Cloth Diapers

Kevin and I decided to do cloth diapers for many reasons. To save money, They are good for the Environment, and most importantly because both our children had a sensitivity to paper diapers and developed a nasty scary rash that never occured when using cloth.
So here is what we learned from our experience.
We found that "Fuzzi Bunz" were the best. They have snaps. And the sizes were very adjustable. Other diapers used velcro. Although velcro was a cool invention, I hate it. It is annoying, sticks to everything, creates runs and pulls in fabric, and collects hair and lint, eventually making it not very sticky. Also The polar fleece lining of the "Fuzzi Bunz" is so soft against the skin. My daughters both prefered cloth over the crunchy paper anyday.
The downside of cloth is they are definately more work & I found that they tend to be a little bulky. So some of the girls pants didn't fit as well. (mostly just the trendy style pants) But dresses fixed that, and who doesn't love to see little girls sporting dresses. Stretchy pants/leggings or balloon pants & overalls worked fine.
For care of cloth diapers and other questions I liked this site. Baking soda and vinegar come to the rescue once again!
http://www.simplewondersdiapers.com/Diaper-care.htm
No one likes a smelly diaper bag. For Diapering on the go I really liked these "Wet Bags" by "Happy Tushies." They have some great fabric options, and they work great.
http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=442&idproduct=2480
I haven't sewn our own cloth diapers yet, but if we have another little peanut, I would like to give it a shot.
http://littlefornow.com/pages/diaper-patterns.php
If you find any other great patterns or other ideas online be sure to let me know.

Laundry Soap

My friends know I am always looking for ways to save money. So I was talking to my friend Shannon the other day about how I like to make my own baby wipes, and she said she had just learned how to make her own laundry soap. Sweet! So I just had to try it. The cool part is you can add your own essential oils too. Love when you can add essential oils to anything. I love most all of them but my favorite is Tea Tree Oil I love the mix of earthy and sterile smell it has all at the same time. And lavender, c'mon who doesn't love lavender. Anyways here is the recipe for the laundry soap and the site I got it from. SO Awesome!
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/make-your-own-laundry-soap.html
Liquid Detergent
1 quart water (boiling)2 cups bar soap (grated)2 cups borax2 cups washing soda
1. Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
2. Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the borax and washing soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
3. Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
4. Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Once it's cool, add 5 - 7 drops of your favorite essential oil per gallon. Stir the soap each time you use it (it will gel).
Powdered Detergent
2 cups finely grated soap1 cup washing soda1 cup borax
1. Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
2. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.