Variety, the spice of life

Hello,

My name is bwings and I started with the basics.

When it comes to cloth diapers I am a first time user and didn't want to throw a bunch of money into something I wasn't sure I'd be able to do. Although pretty certain, it's still an investment. So I started with the basic of all cloth diapers, the prefold cloth diaper. What is a prefold and what are the other types? I thought you'd never ask...I suppose you didn't ask. Nevertheless I will tell you.

I had a rather flustered mother hippie respond to my previous post on cloth diapers.

Dear Hippie Mom,

I am coming at you with flaming torches held high lol. I agree that cloth diapers are better but more of a pain in my trying to be green A**. With daughter one I did disposable until training began. Pull-ups were easier for quick trips and my cloth diapers have the pins. With daughter 2 i am using disposable for now but will go back to cloth once i am settled into the new house and unpack. Disposable really hurts the wallet but you get extra hours due to absorbency. I agree this is one of those things that there is no right answer when you weigh the pros and cons of environment vs mommy hours!!!

Yours Truly,

Happy Hippie :)

P.s A shout out to the Beast, from the Monster!

Well, Happy Hippie, glad to see you are still with us. How did your microwave hunt go? I hope my microwave findings were helpful, since then I have been considering trying out stovetop popping with a pan for the first time. Stay tuned, I hear it's quite difficult so should likely result in another attempt at cleaning a burnt pan with baking soda, but I digress.

I agree, in some cases they can certainly be more of a pain. I think, however, this depends on what type of diaper you are using. For instance, I am currently utilizing the basic prefold (sounds like you are using the same) and while it's delightful for her when she goes in the potty, it's a pain for both of us when she has an accident. It's absorbency level is lower than a dollar store disposable and it doesn't come fitted or with attaching pieces to hold it up. This was my own doing though, I could have purchased the higher end models but they were an investment and I am cheap and poor.

I imagine having two children you likely know of some, if not most, of the other varieties but just in case I'll go into more detail.

For types there are:

The flats

The Flats, Prefolds, Fitted, All-inOnes (AIO'S), Pocket Diapers, Pocket Diapers, Doublers & Liners.

• Flats - one-layered diaper, generally 100% cotton gauze, can be used as a doubler or stuffer for pocket diapers. Absorbent, economical, easy to clean, fast to dry. Flat & Prefold are least expensive choice $15-$20 per dozen but you get what you pay for as it's a 3 piece diapering system (Diaper, Cover, Fastener) they are more challenging to fold and pin.



Prefolds

• Prefolds - Similar to flats but with multiple layers with focus in layering the middle. Referred to as 2x6x2's, 4x6x4's, 4x8x4's etc. The numbers is of course the layers side,middle,side. Come in variety of sizes, come in bleached (BCPF) or unbleached (UBCPF). Need to be pinned, don't come with cover. Hemp prefolds are more absorbent but also more expensive. Store easily, dry quickly, less pieces for wear and tear. Again Flat & Prefold are least expensive choice $15-$20 per dozen. But you get what you pay for as it's a 3 piece diapering system (Diaper, Cover, Pin/Snap) Can be used as a doubler or stuffer for pocket diapers.

Fitted

Pocket

• Fitted - Have elastic at legs and back, resemble disposable diaper, requires a cover. Often come with fasteners, easy to use, babysitters have little problem, range in price from $10-$20 each.
  
• Pocket - Has layer of fleece/PUL (Polyurethane laminate) with opening in back to stuff with a doubler/stuffer/prefold or some use handtowels. This way you can decide the absorbency level. Less bulky depending on stuffing. Can come with cover, outer layer is often waterproof.
  



AIO (All In One)


• AIO's - Absorbent diaper with cover all in one just like disposable, easy to use. SUPER EASY for babysitters! Harder to clean, takes longer to dry and they are the expensive option. Most start at $18 a piece but again, you get what you pay for.
  
• AI2 - Has everything of an AIO and the absorbent material can be removed making cleaning and drying faster. Easy to use and stuffer can be replaced. More expensive. 
• Doublers & Liners - Used to improve absorbency to diapers. Best in cases of naptime or overnight. 

I purchased the Pre-fold variety with intentions of taking them for a test run and then seeing if I couldn't modify them. I can easily see myself sewing them, adding elastics if need be and just generally making them more easy to use. For now, my clever self, I simply take those cute diapers covers that you are supposed to use under a dress and stuff it with the prefold. Lazy or creative you be the judge. It works for this hippie mom. Of course if she has an accident it means the whole shebang needs to be washed. But that's the joy of potty training isn't it?

If none of the above works for you and you still hate disposable diapers too you could always go diaper free. There are hoards of parents out there who have potty trained their child by the age of two or three months. If you ask me this is more a case of the infant training the parents as the child is certainly not capable of carrying themselves to the potty. However, I'm sure if it works for them it's certainly better for the environment. No diapers has to be a positive result of early training.

Hope your diapering becomes easier for you, Happy Hippie, and if not, may your first daughter soon be completely potty trained and then you'll only have on set of diapers to contend with. :)

Have a good weekend!

Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

P.S. The beast says a chipper "hi" to the monster. Followed by a "mommy, dat ball!" and footsteps off down the hall.

Send an e-mail to Hippie Mom

To the left is the fridge...

Hello, 

My name is "bwings" and I'll be your tour guide for this evening.

To touch more on the previous post I thought I'd give you a tour of my kitchen.
With vegetarian food it's all about spice and/or flavor. Literally taking something simple (vegetables) and spicing it up. I try to keep most of these items in stock or plan to in the new year.

For Dry/Canned goods {I avoid cans because of possible BPA lining}:

• Pasta
• Beans, chickpeas,lentils
• Rice or whole grains
• TVP (textured vegetable protein)

Baking  supplies:

• Baking Powder, Baking Soda {of course Baking Soda is great to have around no matter what!}
• Cocoa Powder/Chocolate Chips
• Egg Replacer (I currently eat eggs but am considering switching to no eggs or milk)
• Flour
• Liquid Sweetner
• Sugar
• Vanilla

ESSENTIALS (most common in vegetarian specific recipes)

• Soy Sauce (I don't use too much because fiancée hates it)
• Tahini (think Humus!)
• Stir Fry Sauces {Peanut ... oh the name escapes me right now...I'll get back to you. It's delicious! Spicy and delicious! Goes great with pasta's. Sweet Chili Sauce as well.}
• Olive Oil, Sesame Oil (Again, I use Canola Oil as I find it to have more nutrients.)
• Balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar (I have white and balsamic. Again another good thing for cleaning ;) )
• Peanut Butter/nut butter (I have but honestly don't use pb much. Mostly my meat-eating partner in crime)
• Yeast (I keep active yeast available when I can)

My Spice rack favorites are Paprika and Garlic Powder. Often onion flakes as well:

• Basil
• Cayenne (Remember, only a little can make it hot hot hot!)
• Chili Powder
• Cinnamon
• Cumin (I personally do not like it, it's in a lot of vegetarian dishes though. I find it has a taste that you either love or can do without. Often in Samosas) 
• Curry (again, not often used in this house.)
• Garlic Powder (in everything! I will put it in instead of chives because it's quicker)
• Ginger Powder (I have run out)
• Onion Powder (or onion flakes)
• Oregano (running low)
• Parsley
• Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt (I really don't use that much

Aside from that I personally buy my fruits and vegetables frozen, mostly because it can be hard to keep and expensive to buy fresh. That's not to say we never have fresh never frozen fruit/vegetables. Just you'll always find a bag of frozen vegetables in our freezer. Rarely will you find canned fruits or vegetables (again bpa lined cans)

I also try to keep a little container of lemon juice and some people always have tofu handy but I rarely have tofu.

This is the kitchen of a vegetarian. The chicken in the freezer is my meat-eating roommates *cough* finacée's ;p

Now that I've made you all hungry I'll leave you to make some din-din.

Have a great weekend,

Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom!

Baking Soda Vs Pot

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I burnt my pot!

I believe we have all done this before, you put rice,pasta,vegetables etc. in a pot of water, you walk away, become distracted and before you know it... you have burnt impressions of your food on your pan. You can scrub and scrub and it still won't come off and can be so incredibly frustrating. If you're anything like me you give up and resort to using this pan for things like boiling eggs until you can replace it.

Given the results from the stove I thought I'd give baking soda a try. You've already seen the before picture, so let's move on.

I ran some water through the pot to moisten it and then added a good helping of baking soda to the damaged goods.

After about 5 minutes of rubbing I had removed a lot of it. But the centre remained stubborn.

 I repeated this behavior twice more before deciding to add vinegar to the mix.

Of course it bubbled and foamed angrily and then I scrubbed just a little more off and then snarled. Baking soda was getting it's butt kicked. I had heard about boiling vinegar and can I just say that vinegar boils fast! After it boiled I added some baking soda and then scrubbed again. Less came off this time than the time before.

Before

After

So it did make a difference but I believe this will be an over time process. I also read about leaving it soaking for several hours in vinegar. I had done this once before with an egg as an experiment as a child. The vinegar ate away the shell of the egg and left me thinking it was the coolest and messiest experiment ever at 8. 

Moral of the story, don't leave minute rice unattended. For tonight Baking Soda vs Burnt Pan is in hiatus while the pot soaks in vinegar for the night.

Until then adieu from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

A look at my grocery list

Hi,

My name is "Bwings" and I need to stock my shelves!

Well pay day is here and I'm headed to the local grocer. Each pay day I plan to get at least one thing off my list of cleaning supplies. Some are pricier than others. For instance I wish to replace my standard mop with a microfiber mop. One that will actually pick up the dirt rather than pushing it around. However, something like that will run me at least $15 where as some of the new cleaning products will only cost me $3-$5 so I'm going to start with the less expensive expenses.

A lot of things on my list are already in my kitchen though. So it won't be long before I'm buying a new mop. Let me introduce you to my grocery list.

• Baking Soda - (Sodium Bicarbonate) Cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours {Cleans your stove and tub like a wonder material!}
• Borax - (sodium borate) cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens waters, cleans wallpaper, painted wall and floors.
• Cornstarch - Cleans windows, polishes furniture, shampoos carpets & Rugs
• Lemon - One of the strongest food-acids, effective against most household bacteria.
• Soap - unscented soap in liquid form, powders and bars are biodegradable and will clean just about anything. But no soap with petroleum distillates.
• White Vinegar - Cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up

But when looking at that list I have to say that in my opinion baking soda and vinegar will replace most cleaners. 

I'm off to go shopping, have a good weekend, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom. 

All you need is love, bah bah bada bah

Hi,

My name is Bwings and I've taken a lover!

Don't worry, there won't be any "I'm getting a divorce" posts any time soon. My lover goes by the name of "Baking Soda". Given the results I obtained washing the stove with baking soda I now have high hopes when talking about baking soda's cleaning power. I have no doubt it'll easily wash off my tub. In my previous domasile we had a fan and a ventalation system in the ceiling of our apartment. Now we have a hole. Just a venting hole, no powerd fan to suck up unwanted moisture. A hello, how are you, hole! As a result we have had, for the first time in our life together, Serratia Marcescens. This is a pink colored film that you may find in your tub/toilet/sink. Annoying as we'd never previously had to deal with it.

But cleaning a tub always meant a headache. You have to spray the tub & tile cleaner, let it sit, drip and then wipe. The lack of fan then becomes a double edged sword. You have to clean the tub more often because of the lack of fan and while cleaning there is no fan to suck out the fumes from cleaning. Joy! The prospect of being able to apply baking soda to my wash cloth and wipe down my tub is thrilling and I actually look forward to my daughters nap today so I can tackle the evil Serratia marcescens!

There are no before and after photos with this post as our tub isn't that dirty and therefore the pictures wouldn't show a visual difference. This was more of an experience in itself. No more nasty fumes, no more headaches, no more intense scrubbing. Also, I used to designate rags for chemical use because I was scared to wash those rags with our clothes, now my wash cloths are only being dosed in Baking Soda. Less loads of laundry separation.  So verdict is that it worked, reduced my chemical intake and I no longer have to worry about subjecting my daughter to a chemical bath when she soaks in the tub.

That's all for today from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

That messy business about cleaning

Hi,

My name is "Bwings" and I love me a clean stove.

But how to clean it without using massive amounts of naughty chemicals? A lot of soaking for the burners perhaps, but what about that little rim where food drips under and sticks, heats up, sticks, heats up rinse repeat. Sure, you could capture every spill before it dries, that's a start. But we're only humans and in day to day life there will be spills.

Standard cleaners are filled with chemicals and in the cases of sprays you're looking at propane and other such propellants. Alternatives to cleaners in most cases consist mostly of variations on Vinegar. In this case though the recommendation is either a green variety of cleaner such as something from Seventh Generation , Melaleuca or Eco-Green. But if you want to do it yourself most advise applying baking soda directly with a damp sponge.

I don't believe in sponges, although I do know they exist, they are germ ridden creatures I chose not to have in my home and certainly not my kitchen. However I do have some clothes and bygones aside I believe it'll be a similar if not the same result. I'm certain my stove won't be offended.

I am a little reluctant to believe baking soda as a lone product will get away that baked on junk. But I am willing to try mostly anything once. So let me present you with my before and after pictures and you be the judge. Be warned though, some of this caked on food has been here from previous tenants. It's anyone's guess as to how long. So it's not pretty. I wiped the entire stove down with soap and water and this is what was left. I could scrub for hours but this particular part never comes off.

After Soap & Water but before baking soda

I only took one before shot as I was pretty skeptical about this method. Now I wish I had taken multiple. Check out the results!!!

I will never go back again. I didn't have to apply any elbow grease like I have to with soap and water. I didn't have to let it soak in smelly fluids that give me headaches. I just put some baking soda on the cloth and rubbed. This was after one application. Never again will I go back.

Can you argue with these results? If you can, try it for yourself! I promise you will be as surprised as I was! Even after seeing this, I'm still surprised. I'll be bouncing around Asmerus when he comes home squealing about my new discovery.

I'm going to go clean out the interior of oven now while the beast slumbers.

That's all from me today, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.