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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

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Flats: Diapers of Yesterday, TODAY

At one point my Great-Grandmother was using cloth diapers with 5 of her children (two sets of twins and a singleton). She carried the diapers outside and washed them in a bucket twice a day. She used flat cloth diapers and plastic pull on pants, because that was all that was available at the time.

There are many more options available now. There are prefolds, fitteds, all in ones, hybrids, and pockets. You can find a diaper in almost any type of print or color you can imagine. They come with hook and loop or snap closures and can be made out of nearly any kind of fabric, and yet many "modern" cloth diaper stores still sell the diapers my Great Granny used all those years ago. Why would anyone choose this option of the past?

The truth is majority of my stash is flats! I love them. The number one reason I began cloth diapering was for the money savings, and I bought my flats because they were cheap. At only about $1 each flats are a great way to bulk up your stash. You can purchase a full days worth of flats for the same price as one pocket diaper!

Flats can also save you money by lowering the amount of energy you use on washing your diapers. You could wash your diapers in a bucket just the way my Granny did, but if you choose to use a machine(like me), you don't need all the multiple wash and rinse cycles. The fabric is thin and only one layer thick and I have found that my flats get clean in only one long hot wash/rinse and can line dry in the direct sun-light in under two hours.

You may think that you have to give up all the super cute colors and prints if you use flat diapers, but that isn't the case at all! Today's diaper covers are a far cry from the plastic pants of my Great-Grandmother's time. You can find diaper covers that are just as fashionable as any AIO with a cheaper price tag. Our favorite covers are the Thirsties Duo Wrap and the Flip and we just lay our pad folded flat inside. It is easy and cute.

Cloth diapers have made many improvements since my Great-Grandmother was diapering all of her babies, but it is nice to have an option that is affordable, cute, and connects you to past generations of mamas, even if you have never washed diapers in a bucket.

Image: My son and daughter with their Great-Great Grandmother (my cloth diapering hero).

Bio: Brandy is a SAHM of two, who lives in Chattanooga, TN. She never even considered cloth diapering with her first, but now tells everyone she knows about how awesome it is to have a "fluff butt" in the family! You can read more about her and her family at mom2treys-n-natilou.blogspot.com

5 comments:

Meg S. said...

I have never tried flats, but have always been interested! Thanks for sharing your story!!

Joshua and Stephanie said...

What a funny time for this post. I am just changing over to flats and flips...after having done pockets for over two years.

Unknown said...

I use flats all the time, although I have some fitteds for my guys to put on the little man because my guys don't "get" flats. I love how cheap they are - especially because I make most of my own out of pre-loved flannel - and I really love how quickly they wash and dry when I forget to run a load. :-)

CDubs said...

I used to think flats were too much "work" folding them and whatnot, but now I love doing flats and wish I had bought less pockets. I could have bought tons more covers!!! I also enjoy that flats are so much thinner than pockets or AIO.

Anonymous said...

I want to try flats so bad, what brand do you recommend? I purchased the Osocozy brand as a trial but I feel its a little on the small size and I haven't been able to properly diaper my 18 month old in them without feeling like its just too small and he doesn't have much material on. Would love to know what you use since you have so much experience with them.

Thanks