Gloves, Crystals and Blue Dawn, Accessories Make it Fun!-Day 5 Recap, Flats Challenge

Accessories make it fun, well funNER anyways.

Yesterday we had to run some errands and I picked up a few inexpensive things at Walmart that would make the Flats and Hand Wash Challenge a little easier on me.  These are simple things that are widely available, so they would not be out of reach for a mama in need.

I purchased:


1 Pair of Gloves-

After the "pooptastic incident" on Day 4 I decided a pair of gloves were a must.  Now I can really get in there with my hands (bye bye stick!) and wash the diapers and I don't have to worry about any poopy surprises.

Cute gloves keep the poops at bay- $2.88 at Walmart

Purex Crystals-

Purex Crystals are a new product from Purex, we actually reviewed them on Instinctual Mamas.  They are a fabric softener but unlike traditional softeners they are not oil based and do not stick to or create build up on clothing.  This actually makes them safe to use on cloth diapers.

I have not had any issues with my flats or covers stinking but some of the other blogs I have read from this challenge have mentioned having stink issues.  The Purex Crystals would be a great way for mamas to keep the stinkies away.

I have used Crystals on my reg and diaper laundry for awhile now.  I use WAY less than they suggest on my though, its strong and a little goes a long way.  I use 1 tblsp on clothing loads and 1/2 tblsp on diaper loads.  Since hand wash loads are even smaller than normal diaper loads I only used 1 teasp.  MMMMmmmm, it was so nice to smell the Crystals as I sloshed and spun the diapers in the pail. 

Purex Crystals, cloth diaper safe- $3.97 at Walmart

Blue Dawn Dish Soap-



Blue Dawn Dish Soap is cloth diaper safe.  Its a product many moms swear by when it comes to stripping their stash when stinkies become a problem.  I decided to give it a try not because my diapers were stinky but because I had a realization on Day 3 that many mamas who are in need and would be the likeliest to use flats and hand wash may not know about or have access to cloth diaper safe detergents (since most are sold online).  The brand I get, Country Save, is sold in a local store but the store is 45 minutes 1 way and I had to search for it.  So I decided to give the Blue Dawn a try and will be finishing out the challenge using it in place of my traditional soap.

Once again, it was so nice to have something that smelled so tummy while I washed diapers.  Country Save does the job but it has no real scent.  Something about scent tricks my brain into thinking things are even cleaner.

I mentioned in the Day 4 Recap that I planned on trying Blue Dawn and Sarah from Schulz Family Adventures mentioned that she had also thought about the fact that mamas in need may not have access to/knowledge of cloth diaper safe detergents so she posted a great home made option, check it out on her Day 5 post here.

Blue Dawn Dish Soap, small bottle- $1.67 at Walmart

Between the Blue Dawn and the Purex Crystals I swear the diapers I washed yesterday are softer and cleaner than they have been all week.  Now if I could just get some sun already!  In my area this has been the worst week possible to try and do this challenge.  When it comes to hand washing (and really to cloth diapers in general) the sun is your best friend.  The sun can bleach those poop stains out better than any product available!  We have only had 2 days all week were the sun made an appearance and both days it was only a few mere hours.  I am hoping for some sun today but they are calling for ore rain all weekend so we shall see.

The Flats Challenge was originally supposed to run May 23-30.  I knew that was 8 days and assumed Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry did as well.  We got an email yesterday for all of those who are participating that said the challenge was only meant to run 7 days and she didn't realize by having it go to the 30th it was 8 days.  So officially the challenge now ends tomorrow, May 29, at midnight.  They are asking us all to put our babies to bed in flats and hand wash them in the morning on the 30th but after that we can go back to our regular diapers if we want.  I have decided I am going to finish it out though, so I will continue to use the flats throughout the day on Monday.

I have been posting my posts as recaps as well, so I am 1 day behind, therefore my final post where I will reflect back on the entire journey will not be posted until Tuesday.  If everyone else, including Dirty Diaper Laundry, ends tomorrow then that means I will have no place to linky the recap blog I post Monday or my entire impressions I will post Tuesday.  I hope all of you who have been following me thus far will remember to come back on those 2 days, or at least on Tuesday.  I have a lot swirling around in my head about this and I also have some special requests that I will be posting in my final post Tuesday.  I hope you will return to see it.

Until then.....

Love,
this Flats conquering mama,
Christy