Low Waste Baby- What did I actually buy and need?

If you read my blog before, you might remember my plans before baby to have a "minimalist" approach this time around with my second child.
Now that he has been here for six weeks, I decided to take inventory of what I bought new, second hand, and got for free and what I actually use.

What I Bought New:

1.)  Baby Bath Sponge - $7.19

I got this to go in the kitchen sink when I wash him. The little tubs in my opinion are not needed. I could have skipped this and used a towel, but it does make bathing in the kitchen sink a bit easier, and was not expensive.

2.) Cloth Diapers/Wipes/Diaper Sprayer - $275.00

I bought half of my cloth diapers used, the other half new. Once again, I probably could have bought them all used, but this kit came with an attachment for the toilet to spray them off, plus cloth wipes. Fancy stuff I *could* have done without. ( And my loving husband has yet to attach the sprayer, go figure.)

3.) Wet Bags $20.00

A Large one and a small one- I use these in lieu of a diaper pail to hold dirty diapers. The whole thing goes in the washing machine. These are awesome! I also carry one in the diaper bag.

4.) Sheet for co-sleeper- $16.00

5.) Nursing Pads - $20.00

6.) Stroller - $179.99

I had not planned on getting a stroller, but it is compatible with his car seat and makes walking to the bus stop everyday with older son easier.

7.) Nursing Pillow - $12.00

Impulse purchase. I do use it but I think regular pillows are fine.

Total for New Items : $530.18

What I got Second Hand:

8.) Car seat- My sister had a baby last year, and he out grew his infant car seat and she passed it on to me, along with a winter car seat cover. - Free

9.) Bouncy Chair- Leftover from first kid- Free

10.) Bottles- a friend of mine gave me a box of glass Dr. Brown's bottles she was done with. - Free

11.) Clothes- all hand me downs. - Free

12.) Baby K'tan  Carrier- bought on Ebay- $30.00
I use this a lot!

13.) Cloth Diapers- I purchased some second hand cloth diapers on ebay, a lot cheaper than new. - $80.00

Total Second Hand: $110.00

Gifts:

I received a lot of baby gifts. While I did not really need anything, people really like to buy baby stuff.

14.) Blankets- I already have a ton of blankets and received more as gifts.

15.) Co-Sleeper- my parents bought this as a baby gift, I asked for it. I am torn on this, so far the baby is 6 weeks old and has yet to actually sleep in it- he sleeps with me in the bed. But, it does give me peace of mind that if he were to somehow roll over out of the bed, he would roll into the co sleeper. Although, I do not think one needs to spend $200.00 on a co sleeper when a bed rail would probably suffice. I know not everyone is into co-sleeping, but I sleep better knowing he is near me, and it is quite convenient for nursing. Our first son slept with us until he was about 5. Given a choice, he would prefer us all to have a giant family bed :)

16.) Pacifiers/Soap/Toiletries- a lot of people gave me these things.

Total Gifts: $0.00

Grand Total: $640.18 <-- Not too bad, and a lot of that stuff I really did not even need.

So, you really don't need to buy much stuff for a baby, and if you have friends and family, you will receive a lot of gifts. Especially clothes. And blankets.

What were essential purchases in my humble opinion? Well, cloth diapers and wet bags. The baby bath sponge. The Baby K'tan carrier. Oh, and nursing pads if you are breastfeeding!!

                                              "I love my Fuzzibunz!"

Katie

New Years Plans and a New Direction

It's that time again- the New Year is coming up and most people around this time start to take stock and decide what they want to change in their life.

I usually set some goals, but in the past have failed because I tried to do too much at once, got discouraged, and reverted back to my former ways (which happens often to me as I suspect it does to other people). Having a new baby has forced me to slow down a bit. (For me, adjusting to having 2 kids from 7 years with 1 has been very difficult).

So, I am only going to attempt a few things, and I am giving myself the whole year.

The first is to read the Bible in a year. I am Christian and love religious stuff (all religions, really. I would be a religion scholar if money were not a thang). Religion tends to make people feel uncomfortable (see here :)

The biggest one is that I have decided I am going to do the "compact".

If you do not know what the compact is, it is a group that buys nothing new (except food, toiletries, etc.) I have been interested in this for a while, but have yet to "take the leap". I will add that only I am doing it, I will not force my husband or children too (although I would like them too!). We already buy most of our stuff used anyway, but I really wanted to kick it up a notch.

 The perfect motivation is that I am on unpaid leave from my job for 10 months to take care of my babe. So even though I wasn't exactly raking in the dough before, our income has been cut and I need to find ways to make ends meet. Buying nothing new will definitely cut down on spending, especially impulse purchases (which even I succumb to, even if it is to things like nursing pillows.)

My husband is self employed- he is a musician and music teacher, so income is already sparse and unpredictable. I would not have it any other way. My husband does something he loves and is passionate about (there is no way I could stop him from creating music), he is also a very active father and husband. My kids get to have their life full of music and quality time with us. What is better than that?

My dream has always been to be a stay at home mom, I love the art of homemaking, I just did not think we would ever be able to afford for me to do so - and we might not. I do enjoy my job in the early childhood education field as well.

So, along with the compact I am going to keep a monthly tally of our expenses to see how little we can live on and still lead a happy life. I think it will be an interesting experiment. I love the challenge of spending as little as possible. How low can we go? :)

I am taking inspiration from many other bloggers, such as:

The Non-Consumer Advocate
Early Retirement Extreme
Living Simply Free
http://moneysavingmom.com/

I will be keeping a weekly tally of my purchases/expenses starting in January with a monthly wrap up.

Hope to see you and hear your thoughts along my journey!

Katie

A Simple Holiday

The winter holiday season is upon us, and while I am Christian and celebrate Christmas, I am open to all holidays. The area we live in is primarily Christian and Jewish, although I think we have a larger Jewish population that most of the United States, as I grew up thinking everyone was either Christan or Jewish, and the determining factor was whether or not you hung Christmas lights or had a menorah (yes, I was a bright kid.)

Everyone seems to be talking about "simplifying" the holidays, and really I have found it isn't hard, even if you have kids. This year I have been forced to simplify, because of having a newborn.


To get into the advent season and foster the spirit of giving, we are reading a daily book called Charlie and Noel with our older son. We also talk about how the true spirit of Christmas is giving, and we will be doing a gift drive through my son's school.

I personally am reading "Let's Go Straight to Bethlehem" . I have needed a lot of prayer as of late.

What do gifts look like for us? Well, the good news is my 7 year old son has never gotten very many presents, as we started off as broke college students (and now we are just broke 30 somethings :) So his standards are not terribly high. We have a second hand toy store nearby, so that is the first stop for gifts like Lego's. I do think it is good to have at least one item on his "wish list" for him to receive from Santa - (fact, before I had kids I thought Santa was dumb and I wasn't planning on doing the "Santa" thing, but oh how kids change us). My general response is "make a list, but remember Santa cannot get you everything on your list." I also reiterate that 3 gifts were what Jesus received, so 3 gifts is what you will receive (although we do tend to buy more than 3.) We do a toy (this year is is a video game), a book (this year we are giving God's Dream by Desmond Tutu and Whoever you Are by Mem Fox, a game ( this year I am thinking Apples to Apples Junior, and Super Mario pajamas.
My husband and I don't exchange gifts. We do get something we both want, usually a game or something for the house. ( I actually asked for a new dust pan and a pair of slippers. I live the high life :)

I will do absolutely 0 shopping outside the home- my husband will hit the thrift stores and the rest will be ordered online.

Oh yes, and we have an artificial tree. Another concession I have made in my adult life, I was a die hard real tree enthusiast, my husband grew up with artificial. 

What holidays do you celebrate? How do you celebrate them?

Katie