Going from staying home (most of the time) and cloth diapering to working full time (outside the home) and cloth diapering.

So for the last 2.5 years I've been cloth diapering my little guy and loving it so much! That's why I got into this business in the first place! I would often wonder (as I was feeling so smart) why wouldn't anyone want to use cloth diapers? They are SO wonderful, not to mention the $$$ savings and being better for the environment.

Well...now that I"m outside of the home most of the time I'm realizing what kind of time commitment it takes to use cloth diapers full time! First of all you have to find a care taker that will support your decision which is no easy task. Then you have (must have) a large enough rotation so that IF you happen to be too tired and/or forget to do laundry you'll still have clean diapers to use the next day.

Here are some tips if you work outside the home more than inside the home for cloth diapering:

1. Routine routine routine - make sure you have your wash routine down so that IF you need someone else to throw the diapers in the wash for you, you can give VERY clear instructions. Also make sure you stay consistent with your washing cycle, be it every day, every other day, or every 2 days. Don't get lazy or you'll end up with a ton of dirty diapers and either have to do 2 loads or wash the load several times to make sure they are clean enough.

2. Bulk up your stash! I would recommend doubling it so that you have plenty to work with. At least 25 diapers per child.

3. Extra wet bags - this is good to have have extra bags on hand. My nanny puts the dirties in one bag and the wets in one bag so I know which ones to spray off when I get home. No, I don't make the Nanny rinse poop diapers, the fact that she's so joyful about using cloth is good enough for me

4. Routine stripping - might be good to every 3 months or so do a sanitary wash or boil your inserts etc...just to prevent having to do a major stripping later.

5. RELAX! If you need to keep sposies on hand for emergencies, overnight etc...its okay, you won't be banned from the cloth diapering community. At least not here so don't feel guilty.

If you have any other tips, feel free to post in the comments. Like I said, this is a new world of working ft and cd'ing to me too.