmentally-safe products are built to last and will save you money in the long run. Just like our cloth diapers.
While we didn’t start our cloth diapering journey to be green, I’m really glad we were able to save green in the process!
If you are going to get a Diaper Sprayer to rinse your cloth diapers with consider not getting the cheapest plastic one you find because it will probably break in a few weeks of use. Get a quality Stainless Steel Sprayer that will last allot longer. See http://www.bathroomsprayers.com.