Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 1: Why Take the Challenge?

 

You may or may not have seen me announce on my Facebook page, but this week is the Third Annual Flats & Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  I participated in the challenge last and actually found it to be fun.  I did not expect that at all.  Everyone I told about it thought I was crazy.  In fact, last year I didn't tell my husband or my mom (who watched my daughter at the time) about the challenge until the day I started it!

I'll be honest, I don't use my flats that often.  But I do enjoy using them from time to time, when I'm

First flat today!

in the mood.  So why did I decide to do the challenge again?  Because I wanted to.  And yes, my husband still thinks I'm crazy for doing it.

Lately it seems there have been a lot of newspaper articles floating around online and on Facebook about how people can't afford to buy diapers.  It's true that in many communities, there are no diaper banks.  There is no government support to purchase diapers for your little one if you are out of a job or just tight on money.  The thing is, a lot of people don't even realize cloth diapers are an option.  An affordable option.

The purpose of the challenge is to show people that cloth diapering can be easy and inexpensive.  You don't need fancy diapers or a washer and dryer.  Is it more convenient that way?  Sure.  Is my stash mostly "fancy" diapers?  Yes.  I admit that I started cloth diapering to save money.  By five months, we had spent over $300 on disposable diapers.  Yup, that's a lot of money.  I haven't totaled up what I've spent recently on my stash of pockets and fitteds lately, but I know I'm saving money.  I can reuse these diapers on our next baby and sell them when I'm done.  You sure can't do that with disposables.  If I had to, though, I would most definitely choose flats and handwashing over disposables.  And that would definitely be a huge savings.  It wouldn't cost anything near that $300 I spent.

So here I am, once again using flats and handwashing them to show the world that it's doable.  And it's inexpensive.  Is anyone else taking the Flats & Handwashing Challenge?  Why are you doing it?