Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Travel With Cloth Like A Pro - #beachbash

How To Travel With Cloth Diapers
Summer is in full swing and I’m so excited to be selected as one of the participating bloggers in the Kelly's Closet Blogger Beach Bash. All participating bloggers will be sharing fun summer posts and giving away a $15 gift certificate to Kelly’s Closet in addition to the awesome Beach Bash Prize Package that Kelly's Closet is giving away on their site for a swim diaper, sunscreen, & medium wetbag.  Have you gotten your entries in yet??? Well, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to write about for my Blogger Beach Bash post. What does summer mean to me? More importantly what does summer mean to me when it comes to cloth diapering? After thinking on this awhile it hit me! I’m sure you've realized that we are out of town… A LOT. I think we’ve only been home about two weekends this whole summer. So what does this mean for me? It means that I’m packing up diapers for trips all the time. After a little trial and error I have traveling with diapers down to an art form and I’m here to share with you my diaper traveling tips. Check out my travel packing lists below as well as a few tried and true cloth diapering travel tips that are sure to make your days away from home go a little more smoothly. 



The Weekend Packing List (1-3 nights) 



Disposable Diaper Liners – Linc only poops once a week so I only bring these if it’s getting close to pooping day, but if your wee one poops a lot (and it’s solid enough for liners) then I would highly recommend them so you can avoid stowing away super poopy diapers till you get home or having to swish them while out and about. Don’t bring the whole roll. Just bring what you need and store them in a travel wipes case. 

All-In-Two Diaper Shells – All In Two diapers seem to take up the least space when packing since I can use each shell a few times. I figure that I’ll be using each shell about three times before tossing it in my wet bag. When figuring how many shells to bring I use the following calculation: 

((Avg # of diaper changes in a day + 1)*(# of days you’ll be away)) / 3 = # of Diaper Shells To Pack 

All-In-Two Diaper Inserts – Pack 3 inserts for every diaper shell. Sometimes I’ll throw an extra insert or two in for good measure. 

Nighttime Diapers – This will depend on how heavy of a wetter your child is. I can use an All In Two diaper with two inserts or a fitted diaper with a cover. I pack one nighttime diaper option for each night away. I do not re-use diaper shells or covers used at night due to the amount of pee that gets soaked into them. 

Swim Diaper – I like to pack two just in case Linc poops while in his swim diaper. I want to have a back up. 

Cloth Wipes (single ply) – Like I said. Linc doesn’t poop much so I only use one wiper per change. That means I pack the same number of wipes as diaper inserts plus one just in case. The reason I say single ply is because they take up less space in my suitcase than my double sided wipes. 


Small Wet Bag – I usually bring two small wet bags (one for the drive to my destination and one for the drive home), but you can also get away with one. Just empty the wetbag into your larger wetbag and reuse. Wipe the wet bag out and let dry if needed. 


The Extended Stay Packing List (with washing facilities)


My extended stay with washing facilities packing list is pretty much the same as my weekend trip packing list. I just pack enough shells, inserts, nighttime diapers, & wipes for 3 days and 3 nights. I also pack enough cloth diaper safe detergent for my entire trip along with a measuring scoop and two large wet bags instead of one.  This is based on washing every other day.


The Extended Stay Packing List (without washing facilities) 


My extended stay without washing facilities packing list is a bit different. I still pack everything I do for a weekend trip with a few tweaks to accommodate hand washing EVERY DAY. Instead of All In Two diapers, I use covers and flats. The reason for this is because they are much easier when it comes to hand washing and drying. 


Disposable Diaper Liners – These are especially helpful when it comes to hand washing. The less poop the better. Just pack the quantity you will need while away and put them in a disposable wipes travel container. 

Diaper Covers – When it comes to traveling I find that PUL (no interior liner) is the easiest to clean, the fastest to dry, and takes up the least amount of space in your luggage.  Figuring that I'm going to wash every day, I pack enough diaper covers for two days plus 1 just in case.  I personally like to rotate between two covers each day and have one as a backup.

Flat Cloth Diapers – Pack enough flats for two days.  I pack one per change, but you might need two per change if you have a heavy wetter. Sometimes I’ll throw an extra flat or two in for good measure. I find that birdseye cotton flats are the easiest to hand wash and dry the fastest as well. 

Diaper Closure Device – You will not need these if you are just padfolding your flats and laying them in the diaper, but if you will be fastening your flats to your baby, make sure to pack two sets in case one gets lost (snappy, boingo, pins, etc) 

Nighttime Diapers – If at all possible I would stick with flats for nighttime diapering since they will be the easiest to hand wash. This might be the time you want to pack 1 wool cover or dare I say disposables, but I use a PUL cover? If you do use disposables I would just buy them at your destination to save on luggage space. 

Swim Diaper – I like to pack two just in case Linc poops while in his swim diaper. I want to have a back up. 

Cloth Wipes (single ply) – You definitely want to go with single ply when hand washing. They will clean so much better than double sided wipes. Pack enough for 3 days of diaper changes. 


Large Wet Bag - Ok, this one is optional.  If you are able to bring a bucket to wash in then I would use that to store your dirty diapers instead of a wet bag.  If you do not have a bucket then a wet bag might be necessary.  I would recommend a bag that does not have a cotton exterior so is easier to clean and faster to dry.

Small Wet Bag – I usually bring two small wet bags (one for the drive to my destination and one for the drive home). You’ll probably need to use these during your trip for day use as well. In that case I would pack a small wet bag that doesn’t have a cotton exterior so that it’s easier to clean and faster to dry. 

Cloth Diaper Safe Detergent - Pack enough in a zip lock bag for your entire trip and a measuring spoon.


Washing System - Now this part depends on where you're going and how you're getting there.  If you're driving you can bring a bucket and plunger for a camp style washer.  If you're flying you could just pack the plunger (in a plastic bag) and clean your diapers in a bathtub.  You could also pack a washboard if that's easier since it's flat or go really basic and just scrub, scrub, scrub with your hands.  If you go the hands route then be sure to pack some gloves too.  Check out my post on handwashing to see how I wash my flats.  You can also check out my camping post to see some fun pics of us roughing it with cloth.


So there you have it!  That's my tried and true method for traveling with cloth.  How do you travel with cloth?


Click HERE for a chance to win a $15 Gift Certificate to Kelly's Closet

Click HERE for a chance to win a Beach Bash Prize Package


For more great Blogger Beach Bash posts, visit the Kelly's Closet Blog for a complete list of participating bloggers.


Kelly's Closet Blogger Beach Bash


**Kelly's Closet sent me a Tots Bots S-T-R-E-T-C-H Bamboozle for my participation in this campaign.  Be sure to check back during my September Fitted Diaper Event for a full review of this diaper!!!

34 comments:

  1. Awesome article! I will definately referencing this the next time I am traveling!

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  2. We ate camping for a week so I stocked up in flip disposable inserts

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    1. I've tried the GroVia disposable inserts and those are a great option too.

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  3. This is a great article. Thanks for all the info! I really appreciate that you made a specific list with real #s of items.

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  4. Nice ideas. I always resort to using disposable for my trips, but this seems easy the way you put it. It will be my goal not to break down and use disposable for our next trip!

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  5. i have a feeling I'll still stick with sposies for long trips but maybe we'll consider it for short ones!

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    1. I too use sposies for long trips without a washer and dryer most of the time. I've only done a few trips where I hand washed.

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  6. I am going to bookmark this post! My little one is coming on Monday (being induced) so I'm sure this will come in handy in the future!!

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  7. What a great article. We just did our first camping trip with cloth and it wasn't that bad at all. We just used our regular inserts and luckily there was a bathroom nearby. It really wasn't that bad

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  8. Wow, that's more stuff than I regularly use at home!

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  9. Great post! I can't wait to try CD on the road... lol... we'll see what I forget... I always forget stuff on our road trips!

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  10. awesome article. definitely will come in handy when i travel

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  11. Great job putting this together :) I tend to use cloth shells with the decomposable disposable liners for long trips. Still environmentally safe and much easier. I just had wash the shell in the sink and hang dry it. They dry super fast :)

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  12. It's so great to see someone elses packing list. I will be tweaking my list a little bit

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  13. I have never been brave enough to try traveling with cloth diapers but I will reference your list when I want to try it!

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  14. We always travel with cloth. My husband even hand washed them in Jamaica (he's hard core lol).

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  15. Never would have thought of switching the type of diaper based on the length of the trip. Brilliant! You must have a very large stash btw. :)

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  16. This is a seriously fantastic list of things I will need while travelling. I hope you don't mind that I take it and adapt it into my own life. I'm a huge fan of ai2's. I love that my wet bag isn't usually full to the top every time I do laundry.

    Plus, I love reusing my cute covers. :)

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  17. I haven't traveled with my girl yet, so these tips are helpful! In January we are going to be gone for a week and I haven't decided if I'm going to attempt cloth or not. I hope to, but I'm not sure that my husband is on board...especially if we have to pay for an extra suitcase on the plane, which would probably cancel out the cost savings of using cloth.

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    1. I agree. Paying for another suitcase is not saving. My cloth really doesn't take up much space though. I also heard of a way you can save. If you check your carseat in a heavy duty bag and pack your diapers in that bag with your carseat then you can get them on the plane for free! Linc's diapers really don't take up much space though. I should have posted a pic. I was able to pack a whole weekend of diapers and clothes for Linc in an itti bitti kids backpack suitcase.

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  18. We've traveled several times with our Grovias, both cloth and biosoakers. They both take up much less room than AIOs or pockets and it doesn't get much more convenient than biosoakers! For nights I just add a padfolded flat under a biosoaker or two boosters inside the cloth insert.

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  19. Very helpful article! I just started CDing and I am going on a trip in a month and will definitely refer to this article!

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  20. I love that picture! He's a ramblin man!

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  21. Awesome advice! I have this book-marked and will come back to it when we go on a 6 night trip to Dallas. It will be our first time doing extended travel with cloth.

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  22. Great advice - we're doing extended travel with cloth for the first time in October!

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  23. Disposable liners were something I quickly learned were a must when traveling :)

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  24. This is a very helpful article. We recently were on a week long vacation and opted for using our Grovia shells with their Biosoakers. They worked great even for nights. I did take a few of our pocket diapers just in case we ran out of Biosoakers.

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  25. I did cloth when I flew to my cousin's house, but I'm going to use sposies on a no washing, week long trip. I just don't want my diapers sitting that long without washing.

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  26. First article of this kind I've found! thank you :)

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  27. this is an awesome packing list. thanks so much for putting the time into putting it together.

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  28. I haven't traveled with my 15mo yet, but when I do I will be sure to reference this! Thank you :)

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Thanks so much for taking the time to show your support with a comment! I LOVE reading all of them and will try and answer any questions that you might have. :)