Peek-a-boo!

Thaya loves sitting on her Dada's shoulders and peeking around at him. She goes from side to side, over and over, until poor Dada can't take anymore!

Our trip was fantastic. It was what we all needed, some great family bonding time. Thaya loved being with her Nana and Grandpa (or is it Pop Pop?), and by the end of the trip she was ready to say goodbye to use and go home in their suitcase.

We are seriously considering to switching to cloth diapers - we are trying to cut back on finances as much as possible, and this seems like another great way. Anyone out there willing to chat about cloth diapering? Just leave me a comment and we'll chat it up!

We're also thinking about cloth wipes or making our own (which is really easy apparently). Say goodbye to the extra fridge, hello to nightly unpluggings, some serious insulating, no more sponges, lots of new dishclothes, and a major paper towel cutback. I figure if I'm doing wash every day anyway, we may as well take advantage of it. I'm even planting my own seedlings this year to avoid buying as much as I can.

Can you tell I'm determined to maintain my SAHM status? Any other cost efficient cut backs you can think of?

Hey, by the way, Happy Spring... I think it is official now!

Comments

[Tamar]

Eek, I am really late to the party! But this is something I think a lot about too so I had to write anyway. I definitely second the recommendation for the BumGenius 3.0s. I read mixed reviews of these when I was doing my research so initially we went with a cheaper option (fitteds and covers). But by the time I had figured out which covers worked with the diapers and how to put them on right, he'd outgrown them anyway. So for round 2 I ordered two different pocket diapers, and the BG3.0 was by far my favorite. They're easy to use, work really well, and are easy to wash. The catch is that they're not cheap, but they are adjustable, so you can use them from newborn to 35 lbs. The new ones (3.0) come with two different inserts so you might not even need to buy doublers for nighttime, you can just use the newborn insert as a doubler.

I also just came across probably the best guide to cloth diapers I've seen online: http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2008/03/zrecs-cloth-diaper-showdown.html

Email me with questions!! Oh, and have you looked into any CSA farms near you? We just joined and are hoping to get most of our veggies and fruits for June-Sep for relatively little (less than the supermarket - and organic too).

[marycatharine]

I know I'm late with this comment but powdered milk is way cheaper than the regular variety. I know it freaks people out but my dad has been buying it for years and as the father of five he's big on saving money. One thing you can do to make it taste more like normal milk is to cut it with a little bit of whatever you buy right now. The other big advantages are that it's skim (better for you) and the organic brand is just as cheap as the regular if that's important to you. I will now end my odd to powdered milk, very weird I know.

[Suzanne]

I use a DIVA cup and save a ton of money on pads and tampons each month.

[LaurieG]

If you haven't yet, get The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn (you can get it from the library). Chock full of ways to save $$. Cloth diapers -- definately do-able. I did it when I was determined to make the finances work so I could stay home with my baby 14 years ago, and I dried all of my diapers (as well as my other laundry) on a clothesline. Use some of your feltable wool to knit soakers. Don't use bleach, use borax in your soak water in your diaper pail.

[Aimee]

We use Bum Genius 3.0s and I love them. They are so easy. Wash great and I haven't bought disposables in three months! Since Max will go to the nanny's and she doesn't do cloth, we will go to part time cloth at home. We also use reusable cloth wipes. I bought these baby washcloths at Target, Circo, I think is the brand. I just throw them in with the diapers. It makes perfect sense. No more disposable wipes. I have a squirt bottle with water to help clean up messes.

We don't use sponges anymore or paper towels. I just use cotton dish rags and have knit a whole bunch of dish rags and use those. I haven't looked back since we stopped using sponges or paper towels.

I will miss my stay at home mom status... I will be in the café next week. It will be a weird adjustment... tell us more about your stay at home adventures...

[Megan]

I think my biggest savings is just not going out to the store. I dont know what it is, but I just cannot get out of Target for less than 80-100 dollars. So now, I just don't go unless I have a list and I only purchase things on this list.

We've also cut back on some of our other things...netflix, eating out, etc. All things I'm sure you've done as well. And we wen't through a lot of our things we didnt use and sold them--old books were put up on amazon, etc.. its not a permanent source of income but it helps and declutters at the same time.

If you are really into grocery shopping--you could try out the grocery game (I think its thegrocerygame.com or just grocerygame.com). The idea is that you buy things only when they are on sale and you have a coupon--you buy more than you need then so you don't have to buy them full price. We try not to eat a ton of processed food but we save tons on staples like canned goods, dried pastas, frozen veggies, cleaning products, etc.

[Wendy]

I love this photo!

And I think it is fabulous that you are so dedicated to be a SAHM.

[Cass]

What a precious pic!! As a SAHM/Homeschooling mom for the past 17 years, I can tell you that it gets easier. the little money saving things become second nature. Here's a few: I clean with vinegar and lemon juice, use newspaper instead of paper towels when cleaning glass (It works!), I use half the amount of dishwashing and clothes washing detergents- it still cleans perfectly, I never buy paper products, we re-use everything until it's falling to threads. I buy everything in bulk when I can. We keep our hot water tank turned down to the least hot we need, and the fridge and freezer are on just the right settings too. Heck, I even wash ziplocs to reuse. :) Being a SAHM is worth every sacrifice you'll make, IMO. :)