The Spendthrift's Progress

Frugality 1, Fashion 0

In my head, my house is furnished with fine, handcrafted hardwoods just begging to be touched. The oak floor of the living room (in my head, sanded and refinished) is gently covered in antique rugs of silk and wool (which mysteriously manage to avoid picking up a delicate coating of cat hair). A restored Hoosier cabinet adds a touch of vintage class to my funky-yet-functional kitchen (because if I'm going to refinish the living room floor in my head, I might as well redo the kitchen while I'm at it).

Reality, of course, is different. It's not bad, mind you. Reality is a generally tasteful mix of run-down antiques and Craig's List bargains, a worn floor that's occasionally accented with an Ikea Fauxriental rug or two, and a wire baker's rack from Target in a decidedly frustrating kitchen.

So it's not like I'm not willing to compromise my vision or anything silly like that. Usually, I'm able to balance beauty and budget, and all's well that ends well.

This was not the case today.

About a month ago, we looked hard at our budget, and decided it was time (a few months ahead of schedule) to switch to cloth diapering. The girl, sadly, inherited my rear proportions, and has been in size 2 diapers since she was about two months old, with no real end to their reign in sight at four months. Size 2 diapers, I should mention, cannot be had in bulk.

Making the switch from disposable diapers to cloth has been, in many ways, fantastic. I'm more in tune with my daughter's needs than ever, I'm feeling exceedingly virtuous in that smug sort of middle class liberal way, and, most importantly I'm no longer having to spend an insane amount of money on throwaway poop holders every month.

There are, of course, drawbacks. It takes longer to change her, as I find myself folding and refolding the diapers until they're just right. I spend what feels like 90% of my waking hours in the basement doing laundry.

The other big drawback is that those suckers take up a lot of space, both on her bottom and off. Her butt is comically large, and we've had diapers spilling from every nook, cranny, and space available.

Today, after trying and failing to come up with a storage solution using our existing furniture, a potato, and the clip from a ballpoint pen (sorry, MacGyver, I tried), the decision was made to purchase additional storage facilities. In my head, a beautiful lingerie chest would serve as Diaper Storage Station #1, until she was potty trained, when it would graduate to holding frilly little girl garments. My more practical side figured that hey, I could find one of those wire drawer cabinets like they sell for closets.

Unfortunately, the practical option was about $170 at the local Storables. Only mildly daunted, we headed to Lowes, where the bare-bones version was... only $70.

As my head whimpered and twitched, practical me gritted her teeth and picked up the $12 option: a plastic four-drawer storage chest. It's sitting on top of the file cabinet, sans casters, stuffed with diapers and diaper covers.

Ah well, at least it's functional.

posted by mohmlet @ 8:59 PM