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I have six kids. All six wore cloth diapers from the time they were a few weeks old. Trust me, if it were hard, I wouldn't have done it.
I tried many different ways to store the soiled diapers — in a dry pail, soaking in water (smelly and gross, not to mention heavy), in a bag. Ultimately, I ended up using a dry pail, with no odor neutralizer. Occasionally, if the pail was a bit ripe, I'd toss in a bit of Bac-Out, which is an odor neutralizer. When the diaper pail starts to smell, though, it's time to wash them. Wash in hot water with detergent, and rinse twice. Occasionally, I've repeated this cycle if the diapers were especially bad, but it usually isn't necessary. Use NO fabric softener, as that will reduce the absorbency. Line drying is best, as the sun will kill any renegade germs. Even in the dead of winter, you can still line dry. Just pop them in the dryer for a few minutes to soften back up.

My favorite diapers to use are called Mudpie Babies. They have snaps which make them adjustable and so you can use them for many sizes. In fact, my youngest daughter wore the larges from 6 months until she was potty trained at 2. Motherease also make a very good diaper which has the same qualities as the Mudpie. Both are diapers that require waterproof covers over them and both sites sell amazingly cute covers that scream out for attention. If the new diapers are too pricy, check out ebay — there are often great deals there.

As far as wipes, I kept a peri bottle on the counter and filled it with water. Into the water, I put a tablespoon of apricot oil, a few squirts of baby soap, and ten drops each of tea tree oil and lavender essential oil. The tea tree oil is an anti fungal and the lavender smells great. I kept a stack of washcloths on the counter and it was super easy to just squirt the mixture onto a cloth and wipe away, and then toss the wipes in with the dirty diapers.

I carried a lined zipper wet bag with me whenever I went out in order to carry the wet and dirties home with me, which really wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it might be.

I felt good about doing it, I wasn't throwing away a lot of trash and my kids all trained sooner than I thought they would. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.


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