Mama Cloth!

Enjoy this guest blog post about a mama, and her journey with cloth!

When I first started to cloth diaper I was told about Cloth pads, or mama cloth. I thought, really? No WAY I could do that or was going to. The idea just seemed gross, uncomfortable, and weird. I thought it would be like wearing a diaper, and no different from wearing pads; I used tampons. But then I started reading up on it, asking around about it, and when a friend offered to make me up some for no cost, I couldn't pass her up. Now, I am in love!Mama cloth is a reusable feminine pad for use during your period. It takes place of tampons or the disposable pads. There is a different length and thickness for each part of your cycle and even customizable patterns and designs. Most of them have wings that snap underneath so no stickiness to deal with or sliding around on the underwear! Some are stuffable and some are AIO, kind of like the cloth diapers. There are also reusable tampons but I'm still not sure on trying those yet.Why I finally decided to try the mama cloth? Simple. It was better for my body. And a LOT cheaper in the long run. Disposable ones are chemical filled and toxic, not to mention they seemed to smell up the bathroom and you had to keep buying them. With tampons, theres also the risk of TTS or toxic shock syndrome. Take a tampon and stick it in a cup of water for a couple hours; the cloudiness is everything being absorbed into your body. With cloth, it's more comfortable. It's a whole lot softer and basically feels like your cotton underwear. Cloth pads are also more breathable, which means no yucky rash during the hot days. They are just as absorbant as the regular ones so it's really not as gross as it sounds. Just make sure to change it often. And no, they don't leak! And washing them is no problem. I also use family cloth (or cloth toilet paper) so I usually throw my pads in with those and wash every night. You could also wash them with your cloth diapers if you don't mind. I don't think it matters what type of laundry soap you use, but I use a cloth diaper safe brand, just because :). If you want to know where to buy them, look online. There are many places that sell them. I get mine from randumosity.com or I have a friend make them. Do a google search for cloth pads or mama cloth and I am sure many sites will come up. If you live in a bigger city I am sure local stores sell them too. You just have to search around. Try them! You won't go back to your old disposables! And if you're anything like me, the saved money is worth it alone! 

Why I use mama cloth:
Many women do not realize the amount of chemicals within their store bought disposables, or how they may correlate with gynecological concerns. Disposable pad and tampon companies are not required to list the ingredients on labels. Some irritating or toxic ingredients found in disposables include:

 

 From Sheena Halliwell.

aluminum, alcohols, fragrance additives, and hydrocarbons. Tampon bleaching processes leave behind dioxin. Dioxin is a toxic chemical (chlorine-compound) linked to cancer, immune system suppression, ulceration, pelvic inflammatory disease,reduced fertility, changes in hormone levels and endometriosis. Try this simple test: Place a regular tampon in glass of water and return in a few hours. You will find the water cloudy and filled with residue - all things that your body is otherwise absorbing into the soft tissues of the vagina.

 The blog I have  (although I haven't written on it in a while......) is savewithcloth.com

also, she shared this little tid bit with me the other day!

Define: Dirty Hippie.

I'm a simple girl really.

 or at least i try to be. simplicity is my everyday quest, something I'm always trying to find ways to work towards. I'm always looking for ways to chip off the modern amenities that fill our lives with sound, and find a quiet happy spot. you know the place, where everyone is happy, and wants for nothing. you feel loved, and content. Accomplished,yet simple.

my family, by any means, are no where near this place. we know where it is. we are just lost trying to get there. so here we are, learning the skills we will one day need. enjoying putting those into play, and living our everyday lives :D

I frequently refer to myself as a hippie, and am slowly converting my circle of friends into fellow hippies. i feel very strongly about natural healing, heirloom quality foods, lowercase letters, forgotten crafts, unassisted, or at least intervention free pregnancies and births, breast feeding, car seat safety, and making everything from scratch. i am also notoriously stubborn, and am often told i could argue with a fencepost. i have a fiery temper, but i blame that on the red hair and irish heritage.

I love who i am, and where i am in life.

 Who are you? How do you describe yourself? What defines you?

christmas in july.

I don't know about you.. but i am a little OCD when it comes to Christmas. okay, truth be told, I'm UBER OCD about Christmas time.  I am incredibly stubborn about decorations, food, festivities, and gifts. I refuse to give gift cards, and generic gifts. I want each and every single one to have meaning to the person I am giving it to. On top of that, I have a very large family, and we all exchange gifts. In past years, I have tried to cram everything into October, November, and December.. and its just nerve wrecking.

 2 years ago I discovered flylady,  It is a great home organizational system that allows those of us who need some strict routine to stay on top of things like, meals, chores, clutter, laundry, and Christmas. When the holidays near, they have a whole section dedicated to Christmas time! The goal in their system is to be completely done with Christmas buying by November 1st.  I very quickly decided that should be my goal, so i can enjoy the season and not worry about crowds, budgets, and the 40982843729485784.7 gifts i need to buy!

 Last year... it did NOT happen.  We took the handmade pledge a little late in the year, and i was struggling to make/buy all the handmade gifts we would need in time! I finished the very last one on Dec. 24th... talk about cutting it close! 

This year.. I am determined to make that happen! Brace yourselves... I have already started on my Christmas shopping! GASP! i know right?   But its only July?!?!

However, I will be well prepared this year, and not struggle so much to come up with handmade items. I have almost all the children bought for, and partial gifts for most of the grandparents/great grandparents. My mother has requested Pajama's for her and my stepfather and I will be working on those this week.

As I am working on finding the things I wish to buy, I am quickly realizing that winter things are much cheaper in July :) By starting now, in July, I am making it much easier for us to stick to our Budget. We all know that Christmas can be taxing on the bank account, and impulse buying is at a all time high at the end of the year. We are very carefully saving to put down 100% on land, and the more frugal we are, the sooner we are living our dreams.  On top of that, the day i can talk my husband into putting up our tree ( usually way earlier than December, lol), I can have gifts under it, and that oh so awesome sense of accomplishment!

 My favorite plus to finish Christmas shopping early is being able to enjoy the true reason for the season without the distractions of the consumer side of the holiday. <3.

What are your plans for Christmas's shopping?   How do you coordinate it for your families?