Are you throwing money away?

Real Diaper Week is here!! The DFW Cloth Diaper Group is so excited to be participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Change again this year! For those of you who don't know, the GCDC is an event to raise awareness for cloth diapers. This year we are attempting to break last year's World Record of 5,026 babies simultaneously changed into a cloth diaper around the world.

We are participating in the Real Diaper Week Blog Hop!

This year, Real Diaper Week was introduced to help YOU advocate for cloth diapers in your local community. The theme is "Real Simple. Real Diapers." Each day this week we will focus on the daily topic, and we encourage you to share this with your friends and family!

A little over 2 years ago we had 2 kids in diapers.  That was expensive.  I was hoping that our oldest would potty train before his little brother was born, but alas, that did not happen.  He was 2.5 years, and Eli was 2 months old, when a friend asked if we had considered cloth diapers. 

"Oh, hell no!" was my initial reaction.

Then I clicked on the link (to see what craziness she wanted me to take part in), and instead of old prefolds and plastic pants, I saw the most adorable things a child can poop in!  I wasn't on board just yet... after all, I hate laundry.  But after doing the math, I decided it might be worth a try. 

$40 a week - $160 a month - was going in the trash.  But only after our kids pooped on it.  For us, that was a LOT of money.  We sure could use it for other necessities.  So I started my research.  I decided to only dip my toes in, and bought 3 diapers.  I was still skeptical, so I didn't want to jump in until we were sure.

But with the first diaper, I was hooked!  I knew we could do it.  I convinced hubby, and we slowly built up a stash big enough for 2 kids.  I was thrilled the first time I went to the store and did NOT have to buy diapers! 

I was standing in line at the store one day behind a young mother, with her 2 small children.  She placed the small amount of food on the counter (we were in the 20 items or less lane), and a package of diapers.  She didn't have enough money for all of it.  I told the cashier to just put the food that the woman put back on my bill, that I would pay for it.  But the cashier ignored me each time I said something (I was getting more than annoyed with her).  I tried to quickly pay for my items, planning on adding the left-behind food, but the young mother rushed out of the store before I was done.  She was gone.  I knew cloth diapers could have helped her so she wouldn't have to make that decision between food and diapers.

Source: jenniferlabit.files.wordpress.com via Brenda on Pinterest

I couldn't help that mom, but I wanted to help others.  I reached out to a local non-profit, but was quickly shut down.  They didn't think their families would be committed.  But they didn't even give those families the chance to decide for themselves.

I wasn't going to stop there, though I did put it on the back burner as I was starting up the DFW Cloth Diaper Group.  And then there was the motorcycle accident my husband and I were in.  But last summer, we took the right steps to start the DFW Cloth Diaper Project!  We collected diapers, stripped them, organized them, and finally, in November 2011, we were open for business! 

It has been so wonderful to be able to help local families!  The cost of diapers was once a major hinderance for us.  I know what it's like to not pay a bill, or cut down on groceries, so you can buy diapers.  We were "better off" than many other families (and have a very supportive family), but we still struggled.  I don't want other families to make that choice between food and diapers.

How YOU can help:

• Donate (diapers or money) to the DFW Cloth Diaper Project, or other cloth diaper charities.
• Help lead a class on how to make your own cloth diapers (coming soon to the DFW area; see HERE if you would like to help!).
• SHARE this post to raise awareness.

DFW Great Cloth Diaper Change

University Christian Church

Fellowship Hall

2420 S. University Dr

Fort Worth, TX 76109

Vendor Expo and GCDC Event!

10:00 - 1:00

Visit our website for more information!