Works For Me Wednesday: Diaper Bag Alternative

Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer hosts the Works For Me Wednesday carnival and here's my contribution:

With four young children I really don't have a free hand. Therefore lugging a big diaper bag containing supplies to meet all of their needs really is not an option. I think it was after child #2 that I wised up, got rid of the big diaper bag and came up with a different solution.

I now have a "keep-it-in-the-car-bin" that stays in the back of my van. It is a medium-sized under-the-bed type of storage container. Here are some of the items it holds:

• a few diapers
• wipes
• a change of clothes for each child
• a few disposable bibs
• sippy cups
• disposable cups
• snacks, water bottles
• a few books, matchbox cars, etc.
• swim diapers (yep even in the winter in case we make an impromptu visit to the YMCA)
• sunscreen
• first aid items
• a clean shirt for me

Now the clean shirt may sound odd, but it has come in handy. We were attending a baptism and at the luncheon afterwards my son (2 months at the time) had a diaper blow-out while I was holding him. Thankfully I was all set with a change of clothes for him AND a clean shirt for me, waiting in the back of the van. Of course the shirt didn't match my skirt, but it definitely beat the alternative!

In the spring and fall I bring the bin in the house, restock it, change out the outfits according to season, etc.

With this in the back of my van I rarely need to carry even my small diaper bag. I simply throw a baggie of wipes and a few diapers in my purse and head off to our destination; knowing that if there is any type of *emergency*, I have supplies waiting for me in the van :-)

Comments

[Katie]

i might have to do that. carrying diapers and everything else for 2 kids under 2 is making my diaper bag weigh a TON.

[Emily]

I love it!

[Amanda Mayer]

Mmmmm... I'm likin' it. Thanks for sharing the practical help! With mommying two or more... this is a good thing!

It beats my last minute errund prep of "oh-shoot,-where's-the-diaper-bag,-where's-more-stuff-for-the-diaper-bag,-why-can't-I-get-out-of-the-house-in-under-15+-minutes" delema!

"Tumbled" onto you from Rocks in the Dryer. Thanks! :)

[Dawn]

I think you need something like this even when your kids are too old for a diaper bag. I love the extra shirt idea, too. I could have used that a few months ago when I got my daughter out of the truck and proceeding to go into a business and she puked all over me. I didn't have a change of clothes and I couldn't go in. It was horrible.

[Managing the MotherLoad]

Thanks for the comments ladies! People are always asking me how I can get away with just carrying a purse when I have four small children...and this is how!

[FamilyBriefs]

I do the same thing - I hate carrying a purse, much less a diaper bag! I keep a large diaper bag stocked in the car (not quite as much as you carry, but enough to get me by). I have a separate activity bag I keep in the car for restaurants or doctor office waiting :) Thanks for sharing this idea!