Help me w/ hand-washing laundry

[Aubrey]

1yo has started crying when I put a clean diaper on her, & she runs to the bathroom & points at the toilet. I don't think I can hold off on potty training any more-- I've never had one act *this* interested & ready.

 

BUT we don't have a washer/dryer yet. Dh is supposed to look for one on CL this week & hopefully have one by the weekend, but...you know how those things go. I'm not holding my breath.

 

And unless I can figure out how to wash laundry one way or another, I can't imagine trying to potty train. WWYD?

 

Btw, laundromat won't work: we've got one car, & the dc don't all fit in it. TIA!

[Jean in Newcastle]

http://www.ehow.com/how_1881_hand-wash-clothes.html

 

http://ask.metafilter.com/21727/Can-I-hand-wash-my-clothes-in-the-bathtub

Edited February 18, 2009 by Jean in Newcastle

[In The Great White North]

Why don't you try Pull-Ups instead? Tell her they're big girl pants and let her use the toilet too. And you don't have to worry about accidents.

[Tap]

Considering the amount of accidents a 1yo will have during potty training....I would wait a week until you have a washer. Especially since you just moved and aren't settled yet.

 

If you decide to try, I would just wash them in the bath tub with laundry soap. I would stick to light cotton pants that will wash and try easily.

 

Pull-ups are nice for those times that you will end up with bedding too if she has an accident.

 

 

Personally, I would wait a week or two, until you have a washer.

[LaxMom]

I'd go with cloth training pants and vinyl pants over them. Both are easy to clean in the tub and she can wear "big girl" pants without soaking everything in sight. (The only place I have seen these IRL, by the way, is Walmart. Otherwise, they can be ordered.)

 

That, or just keep her in dresses and take her to the potty every 30 minutes or so. It won't keep puddles off the floor, but will keep the laundry to a minimum.

[cjzimmer1]

Laundry has never been a problem for me when potty training because we let them run naked. I've found my kids were much more interested in running to the potty when they really needed to go when they could feel it running down their legs versus having underwear or something else soak it up. After spending basically their whole life somewhat familiar with the feel of wet things on their bottoms (diapers) wet underwear didn't seem to bother them and so they weren't inspired to cooperate with me. Pee running down thier legs got their attention fast. And believe it or not we really didn't have that many accidents. Granted mine were closer to three (well except the just turned 2 year old who refuses to wear a diaper) but generally we just try to keep them confined to areas without carpet to make clean up a bit easier but even on carpet, good old vinegar works great for cleanup.

[Caitilin]

You might try looking here for some help. It's a cloth diapering site, but this section is for doing elimination communication--it's possible you could get some tips there too! :)

[Tutor]

I saw a news report about a year ago about a family that was trying to consume as few resources as possible over a year. They lived in NYC, so instead of lugging laundry to a laundromat, they washed all of their clothes in the bathtub. The father made it daddy/ daughter time, and he and the little girl (I think she was 5?) would put the laundry in, add water and soap, then walk around in bare feet in the tub to agitate the clothes for about 20 minutes. They spent the time talking about their day or singing. Not sure I'd want to do that with dirty training pants, though. :tongue_smilie: Maybe just lots of rinsing in a clean toilet then washing in the tub while wearing long rubber gloves. :confused: