Introducing... The Diaper Pail.

A friend of mine asked about our diaper pail today, so I figured I would share.



We use a Wahmies Pail Liner (the laundry is in right now) in a plain old plastic, foot-pedaled trash can. It works pretty good. It smells when we open it, but it contains the scent pretty darn well. When picking out a trash can, choose ones with a lip on it so that there is more of an air tight seal.

We also own a Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag for emergencies, some laundry days, and travel. It's awesome, and the prints are fabulous. This might also be a good option for extra smelly diapers, though they do not offer the same amount of storage as the trash can.

In other news, we've been searching for a daycare, and I am so excited to let you know Gabriel will be able to sport his fluffy butt even when I work full-time!

Yoreganics Review and Giveaway: Ends 8/22

Yoreganics is a natural cleaning company with a spirit for the simple. This wonderful little company is run by a Kim, an interior design-go green momtrepeneur. And their products?

Soap Nuts
Soap Nuts are dried up fruit berries, as in from a tree. They suds naturally when agitated, and a pack of six little nuts can wash your laundry about four to six times before they become too thin to use. They are supposedly great for laundry of those with sensitive skin, specifically for those with eczema. Soap nuts are also anti-fungal and anti-microbial, and they are low-sudsing so they do well in HE (front loader) washing machines.

If you think it's crazy that "soap nuts" can clean your laundry, I'll push the limit-- these little dudes took on Gabriel's cloth diapers, and they looked and smelled beautiful when done. It was really satisfying to take out our little eco-effort diapers and know they were cleaned with something as natural as a nut.

There are a few things I question about soap nuts--- one: their origin. They come from India and Nepal. So I wonder, who collects these nuts? How are they treated? What are they paid? How are they shipped? Who are the distributors? Once wonderful companies like Yoreganics get these little nuts, is the carbon footprint already larger than your typical modern detergent? I know none of these answers. But I do know they are created naturally and used as is. That's impressive.

Stain Remover
An organic pocket-sized stain remover with a citrus scent. With my little stain-maker on the move, I need to throw this in my diaper bag.

Brightens & Whitens
An all-natural brightener and whitener without bleach or phosphates. It is supposed to remove pretty much any stain you can imagine.... sounds good to me!

Lip Balm
USDA certified organic, in flavor Simplemint
This is hands down my favorite lip balm, and that is saying a lot because I was a loyal lover of one particular lip balm before I tried this. It is tingly, smooth, minty, and simple. It has a really nice, subtle taste, too. You will love it.

Win your own Yoreganics Package!

Mandatory Entry:
Tell me, which Yoreganics product do you most want to try?

Extra Entries:
1. Follow the blog (see the right sidebar) and comment.

2. Follow @amomwriting and/or @yoreganics on twitter.com and comment.

3. Tweet:

Enter to win a @yoreganics laundry package on @amomwriting by 8/22 & return to simple, natural cleaning! http://amomwriting.blogspot.com

(You can tweet twice daily, and you can comment for every tweet.)

4. Head over to http://www.yoreganics.com and then comment on another product you would like to try or comment on something you learned.

A Mom Writing did not receive monetary compensation for this entry. These opinions are mine only.

Contest ends on 8/22/10 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Leave your e-mail for contact in case you win.
Winner will have 24 hours to respond before a second is chosen.

Things that Go Stink.

This is a quick post to let you all know about stink issues.

1. We are currently trying to identify and correct a slight diaper stink issue. It seems that after Gabe pees in his microfiber pocket diapers, the inserts are stuh-hinking, not horribly, but enough that sometimes I have to do a vinegar rinse to rid the smell from the diapers. We used Rockin Green Classic Rock the first two months of diapering, but then switched to Country Save when we ran out in an attempt to be even more economical. We had no smell issues while using Rockin Green. What I am trying to figure out is if the issue is not enough Country Save, too much Country Save, Country Save itself, or something else entirely. We are probably just going to order some more Rockin Green (maybe in a scent this time, wee!) to correct the issue.

2. Per my post on hair mats for oil, I was planning on donating my hair for hair booms. Well, I received my address from Matter of Trust earlier this month, just to receive another e-mail almost one day later to let me know that address was no longer valid because the warehouse was full. I feel silly, but I just don't want to get my hair cut and have the hair sitting around my house waiting to get shipped away. I also am reading in some places that the hair booms are not being used at all, but Matter of Trust ensures the public on its PR page that this hair will be used for booms at some point in the clean up for this spill or a future spill. I am frustrated, and I still need a hair cut.

In the meantime, you can watch this ironically and sadly funny video of a sardonic sketch on the oil spill:

The L word (no, not love)

Don't be afraid...

...of Laundry Day.

It's really not that bad!

Every time I inform someone we have switched to cloth, among the many rumble grumbles of, "You're crazy," comes the comment-- "Oh it's SO much laundry. And it's gross."

Well, SO much laundry is really about 3 or 4 loads per week. And 3 or 4 loads per week is not a lot of time! I stick it in around 8 p.m. so that we get the drying process going before too late, and if it's not done by bedtime, it gets fluffed up first thing in the morning.

And, for now at least, it is not gross and it hardly smells because Gabe only gets breast milk. But even when it will smell more, the amount of time to carry the bag and dump them into the washer is so nominal. I am not afraid.

Here are the dirty details:

1. Store dirty diapers in a foot-pedaled trash can with a pail liner (A PUL bag with elastic at the top-- basically a reusable 'trash' bag). Once your stash has been seriously dented, it's time for washing. (For us, this is when our bumgenius 3.0 pile is down to 1 or 2-- we have 6, and we only use them double-stuffed overnight, on the go, or during morning nap time-- and we only have 2-3 prefolds left--we have 11, and I love using them with flips or thirsties duos. For more info on our stash, go here.)
2. Grab your pail liner, and dump the contents into the washer, turn the liner inside out, and lay on top.
3. Do a cold rinse.

4. Add whatever the appropriate dose of your chosen detergent to the load. This is usually 1/4 the normal amount for a load. We use Rockin Green right now (review of RG coming soon), and we sprinkle 2 tbsp. of the powder.
5. Wash HOT. Rinse COLD. With Rockin Green, this is where the washing ends.
6. Move the inserts and dryer-friendly items, such as contours and prefolds, to the dryer. Tumble dry low.
7. Hang/Line Dry the covers and bumgenius 3.0s. (Right now I hang them in the laundry room. In the summer, they'll go outside for some sunbleaching sometimes.)