Pioneer Days

I've been called "granola", "low maintenance", even "hippy". This is perhaps due to that period of time in college where I refused to wash my hair so that my head oils could "find a new equilibrium", the all-natural deodorant that I wear, or the fact that the newest item of clothing in my closet was purchased in 2003. So it may come as no surprise that over the last few months we've taken a few steps back in the technology department that have made impacts, both small and large, on our family. I would argue that they've been for the better. Allow me to explain:

Firstly was our decision to use cloth diapers. If you've seen me recently I've probably talked to you about our cloth diapers because I absolutely love them for so many reasons. I was hesitant to start using at first because 1) they're a large initial financial investment and 2) I just wasn't sure that I could keep up with them, but I'm so glad that I use them now. I honestly wouldn't have done it without my sister using them before I did, giving them her stamp of approval and honing her diaper duty system.

A few reasons why I love them:
-These aren't your grandmother's (or mother's) cloth diapers. I use Bum Genius all-in-one diapers, which means that they are adjustable to fit Isaac until he's potty trained (soon?) and don't need to be stuffed or lined with anything. They have sturdy snaps instead of velcro or, horrifyingly, safety pins. You put it in the diaper pail, toss it in the washer, dry it and it's ready to go again.
-They save money. A lot. It's estimated that to diaper a baby in disposables until age 2 costs about $2000. A full set of cloth costs a few hundred and they can be used on subsequent kiddos, as well.
-They're super absorbent. After putting Isaac in disposables the week that we were moving and having leaks and poopsplosions (poop + explosion = poopsplosion), I couldn't wait to get back to our trusty cloths.
-Then, of course, there's the environmental impact, which some people care about more than others. Honestly, I'm in it more for the money saving aspect, but it feels good to know that they don't contain any of the chemicals that disposables do and they're not piling up in a landfill.
-And, lastly, they're cute!

They've also taken a surprisingly small amount of effort to maintain. Just like anything else, once I got into the routine it's been simple. All it takes is just one extra load of laundry every other day. My one disclaimer is that I don't think I could do them if I was working. I wouldn't want the extra laundry and I doubt that many childcare facilities would tolerate the extra work on their end. So luckily, our situation affords us the "luxury" of cloth diapering.

Along with the cloth diapers has come yet another step back in time: the clothesline. Yes, we have a clothesline. I'm sure your apartment complex or home owner's association doesn't allow them, neither does ours. It's because they're unsightly and trashy, but no one has complained yet and it sure does cut down on electricity. I was really excited to be getting a little patch of yard with our new place because part of the diaper routine involves drying the diapers outside because 1) in mere minutes the sun bleaches the last remnants of stains that the washer doesn't get and 2) because they're so absorbent, they take a long time to dry and the Texas heat does a better job than the dryer. Hence, I put up a clothesline. When we moved in we were/still are sans dryer, however, due to the availability of our SODS (Sophisticated Outdoor Drying System) we've barely noticed. We will get a dryer soon though... maybe.

Lastly, we've given up TV. We still own a television, of course, but it just has a DVD player hooked up to it. This conversation started when Joe and I got married and moved to Irving. We were both starting grad school and talked about not getting cable service because surely our time could be better spent (and it could have). Neither of us are big TV watchers, but we love sports and decided that we couldn't give up weekend football, Wimbledon, the Masters, March Madness, Rangers' games, etc. When we moved to Dallas and again during out latest move, we had the same conversation and the same result: couldn't go without sports. The change came when it took almost a month for our provider to hook up service. Our cable line was dead, they were overbooked, and we were weeks without cable and internet. Not surprisingly, we were desperate for internet. The lack of "googling" that was going on was maddening. What was surprising was how little we missed having cable. We decided to give it up.

We still watch DVDs, but sitting down to watch a movie is a commitment. It has a purpose. Whereas with TV, it's so easy to plop down with no intention of really watching anything and end up leaving it on for hours. Now, our mornings are quieter. We're never tempted to divide our time between Isaac and a TV show. We spend time talking, reading or being productive in the evenings instead of scrolling through 100+ channels for something to watch.

It almost feels like a burden has been lifted now that TV isn't in the realm of possibilities for our household. All in all, a great decision for us. That's not to say that come September we wouldn't appreciate an invite over to watch a Cowboys' game ;)