Here's a little background to the decision that lead to the removal of diapers from my house....
Daniel and I did a little (read: BIG) switch-a-roo in our budget; we upped our tithe, I got an allowance (I still giggle when I think about having MY OWN MONEY!), we cut out some unnecessary expenditures (netflix), and we cut our grocery money (to include household expenses) down from four hundred dollars a month to three hundred dollars a month.
At first I panicked about the decrease in grocery money, but then the resourceful, courageous, rise to the challenge part of me, well, rose to the challenge.
Because of all the change, we are now able to save two hundred more dollars per month on top of what we were already saving. And each month we will turn that two hundred dollars into Euros. It's good not to have all your eggs in one basket, or so they say.
How did I go from diapers to Euros??
That's how my mind works. It's a wild ride, I tell ya.
Anyways...
Three days ago I ran out of diapers for both kids (I buy one box of the same size for both kids to share.). Amazingly, I didn't panic. Instead I pulled out the cloth diapers for Eliza and the underwear for Judah. I just couldn't go to the store. It was going to be too much hassle. And, following some deep thought while standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes, I decided that I could go fully cloth.
Was I crazy? I was up to my ears in laundry that day yet I decided to make more. Lots more.
Um, yeah. Cah-razy.
I have had tons of people tell me to just wait 'til Judah was ready to potty train; I have told myself to just wait until Judah was ready to potty train. But, my budget said: POTTY TRAIN THE CHILD!
So, I am.
It's going so doggone good!
Yes, Judah has had accidents. What potty training two year old hasn't? He says: "Mama! I have to go potty!" as the pee is running down his leg. That's how he rolls. So, I have to be preventative in my measures. This means that every two minutes I am grilling my boy child about the state of his bladder. And hauling that cute, little green toilet everywhere we go in the house.
Oh, and letting him run around buck naked. What boy doesn't love that?!
He hasn't had any "it" accidents yet. But, being the realist that I am, I know there will be. Yuck.
I bought training pants at Walmart today, and those vinyl covers too. Those are for bedtime and naptime. I just can not buy pullups. If I do, the potty training will screech to a halt. Pronto. So, it's cloth, cloth, cloth on my boy's cute booty.
Speaking of cloth... I have three cloth diapers for Eliza. Three.
One. Two. Three.
My washing machine runs constantly. The whole three thing been working fine but a little tiring for me. A constant rotation of diaper covers... white, pink, and green. White, pink, and green. Good thing I love saving money. I may have to buy one more cloth diaper just so I don't lose my mind.
Ha! Too late for that.
Can we talk about the hack job Daniel and I did to our monthly grocery budget for just one more minute... ?
I have found it to be amazing that I feel like I have more now than I did when there was that additional one hundred dollars in my grocery budget. I may be spending less money on food but it sure doesn't feel like it. I have been using everything wisely. Every bit of food I buy is accounted for. That is such a change for me. I am the type that likes to buy in bulk, I like having lots of food stashed everywhere - freezers, cupboards, my pantry, etc. The problem was that I would stash and forget; or I would stash and not use it because I wanted to save it. Now, I buy food and use it. If I need some of the chicken I shredded and froze for a later time, I use it. The cans of organic tomatoes the commissary was selling for fifty cents that I stocked up on... I'm using them. Normally I would keep them stashed. This new way of living makes a whole lot more sense. And it's less stressful for some strange reason.
Suffice to say, God is blessing us. It is amazing how when we trust Him to provide and give him the opportunity to provide... He does just that. Our cup overflows!
Now, I must get back to potty training my son. Oh, and to the cute pink diaper cover... It's your turn for a whirl in the dryer, my friend.
*Post from 1 year ago today: Respect
*Post from 2 years ago today: Alright, alright, alright
Daniel and I did a little (read: BIG) switch-a-roo in our budget; we upped our tithe, I got an allowance (I still giggle when I think about having MY OWN MONEY!), we cut out some unnecessary expenditures (netflix), and we cut our grocery money (to include household expenses) down from four hundred dollars a month to three hundred dollars a month.
At first I panicked about the decrease in grocery money, but then the resourceful, courageous, rise to the challenge part of me, well, rose to the challenge.
Because of all the change, we are now able to save two hundred more dollars per month on top of what we were already saving. And each month we will turn that two hundred dollars into Euros. It's good not to have all your eggs in one basket, or so they say.
How did I go from diapers to Euros??
That's how my mind works. It's a wild ride, I tell ya.
Anyways...
Three days ago I ran out of diapers for both kids (I buy one box of the same size for both kids to share.). Amazingly, I didn't panic. Instead I pulled out the cloth diapers for Eliza and the underwear for Judah. I just couldn't go to the store. It was going to be too much hassle. And, following some deep thought while standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes, I decided that I could go fully cloth.
Was I crazy? I was up to my ears in laundry that day yet I decided to make more. Lots more.
Um, yeah. Cah-razy.
I have had tons of people tell me to just wait 'til Judah was ready to potty train; I have told myself to just wait until Judah was ready to potty train. But, my budget said: POTTY TRAIN THE CHILD!
So, I am.
It's going so doggone good!
Yes, Judah has had accidents. What potty training two year old hasn't? He says: "Mama! I have to go potty!" as the pee is running down his leg. That's how he rolls. So, I have to be preventative in my measures. This means that every two minutes I am grilling my boy child about the state of his bladder. And hauling that cute, little green toilet everywhere we go in the house.
Oh, and letting him run around buck naked. What boy doesn't love that?!
He hasn't had any "it" accidents yet. But, being the realist that I am, I know there will be. Yuck.
I bought training pants at Walmart today, and those vinyl covers too. Those are for bedtime and naptime. I just can not buy pullups. If I do, the potty training will screech to a halt. Pronto. So, it's cloth, cloth, cloth on my boy's cute booty.
Speaking of cloth... I have three cloth diapers for Eliza. Three.
One. Two. Three.
My washing machine runs constantly. The whole three thing been working fine but a little tiring for me. A constant rotation of diaper covers... white, pink, and green. White, pink, and green. Good thing I love saving money. I may have to buy one more cloth diaper just so I don't lose my mind.
Ha! Too late for that.
Can we talk about the hack job Daniel and I did to our monthly grocery budget for just one more minute... ?
I have found it to be amazing that I feel like I have more now than I did when there was that additional one hundred dollars in my grocery budget. I may be spending less money on food but it sure doesn't feel like it. I have been using everything wisely. Every bit of food I buy is accounted for. That is such a change for me. I am the type that likes to buy in bulk, I like having lots of food stashed everywhere - freezers, cupboards, my pantry, etc. The problem was that I would stash and forget; or I would stash and not use it because I wanted to save it. Now, I buy food and use it. If I need some of the chicken I shredded and froze for a later time, I use it. The cans of organic tomatoes the commissary was selling for fifty cents that I stocked up on... I'm using them. Normally I would keep them stashed. This new way of living makes a whole lot more sense. And it's less stressful for some strange reason.
Suffice to say, God is blessing us. It is amazing how when we trust Him to provide and give him the opportunity to provide... He does just that. Our cup overflows!
Now, I must get back to potty training my son. Oh, and to the cute pink diaper cover... It's your turn for a whirl in the dryer, my friend.
*Post from 1 year ago today: Respect
*Post from 2 years ago today: Alright, alright, alright
23 Comments:
I am definitely impressed! I think I'll take on your training pants at night advice - I have vinyl covers from when I did CDing with her. Potty training seems to be going pretty well at the moment, but night-time is just NOT happening. Hopefully that'll help her. I want her completely done before my next one arrives.
And on that front, I'm thinking seriously about going cloth. I'm so encouraged to see you've gone completely cloth! I have the old-school prefolds - I thought that was all there was when I bought them for Oceana. We were all cloth from 2 months - 9 months. I can do it, I hate it in the winter, but I can do it! I'm trying to figure out how to remake my prefolds into fitted diapers. *steam coming out my ears from the grinding gears*
Anyways - congrats on your budget re-make! Such a great move! And yes, God does provide. I'm pretty impressed with God's provision over the last 2 years!
I am TOTALLY impressed that you are going fully cloth, with 3 cloth diapers! WOW! THAT'S DEDICATION! There's no way I could do 3 loads of diaper laundry a day. lol
Btw, the cookies were AWESOME! :)
Summer :)
I absolutely agree with your observations on groceries, and grocery allowance. I used to be terrible for picking up groceries to suit whichever recipe I decided to make, causing a waste of food we already had. I'm now learning to work with what I have---and truth be told, we are blessed. I have so many options at my finger tips, and there is no need to buy extra things when I have enough at home. I have worked to have a freezer full of good food, and that I do. I have vegetables, and fruit, and chiken, and beef---everything I could want. So far I've cut our grocery bill by a quarter, and I plan on cutting it back another quarter.
I use what I have, and only what I have. This hepls me to plan my meals---which is a talent I haven't mastered yet, I'd love to have a written week-by-week meal plan, but I don't know where to start.
THanks for your insight:)
Three diapers! Cah-razy is right! Great for Judah! And great on the budget changes. Maybe the fridge will be easier to clean next time I come, huh?! And congrats on your great first assignment grade in fotograffy class.
Love you-
Mom
We are getting ready to go over our budget next week at pay day....I need to cut somewhere....and somewhere means groceries and running in between. Madison does Volleyball and Cheers and does Gymnastics and this alone can cost $300 a month....sometimes a little less. And today we have to go shop for her as she is growing like a weed and so I'm hitting second hand stores before the mall.
Yep...the budget needs to be checked...esp with the holidays approaching......I'am however starting to write down things I will be cooking during the holidays and will be adding some of the dry ingredients to each grocery list so I wont be blown away this holiday season. I did this last year and it worked out well.
As for the potty training we though Miller was there on Thursday....not so much...we have days he has interest and days he does not....diapers will be a nice expense though to add back into the budget along with wipes...and desitin.
I've been using cloth diapers for eight years now and wouldn't even dream of going disposable again, no matter how much laundry I have, and believe me, I have a lot. :-)
The secret to all this is the tithing! GOD DOES PROVIDE when we honor him with our tithes. And you're feeling good about all the changes going on too. Plus an allowance! God is good!!!
I'm curious - why do you convert some of your money to Euros?
And how do you convert your money to Euros? I've always considered investing in foreign currency a little risky, but I've also not spent a lot of time looking into it. Are you doing it mainly because of the dollar's plunge?
I'm thinking I need to adapt our grocery budget. It's ridiculously high for a family of four. I could squeeze it but I've been too lazy. I'm so interested in hearing more about your cloth diapering experiences...I'm seriously considering it for our next baby but I'm still a little chicken.
Good for you for going cloth! But only three diapers? Wow. I say, yes, get a fourth, and maybe a few more. They'll still be a heck of a lot cheaper than disposables! Let us know how it goes!
So you've motivated me. No, not the spending less on groceries thing, though we're already attempting to do that a bit.
No you've motivated me to get off my lazy bum and potty train my son. We bought a teensy bag of diapers in case I back out at the last minute and tomorrow we're going to buy underwear and I've got some cloth training pants on order at our local Walmart because they don't carry the ones I wanted in the store. Lame.
Hope my luck is as good as yours!
You are one brave lady! Best wishes on the potty training. DO keep us updated...I will be heading down that road soon too. :)
As for cloth diapering, the laundry will not seem like such a burden as time goes on. It really feels like a LOT at first (especially with only three diapers, yikes!), but it really does start to feel like second nature after a while...or at least it did for me!
Good for you guys! Emily has done a stint or two on the potty, so diaper-free time is near.
The freedom!!
Way to go!! I'm also impressed! That's fantastic about the grocery budget. We use cloth diapers too, and you can get some for very low prices if you would like to get a few more. You can watch online for used ones, I've gotten some that were like brand new. I have some I am looking to get rid of if you are interested in them - and I have tons of prefolds I don't really use if you would like them. Let me know!
I'm working on getting our family to that place. Fortunately we're all done with diapers/pull-ups now, so that's no longer a concern. It's cutting back every where else and figuring out how to make it work. I've never been good at that.
(sigh) I still can't spend less than $400/month for us. But that does include diapers and dog food. And some convenience foods that I have no choice in buying because I'm not home 24/7. But one of these days I'll get that budget down!!
Okay..so I jumped over here to say..."Do you NOT one any blogger out there?" It seems like every blog I visit has yours in their daily doses! But now, after reading your post, I'm sitting here in awe of your budgeting. My husband & are strict budgeters, too, but wow to you about the diapers & pullups. I just can't let go of them yet.
Totally impressed at your diaperless decision! You are a brave woman!
Samuel has just started potty training and he turned 3 in June. I've been waiting for this moment For-eva!
What do you do about going out in public, playing outside, Sunday school, etc. if you don't have a pull-up to rely on?
Oh and I'm curious about the Euros thing too!
we, too never went pullups, just cold turkey, baby.
i'm always attracted to the stash and store idea for a minute, but i, too, just use what i have to cut down on the $$$ i spend at each bi-monthly trip! it's amazing how much less you can spend if you just decide!
Megan
You are crazy to go cloth with only 3! Glad it's going so well for you though.
Sounds like we all need to redo our budget, huh? I'm thinking we need to do the same. I feel like I am pretty careful already but there is always room for improvement.
And this time for potty training, we'll go cold turkey. The vinyl covers are a great idea. I'm going to wait until after the baby is born to try to potty train.
I am so impressed with you and your decisions!
Do tell please, why you convert to euros?
Good luck with all the laundry.
Looks like you need stock in Tide?
Another way to save mucho dinero is to shop at Salvage and Bulk food stores. I tried it this month and saved $200. The key is to check the expire dates ...
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