2016 Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 7: Overall Experience

I missed you, ya crappy S.O.B.!

             Hey folks! It is day 7 (and the final day!) of the 2016 Flats and Handwashing Challenge!Hallelujah! Today I'll be taking about my overall exerience with the challenge, such as what I learned, would I do it, etc.

             As far as my experience, I really hated the handwashing. In fact, I disliked it so much that I will probably not participate in the challenge next year. Is it hard? No. Is it a pain in the ass? Very much so. Compared to what I read on how everyone else washed their diapers, I half-assed mine and still thought it was a pain.

             Speaking of which, I did something similar as far as the washing routine goes the second time I did a load, but it somehow went a little faster. Maybe it was because I was trying to hurry and trying not to get distracted so I could get them up soon enough to dry outside on the line. Either way, it was still more time consuming that I care for. I'll talk more about that in a minute.

             So far, (I'm cheating and writing this on Friday), I haven't had any issues with rashes and the diapers smell clean after they're washed and dried...but I noticed that after little miss peed on them they smelled...funny. Not like ammonia or anything, just, funny. Like dirty water or dish water. Not exactly the same, but that's the best comparison I can think of. If they do end up giving her a rash for some reason, I figure that gives me an excuse to quit the challenge early. :D (God forbid I clean the diapers better. :P)

             Like I said at the beginning of the week, I expected the handwashing part to be the real challenge, but good God. I've been reading other people on the Facebook group talk about how they don't think it's that bad or time consuming and some actually find it therapeutic...Really? Ok, ok. I'll stop complaining so much.

             For the handwashing part alone, no, I don't think this is a viable option for those who do not have access to or are able to afford a washer or dryer. It's just too time consuming. Chances are, if you're living somewhere without a washer/dryer or can't afford one, you and/or your significant other are probably working your ass off to make ends meet and the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is wash diapers. I hate to make assumptions, but there it is. Who wants to wash diapers when you can be spending quality time with your kids, whom you may have only seen briefly all day? I realize how expensive the laundromat is nowadays, but I think I would still rather spend my money to do my laundry there and be able to spend time with my kid while doing so.

             Using the flats themsevles, though, is still a totally viable option, in my opinion. They're not hard to use, they're cheap, and they're easy to clean (and even quicker to dry!).

             So, as much as I don't mind most manual labor type things, I learned that I'm a whiny bitch when it comes to taking my washer and dryer for granted. (P.s. I totally cheated and still used the dryer for my fitteds that I used at night. :P) I still love my flats and will continue using them. Hopefully I'll even be able to try some quality ones out in the near future, even though the Gerber cheapies work just fine!

             How did your Flats and Handwashing Challenge go? Did you miss your washer too, or did it not bother you? Did you miss using other diapers during the challenge that you normally use?

Update: I totally cheated Sunday. I washed all the diapers in the washer because I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather and air dry them. I plain and simple just did not have time to hand wash them!