Cloth diapering, so much more work?

Well, I see it more as right effort. With right effort, consciousness can expand. I do feel like using cloth diapers has actually raised my consciousness and enhanced my life. Let me explain.

If you’ve had a baby already, remember how much work it all felt like at first? Everything was new and there was so much to learn and know. It can be totally overwhelming. But, comparatively, the second baby barely puts a dint into things.

That is how cloth diapering has been for me. Overwhelming at first, but now it barely feels like more work. No rushing out to buy disposable diapers at inconvenient times. No spending money on something I am just going to throw away.

In fact, dare I say, using cloth diapers seem to have enhanced my life.

First, they rarely leak, like disposables, which is just so annoying. Secondly, I don’t have to touch unnatural materials, such as chemicals encased in plastic, an added 5 to 7 times a day. Thirdly, cloth diapering has raised my consciousness.

Using cloth diapers have completely changed my outlook on our household’s daily consumption and waste.

It freaking blows my mind that a piece of cloth can be pooped and peed on at least once a week for a year or two or more, and still hold up, possibly even free of stains! Blows my mind!

It has gotten me to think that if one little piece of cloth can do that, then why are we creating all this paperwaste? I now use cloth all the time instead of papertowels.

I try to use cloth and containers where I used to use plastic baggies. I am more aware of our own plastic consumption. I try to make better purchasing decisions to cut down on the plastic that will inevitably wind up in landfills.

I find ways to be more efficient with things so as to create less waste.

I used to think of myself as quite environmentally aware, but using cloth diapers has really opened my eyes and made me really see it and feel it.

My baby daughter and I went away on a three-day trip together. On a road trip, I just bring the big wet bag and keep on cloth diapering. But, an airplane that charges now for checking just one bag, I had to do something. I considered buying Grovia’s 100% biodegradable disposable diapers. But, instead chose their biodegradable disposable inserts since you get more for the same amount.

Just three days using disposable wipes and throwing away inserts left and right, and it all just felt so bad and so silly to be so wasteful.

It makes me wonder: What are the karmic implications of creating so much needless waste?

Especially if it makes you feel bad when you throw stuff away. That bad energy you have created for yourself  (in way of thoughts and feelings) is now stored in your body!

As a yogi and mediator, I  have experienced first-hand how past negative thoughts and actions are stored in the body. It is so unnecessary!

Even if you don’t consciously feel bad about creating so much garbage, it is still bad karma.

Oh but all that laundry! That has to be more work, right?

True, doing an extra load or two a week is something you don’t have to do if you use disposables. But, I will let you in on a little secret which, to be honest, still blows my mind: The cloth diaper loads are actually my favorite load of laundry to do.

When doing our other laundry, I usually find that my mental chatter is griping about how much unnecessary laundry my husband and son create. I can get overwhelmed by all the laundry. But, cloth diapers—Oh they’re rather magical.

It amazes me every time how something so absolutely disgusting can be pre-washed, washed and extra-rinsed and come out so darn clean!

Not to mention that the cloth diaper load is the one load I am so happy to get cleaned as soon as possible. Who wants dirty diapers sitting around? Ew. I am always happy dealing with cloth diapers because I love the fact that I am touching, and my daughter is touching, cloth and not something unnatural.

And, I’m happy about not contributing to our landfills.

That happiness even transpires when I am folding them, or hanging them on the line. It always seems like a joyful mindfulness meditation when I am folding or hanging or unhanging.

This is serious life-enhancing stuff.

If you use cloth diapers, how has it effected you? Do you think it has raised your consciousness?

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Samantha King, known in the blog world as The Domestic Yogi(http://thedomesticyogi.blogspot.com), is a chanting, vibrating, vinyasa-practicing, yogi-Buddhist-mom. She has happily (in an unattached way) found herself sitting in zazen with the Zen Buddhists, enduring 10-day long silent vipassana meditation retreats, powering through some crazy pretzel asanas avec bandhas and breath. Under the guidance of her lama, she has dove full force into the tantric practices of vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism. But that was all before kids. Now she supports her husband at the Lakota Sundance and their other ceremonies, wipes up spit and tries to teach her two kids to value peace, the earth and respect for all things living. Samantha teaches ashtanga-vinyasa yoga, and has found a new love in teaching children and teens yoga.