How to Store Your Spray Pal

The Spray Pal has become a cloth diapering staple for parents who want to handle dirty diapers the EASY way. But with any new and innovative product there may be some questions that pop up along the way. To help you make the most of your Spray Pal (and companion products) we're bringing you an entire FAQ series about our cloth diapering products, so stay tuned for more basics, how-tos, and silly shenanigans by following us here, on Facebook, Instagram, and even Periscope!

So let's get started! We asked you how you stored your Spray Pal and you didn't disappoint. Below are a few of our favorites. And for those who are wondering, CLICK HERE to see how WE store our Spray Pal at home!

While there may be no wrong way, @inherentparent does have some ideas about how-to and how-not-to store your Spray Pal.

How to store your Spray Pal... @spraypal #spraypalstorage #makeclothmainstream

A photo posted by theInherentParent (@inherentparent) on Nov 6, 2015 at 6:20am PST

The Peak-a-Boo: Perfect for storage in a tight spot!

#spraypalstorage #makeclothmainstream I store mine in a wetbag behind the pedestal sink. @spraypal

A photo posted by Brittany Parzych (@bparzych) on Nov 2, 2015 at 10:57am PST

Tub Time - Even Spray Pals enjoy a little R&R

Our @spraypal just sits in our tub. When the tub is being used it lays across the toilet. #spraypalstorage #makeclothmainstream

A photo posted by Jamie Werden Hammel (@jhammel1005) on Nov 2, 2015 at 3:19pm PST

Wet Bag Easy Peasy Hanging Storage: You can even store your qdspray!

My favorite cloth diaper accessories: poop sprayer and a shield to protect me from the nasty. @spraypal #makeclothmainstream #spraypal #qdspray #spraypalstorage

A photo posted by Ashley Burdick (@lassothemoonmama) on Nov 2, 2015 at 12:11pm PST

Waste Binning: It's totally a thing.

Our current #spraypalstorage. A wet bag would look much nicer! #makeclothmainstream

A photo posted by Miriam M (@miriamkatherine) on Nov 6, 2015 at 8:17am PST

The Rebel. Who needs storage? Spray that baby off and set it on the floor. It'll tuck right behind the toilet and be ready for the next mess!

Bathrooms should always be photographed in black and white. Especially when there are poo sprayers just hanging out. There's a DIY wet bag on the wall, but that's just for drippy diapers and the sprayer lives on the floor. No snapping, unsnapping, folding...just as is 💩 #clothdiapers @spraypal #makeclothmainstream #spraypalstorage

A photo posted by @beachfroggy on Nov 2, 2015 at 4:08pm PST

Want more great ideas? Check out the #spraypalstorage hashtag on Instagram! And feel free to share your tips below!

Don't have a Spray Pal? You can pick one up a Spray Pal bundle (with sprayer to get you going) here.

Find The “Perfect” Diaper

Let me introduce myself. I am Becky, stay at home mom of a 5 year old and an 18 month old. My first experience with cloth diapering was when my mom cloth diapered me as a baby, and chances are, if you were born in the early 80’s like me, you were cloth diapered too. My mom said back then disposables were expensive. I think they are now too.

Fast forward to May of 2014. I was at a birthday party of one of my bestie’s kids. She started showing me her stash of cloth diapers and they were beautiful! I happened to have a new baby. I know, convenient right? I promptly went home and began my research.

Wow! Things like pockets, all in ones, flats, covers… microfiber inserts, bamboo inserts… Just when you have that figured out you need to decide snaps or hook & loop. How did I find the perfect diaper? Well, I have found it is a lot like bra shopping. Babies, like breasts, come in all shapes and sizes. I asked on my crunchy Facebook groups which diaper was best. There were so many answers. Unlike bra manufacturers that claim they make the perfect bra I have found manufactures in the cloth diapering world to be more truthful.

You see, the perfect diaper is the one that works with your lifestyle. The perfect diaper is the one that fits your baby best. There is no one diaper. No Holy Grail of diapers so don’t worry when you don’t find it.

My advice to you is simple. Don’t spend all of your pennies on one type or brand of diaper. Buy a few different brands and styles. Try them out.  See what you like.

I found that pockets work best for us. Lalabye Baby is the diaper I use when we are out and about because my little won’t soak out of them. At home we use Funky Fluff because they are narrow in the crotch and my baby is skinny. We use GroVia all in ones and hybrids. The GroVia all in ones are fabulous under a pair of jeggings! I have a few Bum Genius because the prints were just too stinkin’ cute.

I like snaps over hook & loop. I don’t care for microfiber inserts. (They sure are great for washing the car though!) And I love natural fiber inserts.

If you want to review all of the diapers in one place and not hunt around on the internet like I had to Dirty Diaper Laundry put together a cloth diaper finder, and it is pretty darn amazing!

Most importantly, don’t stress. Don’t feel like you need to defend or justify your “perfect” diaper. I won’t judge and neither should anyone else! I am just happy that you have chosen to dive into the world of cloth diapering.

Here are the diapers I listed above.

Top: Lalabye Baby, Funky Fluff, Grovia all in one, Grovia hybrid (hook & loop)

Bottom: Bum Genius

This article been generously contributed by Becky Skidmore, a member of Spray Pal's Team Mainstream!

Our Top 10 Picks for a Cloth Diaper Baby Registry

First, let us ​say,​ “Congratulations!” This is such an exciting time, and we’re excited that you’re here. You may have heard some chatter in cloth diapering groups about families being less than supportive of the decision to use cloth, or just not knowing what to buy. The good news is that there is a huge community that knows how easy it really is, and we’re here to help.

Often times family and friends just don’t realize how different cloth is these days: how well it works, how easy it is, etc. By setting up a registry you can gently nudge them in the right direction. While there are a great many cloth diaper retailers that we love, that may not be the easiest way to get to the most stuck-in-the-mud family members. Amazon.com is actually the #1 marketplace and not only do they have a great baby registry option, they also carry a wide range of cloth diapers and accessories. BabyList is another fabulous registry website which will allow you to register for any of the items below from any online retailer! We’ve compiled a short list to help show how easy cloth is, while giving helpful solutions that family members may actually be interested in buying as shower gifts.

Here are our top picks to help you get started: 

Spray Pal & Sprayer Bundle

• The first objection you may hear is about sanitation and having to deal with poopy diapers. Ease their worries with the original Spray Pal spray shield and cloth diaper sprayer. Messes will never be a worry with these two around!

Planetwise Wetbag & Pail Liner

• Wet pails for cloth diapers are dated and potentially unsafe to both baby and your diapers — and admitted we’re kind of grossed out by them too. Planetwise wetbags and pail liners are known for their wide assortment of fun prints to match any taste, and they help make cloth diapering a breeze at home and away.

GroVia Magic Stick

• One big change with cloth diapers is the type of diaper creams allowed to be use (or risk making a mess of your diapers). Traditional creams provide wetness protection and can quickly leave residues on diapers causing leaks, repelling, and even some pretty rank smells. GroVia Magic Stick is one of our absolute favorite tender bottom solutions. The ingredients are better for baby, and they're completely cloth diaper safe!

Osocozy Wipes

• You may not realize it yet, but you’ll *love* cloth wipes. They grab so more and clean better than any disposable wipe, and you’re already washing diapers so you might as well give them a try!

Thirsties All in One

• Available in one size and newborn, Thirsties All in One diapers are a favorite in this category. They are affordable and come in some lovely colors and prints, including our favorite “Ocean Life."

Rumparooz Diaper Cover

• Available in one size and newborn, Rumparooz covers are stylish and functional. Use with your favorite inserts, or put them over an old fashioned prefold!

Molly’s Suds Cloth Diaper Detergent

• There are lots of great detergents that are safe for cloth diapers, but Molly’s Suds is one of our personal favorites. This detergent is specially formulated for baby and your diapers.

Smart Sheep Dryer Balls

• Premium wool dryer balls will soften your laundry without the harsh chemicals found in traditional softeners — plus they can drastically decrease dry time. What’s not to love?

Line Drying Octopus

• “Line” dry your diaper covers anywhere with this adorable octopus. Line drying (vs) machine can help extend the life of your covers — especially if you favor hook & loop closures.

Bamboobies

• So these may not be for baby’s bum, but they are cloth and washable… and they rock! You’ll love these absorbent but discrete breast pads.

Have a tip or favorite item that we've missed? Let us know below!

How to do a Loop Giveaway on Periscope

Alright, so I've been using Periscope for approximately 2 weeks now, and as I've mentioned, I'm hooked. When I start experimenting with a new social media platform, I like to think outside the box and come up with fun ways to engage our followers. Periscope is very engaging by nature, so then I started to think of fun ways we could use this for a giveaway!

Here's what I'm thinking:

We'll loop through a few different brands and each brand will have a specific question they plan to ask during their broadcast. The people who tune in live will be able to respond to the question with a comment, and then they can move on to the next brand's scope and answer the question there until they get to the end of the loop. When they've finished, they will go back to the host's broadcast to wait for the winner's names to be announced.

Things for the sponsoring brands to keep in mind:

You'll probably want to write your question down on a sheet of paper to hold up to the camera so that you don't have to keep repeating it as new people enter your broadcast. You can talk about other things as people enter, like maybe your latest products or whatever. Or you can just interact with people as they comment. People love the engagement :)

Things for viewers to keep in mind:

The sponsoring brands will only be live for a limited amount of time, so you'll want to make sure you head to each account and follow them/comment before time runs out so you have more chances to win. It will probably be easiest if you follow them all ahead of time. The host (look for the title that says START HERE) will stay live after the others sign off to choose their winners, so once you are finished you can head that way to wait and hear who has won. The sponsoring brands are being VERY generous with their prizes, so be sure to show them all some love by tapping your screen to make those hearts FLY!

We'll be doing a test run (without the prizes, just to practice) tonight at 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific, so be sure to tune in and learn along with us! Let us know if you have any questions below, and we'll see you there!

Seriously addicted to Periscope!

Ok, you guys. It's almost starting to look like we are sponsored by Periscope around here, but I assure you we're not. We just REALLY love it. Like a lot. (Although, if Periscope is reading this, we are TOTALLY open for sponsorship opportunities, LOL!)

This new platform, which is owned by Twitter, was introduced to me by a networking group I'm in on Facebook (see how the world of social media is so intertwined??) and I've been hooked ever since I finally caved and downloaded the app on my iPhone. It was super easy to set up an account because it just connected everything through my Twitter account. I was able to find the people I already follow on Twitter and follow them, then I just waited for the magic to happen.

I highly recommend spending a little bit of time exploring the app when you first get it installed. It's fascinating, really. I went to the map page and right away I could see little red dots with numbers indicating people who were live periscoping around the world. It's pretty easy to figure out which a random spammers or 12 year olds and which might actually be worth popping into. I got to watch the Disneyland and Sea World fireworks shows live from my bed, and the other night I even got to see 311 perform live in Austin from my home in Southern California! (Which begs the question if there will be certain copyright and piracy block put in place eventually, but...yeah.) Periscope is so new to the scene that I think there will still be a lot of kinks to work out as they grow, but mark my words, I think this will be the hot new social media platform of the future!

Now, the big question for us is: How can we use Periscope to #makeclothmainstream? Right now we are still in the exploration stage, but I see great things coming soon...like live cloth diapering 101 classes, Spray Pal demos dealing with specific styles of diapers, etc. We even did a Periscope Take Over on Green Child Magazine's channel which was super fun and got them over 11,000 hearts!! I'm basically just playing around with the app and figuring out the ins and outs of how it works at this point, but I LOVE asking you guys questions on there and seeing what works for you. Remember when I was still trying to figure out Twitter?? Spray Pal fans are so helpful and knowledgeable...I know we can figure out this Periscope thing together, too!

If you haven't downloaded the app yet, I really think you should! Be sure to follow @spraypal so we can connect! We like to talk cloth diapers, small business, social media, and we'll live broadcast on our travels! We're open to suggestions, too! What would you like to see on the Spray Pal Periscope channel?? Leave us a comment below to let us know!

Spray Pal + Gerber Childrenswear HUGE Giveaway!

You guys, I'm seriously about to become the Oprah of cloth diapers. We're doing something completely different around here and it's going to be SO MUCH FUN. Oh, and did I mention I'll be giving away some cloth diapers? How many, you ask? Well. Let me tell you. 60. Yes, you read that right. Six - ZERO. S-I-X-T-Y cloth diapers. See? We're going Oprah style all up in here! YOU get a cloth diaper, and YOU get a cloth diaper! And your friend gets a cloth diaper, too!

So, how's this going to work? Well, there's one GRAND PRIZE. That's the one you see below on the Rafflecopter. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Spray Pal diaper sprayer + splatter shield plus 10 Gerber AIOs. It's the perfect starter kit for anyone wanting to get started with cloth diapers (or for those currently using cloth who want to add a little variety and EASY spraying to their stash)! Anyone who enters the rafflecopter and has a chance to win, the rafflecopter widget will give us a random name at the end and we'll verify that you've completed the entry and then you'll get an email from yours truly. That's it!

Now, what's so different about that, you ask?? Well you may have noticed I mentioned we were giving away 60 diapers. The grand prize contains 10 of those, but what about the other 50?! That's a pretty significant number of diapers to be given away, right? Here's what we're going to do:

Throughout the week of this giveaway, you'll want to be paying VERY close attention to the Spray Pal and Gerber Childrenswear Facebook and Instagram accounts because that's where the magic will happen. We'll randomly post a SURPRISE FLASH GIVEAWAY on one of the accounts. You never know when or where, but here's a PRO TIP: If you visit those four spaces on social media and set the notifications to "on" you'll be ahead of the game. Both Facebook and Instagram will send you a notification within the app when we post so you won't miss a beat!

The FLASH GIVEAWAYS will be quick and easy...and we'll be giving away diapers in each one! Sometimes it might be one diaper, sometimes it might be a few, sometimes it might be one for you and one for a friend. That's the fun of it, you'll not know in advance what to expect, but you'll have TONS of chances to win yourself some new fluff!

Are you ready for some more great news? Even if you don't win the flash giveaways, you'll get 5 bonus entries on the rafflecopter form for the Grand Prize below just for playing! See why it pays to pay attention? After the flash giveaway ends, just click back over here and grab those bonus entries by telling us where you played. EASY, right? We're huge fans of easy around here. ;)

So let us know what you think in the comments! Are you as excited as I am?!

The contest will open for entries starting on Monday, July 13, 2015 at midnight pacific time! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

San Antonio Pets Alive and Spray Pal are teaming up!

A few weeks ago this Kleenex commercial was released on Facebook, and one of my friends immediately sent me the link. She gets me. Of course I would LOVE an adorable ad that combines to of my favorite things...dogs and cloth diapers.

I immediately shared this on the Spray Pal Facebook page because what better way to #makeclothmainstream? It turned out that a few of our fans had actually adopted pets from San Antonio Pets Alive and mentioned that their dogs, too, were using cloth diapers! Which made me think back to a few months ago when we sent Heather B. Armstrong of dooce.com fame a Spray Pal diaper sprayer and splatter shield for her beloved Chuck (who I was so sad to read had passed last night). Chuck also wore cloth diapers and was an inspiration to many adoptive pet parents and humans in general.

Between Chance and Chuck I came to the realization that these amazing pets and their owners can benefit from the awesomeness of cloth as much as our babes can! That's what inspired me to reach out to San Antonio Pets Alive to see if we could send them a Spray Pal diaper sprayer and shield to make their cloth diapering journey easier for them. And then we decided to work on something BIG together. This collaboration is two fold:

1) We will raise awareness for no kill pet shelters like San Antonio Pets Alive and encourage people to adopt these loving animals and give them a second chance.

2) We will promote the idea of reusable cloth diapers as a viable option for ANYONE needing diapers and help spread the #makeclothmainstream love! We'll also promote the WAHM cloth diaper makers who can recycle their fabric scraps and custom make diapers for dogs.

It's a win-win-win, right?

So, are you interested to know how you can help? GREAT! We were hoping you'd ask! ;)

If you are a WAHM cloth diaper maker and you're interested in donating your time and materials (can be recycled scraps) to make some simple, but custom cloth diapers to be used on dogs of various sizes, please email me at jen@spray-pal.com.

If you are interested in supporting the mission of the good people at San Antonio Pets Alive, you can make a direct donation here: http://www.sanantoniopetsalive.org/donate/

Additionally, if you'd like to help BIG with the smallest of gestures, just SHARE this post and help us spread the word!! As always, THANK YOU for helping to #makeclothmainstream!