An ingenious message!

We all know that disposable diapering is just a glorified way to throw money in the trash. Sure, many of us, myself included, have been guilty in the past of this environmental, health-related, and financial parenting sin, and I think especially in those cases, we appreciate it that much more when we see the light and use cloth!

I read an interesting little blurb from a US Marine whose wife is a very committed cloth diapering mommy (she even makes her own!), who was encouraging his fellow Marines to encourage their wives to cloth diaper their babies. He said, "Guys, you wanna use cloth diapers and not waste your money on that disposable garbage. No shit, my wife has saved us so much money in just a year of doing this that I bought a brand new plasma TV in cash. I can't wait to watch the Vikings on it this football season."

This guy is a genius, and I'll tell you why. He's a Vikings fan. OK, no, it's not that, although that does make him a little cooler in my book. The reason he's a genius is for his approach. He made his message guy-friendly, and put it in terms that even the least environmentally-minded person on the planet could understand and appreciate. A brand new plasma TV that he will never have to make payments on is something at least 95% of the men in the world (and 100% of the ones in the military!) can appreciate. That makes you think, too. "Hey, I can have something very expensive that I want, or I can have a fuller trash can for the same amount of money." By that, it's a no-brainer!

It reminded me also of an interesting coincidence in our own household. Thak's motorcycle cost approximately the same amount as we have saved by cloth diapering! (Yes, he got an insane deal on his bike. Ebay is good sometimes.) Not only did he get the bike he's been wanting to get for years now, but that bike even saves us money because it gets WAY better gas mileage than the truck, so we bought a fun way to save money with the money we saved by another fun thing. (Well, I think it's fun anyhow. Come on! How can anyone NOT find brightly colored diapers fun and adorable?!)

Well, there you have it, dads. Cloth diapering favors you heavily. Do you want a plasma TV, a motorcycle, some new tools, nicer golf clubs, a bar in your living room?? You'd be able to afford it with the money you'd save with cloth!