I was caught completely off guard by how hard parenting really is. Before my baby, I’d been diligently living an almost waste-free lifestyle: shopping at bulk food stores, turning veggie scraps into stock, taking my own container for restaurant leftovers, and a religious commitment to my KeepCup.
All of that went down the gurgler when my little bundle of joy arrived.
Sound familiar?
I was determined to use cloth nappies. I couldn’t stomach the thought of 700 kilograms of disposable nappy waste going to landfill each year just from my baby’s bum. Did I succeed? Not even close. I could barely find time for a shower, let alone live a “self-actualised” life at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
To survive with any shred of sanity, I had to outsource. I signed up for Hello Fresh (cue: mountains of unrecyclable plastic), I used a laundry service, got a cleaner — anything to lighten the load. Throw in post-natal anxiety and Melbourne’s marathon lockdown, and I was lucky if I managed three days a week of cloth nappies. Still nowhere near my goal.
Here’s what I realised: sustainability only works for parents if it’s the *easier* option. If it feels harder than the alternative, it’s simply not going to stick. And let’s be honest — parenting is bloody hard. Why didn’t anyone warn us? (Or maybe they did, and we were too arrogant to believe them.)
That’s why I created my nappy service. I wanted it for myself — a way to be the parent who reduces waste without having to sacrifice.
Because parents shouldn’t have to choose between their sanity and the planet.
By Little Droppings Founder - Jacqui Storey
