Wet Bag Week: Kitchen Towel Tuesday

I love our kitchen rags. Strange? Yes. True? Yes. 

Know what we use? Flat diapers, cut in half. So inexpensive, so easy to wash, so little financial commitment. Did I mention they are cheap?

And pray tell Abby, where to wet bags fit into this? Well, we live in a relatively small house, and our laundry is on a different level than the kitchen, and we have a very active toddler. So when I have a dirty kitchen rag, being the organization nut I am, I need a place to put it. Enter our Wahmies All-Day wet bag. It hangs from the basement door handle (located at the edge of the kitchen), and we can easily throw in any dirty items through the day. 

For us, this handy drop spot makes using unpaper towels* so much easier. And anytime you can make something more convenient, while still keeping life as green as possible, well that is just an all-around win! 

How much do you love your kitchen rags?  

ps. Tip - Create a hierarchy for your flats-turned-rags. First, use them for kitchen towels. You will have lovely, crisp towels. If one is stained, downgrade it to a garage towel or a bathroom cleaning rag.

pps. *Vernacular lesson - some people also refer to their cloth kitchen items as 'unpaper towels,' directly referencing the lack of paper products being used in the kitchen. 

ppps. While we eschew paper products whenever possible, I still keep a roll of paper towels on hand. You never know when you will have something that skeevies you out too much to use your unpaper products. For me, that is any time the dog gets sick or has an accident. Yuck.

Wet Bag Week: Mama Cloth Monday

**Let's preface this post - begin TMI alert**

Okay, now that that is out of the way. Today's contribution to Wet Bag Week is all about the wonders that is mama cloth, and how you can seamlessly incorporate reusable menstrual products into your day-to-day life.

 

First of all, my AF stash* (that is 'Aunt Flow' for you those of you new to the online lexicon): 

• 1 Medium Wet/Dry Planet Wise wet bag
• 1 Double-Sided Small mama cloth wet bag
• 1 Mooncup by Keeper menstrual cup
• 6 Thong Liners (all from Pleat)
• 18 Liners (a mix of lay-in liners from Mother Moon, Lemon Liners from Wasabi Mommi and snap-in liners from Tree Hugger)
• 1 Normal Pad (from Mother Moon)
• 5 Heavy/Overnight Pads (from Mother Moon and Wasabi Mommi)

For daytime I primarily use the cup with liners as backup. For nighttime I use the cup paired with the largest pad that is clean. I don't know if this happens to you (and I actually read there is some science behind this), but I don't sleep well when AF is in town. Instead, I am often sleepless, tossing and turning. I find that using a large back-up pad helps me sleep better.

Now, on to the wet bags. I have found that I like having two wet bags to make my AF as easy as possible. 

 

I love my double-sided portable wet bag. It ensures I don't fall back on my small stash of disposable products (kept mostly on hand for visitors to our home who might need an emergency loaner item or two). Instead, keeping the wet bag packed under the sink ensures I can grab  it, throw it into the massive mom purse (I use the term endearingly, as I love massive bags!) and go. I store clean pads in one pocket, with the other pocket is standing by. Or, if I'm expecting AF at any time, I pack liners in one side of the wet bag and the cup in the other side.

 

My second wet bag is a Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry. This bag serves a two  functions. While AF is here, I clip the bag in a handy spot (for me this is the door handle next to the toilet) and store all of my clean pads in the dry pocket. When I change my pad, I throw it in the sink and run it under cold water until the water runs clear (tip - don't wring the pad out - leaving a bit of water in the pad will help prevent stains). I then transfer the used pad into the wet pocket of the wet bag until laundry time (for now my pads are washed with our diaper laundry; once my lovely girl potty trains I imagine I'll do one small mama cloth load at the end of the cycle).

The second use is purely to satisfy my desire to organize every possible area of my life. When AF is out of town (gosh, whoever invented that expression anyways?!), I store all my clean mama cloth , cup and small double-pocket wet bag in the dry pocket. I then can stash this neat little bundle of goodness in the cupboard.

Intrigued? Want to learn more about mama cloth? Check out the bottom of this page for a quick primer on the types of mama cloth. Want to learn more about menstrual cups? I found this post incredibly helpful when deciding what I wanted to buy.

*Just like cloth diapering is completely subjective, so is mama cloth. What one person loves will be completely off-putting for someone else. I quickly found I preferred the cup+liner over any other combination, so then I invested more in my liner collection. And I find some liners work best with different pairs of underwear. So, just like your baby has particular diapers for particular events, times or outfits, well.... so do I. ;)

**end TMI alert - we now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming**

Wet Bag Week: The Great Debate

Hello, my name is Abby, and I'm a wet bag addict. Yup, I'll admit it. I have a serious thing for wet bags. At last count, I think we have, hmm, 11? And that's just my personal collection, I mean, stash. The store also sports a plethora of options. But how do you know which bag is best for you?

To celebrate 'Wet Bag Week' (you know, like Shark Week, only much less scary), all of the wet bags in the store are 10% off through Saturday, March 12th. No code necessary - the bags are already marked down.

  

An important note to mention at the outset - I have found the quality between all the brands below to be completely comparable, so this post will focus solely on size and design comparisons.


I will test each bag with two types of diapers:

• One diaper will represent the bulkiest possible diaper that would likely go in the bag - a one-size pocket with two inserts (this is comparable to most people's nighttime solution, and rarely would you actually have a whole stash of diapers that would take up this much space). For this control I used a Tiny Tush One-Size Elite pocket diaper, as it is the tallest pocket on the market. 
• One diaper will represent the average sized diaper. For this control I used a Bright Star Baby All-in-One in size 1 (aka Medium). I would expect those using Premium or Toddler prefolds to have similar capacity results, and those using smaller prefolds could fit even more than my test results.
• A final note on capacity - I tested each bag to a reasonable capacity. I did not really stuff diapers in. In a pinch, I imagine you could get at least one or two more diapers in each bag (with the exception of Wahmies Small, which really only holds one or two). 

Smallest to Largest

Happy Tushies Mama Cloth Bag, Wahmies Small, Wahmies Regular, Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry, Wahmies All-Day, Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry

Happy Tushies Mama Cloth Wet Bag

• Price $18.50
• Size 5" x 7" 
• Holds approx. six 6-8" liners in each side, or two 12" heavy pads in each side
• Great for:
• Cloth Wipes: store clean cloth wipes in one side and your wipes solution (a mix or a peri bottle of water) in the other.
• Menstrual Items: For those times when you expect your period while out of the house - store your menstrual cup on one side and liners on the other. Or, store clean liners or pads in one side, and soiled in the other. When you get home, simply toss the dirties into your usual storage container, and wipe the bag out to use again the next day. Or store tampons in one side, and liners (either conventional or reusable) in the other. 
• Toiletries: Keep your purse organized and make switching purses a breeze. Store medicinal items in one pocket, and makeup in the other. Or kleenex in one pocket and cough drops in the other. Or... you know how crazy your collection of items can look. 
• Additional Notes: 
• The two compartments allow you to keep wet items wet, and dry items dry. The two pockets snap together, with an open sleeve between them. For times when I need to use both wet pockets for, well, wet items, I then utilize this 'sleeve space' as a third storage area. The pressure from the wet pockets keeps my clean liners in place. 
• If you need to maximize the wet bag space - I recommend unsnapping the pockets from each other. This will allow each bag to use the maximum amount of space. I was able to fit 1-2 more pads in each side doing this. 
• The snapping handle allows you to keep the bag handy. I've snapped mine on the toilet paper holder and my purse handle (on those days when you're using a massive bag, and don't want your wet bag sinking into the nether regions of the black hole, I mean, stylish tote). 

 

Filled with five liners, one normal-flow pad and two heavy-flow pads

 

Using the center sleeve as a spot to store clean pads

 

Really filling it up - 6 liners, 2 normal-flow pads and 2 heavy-flow pads

 

Wahmies Small Wet Bag

• Price $9.50
• Size 9" x 9"
• Officially holds 1-2 diapers; Actually holds 1-2 diapers
• Great for:
• Older babies who will only use 1 or 2 diapers on errand runs
• Catch-all for diaper bags and purses
• Holding a sweating Klean Kanteen on a hot summer day
• Additional Notes
• I LOVE this size bag now that I am diapering a toddler. By far we have the most bags in this size (six, I think?). I carry two Small bags and two diapers in my purse or diaper bag. These days I've even taken to storing diapers in the wet bags. Unzipped = Clean Diaper Zipped = Dirty Diaper So easy to grab a couple pre-stuffed wet bags and throw them in my black hole, I mean, stylish tote).

 

1 Tiny Tush, 2 Bright Star Baby

 

Wahmies Regular Wet Bag

• Price $16.50
• Size 13" x 15" 
• Officially holds 6-8 diapers; Actually holds 4-8+ diapers
• Great for:
• Errand runs out of the house with younger babies who will go through four to eight diapers.
• A backup wetbag for the car, stuffed with a cover and a few emergency prefolds. 
• Additional Notes: 
• I really love this size bag, as it is big enough to carry its weight but still small enough to tuck into a diaper bag. It is also a great size for those families who wish to decrease their reliance on disposable plastic bags, like holding a coloring book and crayons or a wet swim suit on the way home from the pool. 
• Wahmies recently added a snapping handle to their Regular size - I think this is a brilliant design upgrade, as you no longer have to size-up to an 'All Day' if you want a clippable handle. 
• Clip the bag anywhere - to the stroller on long walks so your diapers don't end up on the other side of Disney after falling out of an overstuffed basket (I have visions of that happening, can't say why exactly);  to your diaper bag's handle, when attempting to only make one trip out to the car with baby and diaper bag in tow; to the black hole (stylish tote's) handle so it is easy to reach. 
• The Regular size has a scrap of fabric in the inner seam - this allows you to scent the bag with a few drops of essential oil if you are so inclined. 
• I also love this size as a car wet bag on a day of errands - carry one Small wet bag in your diaper bag, transferring any dirties once you get back to the car, then return the Small bag to your diaper bag. This ensures your diaper bag is as light as possible, while still maximizing storage capacity. At the end of the day, clip the bag to your diaper bag or purse to ensure you have one less package to haul into the house.  

 

4 Tiny Tush, 8 Bright Star Baby

Wahmies All-Day Wet Bag

• Price $18.50
• Size 16" x 20"
• Officially holds 10+ diapers; Actually holds 9-15+ diapers
• Great for:
• Those who wish to not use a diaper pail. Depending on the size of diapers it will hold one to two days' worth of diapers, making it an ideal choice for those who wish to not take up limited floor space with a diaper pail. 
• A family trip to the pool - will easily hold several swim suits. 
• Kitchen wet bag - the handle easily clips onto anything that will stand still. Stuff your unpaper towels (my personal favorites - flat diapers cut in half) and dishcloths in, and save yourself trips to the laundry room or precious kitchen space. 
• Additional Notes: 
• For families who will do diaper laundry every night, this is a fantastic solution. Put your nighttime diaper on baby, and dump the bag's contents and the bag itself into the wash. By the time morning rolls around you'll have clean diapers, a clean wet bag, and one dirty nighttime diaper to throw add to the wet bag.
• This is also a great option for those who will be changing diapers in two areas of the house. Put the diaper pail in the more commonly-used place, and hang the wet bag in the less-frequented location. You can either transfer diapers once a day to the pail, or just grab both containers come laundry time. 
• The All-Day size, like the Regular size, features a scrap of fabric in the inside seam and a clipping handle. 

 

9 Tiny Tush, 15 Bright Star Baby

Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry Bag

• Price $21.00
• Size 13" x 16"
• Officially holds 8-9 diapers; Actually holds 6-10+ diapers
• Great for: 
• Errand days out of the house, especially those who have a smaller diaper bag and need the dry pocket for extra diaper storage
• An all-purpose wetbag, small enough to be in your diaper bag but large enough to cover the large portion of the day. 
• Those who transport diapers daily - to the sitter, daycare, preschool. The dry pocket even provides the caregiver a spot to store clean diapers, so all diaper changing needs are easily accessible from start to finish. 
• Additional Notes:
• If you are considering the Wahmies Medium, this is an upgrade to consider. As it has a dry pocket at the front, you can stuff clean diapers in the front pocket, and transfer to the wet pocket as the day goes on. 
• This bag has a snapping handle, making it easy to clip onto your black hole or diaper bag.
• While the bag has two pockets, those two pockets share the same 'space' (if that makes any sense). Aka, you can stuff ten diapers in the dry pocket, five diapers in the dry pocket and five in the wet, or ten diapers in the wet pocket. Akax2, no matter which pocket you use, the bag will still hold the same number in sum. 

 

Six Tiny Tush, Ten Bright Star Baby

Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag

• Price $29.99
• Size 16.5" x 27" 
• Officially holds 20-24 diapers; Actually holds 16-31+
• Great for: 
• Those who live in small places, and would like the ability to store two-days' worth of diapers without using a diaper pail. 
• Car trips with a full stash. 
• Also great in place of a laundry hamper for any room of the house - for baby's clothes or even your clothes. 
• Additional Notes:
• This really is the mother of all wet bags! This is the bag we use when we travel eight hours north to my parents' house.  
• The bag has two loop handles, one sewn on each side of the bag's opening. For those who use an open pail, I recommend hanging the bag from just one loop (that is, until it gets too heavy). This will make dropping dirties in easier, as you won't require quite as much dexterity.
• Similar to the Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry, the bag shares the same space, and the total capacity is the same no matter which pocket(s) you are using. 

 

16 Tiny Tush+2 Fuzzibunz OS, 31 Bright Star Baby

And perhaps I forgot to mention the most important feature - all of these bags have amazingly lovely woven cotton outer fabrics, with enough choices to satisfy any design aesthetic. Like diapers, you might choose them for other reasons (the environment, ease of use, lack of chemicals), but the cuteness, well that is just an added bonus!


An important note for those thinking of multitasking wet bags - PUL is not a food-safe fabric. Apart from using a wet bag to hold a sweating water bottle in the summer, I don't recommend using the above bags in a food-storage capacity (this includes using them as bags for Nuks or other clean items your baby will teeth or mouth through the day). If you are looking for a reusable food-safe storage option, I cannot recommend the Planet Wise snack and sandwich bags enough!

Hope this post helped you find a bag or bags that will suit your needs. If you would like further information (say, can X bag really hold 12 OS Tiny Tush pockets?), I'm happy to pull diapers from the shelves and play mad scientist for a few minutes!

Stay tuned through the week for more wet bag posts, including tips on travel and washing and more.

Happy shopping!

Cloth Diapering: A Labor of Love

I recently had the pleasure to work with a local customer to select her perfect newborn stash. We looked at covers, fitteds, the loveliest Raspberry Sorbet AppleCheeks cover, and all the other tidbits that round out the cloth diaperer's arsenal. We also talked through laundry routines and other cloth diapering words of wisdom. At the end of our time together, she remarked that this will be a 'labor of love.' This conversation was almost two weeks ago, yet her words still ring through my head. 

Labor of Love - work done without pay, undertaken for the benefit of a loved one

Yes, the laundry is the easiest you'll ever do (already sorted, already bagged, just dump & go). Yes, you will always have diapers in the house (no more late-night runs to the over-priced drugstore).

But I think it would be a lie to say that cloth diaperers walk around 24/7 with unicorns at their sides, singing the joys of cloth. I will fully admit that there are moments when I'm putting away diapers, or folding cloth wipes, or realizing I forgot to pack a wetbag, when I have to take a deep breath and remind myself why we choose cloth. 

We are keeping chemicals off her bum, diapers out of the landfill, and money in our pocketbooks. We are taking control in a time when so much control is lost. We labor out of love for the best for our child, and that benefit alone is far better than any other remuneration. 

Snip, snip

Do you ever buy six-packs? Of pop, I mean (yes, 'pop,' thank you upper-Midwest). What do you do with that plastic-connector-thingy once you are done enjoying your beverages? 

I'm sure there are an intrepid few amongst us who have brilliant craft projects designed expressly around these rather benign objects of the everyday life. But what about the rest of us? Do you just toss them in the trash? 

May I encourage you to take a quick extra step? Consider cutting the plastic rings apart before throwing away. 

Why? Imagine scavenging animals digging through landfill-bound trash bags. What happens to one of these animals if a ring was to get caught on its snout, clamping its mouth shut?

While I'm positive a host of doctors and my mother would encourage me to stop drinking my body weight in Whole Foods Orange Creme Soda (gah, POP!), I would hate to imagine my sweet tooth ever hurting an animal. 

So, next time you finish off your six pack (of pop), consider grabbing the scissors and quickly snipping all of the rings apart. Not only will you potentially save a raccoon, but you also might discover a good test of hand-eye coordination and reflexes (word of warning, never cut while trying to stop your toddler from putting applesauce in her hair). 

ps. to those creative ladies amongst us, what kind of crafty projects could you do with one or more of these thingys? 

pps. if you know the technical term for the 'thingys' please let me know!

(p^3)s. 'soda,' 'pop' or 'coke?' 

Welcome to the WAHMlight: Double Feature

For this month, the attention shifts to you! (But not to worry, great diapering specials in store for both Black Friday and December's WAHMlight! Stay tuned in the coming days for hints.)

To start off the family focus with a bang, I've got not one, but two great WAHMs to introduce you to! In addition to amazing women, they also make amazing products. If you haven't considered a switch to natural products for yourself and the rest of your family, I highly recommend tipping your toe into this water. I am confident you won't regret it! 

And of course there is a giveaway. More details can be found following the two interviews. 

First up, Mother Moon Pads! 

Itsy Bitsy Bums: Please tell us about yourself and your family. 

Mother Moon: My name is Denelle, and I live in Neenah, WI, with my husband Henry, 3 children, and 1 fur kid. Henry and I have been married 10 years. Gwendolynne is 13, Ezekiel is 3, and Eleanor is 7 months old. Our furry child, Lady Bird, is 8. We are a very close knit family and family means everything to us. 

Mother Moon wingless liners

IBB: Is mama cloth something you grew up using? If not, do you recall when you first learned of it?

MM: I was not fortunate enough to use mama cloth growing up. I didn't learn that such a thing existed until I started cloth diapering my son. There was this sucession of "crunchiness" for me. Everything started with babywearing my first newborn, almost 14 years ago. When I was pregnant with my second child, I knew I wanted to wear him too (although not in the overpadded Nojo I wore my oldest in!). When I found TheBabyWearer, I learned about other natural parenting/living lifestyles, which led me to cloth diapering. Cloth diapering led me to DiaperSwappers, where I learned about mama cloth. 

OBV (Organic Bamboo Velour) topped pads

IBB: How did you decide to start making mama cloth? 

MM: I'm a very do it yourself type of person. I have a hard time purchasing items that I can make. When I convinced myself to try mama cloth, I knew that I could make it myself. Hundreds of tester pads later, I started selling MotherMoonPads under the KeepYourBabyClose name. 

the fabric stash!

IBB: Have you ever considered adding additional products to Mother Moon? What might they be? 

MM: In 2006, I started out in business as KeepYourBabyClose. I made and sold pouch slings, ring slings, linen wraps, nursing covers and mei tais. Over time, I have transitioned to what I truly love making, which is mama cloth. At this time, mama cloth keeps me more than busy, so I will not be offering any additional products. I do occasionally make custom embroidered diapers, or matching newborn diaper and postpartum mama cloth sets. 

I believe that by creating things that make me happy, this in turn makes me a better seller and happier person all around.

Denelle's sewing area is in the dining room

IBB: What tips do you have for WAHMs and WOHMs when it comes to juggling so many things at once (a little birdie told me you are also persuing a degree in accounting)? 

MM: My biggest piece of advice is: Do what you love, love what you do, and accept that you can't do everything. 

I am a WAHM and full time college student. I graduate this December with my BA in Accounting. I very carefully schedule my days and weeks in an attempt to fit everything in. I am fortunate enough to have a husband that is able and willing to assist me when needed. 

Our typical day consists of waking up, making breakfast and getting our oldest off to school and Daddy to work. My younger two love to play together while I start the orders for the day.

We also love to have morning playdates. Every Wednesday is our day off. We love to go to the Children's Museum or have friends over to play & sew. After lunch, my 3 year old lays down to have rest time. I wrap my youngest on my back, and we settle in for nap time (her) and sewing (me).

After nap time, we make supper together, and sit down to eat when Daddy gets home from work. We eat together every night. After supper, I work on homework and have family time. It's a crazy, action filled day, but it seems to work for our family. 

I do, however, have to accept that there are days where my children might need me more than usual and we will accomplish nothing. Those days are okay to have to. After all, my main goal is to keep my family happy and their needs fulfilled. 

Denelle's favorite view of her serger ♥ 

Second, Green Body Basics! 

From the WAHM behind GBB, Kristin - 

'Thank you, Abby, for featuring Green Body Basics as your WAHM business of the month.

'WAHM is one of my many roles. I am a mid twenties, degreeseeking, partner, internet surfing, shopping loving, natural thinking , tea drinking, karma believing, book loving woman.

'But my most important roll is mother, to my daughter as well as to my two black labs. My daughter is 16 months old and the love of my life.  I met her father 3 years ago and it was one of those "love at first sight" kind of stories.  Fast forward to 2 years ago and we discovered we were pregnant. A few weeks later we receive some abnormal results on our APF test and after further investigation discovere that Poppy-Ann has spina bifida.  This was a changing point in my life, as I had never before considered reducing the amount of chemicals I was exposed to, as I lived "healthy enough."  This lead me to finding alternatives to my daily products as well a leading me to live a less waste producing life.

'One product I knew I could not switch was my deodorant, as I had been a clinical/prescription strength user since my teenage years, suffering from what I was lead to believe was hyperhyrosis(over active sweat glands).  Fast forward again, and after many long months of using myself an family as guinea pigs I developed Green Body Basics Naturally effective deodorant, a completely natural an chemical free solution!  GBB has been recognized by Skin Deep's Cosmetic Database with a '0' hazard score for this very reason.  I submitted my product for review and was very happy to receive the feedback as my product has the lowest hazzard rating available, which is an honor.  From this point I continue my filing with PETA as a "cruelty-free" no animal testing company.

'Keeping in line with natural and environmentally friendly, I try my hardest to purchase all my ingredients from companies with honest environment supporting suppliers and practices. This was also reason for a change to remove palm oil from my products a few months after beginning business, as it was not a resource I felt comfortable using due to it's over farming.

'I love trying and creating new products and have been making my own cleaners and soaps for some months as well.  As for the future of what customer may see at GBB only time will tell, I have a few items for next summer lined up as well as some cold/flu season items that I am hoping to perfect here in the next month.'

Thank you Kristin and Denelle, I am so excited to feature both of you this month, in addition to stocking your products at IBB!

Now, for the swag:

• 1 1oz Green Body Basics deodorant in 'Sensual' 
• 4 Green Body Basics scent samples in 'Classic,' 'Immunity,' 'Sporty' and 'Stamina' (one in each scent)
• 1 8" Mother Moon Wingless Pantyliner
• 1 Mother Moon OBV Pantyliner (I pick the length for the OBV pads)
• 1 Mother Moon OBV Normal Flow pad 
• 1 Mother Moon OBV Heavy Flow pad

Typically WAHMlight giveaways are won by sending in action shots. Clearly I won't be asking for action shots this month. LOL.

Instead, you have several easy ways to win: 

• Every order at IBB is automatically entered to win (1 entry per order)
• Grab IBB's button (under 'Share the Love' in the right-hand navigation bar) and display on your blog (5 entries for this! button must remain up for the entire month of November)
• Become a fan of Bitsy Buzz (1 entry)
• Become a fan of IBB on Facebook (1 entry)
• Browse the store, then come back and tell me your favorite item carried by IBB

Please be sure to comment below to enter yourself, including links when applicable. Deadline to enter is November 30th. Winner to be announced by December 3rd on Facebook and this very blog. 

Happy Hunting!