Currently Browsing: green

Bum Genius 4.0 with Snaps

Posted by Rachel on Jul 28th, 2010 in cloth diapers, frugal, green, simple | 0 comments

We received our new Bum Genius 4.0 with snaps last week and so far we love it! It’s a lot like our 3.0s but with a few improvements! And the snaps should give this diaper a longer life (which will save us money!)



Cloth Diapers on the Line

Posted by Rachel on Apr 27th, 2010 in baby, green | 9 comments

Oh how much fun it was to wash all of my cloth diapers for the first time but even more exciting was hanging them on the clothesline!

Sweet baby diapers!

My two Flip covers and two Bum Genius diapers!

More Bum Genius diapers!

Liners!

My stash currently includes 2 Flip covers and 6 inserts, 6 Bum Genius One-Size Diapers, 1 Bum Genius Small All-in-One, 2 Fuzzi Bunz One-Size, and 1 Econobum cover & insert (I also have 4 Gerber diapers that I’ve doubled to try to use as liners with the Econobum cover…2 of the Gerber diapers is about the same thickness of the 1 Econobum insert)! All of these equal 20 “diapers” (or 20 different changes) before I would need to wash!

I’m anxious to begin cloth diapering and am determined to be successful! We’re waiting for about a month or so to start since we’re mainly using one-size cloth diapers and they will be huge on a small baby, not to mention I will be adjusting to my new role as a mama and washing diapers every other day could be challenging during the first few weeks!

Once we do start cloth diapering I’ll be sharing all about it and the diapers we like the most!


Use code AFL550 to save $5 off $50 at Diaper Junction.


Repurposed Pajama Pants

Posted by Rachel on Apr 23rd, 2010 in frugal, green | 3 comments

A few weeks ago my favorite pair of flannel pajama pants ripped in the bottom! The bottom was paper thin because I have had them for about 8 years and I knew they were going to rip sometime! Since they were my favorite and were so comfy I just couldn’t bear getting rid of them before they did rip. I almost threw the ripped pajama pants away but decided to hang on to them and see if I could repurpose them!

After making 2 burp cloths for Paxton that were really easy to make I decided to use the flannel from the pajama pants to make burp cloths and after making those I made 2 sets of nursing pads.

The two burp cloths from the old pajama pants! They are different sizes since I was cutting them out of worn flannel!

Here is a close up of the ribbons on these. I had these ribbons in my ribbon stash and thought they’d make cute accents on the burp cloths!

The nursing pads I made, 2 sets out of the pajama flannel and 2 sets from pink flannel I had.


Linked to: Frugal Friday


Silicone Baking Cups

Posted by Rachel on Jan 28th, 2010 in baking, frugal, green | 9 comments

I own a 6-cup muffin tin and 2-mini muffin tins. Having just 1 “regular” muffin tin can be a challenge for me when I decide to make cupcakes!

It takes a while to bake 24 cupcakes with 1 tin! Add to that the fact that I have been out of paper cupcake liners for about a year, it gets really tricky! (I didn’t want to spend money on something that would be thrown away!) I typically would end up baking 2 batches of “regular” and 2 batches of “mini” cupcakes with the sides of the tins very generously greased down to prevent sticking!

Enter one of my Christmas gifts, silicone baking cups, from John David’s mamaw.  I was very excited when I opened them because I had  been wanting to try them out, but I was a tiny bit skeptical of their performance abilities.

I documented my trial run with the cute flower shaped silicone baking cups:

Here they are, with a little cooking spray to prevent sticking! I think the flowers are really cute!

Filled up with muffin batter and in my lone muffin tin!

Here are the other 6 filled up and sitting in a baking dish…I just had to try and see if they would work without the muffin tin support!

The muffins baked up wonderfully and came out of the cups with no problem!

Here are the “unsupported” muffins! They baked up just the same which is very exciting because it means I don’t have to buy another muffin tin now! (I could even get rid of the one I have…that’s a thought!)

Since the cups were greased and the muffins came out without sticking, washing these was really easy! (I don’t think it would be much fun at all if the muffins stuck!)

My experience with silicone baking cups was wonderful! I think they are a wonderful kitchen investment because they eliminate the need for both muffin tins and paper liners! Less kitchen clutter and waste!

You can purchase a 12-pack of silicone baking cups for around $9.99 on amazon.com. I’m sure you could do even better finding them on clearance or even at yard sales! But they’re completely worth the “extra” investment over paper liners!!

Have you tried silicone baking cups? What is your opinion?

If you’ve never tried them do you think you’ll try silicone baking cups out?

Linked to: Frugal Fridays


Choosing Cloth Diapers: My Cloth Diapering Plan

Posted by Rachel on Jan 28th, 2010 in cloth diapers, frugal, green | 9 comments


Introduction: Choosing Cloth Diapers

Choosing Cloth Diapers: Econobum

Choosing Cloth Diapers: Bum Genius 3.0 One Size

Choosing Cloth Diapers: Flip One Size Diaper System




Econobum




Bum Genius




Flip



After testing these 3 diapers, the Econobum, Bum Geniusand Flip, I feel like I’m educated myself on some of the cloth diapering options as well as boosted my confidence in my ability to successfully cloth diaper!
I’ve come to a few conclusions:

1. I really like cloth diapers and I don’t think they’ll be difficult to use!

2. The Flip Diaper is great! I love the the cover can be reused several times by placing in clean inserts! My plan is to get another 2 Flip covers and about 7 more inserts. (That would make my total 3 covers and  12 inserts with the inserts essentially giving me 12 changes!)

3. I really like the convenience factor of the Bum Genius diaper! It is so easy to use, I don’t think it would be hard to ask our parents or babysitters to change these diapers when we are not with our baby (all they have to do is fold them up like a disposable…we would worry about cleaning up the solid waste later!) The downside of this diaper is the fact that the cover is not reusable so 1 diaper and insert equals 1 change. My plan is to purchase about 3 of these one size diapers! (That would make my total of the Bum Genius One Size 4 diapers!)

4. At this point I don’t  plan on purchasing another Econobum diaper or insert but I definitely will use the one I have. I also plan on trying out the Flip inserts in the Econobum cover!

5. I’ve heard great things about the Fuzzi Bunz OneSize Cloth diaper and I plan to test it one out and then I’ll decide if I want to purchase more.

6. I am going to try some Gerber prefolds with the Econobum and Flip cover! I already have several and I plan on giving them a try, I’ll probably double them since the ones I have are thin!

So with the 3 Flip covers and 12 inserts, the 4 Bum Genius diapers, the Econobum cover and insert, and the Fuzzi Bunz One-Size diaper I will have 18 changes for our little guy. (I’ve been told having about 18-20 is a good number.) I figure this is a good starting point!

The total cost for me to purchase all of these diapers (minus shipping…which was free when I ordered the diapers I tested):

3-Flip Diaper Systems (with 1 cover/insert) @ $16.95 =$50.85
9-Flip Inserts @$4.95 =$44.55
4-Bum Genius 3.0 All-in-One @ $17.95 = $71.80
1-Econobum @ $8.95
1-Fuzzi Bunz All-in-One @$18.95
Total: $195.10*

*Ordering diapers from cottonbabies.com.

I think $195.10 is amazing considering that all of these diapers are one-size diapers and should be able to be worn through potty training! It gets even better when you take into account that we will use them with any future children we are blessed with!

**Depending on my review and opinion of the Fuzzi Bunz One-Size diaper, my diapering plan is subject to change!

I do realize that for the first couple of weeks I’ll probably need to use disposables or purchase a couple small fitted diapers because even on the smallest setting these will be very large on a newborn. I also plan to use disposables when I leave him in the nursery at church so I will have diapering costs that are greater than $195.10 but I am confident I’ll be saving a ton of money over the next 2-3 years!

Use code AFL550 to save $5 off $50 at Diaper Junction.


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