Taking the Plunge

Well, after living in our apartment for two years now with no washer and dryer, not to mention the year and half before that in our apartment in Tucson with no washer and dryer, we have decided to get a washer and dryer. The funny thing is that the main reason is not for the convenience of washing my clothes at home instead of carting 4 or 5 very heavy laundry bags to another building every 10 days or so in our bike trailer/stroller (although I have to admit that not having to do this does excite me possibly more than you can imagine). What got me started in this direction was thinking about the ways we save money (next post, possibly tonight). I realized that there was one major area in our lives where we have not only chosen the more expensive route, but also the less environmentally friendly route as well: disposable diapers! Now, if you believe the diaper companies' spin doctors [read: Proctor & Gamble], then you probably think that disposable vs. cloth diapers is an equally balanced bad for the environment situation. Not so! I think this page puts it pretty well: Diaper Dilemma (Part 2): The Environment

But, as I was saying, it was the cost of disposable diapers that got me on this track. I realized in one grand epiphany that we have already spent more money on diapers for our two kids than it would cost us to buy a washer and dryer and use cloth diapers. Mentioning this to Peter, along with the fact that this trend would continue without buying those things, was all I needed to have the go ahead on his part to spring for the duo. We, of course, looked at Craigslist first and managed to find a cheap Energy Star (required by Stanford Housing) washer and a normal dryer right here in our very own neighborhood! So, I bought them, just now. Being the nice person that I am, I'm letting her keep it until they move, so we'll pick it up when we get back from our trip to Utah (which we leave for in a little over a week, so, no skin off my back...).

The washer and dryer aren't so much what the plunge is all about though. It's the switch to cloth diapers. When I first came up with the idea this morning, I was a little intimidated. But with a little memory and internet searching, I found that there are really some easy, no hassle, non finger staining ways to do the whole cloth diaper thing, and now I'm actually pretty excited about it! Cloth diapers are so much cuter, for one thing! I mean, who wouldn't think this is cuter? It's probably not the one we'll be doing, but doesn't it look nice and easy?

And really, I am SUPER excited about having a washer and dryer in our apartment! Really really. Really.