Cloth Pull-Ups Take One

Okay, before I begin there are a few things you need to know:

-I am not a seamstress. I do not have stellar sewing skills.

-My sewing machine is not a modern model. It was a generous gift from my Mother-In-Law and she's had it since Paul was a kid.

-My purpose in doing this is to save $$. I was not making this so it'd look cute. The fashion police are not going to show up at my house in the middle of the night to inspect the style of my son's pull-ups while he sleeps.

-If you're reading this and you are agasp at my sewing or even my idea of doing this, please move on. I am chronicling my attempts, not putting this online for you to pick apart and criticize me. If you have a better idea or a better method I could use, please share. But negative Nellys, please move on to the next blog.

Okay, without further adieu, here's what I did.

The reason I started this in the first place is because I have a boy who does things on his own time. He'll be able to wake up and go to the bathroom when he's ready. I could offer him the world, but he'll do things on his own time. I decided that I'm sick of buying disposable pull ups and I'd rather have a cloth option that is washable. I am also not into shelling out the big bucks for cloth diapers online when I can just make my own. I did some googling, and found things likethis online. After reading this, I began to think about what materials I had at home.

I took 2 pair of underwear and a generic version of a Sham Wow. Yes, a Sham Wow. Only it isn't called a Sham Wow because we got it at the flea market for $1.00. You don't know what a Sham Wow is? Oh, then let me remind you...

Click HERE

Anyway, I thought of the Sham Wow because it's super absorbent. The idea is not to soak the bed, right?

So here are the pictures of the materials:

After that, I cut the underwear on the sides. So I could layer the Sham Wow between the two pairs of undies and sew them together with a seam. When I cut them apart and laid them out, they looked like this:

I only had a few pins, but I pinned down the undies, and used a sharpie to trace the undies onto the Sham Wow. Then I cutout the Sham Wow, and pieced it together between the two pair of undies. When it was all pinned together, it looked like this:

Then I sewed. I ended up using a large straight stitch. I tried a fancy zig zag, but I think the age of my sewing machine couldn't handle doing it through three layers of material. Here are some pictures of all the sewing:

This is what it looked like when I sewed the seams together on the sides:

So here's the verdict. The undies lost their stretchiness (is that a word?) when I layered them with the sham wow. Simply put, they were too small. I like the idea of using undies because it's a fool proof pattern. I ended up taking this apart at the seams on the side and putting them inside his undies to use as an absorbent pad to check the absorbency. It was good, but I think a plastic liner will help. I am going to purchase some bigger boys' undies (maybe on the cheap at the $1 store), another generic Sham Wow (they have them at Winn Dixie for $1) and also a cheap felt backed plastic table cloth. I am going to layer it all together and sew that way. Instead of sewing the seams shut on the side, I am going to make velcro closures of some kind. I am looking forward to making this work for us!

The Many Uses of White Vinegar

I have fallen in love with White Vinegar. You may think that this is an odd love to have, but there are reasons. You see, White Vinegar is safe for human consumption. That means that whatever I purpose I use it for, I do not have to worry about toxic fumes or chemicals harming anyone in my home. It might not be tasty, but you could drink a gallon of White Vinegar and it wouldn't hurt you.

Since beginning to use this in my home, I have found many useful purposes for it. The best part? It is absolutely CHEAP! I bought a gallon of store brand White Vinegar a few days ago for less than $3. When some cleaners are far more than $3 for less than 1/2 gallon this is a deal within itself. Often White Vinegar goes on sale (particularly around the holidays) and you can nearly get it for free with coupons.

I know it smells. However, when white vinegar is dry, it becomes odorless. Additionally, you can add the juice of an orange, lime or lemon to your solution and it will help with the smell. Citrus is a natural cleaner as well.

These are the uses I have found for White Vinegar. Have you found others? Please leave them in the comments section if you have.

-All Purpose Cleaner: I have a spray bottle in which I dilute white vinegar with some water. I use it just as I would use another all purpose cleaner. Bathrooms, kitchen counters, kitchen sink, etc.

-Solution for Mopping: I add a little white vinegar to hot water to mop the floor.

-Rinse Aid for the Dishwasher: Yes, add it instead of Jet Dry to your dishwasher. Dishes come out spotless.

-Fabric Softener: Dilute the white vinegar (about 1/2 water, 1/2 white vinegar) and add to your fabric softener dispenser. Clothes come out fresh and fluffy. If you are looking for a scent with your clothes you can add some of the citrus mentioned above or you could add essential oils. Your clothes will NOT smell like Vinegar. :) They will be odorless.

-Coffee Pot Cleaner: Fill your coffee pot reservoir with a few tablespoons of white vinegar and hot water. Run the cycle, dump and then run a few cycles of just hot water. It will clean any gunk built up in your pot and make it run smoother.

Have more uses? Post below in the comments section.

Make Your Own Preserves/Jam/Jelly

Austin is an addict to jelly. He loves the stuff. Wants it on everything. Then I realized that the store bought jelly I had was full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and things I can't pronounce. I decided I needed to make my own jelly/jam/preserves. I mean Austin already bounces off the walls, I really didn't need more sugar and other junk to help that along... really. So below is the recipe I used. I now have plenty of jam stored away for quite some time. I actually went to the Farmer's Market and got a ton of peaches and strawberries for a reasonable price. This made the whole process a frugal method as well. Oh, and if you are a little funny about using granulated sugar, you could also use raw sugar, turbinado sugar, unrefined sugar (whatever you want to call it) as well.

Ingredients:
4 cups of crushed fresh fruit-whatever kind you like
1 packet of Bell Fruit Jell Freezer Jam Pectin
3/4 cup of sugar (the box says 1 1/2 cups, but I used less)

You can dice the fruit up really small, mash it, or put it in the food processor or blender. Whatever you want. Then I added the sugar and pectin and the box says to stir it for three minutes. Then you put it in whatever containers you are going to store it in and let it sit with the lid on for at least 30 mins. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to a year.

Containers: I found plastic containers in the housewares section at Walmart made by Bell. I liked them b/c they were designed for freezer jams and the lids screw on. Really though, you can use whatever containers you want, even freezer bags I guess.

Oh, and I found the freezer pectin around the jello at Walmart.

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

One way I save money is to make my own laundry detergent. For about $6 you can have enough supplies to make 15 or more gallons of detergent…. This should last nearly a year. All of these ingredients can be bought at Publix in the Laundry Aisle.

Recipe:

¼ bar Fels Napthia Soap

½ cup Washing Soda

½ Cup Borax

Grate the soap using a cheese grater. Add all ingredients into large pot. Add one gallon of water. Boil all ingredients and stir until dissolved. Allow the solution to cool. Use a funnel to put the detergent into an empty detergent container or milk jug. Let it sit overnight. The next day it needs to be shaken really well. Then shake it before using and use about ½ cup per load. I found that it does not dispense well out of a dispenser container, it’s best to pour it. You can also add essential oils for fragrance, if you’d like.