My Ideal Cloth Stash

The thing about cloth diapering is, it's addicting. So is the sewing of cloth diapers, in particular. Once you start, you can't stop. It also makes you think more about the environment. How much good are you doing by CDing instead of using disposables? That's thousands of diapers (for multiple babies) that are NOT in landfills because of you! So that makes you think (or at least, it makes me think) about all the other stuff that can be made from cloth...hmm.

So, I'm writing about my ideal cloth stash. I'll start with diapers, but that's hardly where I'll stop. I've got all kinds of projects in mind. My goal is to finish them all ASAP (hopefully within a month) so that from here on out, my sewing projects are fun (like clothes) and a little less frequent. My ultimate goal is to have most things in my house be cloth, but to be complete so I can spend my time on really fun projects, like making messes with my daughter! Oh, I can't wait until she is big enough to "help." I don't care how much more time it takes or how much mess she makes, it's going to be great!

Enough procrastinating. Here is my ideal cloth stash:

Cloth Diapers
2-doz. newborn prefolds
4 newborn covers (PUL with FOE and touchtape)
20 small pockets (to be stuffed with NB prefolds)
1-doz. infant prefolds (we use these as night diapers)
5 infant covers
Misc. small diapers (I have 10 fitteds, 4 pocket fitteds, a handful of AIOs...all part of my evolution in CD sewing)
18 medium pocket fitteds (still can't decide if I like real pockets or pocket fitteds better)
4 medium covers
Large diapers as necessary (so far my daughter is extremely skinny so I doubt we'll need them)
1-doz. pairs of pocket-style training pants per kid (each kid will get to choose his/her own fabric as part of our motivation to train. They'll also get to pick their potty. When we decide it's time...it's TIME!)
2 doz. cloth wipes (so far I'm using scraps of terry cloth, but I'm thinking of making some 2-layer terry-flannel wipes)
1 large PUL wetbag (to be near the changing table)
2 small PUL wetbags (1 to travel; 1 to stay on the other floor of the house for random changes)

Kitchen
2-doz. cloth napkins (more as the family expands...not sure what to make them out of yet)
1-doz. dishcloths
6 large reusable grocery sacks

For the Adults
2-doz. large mama pads (to be used PP and during heavy days)
1-doz. small mama pads
4 doz. cloth "wipes" for family cloth (haven't totally come around to this one yet...and DH really isn't sure...lol)
1 medium wetbag (for family cloth and mama pads)

Misc.
4 large rice-filled heating pads
4 small rice-filled "cool" pads (these are made of flannel and they stay in the freezer...they get cool but not too cold, and if you rotate between them every 15 - 20 min. one is always cold)
1 giant denim blanket (DH calls it the "magic blanket" and has been begging for one for a couple years)
Random quilts and blankets (I like at least 4 light and medium flannel blankets for babies)
Fun toys or clothes or whatever I can dream! lol

So that is my ideal stash. I have completed my rice-filled heating and cool pads. I have completed part of my cloth diaper stash (I need to finish my small pockets tonight, then finish my medium fitted pockets and covers, and NB covers, and that's it). Most everything else is still in the dreaming stage, though. Something fun about me -- I am TURBO ORGANIZED, but not at all neat. My stuff is everywhere but I always know where it is. A little mess doesn't bother me, but I hate not having things streamlined and easy to clean, grab, fix. So soon enough I'll post on my obsessive need to have things organized and how I'm managing with a 6-month-old.

I'll also post a pic of my new pocket diapers in action, just as soon as I finish them all. I meant to do it awhile ago, but just when I thought I was done with at least one, I noticed there was a small stitching problem on one of the tabs (easily fixed). Plus, I needed cross over tabs added since my daughter is so thin. It's done, it's been washed, and as soon as they are ALL complete I will post that pic, I promise!!