Prepping your Fluff

On Mother's Day I was able to spend the afternoon prepping my fluff... well, Megan's fluff, and I can happily say that it is all organized and ready for her arrival!

I promised that I would post my 'how-to's' when it came to washing and preparing your cloth diaper stash, and yes, I'm finally getting around to it.

First up.... the prefolds. As, I mentioned before, these scared the crap out of me, and other than the lengthened prep time, I'm looking forward to using these the most. In order to prep your prefolds, simply boil them in a pot of water with a drop of blue dawn. I boiled mine for about 30 minutes, but my pot only held about 3 diapers. I probably could've squeezed in 4, but I was nervous. After they were boiled, I just threw them in the sink to drain a little bit, and waited until my entire prefold stash was boiled. Then, I did one regular wash cycle with hot water and 1 tablespoon of the Rockin Green detergent, and threw them in the dryer.

I purchased non-bleach Indian prefolds from Little Lions. You can also get them from Cotton Babies for $1.00 each.

I then sorted my pocket diapers. I went ahead and washed the microfiber inserts with the diapers and pre-fold covers, but I plan on washing them seperately once they're soiled. Make sure that you secure the velcro tab covers before you place them in the washer.

First, you'll run a cold/cold wash cycle with detergent. (I used 1 tbsp. of Rockin' Green)

Next, run a hot/cold wash cycle with detergent.

Then, you'll run an extra rinse. Thankfully, I can add this on to my hot/cold cycle without adding an extra step for myself. But, you'll also want to make sure that all of the suds and bubbles are gone. If they aren't, then go ahead and run more rinse cycles.

Next, I threw everything in the dryer. I found that my covers and pocket diapers dried the quickest. I had to dry the microfiber inserts at least 1-2 more times before they were fully dry. Had it been a sunny day, I probably would've dried these outside rather than in the dryer.

Once I was finished with the washing/drying process, I sorted everything. I placed the inserts that were larger in a box to be used later (and for moving purposes), then I sized my fuzzi bunz down to their smallest setting, and stuffed each one with an insert. I also folded all of the prefolds. All of the larger diapers, went in a box as well, to be unpacked once we move.

The diapers that I plan on trying out while we are still here, are unpacked and organized in a large wicker basket.

The process wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be. Although, it did take a good four hours of my day to prep/boil the prefolds, sort and seperate, seperate and sort again (after drying), size and stuff, and put away. I don't anticipate it taking me that long in the future.

Hope this helps you in prepping your own cloth diaper stash!