Help me figure out a system, please

[Devaskyla]

I've done some cloth diapering on all my kids, but I always give up because I have no "system" for doing it that works for me. With disposables, I use a garbage bag in the living room & just toss them in it after changing the kids on the floor. With cloth, I have no where to put the dirty ones nearby that doesn't end up stinking us out long before washing them.

I'm lazy, especially after just having a baby, and I tend to PPD, so anything "extra" is enough to push me over the edge. So when I was trying to do cloth with ds3, I'd sit on the floor to change him, then I'd have to get up, leave him with someone watching him (which always caused him to have a major freak out), go downstairs to put the wet ones in the (very crappy bag I need to replace) on the top stair to the basement (which bag needed to be moved out of the way every time someone needed to go in the basement)& take dirty ones to the bathroom to shake them off/rinse them (once he got older), then try to get them to the bag without dripping on the floor. It was just such a pain in the butt compared to disposables that I quit. I'd really like to try to stick with it this time, but I need a plan & I can't seem to come up with one.

The only thing that just sprang to mind is using a plastic bag next to me for wet ones & tossing it in the basement when it gets stinky/full. That doesn't help with dirty ones, though.

[Jaimee]

Well, for the first 6 months or so prior to eating solids, you don't need to shake, rinse, scrape or anything.  Everything just goes straight into the washing machine.  So during that time, I would recommend getting 2 new wet bags that don't leak and a tall kitchen trash can.  You can just get any kitchen trash can that has a lid.  I found one at target where you can just push the lid and it pops up and push it back down.  Very easy.  Large wetbags will fit inside and you fold the top of the bag over the edges of the can and then put the lid on.  Works like a charm!  This will help considerably with the stink issue.  The other thing you could add into this routine would be to use odor removers.  You can get citrus-scented discs (like DeoDiscs) that go inside the can and emit a nice citrus odor.  They are like 25-50 cents and last about 3 weeks.  You could also use BioKleen's BacOut odor/stain remover.  Spray right on each dirty diaper before throwing it in the can and it will cut down on odor quite a bit.

I do a lot of changing on the floor, the couch, the bed, etc. and I just move the changing pad around and a small tote with diapers, wipes, wipe solution, etc. to make things easier for me.  We also have a second small diaper bin in the upstairs bathroom and wipes in a little basket so that if I'm upstairs it's not a pain to change baby there instead of heading downstairs. 

Once you need to deal with poop removal (after solid foods) baby will be considerably older and able to be left for a minute while you take care of the diaper, especially if you have other children around that can help entertain baby for that brief period.  Then you might want to make use of flushable liners (like BioSoft liners) to make squishy poop removal that much easier.  Some parents really love the diaper sprayer instead for squishy poop removal.

Hope that helps!

[AfricanQueen99]

Unlike a lot of women around here, I have a designated changing area.  All my covers and diapers are on a little shelving unit under the desk that I use for changing.  So I walk the kid to that area, change them, and then walk the diaper to the kids' bathroom.  In one cabinet of the bathroom there is a wetbag, a plastic bag (we use disposables at night and they all go in there) and a parmesan cheese container with nothing more than baking soda and a few drops of lemon scented EO that stays open 24/7 in the way back of the cabinet so it won't get knocked over.  Since everything is right there I have access to the toilet (for poo) and it's all hidden away.

As for washing - I wash every Monday and Friday.  Period.  It doesn't matter how full the bag is it is getting washed.  As I'm due the same time as you I might need to change my washing days, but I have found that have regimented days made all the difference for me (I am NOT that organized with the rest of my life!).

[GoddessKristie]

I also have a designated changing area. My laundry room has a big folding counter, so that's where I did my changing with DS. I have a sterilite utility can with a snap on lid that I keep them in. It keeps the smell in pretty well. I think this would be fine in a bathroom. I wash every other day no matter how many diapers I have. 

This is what my pail looks like. I have no idea why the price is so high, I paid under $5 for it at Big Lots.

http://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-Corp-11368006-Utility-Can/dp/B000JXHI12/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1317784440&sr=1-4

It sounds like you are making it difficult on yourself by putting them in bags that have to be opened and emptied and by then putting those bags in the way of going down stairs. Would you consider keeping them in the bathroom until it was time to wash? Then when you change they all go to the same place, so you will be right there for emptying poppies in the toilet as well. Using a deodisc might make a big difference.  How often do you think you'd be comfortable washing? Is there a place that's out of the way enough that you don't have to move a pail, but is still convenient for using several times a day? 

[lifeguard]

I don't understand why you can't just replace the garbage bag in the livingroom with a diaper pail (or wetbag) in the livingroom. Until you introduce solids they don't need to be rinsed/dumped so it wouldn't change anything from what you are doing now. Once you introduce solids you can leave lo for a moment while you go to the bathroom to rinse/dump & then keep a second bag/pail in the bathroom. I personally found a good pail with a lid was best for the stink & then I would sprinkle baking soda with a little tea tree oil mixed in on occasionally - but I didn't find I really needed to do this until ds was older.

[kvklay]

Sterilite Corp. 11368006 Utility Can With Lid for  $51.89

What a price!....

but the feedback is good...

Originally Posted by GoddessKristie 

I also have a designated changing area. My laundry room has a big folding counter, so that's where I did my changing with DS. I have a sterilite utility can with a snap on lid that I keep them in. It keeps the smell in pretty well. I think this would be fine in a bathroom. I wash every other day no matter how many diapers I have. 

This is what my pail looks like. I have no idea why the price is so high, I paid under $5 for it at Big Lots.

http://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-Corp-11368006-Utility-Can/dp/B000JXHI12/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1317784440&sr=1-4

It sounds like you are making it difficult on yourself by putting them in bags that have to be opened and emptied and by then putting those bags in the way of going down stairs. Would you consider keeping them in the bathroom until it was time to wash? Then when you change they all go to the same place, so you will be right there for emptying poppies in the toilet as well. Using a deodisc might make a big difference.  How often do you think you'd be comfortable washing? Is there a place that's out of the way enough that you don't have to move a pail, but is still convenient for using several times a day? 

[GoddessKristie]

Right!? One of the reviews said that it was supposed to be a 6-pack for that price, but there was a mistake made somewhere. That makes it more reasonable, I guess. Still more than I paid and who wants 6 of them?

[organicmom3]

What works for us is to have the person that changes the diaper put poopy ones on the back of the toilet so I see them when I go in the bathroom....I myself rinse the diaper (no one else will do it) and then put the dirty diaper in a bucket of water...always filling the bucket so it covers the top diaper....I dump the bucket out at least once through the day and add clean water if there are extra stinky diapers in there.  We use BG's and this system works really well for us.... didn't know about being able to soak them like this till just a few months ago and it has really helped.  You could keep the bucket right by the toilet and then they are not dripping anywhwere.

[chel]

My main floor half bath is right across from the laundry room. I store all the diaper in the laundry room. Stack of clean above the washer, and two trashcans, one for wet and other for poop.
For a diaper change I grab a clean diaper and a wipe from the stack in the laundry room and go to the bathroom to chande dd on the floor. For poops, I just put it aside, finish the change and send dd off to play as I take care of the poop.
Before dd was mobile, I would just leave her on the floor

[Mizelenius]

We don't use our downstairs bathtub, so I just put the diaper pail in there (before that it was in our little playroom).  For newborn poo, I just toss it in.  No smell.  I don't even use a bag anymore-- carry the whole pail downstairs to be washed.

[azzeps]

It's true! You do need a system! I hope you find something that works for you.  Maybe you could find a hanging wet bag for your living room.  I have DS's clean diapers upstairs in his room in a drawer below the changing pad, with a pail lined with a wet bag next to it.  He is just starting solids so the poop smell isn't too bad yet, but when it does, that pail will go into the bathroom upstairs.  If I change him downstairs, I have a little open bin from the hospital that I put the diapers in until wash time.  I guess I don't mind the smell if it is contained to those two areas.