One of the ‘nesting’ projects I’ve been working on these past few weeks is organizing the boys’ closet. When we switched rooms a few months back, we had a much bigger closet  to work with than what was in the old nursery. I wanted to maximize the space for storage but not just cram it full of stuff since we had space.

Before:

The day we switched rooms. A blank slate to work with!!

After:

A clutter free, organized closet for our boys! I love that there is plenty of free space, it makes me feel like we have plenty of room and that we don’t have too much stuff!

The bottom shelves contain linens. The top shelf currently holds the boppy, Weston’s bag which is packed and ready to go to the hospital, the basket contains outerwear and Paxton’s shoes! I’ll probably store some toys on the floor in here, after Christmas I’m doing some toy de-cluttering and organizing {if I have the energy and Weston hasn’t arrived yet!}

Weston doesn’t have many hanging clothes at this time since his wardrobe is primarily made up of bodysuits, sleepers and gowns. I do have a few of his new outfits hanging up though just because I love to look at sweet baby clothes! The only clothes of Paxton’s that I hang are his khakis, button ups and sweater vets and jackets.

The top shelf contains newborn diapers, baby slings and wraps, swaddle blankets, educational games and disposables for Paxton {for Sunday mornings!}

My wonderful hubby built an additional top shelf so we’d have room to store clothes:

On the left side I have Weston’s clothes that he’ll be growing into.

I purchased 4 sweater boxes {2 for each child} and that’s how I’m storing these for now. I also have a medium size tub that contains Paxton’s clothes he wore from 8 to 16 months, once Weston grows into the clothes in these boxes, I’ll rotate the clothes in the larger tub into these.

I’m trying to keep clothing fairly minimal and for the most part, the contents of these boxes are enough to fully outfit him through each of these sizes. And I know the sizing seems odd, 3-4 months and 5-7 months but that is based on the age and season that Paxton was when he wore that size. If Weston is smaller or larger than his big brother those age ranges definitely won’t apply…we’ll see soon!

On the right hand side are clothes for Paxton to grow into. I haven’t done much buying ahead but we’ve been blessed with hand-me-downs that we’re storing for him to grow into. He’s currently wearing some 2T items but most are too large and I’m anticipating 2T to be his size in the spring. We also have been given some 3T, 4T and even 5T items which we’re storing for him too.

The boys’ closet is neatly organized and should be easy to maintain!

Since we’ve been cloth diapering Paxton for over 18 months, some of our diapers were showing a little wear. The only issue was bad leg elastic. It was gaping on Paxton and there was no way these diapers would fit Weston {and contain anything!}

Thankfully, I found an amazing and easy tutorial on repairing bumGenius leg elastic!

I followed the tutorial step by step and over the course of about 2 weeks I fixed the elastic in my 10 oldest hook and loop diapers. {Working on them at night after Paxton was tucked in bed!}

Here’s the results:

The left side is has been repaired, you can see the difference in the length of the elastic!

An inside shot. {I’m really amazed that these are 18+ month old diapers, they really look almost new…and no, I don’t use any liners!}

Here’s a close up of the inside of the elastic. Again, the left side is the new elastic and the right is the ‘shot’ elastic’.

The first diaper I repaired took the longest and from there on it was easy, just took some time! It was completely worth the time invested to get some more life out of these diapers.

They fit Paxton so much better! There’s no gaping around the legs and I’m confident they’ll fit Weston too. We’ve had no leaking issues with the PUL after the repairs {I was a bit worried about that but it hasn’t been an issue.}

If your diapers are in need of a little repair, check out the tutorial! It’s really easy!

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

When I was pregnant with Paxton, I spent hours researching cloth diapers. I knew I was going to cloth diaper but I had no clue about the details of it. I read everything I could on cloth diapering and decided to purchase a few diapers to try out on my niece. After using the 3 different types of diapers, I felt more confident about cloth diapering. I was given a few more diapers as gifts but decided to wait until after Paxton arrived to invest more into the diapers. This saved me a ton of money because the diapers I liked the best before he was born were the ones I liked the least once I was diapering him!

Now that I’ve been cloth diapering for 18 months, you’d think adding a new baby into the mix wouldn’t be a big deal and I’d be able to jump right in! However, I almost feel like I’m starting over completely since I have no idea what to expect with cloth diapering two!

About 2 months ago, I did a diaper inventory and we had 24 diapers total including pockets and pre-folds which lasted 3 days. I wash every other day and having a full day’s supply when I wash which is nice, I never have to worry about running out and that gives my inserts plenty of time to line dry!

Since Paxton is going through about 8 diapers a day, we need to have at least 16 for him for every other day and Weston will probably need from 10-12 a day so that’s about 24 diapers we’ll need bringing the total up to 40! That sounds like a ton of diapers and if I was going to be washing every other day it would still not be enough to give the diapers time to dry. The fact that I’m currently washing just 16 diapers per load every other day means if I was to wash diapers every other day for 2 babies, I’d have about 40 diapers in the wash which I believe would be way too many. With that said, I believe my wash routine is going to be every day and a half! I should only be washing around 26-30 diapers at a time which I think will not be too large of a load to get everything clean.

So, if I wash 30 diapers every day and a half, I still will have 10 diapers left which is half a day’s diapers for the boys, giving my others time to line dry and if the inserts are not dry when I need them,  I can always throw them in the dryer.

Here’s my diaper stash as of today {after the purchase of new diapers} ::

• BumGenius 3.0 (hook&loop) :: 10
• BumGenius 4.0 (snaps) :: 11
• Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter :: 2*
• BumGenius Small :: 1**
• FuzziBunz Small :: 3**
• Pre-folds :: 12
• Covers :: 4
• Total: 39 diapers

{33 that both boys can wear since they’re one-size diapers, 2 that Paxton* wears overnight and 4 small diapers for Weston**}

With 39 diapers, I’m almost to that ‘magic’ {at least I think} number of 40! So, at this time we really only need 1 more diaper and any more than that will just give us some extra wiggle room!

Of course, this is my plan on this side of having 2 babies…we’ll have to see how it’s going in a few months!

{And we’ve been so blessed already with a gift certificate which we used to purchase more BumGenius diapers which are our favorite & money for diapers and a new larger diaper pail…which we’ve yet to find but we’re on the search for the ‘perfect’ one!}

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

If you’re looking for a deal on cloth diapers this weekend or other ‘green’ gifts for your children or friends, check out Sweetbottoms Baby ! They’re offering 10% off a $30 or more purchase through Monday night when you use discount code ‘BLACKFRIDAY2011′!

Diapers on Sale*:

*GroVia: Buy 2, Get 1 FREE  (applies to AIO, Newborn AIO, Shells, & Bio Diapers)

*Rump-a-rooz Pocket Diapers: Buy 4+, Get 1 FREE; Buy 8+, Get 2 FREE; Buy 12+, Get 3 FREE; Buy 20+, Get 4 FREE

*Bottombumpers AIOs: Buy 6 solid or 4 prints, Get 1 FREE

*Econobum: Buy 1 Prefold/Cover Set, Get 1 FREE

{*If you purchase the sale diapers, the 10% off doesn’t apply.}

I took advantage of the discount code twice this weekend purchasing a few items for my boys and a few gifts!! 

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

Cloth wipes really go hand in hand with cloth diapering. It’s actually much easier to use cloth wipes with cloth diapers since all you have to do is drop everything into a diaper pail after a change instead of putting the diaper in the pail and the soiled wipe in a trash can.

We’ve been using cloth wipes since day one of our cloth diapering and love them! They can be quite frugal too. Most of my cloth wipes are baby wash cloths which are inexpensive.

However, since we’re having baby #2, in addition to needing a larger diaper stash, we also needed more cloth wipes! I’ve been looking around for wash cloths I like {without edge binding and a cotton blend} and the cheapest I’ve found is $8 for a pack of 12! I’d rather not spend that much on wipes!

Thankfully before I made a purchase, one of my cloth diapering friends showed me some cloth wipes she’d made out of old flannel receiving blankets. I immediately liked them and remembered I had some flannel in my fabric stash. She gave me one to test out and after using it on Paxton, I was sold! Time to break out the sewing machine!

These wipes were so simple to make. I cut squares out of flannel fabric and then sewed the fabric inside out {leaving a small hole to flip it}. Then I used a zig-zag stitch to top stitch and was done! Easy.

There really is no right or wrong size, just choose a size of wipe that you think will work best for you! Mine are a little bit smaller than the baby wash cloths I’m currently using as cloth wipes.

Lovely stack of 9 new cloth wipes! And yes, I have pink ones even though I have boys! But, who cares since these are going to be used to wipe their bottoms!! The flannel was free since I already had it!

After making the 9 blue and pink washcloths, I was sold on them so I decided to make more! The fabric this time was an old pair of my pajama pants! I was able to get 10 cloth wipes from the pajama pants and I love the red and white stripes.

Using cloth wipes is easy and frugal and making cloth wipes is too! If you don’t have any flannel already, look at resale and thrift stores for old receiving blankets or ask your friends, I’m sure you can easily find someone who has a ton of extra receiving blankets they’d be more than willing to give you!

Do you use cloth wipes if you cloth diaper?

This year my whole mindset about consuming has changed. We’ve been on a path towards rational minimalism. While we’ve certainly not ‘arrived’ our lifestyle has changed. I now think about the environmental, financial, and space impact of purchases and seriously question every thing we bring into our home.

I am intrigued by consumer culture and people seeking to acquire more and more stuff. Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Don’t Have in Search of Happiness We Can’t Buy,  by James A. Roberts, was a thought provoking read. I read through the book in a few short days and with each chapter I felt like I was gaining more insight into our culture as well as myself.

“Our current consumer culture is best understood as an environment in which the majority of consumers avidly desire, pursue, consume, and display goods and services that are valued for non-utilitarian reasons such as status, envy, provocation, and pleasure seeking.” 

This quote from the very beginning of the book sums up, in my opinion, our consumer culture quite well. So many people {myself included in my past} have sought after things thinking they’ll make me look better or they’ll make other people think I’m somebody or it’ll make me happy. None of these are true, we so easily buy into lies of consumerism.

Of course since we’re committed to living debt free, driving 10 year old cars and living in a small home, we’re living a non-traditional, somewhat counter cultural life. However, that’s not to say we also don’t get caught up in materialism at times. Understanding that we are susceptible to falling for the lie that consuming more will make us happier is the first place to start.

In Shiny Objects, after presenting facts about consumerism and making the reader really begin to evaluate their lifestyle, Roberts gives the reader tools to help them succeed at letting go of consumerism. He lists 25 tweaks to financial tranquility in chapter 13, including build a budget, just say no to the mall and rent or borrow, but don’t steal.

Using just these 3 suggestions out of the 25 can make a huge difference:

• Building a budget- This is the first step to financial success. If that’s not a big enough reason to create a budget, consider the fact that a budget makes you evaluate your spending and can help control your frivolous purchases, putting you on the path towards overcoming consumerism.
• Just say no to the mall- If you can’t go into a store without making a purchase, avoid it at all costs!
• Rent or borrow, but don’t steal- Renting or borrowing saves you money, not to mention it gives you more space because you’re not acquiring items you will only use a time or two!

Another negative of materialism is how it undermines relationships, “Materialists tend to opt for work over family when pushed by time constraints; we’re a national of overworked souls, and the family is a major casualty.” Most people say that their family is the most important priority of their life but when it comes down to it, they often give stuff or the desire to obtain more stuff, priority over their family.

“It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” -Henry David Thoreau

I know I don’t want to be preoccupied with possessions and spend my life working to obtain things, ignoring my loved ones and the people around me.

Reading Shiny Objects will give you insight into your behaviors whether you are pursuing the American Dream of bigger, better, faster, more or, like my family, working towards minimizing and living a simpler life that’s not preoccupied with stuff.

Disclosure: I received this book from TLC Book Tours.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Trying to have a ‘green’ Christmas isn’t easy! In previous years, I’ve been shocked by the bags of trash produced at gatherings simply due to gift wrap. {Spending money on paper to throw away just a few weeks later seems a little crazy.} This year, I’m taking steps towards using green wrapping!

My grandma gave me several beautiful Christmas fabrics a year or two ago and they’ve just sat in my craft chest. I realized it would just take a little bit of time and effort to turn the Christmas fabric into cloth Christmas bags that can be used for years to come!

Making these bags was so simple. They’re not super fancy and the edges aren’t serged {due to the fact that I don’t own one} but they’re adorable and I love that they’ll be reused over and over in our family!

Step 1: Cut out your fabric in a rectangular shape. The size doesn’t matter, just base it upon how big you want your finished bags. I made several bags of varying sizes to hold both large and small gifts.

Step 2: Hem the edges of the fabric that will become the top of the bag. This step makes them look much neater!

Step 3: Fold your rectangle over with the hemmed edges touching and sew up the sides.

Step 4: You’ve sewn a cloth Christmas bag! All that’s left now is finding the perfect gift to place in your bag!

Isn’t this cute? I used scrap ribbon {mostly ‘recycled’ from gifts I’ve received in the past} to tie up my bags!

I love these colorful cloth Christmas bags!! { The larger bag is holding a 12×12 children’t book to give you an idea of the scale}.

I made about 10 bags already and have plans to make a few more. I’m using a few as gift wrap for gifts outside our family so I won’t personally be able to reuse them. The rest will be used in our little family so we’ll be able to reuse them for years to come!!

The best part of these bags, they were completely free since I already had the fabric on hand! Look in your fabric stash and see if you have any fabric that would work, reds and greens would make wonderful traditional colored bags but don’t forget blues and whites too! And of course any color or print would work because there are no rules that say your gift wrap has to be a certain color!!

Are you taking any steps towards a ‘green’ Christmas? If so, what are you doing?