In One End, Out The Other, Cotton Booty Box for August

Fluffy mail today made my day! 

This month's box is In One End, Out The Other.  After seeing online that my detergent has had a formula change, I needed a pick me up, and this was it. 

The Fluffy mail package!

This box contained a diaper, Bumgenius 4.0 in Maathai, a sample of Bumgenius detergent (eerie timing on that one), and a set of Green Toys, plate, fork and spoon. 

Such a cute way to package the items!!

First let's look at the BG 4.0.  This will be my first BG pocket diaper. I washed it right away so we could have some action shots! 

 It came in an adorable print Maathai, from the Genius series.  It comes with an envelope pocket opening and two microfiber inserts, infant and regular inserts.  The neat thing about the BG large insert is that it snaps down to fit the diaper when it is sized down for smaller babies!  You can use one insert or both together for added protection. 

Interior

Both inserts

Pocket opening, cover flap

Pocket opening, interior

Both inserts inside the pocket opening

 The diaper was super easy to stuff and adjust using the snaps on the front to fit my daughter. 

The sample of BG detergent couldn't have come at a better time.  My detergent had a formula change and if my kids react to the new formulation, I'll be playing the game of find a new cloth diaper detergent. 

BG partnered with Country Save, a well recognized cloth diapering detergent.  Many people use and love it!  It is free of dyes, fragrances, optical brighteners, enzymes and phosphates.  It is HE certified as well!  This package is good for one load of laundry, so I cannot wait to try it out.

Finally we get to the Green Toys plate, fork, and spoon.  These toys are made in California from post-consumer milk jugs.  They are BPA, phthalate, and pvc free!  This is part of a new line of eco-friendly products for our children and they meet the FDA standards for food contact, and are also dishwasher safe. 


All in all, I am very pleased with this month's box!  I cannot wait to see what is in store next month with the Good Night, Sleep Tight box!  It is the highest value box yet!  If you haven't signed up to receive Cotton Booty Boxes, You can use my link to sign up and receive $5 off your first box!

Cotton Booty Box $5 off your FIRST purchase! *Affiliate Link*

Don't forget to enter to win a set of Woolzies Dryer Balls on my review below!  Cut drying time, soften your clothing, all without chemicals!

Woolzies Dryer Ball Review and Giveaway!

A few weeks ago I was provided with a box of Woolzies Dryer Balls to review.  While I was given these dryer balls to review, all opinions and observations are my own and I was not compensated in any way.

I admit, we do a lot of laundry in our house.  Since we live in an HOA controlled town home, we cannot dry our laundry outside.  With two adults, a toddler, and an infant, we have a lot of clothes to wash and dry, and then there are the cloth diapers! 

My children and I have sensitive skin, so we have to be careful what we use for detergent, and since we cloth diaper, using any kind of fabric softener is a no-no.  I missed having soft, static free clothing.  The sheer time it took to dry the loads of cloth diapers on low was daunting as well.  There were a few times I felt tied to the laundry in the first few weeks!

When the opportunity came to try Woolzies 100% Natural dryer balls, I was excited.  I had heard how it makes clothing softer and decreases drying time!  Everything I had read up to now stated that dryer ball users saw a decrease in drying time by up to 40%; I was hoping to see a similar result in our dry time. 

I was also very happy to know that Woolzies Dryer Balls and 100% natural.  They are PVC free (unlike plastic dryer balls), and safe for people with wool sensitivities.  I dislike the feel of wool, but the dryer balls do not bother me at all.

Actual size of one dryer ball.

My husband was the first to try the dryer balls, by sheer luck.  Yes, you read that right; my husband does his own laundry!  His dry time was shortened by 10 minutes.  The clothing laundry for the rest of us has seen a similar decrease in time. 

With the diaper laundry, we have seen a bigger decrease in time.  Before, I needed to run the dryer for 110-130 minutes to get the inserts dry.  I was very discouraged by this since not only is that a huge dry time, it is also costly to be running the dryer that long every day!  With the addition of the dryer balls, the dry time on the same size load of diapers has decreased to 70-80 minutes.  I cannot express enough how happy this makes me!  My husband is also very pleased since this means our power bills will now decrease. 

I’ve also found the diaper inserts are softer now too.  The only difference in the routine is the dryer balls!  I knew there was a difference in line drying and using the dryer for softness of diapers, I didn’t realize the dryer balls would make that much more of a difference.  The biggest change has been in my bamboo fitted diaper, it is now super soft!

While I haven’t done it, you can also use the dryer balls with a little essential oil to scent your laundry if you really miss the added scent from dryer sheets.  Just set aside 1-2 dryer balls, add 4-6 drops of essential oil to the ball, send them through a trip in the dryer to set the oil without heat, and then use the balls to dry your laundry, adding in the scented balls at the end without heat since heat will dissipate the oil and scent.  Please note, some essential oils may rub off on clothing, so please practice this on clothes you don’t mind getting stained until you get a good routine set. 

All in all, the Woolzies dryer balls have far exceeded my wildest expectations for such a simple product.  The product insert says they are good for 1,000 loads of laundry.  They retail for $34.95, so when you do the math, it works out to $0.03 a load for the cost of the dryer balls.  I know we are saving more money than that in gas/electricity we are saving!

 

I can say with all honesty, I will be purchasing more after these are done!  If you want to purchase your own, click here!

Now, do you want to have a chance to win a set of Woolzies dryer balls for yourself?  Here’s your chance!  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  One reader will be drawn at random to win a set of 6 Woolzies Dryer Balls ($30 value) for their own home.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is restricted to legal residents of the United States of America and Canada.  The Giveaway ends at midnight EST on September 8, 2013.  One winner will be drawn at random via Rafflecopter.  The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond.  If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen.  Modern Cloth Momma is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

July Cotton Booty Box

I apologize for the lateness of this review!

I was working on the Taggies Baby Sleeper review and securing another product to test and review so I can host a giveaway!

My July box was super cute, even though my daughter is too small to use the cover.  I'll be using it sooner than later though. :)

The July box, pin the diaper on the baby, contained a Bummies super whisper wrap, organic cotton prefold, snappi, a teething bling bracelet, and two samples for Aiden and Anais, gentile lotion and soothing ointment.

Unfortunately, I keep forgetting the samples on my kitchen counter, so I haven't tried them yet! Oops!

I prepped the prefold and washed the diaper cover for use once my daughter gets a bit bigger.  At 13 lbs, she is a tad small right now.  I have used a snappi before, as pictured in my Prefold Love post.  It is a fantastic product!

My son lives the teething bling bracelet, he calls it his "circle O!"  He just finished getting his 2 year molars, so it came at a perfect time.

If you want to try out a box, please use my referral link and save $5 off your first box!  Cotton Booty Box. **affiliate link**

Taggies Baby Sleeper

Have you ever noticed how a baby will play with the tag on their toy or blanket?  Why not take advangtage of that tendancy and give them items with colorful tags sewn all over it?

A month ago I was provided with a Taggies Baby Sleeper to test and review.  While this sleeper was provided free for me to review, but all opinions, experiences, and photos are my own.

When I started using this sleeper, my daughter was 3 months old.  I was very excited to try a sleeper since all we used was a cradle.  

When the sleeper arrived, I decided to time how long it took me to put it together.  Starting with taking it out of the box, I had it put together in less than ten minutes.  It was very easy to do!

Still in the box.

All the pieces

All put together in less than 10 minutes!

The next thing I needed to do was wash the sleeper cover and insert.  We always wash new items in our house.  I followed the instructions to take the fabric off the metal frame, snapped the buckles, and washed on low in my he washer.  The pad needs to lay flat to dry, so I put it on my drying rack and tumble dried the sleeper on low.  The insert dried within a couple of hours in my laundry room, but would have dried faster in the sun.  

It washes wonderfully, and is very easy to put back together.  I highly recommend washing the whole thing just as you would your own bedding.  If your baby spits up a lot, I would keep up with washing it often.  

Mom, it isn't nap time yet!

Look mom, I can run the vibration unit for sister!

See?  You just push this button.

I continued swaddling for another week.  Swaddling makes it impossible to use the harness in the sleeper, so I started using it without the swaddle.  It took a little bit for me to learn how to clip in my daughter after she is asleep without waking her up, but it can be done!  

All swaddled and napping

Mom tried to wake me up with the flash!

Once she is sleeping, I lay her in the sleeper and pull up the strap.  I then push the clip in place pressing like I'm unlatching it.  This allows the clip to slide into place without making a snap sound.  The strap not only keeps her from trying to roll over in her sleep, but it also keeps her from sliding down in the sleeper.  

Even my husband is impressed with how well she sleeps in this.  I really like how I can have her right next to my bed without cosleeping.  The light green color with vines is good for both a boy or girl.  

This sleeper is easy to collapse to take up less space, and move!

Using my bathroom scale it weighs a mere 7 pounds.  It doesn't feel that heavy at all though!

The only statistic I don't have is how long the vibration unit goes on one battery.  I keep trying to test it and either my husband or two year old son find where I put it and turn it off.  I have gotten over 2 hours of running it with no decrease in function.

The Taggies baby sleeper has a retail price of $59.99, and needs one C size battery for the vibration unit.

Close up of the locking mechanism, push in and turn on both ends to collapse

Bottom attachment to frame

Vibration unit attached to the sleeper.

Christmas in July contest ends tomorrow!

Make sure you've completed your entries and shared with your cloth diapering friends!

Christmas in July!