Socks

Anyone know what to do with about 30 non holey non matching mens socks? We went through M's socks and have about 30 socks without pairs, but I feel bad about just throwing them away.

Ideas besides sock puppets? would there a be a sock sans pair good-will out there?

Five things I miss about America

At Noble Savage, she wrote a post that sings to this American expat's heart. It also smacks of a top 5 list a la High Fidelity

Here is her list that she did expand on, but you will need to go to her blog to read expansions:
1.My family and friends
2. Wide open spaces
3. Autumn
4. Good, affordable food
5. That wondrous, zany American outlook on life

Mine actually follows closely:

1. I miss Miss MISS my family and friends. Although I call my mom just about every weekday, and my Hillbilly Duhn several times a week, hugging phones is NOTHING like hugging the real live human being on the other end of the line. I crave the day we all are reunited.

2. Driving. I love driving long distances and driving at night. I have been driving since I was 12 mminus the year between moving from the acreage and drivers Ed and the 2 years I have been in the UK making it 17 years in total I have been driving and loving it. I am such a car buff and as much as I am trying to be eco-friendly, I just can not stop loving cars, driving and driving long straight wide roads. Motor oil runs in these veins.

3. American food. I like an indian take away now and again, fish and chips and the tradional English sunday roast, but gosh darn it I want me a valasic dill pickle without any sugar, a corn dog, a miller genuine draft, a root beer float that doesn't cost $3 a can to make, as well as flavored coffees that you don't have to go to a specialty tea shop to buy, and tex mex foods. I would love an apple and a pumpkin pie, and a bone-in wood smoked ham. (I am hungry now, lol)

4. Halloween. Halloween is my fah-vorite holiday evah! I look forwards to Halloween like a little kid looks forwards to his birthday. Where I am at Halloween is barely celebrated and is more of a time where people hide away from trouble youth "yobs and hoodies", lock their doors, turn off their lights and pretend to not be home. Well crap, no wonder the youth are pissy, the candy that they sell to give out sucks. "Here have a packet of pink and white marshmallows!" bleeeh. So as another Halloween passed by like a much anticipated birthday that no one could be bothered to remember--I yearn for a fun filled Halloween with all the kids next year back in the USA.

5. Hearing my own Accent. Something about being able to not translate things in my head from British to American and back again is so nice. A trunk is a trunk, not a boot. Chips are chips, not fries, and toe-may-toe not toe-maah-oh for tomato.

I am going to be cheeky and put a sixth because it is actually a tie between number 5 and this one.
6. Affordable clothing that fits Plus size. I needn't say more than that.

Things That I Want to Do in the Future to be Frugally Green

Whew! I have been working on this post for 2 days now, and am finished! Hurrah! Ok, this post is going to be 2 parts-1 what I want to do in the future a la move to the States and 2 where I picked up some ideas from here on the wonderful information highway that is the interwebz.

*I am going to only buy vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol to put into separate clearly labeled spray bottles for cleaning purposes. No more toxic fumy cleaners that cost a fortune. As you read on below you'll see all the uses for my new fantastic 4.
*I want a veggie garden with an added herb garden-mmm fresh organic foods lovingly grown and gratefully eaten. (diana I so salivate over the fantastic variety of tomatoes you have grown this year-I hope they were as yummy as they looked)
*I want to learn how to can and can and pickle everything in the garden. Mmm homemade spaghetti sauces, salsas, garlic dill pickles, strawberry jams, green beans, mmm the list goes on and on!
*Buying in bulk and do a every two week or monthly freezer fest. I want to plan out meals that can be frozen such as lasagnas, spaghetti pie, Swedish meat balls, cottage pie and the like so that either M or I can just read a lable, look it up on the freezer door and pop the item in the oven and cook for the time it says on the list. A packed freezer stays colder, uses less energy, costs less money. We all know that buying in bulk is cheaper and also reduces packaging. Combine that with the canned from the garden veggies--super cheap--super eco friendly.
*Composting-a bit smelly BUT my plants will love the nutrient rich compost. I am honestly not looking forwards to turning it and aerating it-blech! But being green isn't all daisies either.
*Soap making-If you read the post about the laundry soap then you already know one kind of soap I plan on making. I want to make bar soap too and add in my own essential oils for scents-no perfumes. I think a huge batch once a year sounds good, and I can also make some pretty decorative ones for Christmas and birthday gifts.
*Candle making--I loved making candles when I was in shop class in junior high and have always wanted to do that again. Again essential oils for fragrant candles, and pretty decorative ones for Christmas and birthdays. Cheap light, plus something warm in case of power outages.
*Family cloth-I want to start out slow with the switch and just use family cloth for #1 and TP for #2. Switching to cloth diapers was easy, switching to cloth baby wipes was a bit strange at first, but then when I realized that I didn't have to separate washables things from disposable things and no need for an extra garbage near me, it was easy. I am hoping to go thrifting and to find a few old flannel sheets that I can cut up to use as family cloth. And hey, if I am already washing cloth diapers and wipes, what is a few more pieces of flannel to wash?
*(MEN: Look away now feminine hygiene discussion in this part-LOL) I hear quite a few women saying that they like items like the moon cup or diva cup for use internally. As a previously tampax loving gal, I want something internally catching. I. cannot. stand. the. feel. of. pads! Yuck! So cloth pads are a big NO for me, blech! Cups however sound like the item for me--right now though I am blessedly period free from either on demand breastfeeding, or my IUD or both. Oh and the whole men look away thing comes from M and I complaining about the bazillion fem hygiene product ads that we are all assaulted with on a daily basis-blech! Yeah I'll shove your "Have a happy period" right up your nasty pad schlepping arse if you ever come near me-ugh!
*(OK Men, you can look) I want to learn how to knit and crochet by using patterns--right now I crochet and knit very basic things like scarves, hats, and pot holders. I want to knit wool longies for Alex, and socks for the family and other useful knitted or crocheted items.
*Keep vehicles maintained and tire pressures correct--we will have to use a car in the States, unless we go whole hog and go Amish--um I know I can't as the fundamental Christian aspect would drive me batty and it wouldn't be fun around da mental momma. Plus I loves me my Internet buddies *mwah* So we use vehicles. It has been shown that just a few PSI difference out in tires can cause fuel usage to go up as much as 10%, and when a trip to the pumps can easily run $50.00, who really wants to just throw away 5 bucks right away. Also clean vehicles are more efficient, the less extra stuff they cart around the less fuel is used.
*Ensure all light bulbs are compact fluorescent or even LED. More expensive to begin with, but energy and cost efficient in the long run.
*Changing furnace filters every 1-3 months. If we end up with a dusty house, then I'll change it once a month, but otherwise every 2-3. A furnace has to work harder when the filter is full, and just getting rid of a filter and not replacing can cause trapped dirt and lint and household debris to clog up the furnace and heat ducts. I'll look to buy filters made of recycled materials, or that can be recycled. Plus a clean filter makes for a cleaner fresher house. Or extending the use by vacuuming it.
*Bagless Vacuum-no bag to buy and throw away, and most of the time the dust can be composted. Plus cleaning the filters on them are also a quick and easy way to keep the suction up and the machine efficient. I loved my bagless, alas it broke in a move and was unrepairable.

Whew, that is it for now. The following are where I got some of my ideas from:

Organized Home
Uses for all of the fantastic 4

White Vinegar
Mildly acidic white vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits from smooth surfaces, yet is gentle enough to use in solution to clean hardwood flooring. White vinegar is a natural deodorizer, absorbing odors instead of covering them up. (And no, your bathroom won't smell like a salad! Any vinegar aroma disappears when dry.) With no coloring agents, white vinegar won't stain grout on tiled surfaces. Because it cuts detergent residue, white vinegar makes a great fabric softener substitute for families with sensitive skin.

Homemade Spray Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
*In the kitchen, use vinegar-and-water spray to clean countertops, lightly soiled range surfaces and backsplash areas.
*In the bathroom, use vinegar spray cleaner to clean countertops, floors, and exterior surfaces of the toilet.
*For really tough bathroom surfaces such as shower walls, pump up the cleaning power by removing the sprayer element and heating the solution in the microwave until barely hot. Spray shower walls with the warmed generously, allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse. The heat helps soften stubborn soap scum and loosens hard water deposits.

Undiluted White Vinegar
*Undiluted white vinegar straight from the jug makes quick work of tougher cleaning problems involving hard water deposits or soap scum.
*Use undiluted white vinegar to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. Before you begin, dump a bucket of water into the toilet to force water out of the bowl and allow access to the sides. Pour undiluted white vinegar around the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush to remove stains and odor. Use a pumice stone to remove any remaining hard water rings.
*Clean shower heads that have been clogged with mineral deposits with undiluted white vinegar. Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar in a plastic food storage bag, and secure the bag to the shower head with a rubber band. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then rinse and buff the fixture to a shiny finish.
*Add one cup of undiluted white vinegar to the laundry rinse cycle instead of commercial fabric softener. White vinegar softens clothes and cuts detergent residue--a plus for family members with sensitive skin.

Baking Soda
Baking soda's mild abrasive action and natural deodorizing properties make it a powerful replacement for harsh commercial scouring powders. Put baking soda to work in your organized home:
*Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge to tackle grimy bathtub rings, scour vanities, or remove food deposits from the kitchen sink. For tougher grime, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the tub or sink, and allow to stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Dirt, soap scum and deposits soften and are easier to remove.
*Slow-running drains? Keep bathroom drains running freely by pouring 1/2 to 3/4 cup baking soda into the drain, and dribbling just enough hot water to wash the solution down. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then flush thoroughly with hot water. The deodorizing effect is an added bonus! [Do not use this method on blocked
drains.]

Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol provides the base for an evaporating cleaner to rival commercial window and glass cleaning solutions. Use this glass cleaning spray recipe for windows, mirrors, chrome fixtures and for a shiny finish on hard-surface ceramic tiles:

Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Furniture Polish
Most of us no longer use hard-to-apply furniture wax, but rely on oil-based polish to keep furniture protected and shiny. Our "salad dressing" version avoids the danger of silicone oil, found in most commercial polishes and sprays. Silicone oil can penetrate tiny cracks in furniture finish and enter the wood, causing problems in the event refinishing is needed. Lemon juice dissolves dirt and smudges, while olive oil shines and protects the wood:

Furniture Polish Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Shake well and apply a small amount to a flannel cleaning rag or cleaning cloth. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.

Sixty-One Uses For Baking Soda
One of the fantastic 4 in a starring role

-Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in case of grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the handful to safely put it out.
-Keep a container of baking soda in your garage as well as in your car to put out a fire. It won't damage anything it touches.
- Baking soda will also put out fires in clothing, fuel, wood, upholstery and rugs.
- Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in water, soak and rise the produce.
-Soak and wash diapers with baking soda.
-Oil and grease -- stained clothing washes out better with baking soda added to the washing water.
-Clean your fridge and freezer with dry baking soda sprinkled on a damp cloth. rinse with clear water.
-Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open container of baking soda to absorb odors. Stir and turn over the baking soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months.
- Always add 1/2-cup baking soda to your washing machine load.
- Clean formica counter tops with baking soda on a damp sponge.
- Run your coffee maker through its cycle with a baking soda solution. Rinse.
- Sprinkle baking soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off.
- Sprinkle baking soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and rinse.
- To remove burned-on food from a pan: let the pan soak in baking soda and water for 10 minutes before washing. Or scrub the pot with dry soda and a moist scouring pad.
- For a badly-burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of baking soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the baking soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day.
- Rub stainless steel and chrome with a moist cloth and dry baking soda to
shine it up. Rinse and dry. On stainless steel, scrub in the direction of the
grain.
- Clean your bathroom with dry baking soda on a moist sponge -- sink, tub, tiles, shower stall, etc.
- Keep your drains clean and free-flowing by putting 4 tablespoons of soda in them each week. Flush the soda down with hot water.
- Soak your shower curtains in water and baking soda to clean them.
- To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and rub them hard with baking soda, then rinse.
- Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your teeth and dentures with it.
- Sprinkle baking soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to eliminate odor.
- Add 1/2-cup or more of baking soda to your bath water to soften your skin.
- Putting 2-tablespoons of baking soda in your baby's bath water will help relieve diaper rash irritations.
- Apply baking soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy to relieve discomfort. Make a paste with water.
- Take a baking soda bath to relieve general skin irritations such as measles and chicken pox.
-Take 1/2-teaspoon of baking soda in one-half glass of water to relieve acid indigestion or heartburn.
- Gargle with 1/2-teaspoon baking soda in one-half glass of water. Freshens and cleans your mouth.
- Used as a mouthwash, baking soda will also relieve canker sore pain.
- To relieve sunburn: use a paste of baking soda and water.
- Bug bites: use a poultice of baking soda and vinegar.
- Bee sting: use a poultice of baking soda and water.
- Windburns: moisten some baking soda and apply directly.
- Making Play Clay with baking soda: combine 1 1/4 cups water, 2 cups soda, 1 cup cornstarch.
- Use baking soda as an underarm deodorant.
- Repel rain from windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.
- Add baking soda to water to remove the "gamey" taste from wild game.

Mothering dot Commune on the thread "spin off frugal thread...tell me about products you MAKE yourself that cost less..."
I took a few things from this thread to put here (my thanks to the Mommas that wrote them) for frugal ideas

*drain cleaner -- salt, baking soda, vinegar and very hot or boiling water. layer the first 3 and pour boiling water over.
*lemon juice in olive oil to polish furniture (NOT veneered furniture!)
*vinegar (1 c or less) in a bucket for cleaning floors...w/ or w/o tea tree oil if you wanted to freshen the room or disinfect the floor.
*vinegar, water, and essential oil (I only have lavender and tea tree oil, so that's what I used) for general cleaning and glass.
*bowl of water and lemons in the microwave for 5 mins to deodorize and loosen any dried on splatters
*a bowl of charcoal or baking soda in the fridge to freshen or deodorize
*a few drops of essential oil in baking soda...dried overnight...and sprinkled on carpet, left for a bit and then vacuumed up to freshen the carpet and room.
~~~~~~~~~~
You can recycle old candles into new ones, and add whatever scents you want /essential oils and whatnot. Candle making is very easy.
Bonus: you can have candlelight at night instead of always having the lights on = saves energy!
~~~~~~~
Hmm…there are so many things that I make to save money:
-bake bread
-make yogurt
-can jams/jelly/fruit
-make 99% of our meals from scratch
-grow my own herbs
-make all our own soap for bathing, usually make a big batch twice a year (olive oil, beeswax, lye, & essential oil)
-make/use simple household cleaners (water, vinegar, baking soda)
-sew pocket diapers for ds (& his flats double for inserts & cleaning rags too)
-knit socks for family
-knit sweaters for ds
-sew, knit, or bake most birthday & Christmas gifts
-make playdough for ds

Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide as Disinfectants
2 of the fantastic 4 put to work in a one-two punch

This site says to put either plain white or apple cidar vinegar in one clean new spray misting bottle, then in a SECOND clean new misting bottle put three percent hydrogen peroxide and spray one then the other on surfaces like wood cutting boards and other food prep surfaces. Another one-two shot on fruits and veggies and a rinse under running water is another use.

Spraying the 2 mists kills Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli bacteria and is more effective at killing bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner.

From the site and this is IMPORTANT

NEVER MIX HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND VINEGAR IN THE SAME CONTAINER. The resulting chemical, peracetic acid, can harm you when mixed together this way if you accidentally create a strong concentration in this fashion. Peracetic acid also has entirely different characteristics and properties than either hydrogen peroxide or vinegar. Additionally, we don't know if peracetic acid kills the same group of pathogenic food-borne bacteria when used this way as a spray - it very well may not.

What *I* do to be "Green"

On the subject of being "green" (my brain wanders off on a tangent thinking 'hey world! when has *my* favorite color become such a buzz word that it is now fashionable to be? *I* was into green as a favorite color as a child-but anywho...) I was off surfing green natural living blogs and quite a few had ways for you, the anonymous reader, to do, steps to take, and pointing the "you shall be eco-friendly finger" away from themselves. As my very wise Mother has always told me that it isn't nice to point and that when I pointed at someone or thing, I had three fingers pointing right back at me.....Ha! I see you pointing away from you and checking out your hand to see that indeed Mr.Tall, Mr. Ring, and Miss Pinkie are pointing right back atcha!

My things, in no particular order:

1. I breastfeed--free milk in fun containers!

2. I cloth diaper my baby. Had I had what is available now when my 11 1/2 year old and my nearly 8 year old were babies, you bet your fluffy butt they would have been in them too. And as soon as my family are settled, I am scouring thrift stores, craigslist and freecycle to find a sewing machine and sewing my own out of 2nd hand towels and sewing 2nd hand fleece for covers!

3. I wear my baby. Not so much a huge green thing but more of a natural/attachment parenting thing. However, it is greenish in that very little resources are used in making a simple no-sew piece of cloth wrap, and my little guy rarely needs a coat if it is cold out as he is wraped up safe and warm next to me under my coat and cutting down on the need to buy extra clothing. To watch some videos or look at diagrams on babywearing go to http://www.mamatoto.org/ No more strollers for this family!

4. I'm a happy thrifter. I love me a big old thrift store, a garage/yard/rummage sale, and with the advent of the interwebz craigslist, freecycle, and ReUseIt. I love discovering things, and making old things useful again. I scored 35 all-in-one diapers in size 1 and 2 and 12 cotton pre-folds on freecycle Yippee! I want to turn around and give the AIO's away right before we move so another mother/family can cloth diaper even if it is part time cloth. There is also the joy of giving away on freecycle as M and I gave away some baby items that we were done using or barely used to a family that despirately wanted them and how happy they were to recieve them. Craigslist is great too because it is where we found our minivan.

5. I ride the bus. Because of M's job, I get free bus transportation. Now I know that public transport is not glamorous by any means and sometimes one must put up with the buttmunches that play crappy tinny music on crappy tinny speakers on their phones rather than listening to their music like everyone else does by using their headphones, or the occational eedjit who thinks they can smoke and no one will smell it (it is illegal to smoke on busses, public transport, bus stop shelters, well just about any public place here in England) HOWEVER, I get to do some good old people watching in. Unfortunately, no matter where we move to in the States, we will have to give up the public transport, as nothing is within walking distance. For now it is the bus! yay!

6. We live frugally. I stop and consider every purchase. Do I need this or do I want this item. Can I use an alternate item/way/item at home to do the same thing? For instance, I have always had it in my head to bake bread I needed a bread pan and not so! I now can whip up a lovely braided herbed bread in a few hours. No need for a bread pan. If it something that I need, can I source it locally or buy it from work at home mothers. My baby's fun yet super functional diaper wraps I buy from English moms who also source their items locally. Less items bought, less resources used.

7. We use reusuable shopping bags. Yes we have to remember to bring the bags with us, but the majority of the bags that we have are easier on the hands and fingers than plastic carrier bags.

8. We have a super energy and water efficient washing machine. It is a front loader, and I thought that Id hate a front loader because I was so used to the ginormous American style top loader, but when the clothes come out, not only are they clean, but nearly dry, which is great for number 9.

9. We hang up everything to dry. When I first moved here I was amazed that there weren't laundry rooms in the apartment buildings and gasp horror how do you wash and dry your clothes?! There are nifty compact racks to hang and dry clothes, there are airing rooms with clothes lines and there are airing cupboards here. A little extra work but hey, our shirts and trousers and jeans are already on hangers so easy to put away.

I can't think of a number 10 right now, but if I do later, I'll pop that in another post.

Time to make supper--Scottish Angus beef burgers, British baked potatoes, and British salad leaves and Tomatoes grown in my Mother-in-Law's back garden greenhouse. YUM!

Who said "Going Green" has to be Expensive-Non-toxic Home Made Laundry Soap

First, before we go into the recipe, I need to give props where props are due, as I totally swiped this from one of my favorite bloggers and super funny and awesome woman whom I got to share being pregnant with~~Aubrey at http://thisblessedlife-aubrey.blogspot.com/

"Ingredients needed to make 4 gallons:
4 quarts water1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (sodium borate)
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 a grated bar of Fels Naptha(I found these 3 soap products easily in the laundry soaps aisle at my regular ol' grocery store)

Supplies needed:
one pot used specifically for making soaps & cleaners in
a grater,
& something to stir the melting soap with a bucket larger than 3 gallons
ideally, 3 old 100 ounce laundry soap containers to store your new soap in
a funnel to get soap into said containers

Step 1: Put 4 quarts of water in your pot.
Add the grated half bar of Fels Naptha soap, the 1/2 cup Borax, and the 1/2 cup of washing soda.
Heat on medium heat.
Stir occasionally until all the soap has melted.

Step 2: Then, pour it into your bucket & leave it for about an hour to cool off. I used my empty diaper pail as my bucket.

Step 3: Once it's cooled off, add 3 gallons of very hot water to your bucket & stir thoroughly.
Step 4: Use your funnel and pour your new laundry soap into your storage containers. They will gel up as they cool & resemble everyday laundry detergent. Use about 1/2 cup per full load of laundry.

Voila!

And here's the breakdown:
I spent $14.25 total at Winco (grocery store) on a 55 oz. box of Arm & Hammer washing soda ($3.14), a 76 oz. box of 20 Mule Team Borax ($3.27), and 7 bars of Fels Naptha soap ($1.12 each). This will allow me to make a total of 56 gallons of laundry soap (!!). To compare, one 150 oz. container of Whisk laundry detergent (a little over *one* gallon) costs $13.00 at the same store.
I've been using this soap for a few weeks now & it's been working just as well as any of the overpriced detergents from the store. :)"

Please go and read Aubrey's blog, and see the pictures that go along with this recipe http://thisblessedlife-aubrey.blogspot.com/

I am sooo going to do this once we move to the States. (I'd do it now, but we are trying to use up, get rid, pare down on extra items as we aren't sure when we could be moving) I imagine that this laundry soap could have essential oils, like tea tree or lavender, added to it if one would like some fragrance, other wise it is truely fragrance free, and not fragrance masked like most "color-free fragrance-free" laundry soaps out on the market. I also imagine that this is an excellent laundry soap for cloth diapers, as it is fragrance and soap residues that gather in the fibers, and makes that ammonia-y soap build-up smell.

reason 4,657,245,478,463,456,346,767,345 to be excited to move back to the States-Home made laundry soap!!! Hurrah!

Cloth Diapers-my stash-i will write explainations later

1 The explainations are mostly for those who don't cloth diaper. These are my fitted diapers with the white in terry cloth, the cream in bamboo fabric, and green in a super soft "teddy" diaper. These velcro on much like disposible diapers do. They are the absorbent part of the diaper, much like the terry cloth squares of yesteryear sans pins to fasten.

2 This is what they look like opened up, complete with an oval booster for extra absorbancy in case of a heavy wetter like Alex. Ooo! they are so soft and fuzzy and lovely against my baby's skin.

3 This is the teddy with out the booster in it, just so you can see.

4 With these kind of diapers, we use a waterproof wrap that velcros over top the diaper. Think of the rubber pants of yesteryear, but more diaper changing friendly as well as baby skin friendly. The wrap have proven to be the "fun" part in cloth diapering as you will see further on. This one is just a basic white one.

5 Diaper in!

6 This is where you imagine baby wearing the yummy softness that is this diaper!

7 All done up.

8 We also have some prefold flat diapers that we use. and the following few pictures are just showing a fold or two and wearing those in a wrap.

9

10

11

12 Cloth diapering can be versatile as well. We have used a couple of boosters on some of the small wraps to go under some outfits that require slimmer, or less fluffy diapers.

13

14 My pocket diapers... these are great for grandmas or other care takers as all they have to do is put them on baby without worrying if they have all the parts in the right order or right way around (poor sweet mother-in-law on one of her first solo changes got the order right, just the wrap in backwards.) These diapers have a pocket that an absorbant cloth is stuffed into before hand and are similar to a disposable in that once assembled is basically one piece.

15 Here are the blue and green diaper opened up with their absorbant cloths on the outside.

16 Partially stuffed--kind of like putting a pillow in a pillowcase.

17 And fully assembled. Once used, simply pull the cloths out and put into a dry pail with a lid and wash when you have a full load. Or, I am L.A.Z.Y. and wash the whole pocket diaper together, and separate the parts when I hang them up to dry.

18 The fun part! Wraps! This is my collection of wraps--I have some more plain white ones, but I wanna show off the better ones. This is a front view, but it is the next picture that delights me so much.

19 Fun Hineys!!! I love the floppy ears of Dudy Dog and the adorable Tractor Ron (the company we purchased them from gave them the names) The Blue Propeller Butt (our name) is made of faux velvet, but so soft. The red cow butt makes me giggle and the angels are sweet. The wraps can be worn as outer clothing on warm days when most babies are sporting white disposable butts, the wraps are dual purpose function and fun, and I love it when I buy things that have more than one use, as I feel I am getting more bang for my buck! Wraps need not be changed at every diaper change like the inner diaper, unless they are dirtied by number two.

20 Like I said before, I am lazy, but washing and drying diapers, dare I say it, is a breeze. We got into a routine and it is second nature to was and dry and fold. If *I* can do laundry like this, anyone can!

21Neatly stacked and put away with love