Recycling is fun! (And a LOT of work)

Recycling is fun! (And a LOT of work)

We are on our second full week of recycling. My kids love sorting out our "trash" and catching Daddy when he forgets. Overall it has been going great...except for where to bring it. My husband has said (a few times now) that he does not want to pay for recycling which means not adding it to our garbage pick up. And like I said before-there isn't much emphasis on it where we live. I found a few places to drop off but some require an annual fee and the other has a main focus on metal. So for our first week, my awesome cousin's fiance took our bags (literally 8 bags) and dropped them off in her town. So we are still on a mission to find something local.

Here is what we are currently using until I find a more permanent solution:

These are Flings Pop Up Recycling Bins. I found a coupon online and decided to try them out.

These ones come in a package of 3 that we found at Target. They come smooshed down like that and then...
POP up like this. They look huge in the picture but they are not really that big.

They make a great hat I suppose...

Getting some stuff together to start out our adventure.

As you can see, they are not huge but they can hold about a weeks worth for our family of 5. We kept overflowing the plastics container so we ended up having to use a plastic Target bag to put out water bottles/jugs into. Now it works good.

Here is out set up.
Plastic~soup cans~cardboard/paper

Since our state (MI) has deposits on pop/soda cans we keep those in a separate space as well.

These are perfect height for Kynlie...we have found many toys and other random things in these! So we have to double check them a lot.

For me, the hardest part is making sure everything is rinsed out. I don't want any extra creepy crawlies in our house.

I'm also working with Nyla to make sure to take the label off of any cans we have-carefully so she doesn't get cut.


Easiest one...and fills up quickly!
What is nice about these: they stay clean and you can reuse them over and over and then when you are done with them, you can recycle them!

Here are our goals from last week:

Our first 5 family recycling goals:

1. Visit the recycling center in our neighboring town (ours doesn't have one)
2. Find some reusable snack bags and not buy any plastic ones from now on (gonna be tough on Daddy! Although we do use a lot of Tupperware)
3. Un-paper towels and napkins all the way(we are doing this partially already)
4. Do at least one recycle craft per week-sneak peek here for next week
5. Finish our recycling station/bins (including a picture on the bins per Nyla)

I was able to get some reusable snack bags and are excited to get some more. We have a few napkins left that we are still trying to "get rid of" but then we are on a mission to make our own napkins or find some WAHM ones. (any suggestions)
We ran out of time for the craft but it is on the schedule for tomorrow. I'll post about it next week. We also got our bins up and running (without pics) and it is going great!

Do you recycle? What is your solution? Do you have tips for us?


I also have gotten a Lunette cup for review! I am super excited about this because I HATE paying for tampons! This is a great way to save money and help out the environment. Look for the review on it next week!!

I found a coupon online for the flings and paid for them myself. I have not contacted flings for this review. All opinions are my own.

Newborn Series: Macaroni Baby AI2 Newborn

Macaroni Baby AI2 Newborn

A little about this diaper:
-Cover can be reused as long as its not soiled.
-Minky outer, hidden layer of PUL and inside is minky
-fits 7-12 pounds
-one wing snap for adjustable rise
-umbilical snap down.

Tarah from Macaroni Baby send me a newborn diaper with an extra insert as well as a super cute little blanket for reviewing and using. The fabric is so soft, I know it will be comfy on the baby.

In the picture below you can see the front of the diaper set to the smallest setting with the snap down for the cord.

This diaper has one snap on each wing for easy on and off. It also feature two rows of snaps which will allow the diaper to grow with your baby and give a higher rise. If you have the snap down for the cord then you would use the lower level of waist snaps. If the snap for the cord is not being used you can still use the lower level of waist snaps or you can use the top level to allow a higher rise.

The inside of the diaper is made with a super soft minky which will limit some of the wetness that the baby can feel but will not completely remove the feeling.  The insert is made with hemp fleece and topped with velour.

The insert has a simple snap in feature so easy to change out if you want to reuse the cover.

The blanket Tarah sent along with the NB diaper is matching with the cute blue and brown hands and feet minky. It has a snap in a corner so you can attach a pacifier or a toy to it for baby to play with!

Here is Micah around 9 pounds wearing the Macaroni Baby AI2 diaper. It is so soft! His cord had just fallen off so his button was still kind of yucky so I kept the cord snap snapped down.

 We didn't have any gaping issues around the legs with this diaper.

How does this diaper work for us?
Micah has had a great fit while wearing this diaper. The legs have a nice fit and with the cord snap open even the fit is great. Having the rise snap open makes the rise of the diaper higher and will allow the diaper to fit a little longer. I love how soft this diaper is as well. The material used to make it is adorable and it was made well. It also holds a good amount and we can do the normal 2 hour diaper changes with this diaper.

You can find Macaroni Baby's Facebook page here.

You can visit Macaroni Baby's shop here.

Better Bottoms Dypes OS Fitted Review

It is no secret I love finding a great WAHM diaper. When I came across Sarah at Better Bottoms Dypes, I knew I was in for a treat! She was awesome to work with, and I fell in love with the squishy goodness that was sent to our home! She made an Avengers themed diaper (per hubby's request) and she didn't disappoint!

My little guy pointing to and screaming about "THE HULK! THE HULK!"

This particular style was her OS Fitted. Her fitteds fit most, 12lbs-35+. My guy is almost {sniff} 2 years, and clocking in about 30+-ish-lbs. And the crossover tabs allow for a nice, snug fit on the tiniest babies (and littlest waists!)

The largest setting.

Her fitted is a bit thick, standing alone. For us, it's not an issue. We're not afraid of a fluffy bum in our home, especially when works as well as a Better Bottoms Dypes! But more on that in a minute... :-)

I love the color combo she chose for the diaper! So much color and so fun!

Inside. Oh, sweet mercy. The softness!!! I seriously sat and rubbed my hands on the inside of this diaper for so long when I first got it...

Straight from the Better Bottoms Dypes website:

The outer is made of 100% cotton, with a hidden inner layer of Bamboo Fleece and an inner layer of Bamboo Velour. The soaker is snap in and quick dry, made of 2 layers of organic hemp/cotton and two layers of organic bamboo. Once folded in half it will provide 8 layers of great protection! 

You will also receive a 4 layer booster, also made from 2 layers of organic hemp/cotton and two layers of organic bamboo.

Sarah claims this diaper offers "great protection", and "great protection" it provides. We have been reaching for this particular diaper every night that it is clean. We pair it with a Thirsties Cover and can make it about 12-13 hours a night without a leak! The 12 layers of bamboo and organic hemp/cotton are amazing.

The fit is great with this fitted and I absolutely love the snugness of it.

 Once it is on, it isn't as huge as it seems :)

 Great fit across the waist, and through the thighs and hips.

GIVEAWAY ALERT! - This giveaway is now closed

Sarah has provided a Better Bottoms Dypes OS Fitted in a Sock Monkey theme for one of our readers! This diaper is in my possession, and I will ship for free once a winner is drawn!

To enter this giveaway, please fill out the following form. You may need one or more of the following links:
Better Bottoms Dypes website
Better Bottoms Dypes on Facebook
Better Bottoms Dypes on Twitter
CDA on Facebook
CDA on Twitter

This giveaway will close on Saturday, August 18. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: I received for review one OS Fitted. All opinions are my own and you may have a different experience. The review is sponsored by Better Bottoms Dypes and will be shipped by Terra to the winner, free of charge.

Newborn Series: MonkeyDoodlez Micro

 Monkey Doodlez Newborn Pocket diaper

Special features of the Monkey Doodlez NB diaper:

-Fits 6-12 pounds

-Cross over tabs

-Pocket diaper for faster drying

 -Aplix

-Lined with a soft fleece

The outside of the diaper is very simple. It gets narrow toward the front which reduces the extra bulk on a newborn (great feature)!

 The inside has a soft fleece to go against baby and leaves a stay dry feeling. 

 Here is the MonkeyDoodlez Micro (newborn) on Micah around 9 pounds and he still has his cord stump.

 There was a small opening around his leg.

How did we like this diaper?
This diaper was kind of hard to stuff because the front was really narrow, however the soaker that it came with (I forgot to get a picture of it) was almost triangle shaped so it fit nicely into the diaper. This diaper I thought ran a little small. I don't think it will last until 12 pounds like their suggested weight. At 9.12 Micah is already starting to out grow it. He also has skinny legs with out the baby chub and so it gaped around the legs causing leaks. I also thought the fleece, even though super soft, had a tendency to kind of either repel or just took a while for the pee to soak though.

Newborn Series: bumGenius XS

So the first diaper in the Newborn Series is going to be the bumGenius XS AIO diaper.
A little bit about this diaper:
-fits babies between 6-12 pounds.
-Made to fit so that the front of the diaper sits below the belly button which will help to keep the umbilical area dry.
-It has a sewn in microfiber core.
-Waterproof outer

Here is the BG XS AIO diaper closed up. Its so cute and tiny. It has the same stretchy tabs as the other bumGenius diapers (such as the pockets and elementals). You can only get this diaper in Aplix.
This diaper features elastic across the back and around the legs. The front elastic goes all the way across the front of the diaper.

The inside is lined with micro suede material to help give the baby a stay dry feeling after they wet. The insert is sewn in nicely to keep it in place.

One thing that concerns me about this diaper is the location of the laundry tab. Because the diaper is so little the tab is located on the middle back of the diaper. Both aplix on the wings will stick to this tab and each other. I wonder if that tab on the back of the diaper will bother the baby but it is pretty soft so we will have to keep an eye out for that.

How I think this diaper will work for us:
I think this will be a great diaper for starting out with because it does seem to have a smaller size to it than our other NB diapers. I also like that its aplix rather than snaps because NB's like to curl up into little balls which makes fastening diaper on a little harder. The aplix should make this easier for us. I also this will do a fairly well job of keeping in the NB poo explosions. The elastic around the legs seems to be nice and tight but if we have a super skinny legged baby that might be a problem. I don't think this diaper will fit the longest of all the NB diapers I have in my stash. I think it will work great at first but will become outgrown pretty quick.

How did this diaper work for us? 
Well I didn't even get a picture of Micah wearing this diaper because honestly I really did not like it at all! I was really thinking this would be a nice diaper to have because it was trim, it had aplix etc. However, I could not get a good fit at all with it. It seemed like it was not stretchy enough to fit around him and it just was weird. Maybe on a smaller baby it would have more success? I don't know but I ended up selling both of my XS Bumgenius diapers that I had because I just didn't care for them at all.  He also peed through this diaper when he wore it.

Want one for yourself...err...your baby?
You can purchase them at various online cloth diaper retailers. Prices ranging around the 10-13 dollar mark. I was able to purchase this diaper as a 'seconds' item, meaning it has a cosmetic flaw, for only $6.00 from the Cotton Babies website. There are no visible flaws from what my eyes can see. You can also purchase these (used) on various cloth diaper swap pages from anywhere between $5-$10 a piece.