CLOTH DIAPERING IN AN APARTMENT.

our Chicago apartment is located on the third floor. technically it's the 3.5 or 4th floor. we have a laundry room with a washer and dryer. it's down 3 flights of stairs, across a courtyard, and in the basement. and it's $1.25 a load. all that- and we use cloth diapers. yep. it is possible to live in an apartment that doesn't have an in-unit washer & dryer and cloth diaper. this is how we do it...

i knew i couldn't rely on the washer and dryer in our building's basement to wash our cloth diapers. cloth diapers are sensitive to certain detergents and detergent can be built up in a washer. and it would have cost us too much money per load to make it worth it. so i registered for a Haier portable washer. it is the key to our cloth diapering adventure. it might be one of my top baby items that i own. it is what makes it all possible. and it lives in a small hallway closet when not in use. i highly suggest purchasing one if you want to cloth diaper in an apartment.

it is also wonderful because it motivates me to finish the dishes. always a plus. it's a handy little machine. and it hooks right up to the kitchen faucet.

it's very easy. just remove the faucet cap, screw on the connecting piece, and pop on the water line. there's a drain piece the hangs over the sink to drain out the water. and a three prong electrical plug. easy peasy.

then we throw the diapers in. we do a total of three washes to clean the diapers. the first wash is a cold rinse.

for the second wash we throw in some Charlie's Soap and use hot water. and the third is usually just another hot wash with nothing in it to get out any extra soap left on the diapers. sometimes i'll use a few drops of tea tree oil and grapefruit extract (not pictured).

and that's that. simple, easy, effective- cloth diapering in an apartment. done. you can do it too (: