Eve reflects on her cloth nappy days and how councils are reducing bin sizes and collection days.
If I can use washable nappies, then anyone can. I remember the first time I saw them and even heard of them. The boy was 4 months old at baby signing class and I turned my nose up for a minute while one of my new mum friends talked about them. We soon moved to the next subject. Probably lack of sleep.
I never gave them a second thought after that. Never saw them again in any magazines, websites…anywhere. Then I found out I was pregnant for the second time. A complete surprise, especially being 14 weeks along and not even knowing. Exhaustion has a way of hiding pregnancy symptoms. Funny that.
So here I am a 7-month-old who didn’t sleep day or night, a 14-week old surprise bump and the end of maternity leave beckoning. The idea of going back to work to a really intense job did not compute. Made my brain malfunction in fact.
So I didn’t go back.
Fast forward a few months and having two children under 18 months with not a lot of cash. Washable nappies came back to mind when I thought about how much cash I could save. So I started off slowly and used them around the house. Actually, the first time I used one, I fitted it so badly, the girl was soaking. Didn’t give up though. Built up quickly to using them full time and soon just loved them. In the midst of all that, Baba+Boo was born but that is another story.
I was getting by on zero sleep, maybe short bursts of 26 minutes here and there throughout the 24-hour clock. Managed to get us all dressed and out to classes and playgroups. And managed to wash a few cloth nappies here and there. They fit in with me and not the other way round. If none were washed, I used a disposable. If a clean one was downstairs and I was upstairs, I used a disposable. It’s not all or nothing. I didn’t beat myself up. I soon hated putting any disposables in the bin (too much effort constantly emptying it) and as the children grew so did my organisational skills. I got better at the washing and the drying and having clean nappies in the right place.
Moral of the story is I saved myself well over £1000. Fast forward 6 years and washable nappies are solving even more problems.
Councils are reducing bin sizes and bin collection days. Meaning more flies hanging around your house. If you are worried about having dirty nappies in the bin for three weeks, have a little think about this alternative. Washable nappies are not a pain. They store easily (stink-free) until wash day and don’t make a mess of your washer.
Just start with one if you are unsure. Like I did. And if you find it daunting, ask me to help. I did it with no sleep and no sanity.
Flies, maggots and stinky bins can be avoided with a little stash of cloth nappies. Think about your purse too, you could save up £1000. Sure you can think of better uses of that kind of cash instead of putting it in the bin.