Flat Butt - Day 3 - Laundry Day

Here we are on Day 3 of the 2nd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge. So far, so good. I haven't made any big changes. I'm still primarily using the diaper bag fold. I actually like the idea of the origami fold, but I feel that it leaves a lot of excess fabric and bulk in the front. I still hate boingos.

The topic suggested for day three is "how" you're using your flats, but I will write about that tomorrow. Today is about laundry. 

Last night was my first time handwashing for this challenge. Let me rephrase - I did handwash two in the sink early yesterday morning. They were barely wet from pee and were very easy to clean. Last night, I washed everything that had collected in my diaper pail. I filled the pail with water and swished the diapers around. I drained most of that water, added my detergent - VERY LITTLE, not even a teaspoon - and added more water. I decided to agitate the mix of diapers and friends with my hands. Holy shit. That takes some serious muscle. I drained the soapy water and smooshed all the dipes in the pail to get excess water out before filling it again with cold water for a rinse. More swishing around with my hands and they were fabulously rinsed. I dumped the bucket and then compressed the load of diapers in the pail several times, squeezing a lot of the excess water out. Then came the real work - wringing everything out. One by one, I twisted and squeezed until every last little drop of water was forced off of the diapers, covers, wipes and liners. That is one hell of a workout. A lot of people recommend using those yellow dish gloves for the handwashing portion of the challenge. I hate those things. I have a latex sensitivity and they irritate the crap out of my hands. They make them in nitrile, but those smell funny. I decided to go barehanded just for the experience. Let me tell you, you will develop callouses if you do this on a daily basis. To preserve my delicate little faery hands, I'll ask my husband to do the wringing next time. He works with his hands everyday and he lifts weights often so his hands are tough enough for this. Before hanging, I give everything one last good shake. I was always told that shaking the crap out of something before you hang it to dry will help it from getting stiff. The diapers, wipes and a few of the covers hung on my drying rack overnight. I also hung a few covers from a skirt hanger - the kind that comes with the clips - on the shower rod.

It's currently 11:30 am and my diapers are still damp. I hung them at midnight. Flats supposedly dry very quickly, but that is not the case on humid nights I guess. I have a very busy day full of belly dance (demonstration and classes) and kid stuff, so I won't have time to try out the iron like I had hoped. tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of tomorrow, I'll be discussing my favorite way to use my flats and whether or not I have actually had success with folds other than the diaper bag fold and the pad fold. Stay tuned!

My previous posts on this challenge:

Flat Butt - Introductory post
Flat Butt - Day One - Small Print
Flat Butt - Day Two - The Stash

Be sure to check out my fellow bloggers who are also participating in this challenge!