The Joys of Cloth Diapering- The Set Up

Cloth diapering was the catalyst, for me, for this minimal waste, natural, holistic way of life. I don't judge anyone who uses regular diapers at all, in fact I use Seventh Generation Organic (biodegradable) diapers when I travel or go out for long periods of time. I just wanted to do my part in reducing the amount of little poop filled pacakages that accumulate and don't biodegrade in a landfill. It's just a personal choice of mine and it has been very rewarding.
From my cloth diapering adventures, I discovered new, natural ways to treat rashes and other diaper area problems. I really enjoyed researching the problem, discovering what caused it and troubleshooting a solution on my own, instead of just slathering on some prescribed cream whenever there is a rash or funny looking mark down there. It just bothers me that I don't know exactly what makes those creams work and why. There's always a why with me. There have been occassions that I haven't been able to clear things up on my own and I have gone to the Doctor, but I like giving it my own shot first.

Anyhow, I figured I would detail my set up in my first cloth diapering entry, just in case anyone was as confused and as clueless as I was when I first started.
I started with an extra long changing table, with two drawers underneath for storage, and it is slightly higher than waist high (roughly 3 feet). My husband built this one. The drawer on the left holds all of my covers (I use bum genius) and the right side holds all of my inserts. I used to wash, stuff and store all of the diapers in both drawers, but that got to be extremely cumbersome and bulky. It takes almost no time to quickly stuff a diaper right when I need it. Below the table are 4 labeled cloth bins where I keep all of his clothes. We kept the table green so we could just change the handles if we wanted to for different genders!

This is the left side of the top of the changing table. I have a standard changing table pillow with a plush cover so it isn't freezing when I set a baby on it. To the left of that is a wipe warmer. Sounds silly I know, but I use wet baby washcloths (when I can) in place of wipes. This warmer stores them beautifully and keeps the rags warm so I'm not putting freezing cold wet cloth on sensitive baby areas! You never know what chemicals are in those wipes... even the organic ones. Plus sometimes a substantial diaper deposit requires SEVERAL wipes, but only one washcloth. It works like a charm. The rags don't get mildewy or moldy because I go through them and wash them about every 3 days.

This is the right side of the changing table. Here is where I keep any saline I might need, cloth diaper friendly diaper creams (Calendula is amazing), towels... and unfortunately other paraphernalia that happens to accumulate (like shoes in this picture).

I have a little red bucket (with lid) for the wet diapers and a blue one for soiled diapers. After you knock the solids from a soiled diaper into the toilet, there is usually very little to clean. I usually rinse them off with a hose outside and then put them in a bucket. I did try and install a sprayer onto our toilet, but unfortunately that did not turn out as planned.

To wash the diapers, I do a cold soak cycle with 1/4 cup of borax or good old fashioned baking soda. Then I do a heavy duty hot wash with 1/4-1/2 of a scoop of Allens Naturally detergent. After that I line dry the inserts and shells in the sun to natually bleach away whatever didn't come out in the wash! I try to soak over night and wash in the morning to maximize sun time!

Sometimes even Little Man helps clean his diapers ;).