Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
the Joyful Giraffe Inc. is officially open for business!
The past month or two I have been crazy busy working on Great Cloth Diaper Change details as well as getting the behind the scenes work done to be able to launch my new online store this weekend!
The Joyful Giraffe is an online shop featuring natural and reusable products for your family and home. Since beginning to use cloth diapers 3 years ago, I have found myself constantly trying to figure out how to reuse other items besides just diapers. While I can't say that I've sold my husband on the use of 'family cloth' yet (reusable toilet paper), we are much greener and more frugal than before cloth diapers.
While this store is starting with a limited inventory, I hope to see more and more reusable products (including more cloth diaper brands!)added in the coming weeks and months. So please check back often for new products! Is there something you'd love for us to carry? Let me know!!
Check it all out!! www.thejoyfulgiraffe.com
Use the coupon code WELCOME12 at checkout to receive 15% off your entire order as well as a free gift :) This offer is only good for a limited time and is only valid on a customer's initial purchase.
Like us on Facebook to receive updated discounts and promotional news!
www.facebook.com/thejoyfulgiraffe
Thanks so much!
Happy Cloth Diaper Week!! Giveaway Winners Announced :)
the moment you have all been waiting for :)
Thank you all for participating in our giveaway this week!!
Congrats to all our giveaway winners!
Winners were chosen randomly by the Rafflecopter giveaway program.
If your name is on the list of winners, please email your mailing address to me at kate@thejoyfulgiraffe.com so that I can get your prize to you!
Bummis Swim Diaper ~ Amada Akre
Babylegs leggings ~ Beth Pociask
EcoSprout detergent samples ~ Amanda Carr, Lynn Boles, Dawn Moore, Carrie Vickery & Emily Hurst Grant
Maple Hill Dryer Balls ~ Lynn Boles
Garden Dreams soap ~ Carrie Vickery, Melissa Brewster & Lana Farris-Mersman
Garden Dreams Massage Oil ~ Beth Pociask, Heather Elder & Amanda Carr
Barefoot Books children's book ~ Rebecca Rowen
Set of burp clothes from Love, Audra ~ Jennifer Ketelsen
Congrats everybody!
This was fun :) We'll do it again soon!
Thank you all for participating in our giveaway this week!!
Congrats to all our giveaway winners!
Winners were chosen randomly by the Rafflecopter giveaway program.
If your name is on the list of winners, please email your mailing address to me at kate@thejoyfulgiraffe.com so that I can get your prize to you!
Bummis Swim Diaper ~ Amada Akre
Babylegs leggings ~ Beth Pociask
EcoSprout detergent samples ~ Amanda Carr, Lynn Boles, Dawn Moore, Carrie Vickery & Emily Hurst Grant
Maple Hill Dryer Balls ~ Lynn Boles
Garden Dreams soap ~ Carrie Vickery, Melissa Brewster & Lana Farris-Mersman
Garden Dreams Massage Oil ~ Beth Pociask, Heather Elder & Amanda Carr
Barefoot Books children's book ~ Rebecca Rowen
Set of burp clothes from Love, Audra ~ Jennifer Ketelsen
Congrats everybody!
This was fun :) We'll do it again soon!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Thank Him for What He Has Done
"Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He has done." Philippians 4:6, NLT
Jonathon's first memory verse. Its a nicer translation that what we grew up with, at least when it comes to 2 year olds!
In thanking Him for what He has done (and is doing), I need to share...
I started selling cloth diapers 1 year ago through Everything Birth. I have learned so much and it has (oddly) become a passion of mine.
In the early fall, they reworked some of their diaper party program and cut our commissions back. Not cool. A lot of people backed out at that point.
Around the holidays, I had 2 or 3 women interested in joining my team - which is how you grow this kind of business - because you get a cut of their sales. The company was trying to restructure the diaper party program and so had closed it off to new consultants. When I asked when it would reopen again, I never got a reply. Grr.
I went on and started the process to become a certified local 'expert' in all that is cloth diapering. I'm still working on that, but getting closer! I set up my www.clothdiapermommas.com website and matching facebook page (which is up to 70 likes by the way - holla!) (yes, yes i did just holla) I registered to host the Great Cloth Diaper Change event in April and have been working hard planning that. At the same time, I've been taking on 2 or 3 part time jobs to help out financially while Dan's job scenario goes through a rough season. While my mom was out visiting, she asked what job I would pursue if I didn't have to worry about money - I would totally open my own cloth diaper business. But the contract I had signed with Everything Birth had a non-compete clause (I had to agree to not work with or for any company whose business would compete with that of EB for 3 years after leaving the company.) Grr.
My friend Rachel was the first to set up a gift registry through me. I was glad to use her as a guinea pig. She had her big shower this past weekend. I talked to her afterwards and she only received 2 diapers out of the 15-20 she had registered for. Weird. So she went on with her gift money to buy some diapers for herself from the registry list. As she clicked on the diapers, she couldn't purchase them because they were 'out of stock'. Way annoying. Why let someone register for them if they can't purchase them? No wonder she only got 2 as gifts! Grr.
At this point, I'd done enough growling and I needed to figure out how to get out of this stupid non-compete clause. I got in touch with a friend of a friend who is a lawyer. She was going to look at the contract and find me a loophole out of it, since the company wasn't keeping their side of the bargain. Before she was able to get back to me, I got an email from Everything Birth.
They were closing their Diaper Parties portion of the business to go back and focus on their 1st passion - midwifery.
No more diaper parties.
No more out of stock registries or drops in commission.
No more non-compete clause.
For real?!
Done.
The whole cloth diaper retail world opened up to me at that moment.
Seriously? Did that just happen?
Was I just growling about it and praying about it and God totally just got rid of my non-compete clause??
I just laughed in disbelief.
Apparently God is bigger than non-compete clauses ;)
So now the process has begun.
The business plan has been written.
Contacts are being made and paperwork is being filled out.
I am thanking God for what He has done and what He is in the process of doing.
Had I been able to get out of the non-compete on my own, it would've been me controlling it all (or trying to).
But, it was no where in my reach.
God handed it to me, literally. A gift.
Wherever it goes from here, I don't know.
I'm holding onto these plans and excitement with open hands, knowing that He will work out what is best for us.
Thanks for praying with us!
Jonathon's first memory verse. Its a nicer translation that what we grew up with, at least when it comes to 2 year olds!
In thanking Him for what He has done (and is doing), I need to share...
I started selling cloth diapers 1 year ago through Everything Birth. I have learned so much and it has (oddly) become a passion of mine.
In the early fall, they reworked some of their diaper party program and cut our commissions back. Not cool. A lot of people backed out at that point.
Around the holidays, I had 2 or 3 women interested in joining my team - which is how you grow this kind of business - because you get a cut of their sales. The company was trying to restructure the diaper party program and so had closed it off to new consultants. When I asked when it would reopen again, I never got a reply. Grr.
I went on and started the process to become a certified local 'expert' in all that is cloth diapering. I'm still working on that, but getting closer! I set up my www.clothdiapermommas.com website and matching facebook page (which is up to 70 likes by the way - holla!) (yes, yes i did just holla) I registered to host the Great Cloth Diaper Change event in April and have been working hard planning that. At the same time, I've been taking on 2 or 3 part time jobs to help out financially while Dan's job scenario goes through a rough season. While my mom was out visiting, she asked what job I would pursue if I didn't have to worry about money - I would totally open my own cloth diaper business. But the contract I had signed with Everything Birth had a non-compete clause (I had to agree to not work with or for any company whose business would compete with that of EB for 3 years after leaving the company.) Grr.
My friend Rachel was the first to set up a gift registry through me. I was glad to use her as a guinea pig. She had her big shower this past weekend. I talked to her afterwards and she only received 2 diapers out of the 15-20 she had registered for. Weird. So she went on with her gift money to buy some diapers for herself from the registry list. As she clicked on the diapers, she couldn't purchase them because they were 'out of stock'. Way annoying. Why let someone register for them if they can't purchase them? No wonder she only got 2 as gifts! Grr.
At this point, I'd done enough growling and I needed to figure out how to get out of this stupid non-compete clause. I got in touch with a friend of a friend who is a lawyer. She was going to look at the contract and find me a loophole out of it, since the company wasn't keeping their side of the bargain. Before she was able to get back to me, I got an email from Everything Birth.
They were closing their Diaper Parties portion of the business to go back and focus on their 1st passion - midwifery.
No more diaper parties.
No more out of stock registries or drops in commission.
No more non-compete clause.
For real?!
Done.
The whole cloth diaper retail world opened up to me at that moment.
Seriously? Did that just happen?
Was I just growling about it and praying about it and God totally just got rid of my non-compete clause??
I just laughed in disbelief.
Apparently God is bigger than non-compete clauses ;)
So now the process has begun.
The business plan has been written.
Contacts are being made and paperwork is being filled out.
I am thanking God for what He has done and what He is in the process of doing.
Had I been able to get out of the non-compete on my own, it would've been me controlling it all (or trying to).
But, it was no where in my reach.
God handed it to me, literally. A gift.
Wherever it goes from here, I don't know.
I'm holding onto these plans and excitement with open hands, knowing that He will work out what is best for us.
Thanks for praying with us!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Transitioning to Cloth: One Diaper at a Time
A friend of mine just had her third baby. She watched me cloth diaper my children and is entertaining the idea of using them on her third child. However, it can be pricey and their budget is already stretched pretty tight.
Another friend has a daughter who is already 18 months old. She just learned about modern cloth diapering but is wondering if it is even worth trying since her daughter will hopefully be potty trained in the next year.
Perhaps the idea of cloth diapers intrigues you, but you can't fathom spending hundreds of dollars to buy a system that may or may not work for you. Cloth diapering doesn't have to be an all or nothing commitment. You can dive right in with a stash of fluff all ready and set to go when the baby is born or you can ease into it one diaper at a time.
Some people ease into the cloth diaper world because they simply cannot afford to buy all the diapers and accessories at once. Others start cloth diapering slowly just to test it out and see how it works for their family.
What do you need to get started?
Most cloth diaper mommas have a stash of between 12-24 diapers. They might have a couple of hemp inserts for nighttime diapers, a pail liner to hold dirty diapers at home, a wetbag to travel with dirty diapers, a couple dozen cloth wipes and maybe a special detergent. However, all you need to get started is one cloth diaper.
How to build your stash
Every cloth diaper momma is at a different place in life with her children, family and finances. Here are some ideas for how to collect cloth diapers:
· Buy one diaper a month. You pick the time frame, maybe you can buy one every three weeks.
· Buy gently used cloth diapers. I recently found some extra diapers and inserts at our local children's consignment shop! I have bought others from families on Craig's List. Some great websites to check out are: Cloth Diaper Trader, Diaper Swappers and Padded Tush Stats.
· Be on the lookout for diaper giveaways from manufacturers or local stores. If it means I have a chance to win a free diaper, I'll give my email address to anybody! (well, maybe not anybody.)
· Watch for great sales incentives. I recently went online to buy another diaper and some detergent samples and found one site giving away a free diaper with a purchase of $29 or more. I was so excited to get a free diaper just for choosing to buy from them instead of another store!
· Look into receiving donations of cloth diapers from organizations such as the Cloth Cooperative. They provide cloth diapers to families in need to help start or supplement their diaper stash.
· Ask for cloth diapers for a birthday gift, shower gift or even for Christmas!
Laundering a Small Stash
Most companies recommend that you not wash more than 8-10 diapers at a time to ensure that the diapers come out clean. What do you do if you only have 1 diaper to wash?
Handwashing is always a great way to clean a small stash of cloth diapers. Amy, the owner of Zany Zebra Designs, posted a great article on handwashing cloth diapers and provided detailed instructions as well as helpful tips. Her post can be found here. (http://www.zany-zebra.com/washing-cloth-diapers.shtml)
Does the idea of handwashing not sit well with you? Then wash them in the washing machine but on a smaller load setting. However - be careful with this - you want to be sure there is enough water to clean the diapers well. I would suggest setting it on medium for up to 4 diapers, large up to 6 diapers and extra large for any more than that. You could also add in a towel to the load (particularly if you have a front loader) so that it has enough water to clean them well.
Every Little Bit Helps
Regardless of whether you jump in with both feet or you just stick a toe in to test the water, using cloth diapers is worth it. Each disposable diaper not thrown into a landfill makes a difference. A quarter saved in your piggy bank for every time you use a cloth diaper adds up to a lot of money.
Guest post by Cloth Diaper Mommas also posted at www.realdiaperevents.org
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Get Ready, Get Set, Change those Diapers!!
I am so excited about an upcoming cloth diaper event!!
So please mark your calendars...
So please mark your calendars...
Saturday, April 21st
The location has yet to be determined - as do a lot of other details!
So check back for more information soon!
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