4 hours ago
Okay, the post for which you've all been waiting with bated breath! (I kid, I kid.) The cost analysis breakdown for cloth diapers vs. disposables!
Now most cost analysis posts assume that you are just paying one flat fee for cloth diapers, and you'll never have to pay another dime. But unless you would buy cloth-diaper friendly diaper cream and cloth-diaper-friendly cleaning supplies even if you were using disposables, that is not the case.
Unfortunately, cloth diapers do require you to buy special products for washing and to treat rashes, and these products do cost more than the type Derek and I would normally buy.
So my cloth vs. disposable cost analysis is not focusing on the amount spent on the diapers themselves, but the amount spent on each option at the end of the year. I haven't really seen another website compare costs in this way, so I did the math myself.
I'm just going to say right now that I did, in fact, skew my numbers a bit. I figured up the absolute least I would spend on disposable diapers, and I factored a very realistic or over-estimate of the amount I would spend on cloth. I'm one of those worst-case-scenario types. I wanted to know the least amount of money I would save. Just know that most likely we'd save more than the amount I listed.
Other Things To Keep In Mind
These are approximate costs only! I am not claiming complete accuracy on prices or ultimate costs - this is just to give me (and you) an idea of how much would be spent on each option.
This is not the amount that Derek and I are paying for cloth right now. Since I have a limited stash at the moment, I'm washing more often and I'm paying more in laundry costs than I normally would. These numbers are based on what I estimate we will spend once we are cloth diapering full-time.
This is based on the assumption that I'll be doing a load of laundry every other day. That may be an over-estimate.
I did factor in the fact that newborns go through more diapers, and that you get more diapers for your money in smaller sizes for disposables. The laundry numbers for cloth diapers didn't change, because I'm still assuming that laundry is done every other day.
The total number of diapers for each year is an under-estimate. I really couldn't remember our average diaper usage in the early days, so I just guessed, and the numbers always vary alot from day to day.
The first-year numbers are a projection of what we would have spent or saved if all factors had been the same from when Wyatt was born. For example, if we had used the same brand of disposables, got the current discounts on disposables, or started cloth with the same detergent for his entire first year. Obviously this is not what really happened, I'm just estimating.
These numbers are based on the estimated average frequency of use and cost of diapers and other products that Derek and I would use. Obviously this will be different for each family, so if you really want to know your own personal costs, you have to do the math yourself.
Note: Derek and I have a well, so we do not pay for our water usage. If you do have to pay for your water, you have to factor that in to your end-of-year costs for cloth diapering.
Also, we will obviously need to spend more in special situations, for example, if Wyatt gets a really bad rash and we need more heavy-duty diaper cream. I'm not taking into account these situations.
And finally, there are a million different products, and a million different ways to do cloth diaper laundry. This cost estimate is just based on one set of products, and couple of many ways to do cloth diaper laundry. My numbers may be way off for your family because you don't do laundry the way I listed. I would appreciate any tips on how you save money further, but keep in mind that I'm just going off of the general recommendations I found, and once again, it's just an estimate.
The Products
-CJ's Butter diaper cream - $12.25/12 oz.
-Bac-out - $35.99/gallon
-Rockin' Green Hard Rock formula (we have hard water)- $15/90 loads
-Pampers disposable diapers - prices varied, I took the standard prices on Amazon when buying in bulk for the first set of numbers and the best deal I could find for the second set.
-Petroleum jelly (which is what we use for diaper cream with our disposables) - $2.28/ 13 oz.
-Munchkin/Arm and Hammer diaper pail liners - $6/10 liners
The first three items are not actually what we are using right now to wash our diapers, but these are the products we plan on using in the future. I did research after the fact, and the above products seemed most cost-effective for us.
For example, at the moment I'm using water softeners in addition to detergent since we have hard water, which is costing me more. The Rockin' Green hard water formula will eliminate some of the cost for me in the future.
I did not include the cost of diaper pail deodorizers in this analysis - I'm planning on just using baking soda to start with, and since that's what I use for disposables anyway I didn't add it into the cost.
The Basis For The Numbers
Okay, now for the actual numbers! I calculated how much I thought we would spend per year on each of the above products based on an estimate of our average usage (like I said, this isn't completely accurate, it's just an estimate for our family).
I'm including four sets of numbers.
1. What we would spend on disposables at retail value if buying in bulk (which we actually haven't been until recently, so our actual costs are more than this, but this is just an estimate).
Includes price of diapers, liners, and petroluem jelly for diaper cream.
2. What we spend on disposables at the moment. I discovered an incredible deal for diapers with Amazon Mom and the "Subscribe and Save" option - so we pay 15 cents per diaper for Pampers right now. Which is incredible. Normal retail value for these diapers bought in this quantity is at least 21 cents per diaper, and more if you don't buy in bulk. I wish I had signed up for this sooner, but se la vie.
We have paid much more than this up to this point, but I'm projecting how much it would cost if we were able to get the "subscribe and save" deal throughout the diapering years. The price even with the deal is always changing, but I wanted to see if we would still save money with cloth. This deal is a big reason why I broke all the finances down this way in the first place.
Includes price of diapers, liners, and petroleum jelly for diaper cream.
3. Cost of cleaning cloth diapers when spraying Bac-out on every diaper. Some people recommend using a spray of Bac-out on each diaper after each use, and some people recommend just putting a few squirts in your first rinse when doing laundry. Which method you choose makes a big difference in how much you spend.
Includes cost of Rockin' Green Laundry detergent, Cj's Butter, Bac-out.
4. Cost of cleaning cloth diapers when you use 3 squirts of Bac-out per wash. This is assuming you use it this way every time you wash your cloth diapers, which I hear may not be necessary.
Includes cost of Rockin' Green Laundry detergent, Cj's Butter, Bac-out.
Costs Per Year
1st Year (Estimated 2257 diapers)
1. Disposables at retail value when buying in bulk: $583.56/year
2. Disposables with great deal: $423.07/year
3. Cloth when using Bac-out on each diaper: $228.56/year
4. Cloth when using 3 squirts Bac-out per wash: $89.40/year
2nd Year (Estimated 1825 diapers)
1. Disposables at retail value: $532.18/year
2. Disposables with great deal: $423.72/year
3. Cloth when using Bac-out on each diaper: $194.00/year
4. Cloth when using 3 squirts Bac-out per wash: $89.40/year
Now, you have to add to these numbers the start up costs for diapering. This would be 35-40 bucks added to the disposables for the diaper pail, but I'm not adding that because our diaper pail was a gift.
My estimates as of right now (I'll probably post how much I actually spent when I feel I have enough diapers to go full-time) are to add $300 in start-up costs for cloth diapers to go full-time. This estimate includes 2 large wet bags, 1 small wet bag, diaper sprayer, and 15 cloth diapers averaging at $15 each.
If you are cloth diapering a newborn you'll probably need more diapers, and if you have two in diapers you will obviously need more. I will probably need to add more diapers to this stash in order to cloth diaper my next child.
I'm being optimistic here, it may cost more than $300. If you want to see some good estimates on how much it would cost to go full-time with different types of cloth diapers, you can check out this blog post at Musings Of A Homemaker.
Costs For First Year (Includes Start-Up Costs)
Okay, I'll add $35 dollars to the disposables for the diaper pail, just to be fair.
1. Disposables at retail value: $618.56/year
2. Disposables with great deal: $458.07/year
3. Cloth with Bac-out on every diaper: $528.56/year
4. Cloth with Bac-out only when washing: $389.40/year
Conclusions
The first year is the most expensive when you are doing cloth diapers. You may not be saving anything depending on how much you would spend on disposables, and how often you use Bac-out.
You have to approach cloth diaper laundering with a strategy, or you may not save as much money. Obviously we will be going with the 3 squirts/wash Bac-out method.
The good thing? Even though the first year you may not actually be saving anything, for each subsequent year, and with each subsequent child, you do save significantly with cloth diapers.
I'm estimating that we will save about $1,170.30 (as a minimum) if we were to have two more kids and they were each in diapers for only two years. This is assuming we would continue to buy disposables in bulk with the discount if we weren't cloth diapering. And that is accounting for the money I'm losing in start-up costs the first year, and the approximate cost of another 15-ish diapers should I need that many (about $500 total in cloth diapers).
Are the savings as drastic as some claim? Not when you take into account laundry costs.
Do you still save money? Yes. In our case, we will still save quite a bit.
Is it worth the hassle? That's something each person has to decide themselves. For me, I think it is, because I am saving money in the long run, and I actually am finding the whole cloth diaper thing kind of fun.
There is some value to the cuteness factor too, after all.
P.S. I would just like to say a big thank you to Leanna at Thoughts And Whatnots for talking me down off the edge of the cloth diapering bandwagon. When I thought about all the extra costs I was about ready to jump off, but she was very encouraging and gave me some good information! It helped me stick with it long enough to do the math and realize it wasn't so bad.
First of all, I just want to say that this post is not going to be a “how to” post. I’m not going to do reviews of all the different products we’ve used so far.
We still use cloth diapers very part-time. Mostly because I don’t have a big enough stash built up to do them more than that. My plan is to add a diaper or two to my stash every paycheck. In another month or two I might have enough, but for now, we only use cloth on the days that I’m home. I’m not an expert on this subject, and I don’t feel like I qualify to do any sort of informative post until I’m doing this nearly full-time.
This post is mostly about my first impressions of cloth diapering.
On The Diapers Themselves
They are cute. Cute, Cute, Cute.
Right now, I like pocket diapers best. They’re easy to prepare, you put them on just like disposables. They seem to have about the same absorbency as disposables. They do leak occasionally if I wait too long between changes, but so do disposables, so they are pretty comparable in my opinion.
I haven’t tried any fitted diapers, I’ve just done the one-size-fits-all kind. I haven’t had any trouble with these. I can see how they might not fit a younger baby very well, but they work really well on Wyatt.
On The Laundering Process
The part that is the most hassle is finding a brand of detergent. You can’t use normal detergent on cloth diapers, so you have to buy a special kind. This is slightly annoying, but I suspect it’ll become less annoying as I continue with this.
It’s also annoying that you can’t use normal diaper cream. I like my petroleum jelly, because it’s cheap. The diaper cream that works with cloth diapers is no where near as cheap as good ‘ole Vaseline.
Other than those two annoying factors, doing cloth diaper laundry isn’t too big a deal. I just throw the diapers in there, pre-rinse, then wash a normal cycle with a second rinse using the fancy detergent. Then I hang up the diapers and throw the inserts in the dryer. I haven’t had any problems with them taking a long time to dry or anything. It’s really like any other load of laundry, except for the extra rinse at the beginning.
On Detergents
The detergent I’m using right now has “enzymes” that help break things down and kill bacteria. I really like this detergent because of that, but I’m thinking I might have to switch in the future because we have hard water.
If you have hard water you need to use some sort of water softener when you wash, so I’m using separate water softeners right now, and it just isn’t cost effective. I’ll have to switch to a different detergent that has water softeners but no enzymes, meaning I’ll have to get Bac-out or some such product to get the enzyme benefits.
I think it will still be more cost effective to use the other detergent and a separate enzyme product though than to use this detergent with separate softeners, just because of the price. It’s hard to know how much I’ll save until I can know for sure how long each type will last me, and I won’t know that until I’ve been doing this longer.
Just my thoughts on detergent.
On Dirty Diapers
Wet ones are easy, it’s the dirty ones that are more difficult. I’ve only done a couple dirty diapers using cloth, and I really wish I had a diaper sprayer. I’ve been using a water bottle to “squirt” water on the diapers to clean them off. It works alright for now, but I think a diaper sprayer would make this whole process way easier.
The dreaded dirty diapers are what most people fear most about cloth diapering (me included). It’s easy with disposables – you just take the diaper off, throw it in the trash, and never think about it again. If you have any kind of fear of dealing directly with dirty diapers, I wouldn’t recommend you start cloth diapering without a diaper sprayer.
Thankfully, I’m pretty comfortable with “the dirty work” and I always have been, so it hasn’t been much of an issue for me. After that first diaper it was no big deal.
On The Whole Process
My biggest issue is the “special” brands of detergent and diaper cream you have to buy to use with cloth diapers. I did a whole cost analysis of cloth diapers that takes this into account, and that will be up next week, so keep an eye out for it.
Other than that, I’m finding this whole thing kind of fun! Wyatt looks really cute in the diapers, and I really don’t mind taking care of the washing and such. I’m really looking forward to trying out more brands of diapers as well, and I get kind of excited when my cloth diapers come in the mail.
Will I stick with this? You know, I think I will.
Stay tuned for more on cloth diapers over the next couple weeks!
Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and everyone will be making their lists of things they are thankful for.
Somewhere in my list I always include my salvation, because really, isn’t the fact that Jesus died for our sins the ultimate gift for which to be thankful?
I realized a couple months ago that I have never posted the story of how I met Jesus on my blog. You can get the short version in the “About Me” tab, but I’ve never devoted an entire post to the most important event of my life, the moment I’m most grateful for. Why I haven’t is beyond me. I think it has been a thought niggling in the back of my brain for a while now, but I’ve never sat down and typed it out.
I decided that as we enter this season of Thanksgiving and then celebrating the birth of our Savior, it would be a great time to finally share my “salvation story”, if you will.
As I thought about it, I realized a lot of you might never have posted your testimonies either. I’m not judging – sometimes things get busy and you just don’t think of it. I know! So I thought I’d ask if any of you want to join me in thanking our Savior for what He has done in our lives in the best way we can – by sharing our stories with others.
I’m planning on posting my testimony on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, November 17th. It seemed like an appropriate way to lead into a holiday that is all about thanking God for our greatest gifts.
Will you think about joining me and posting your testimony on your blog that day as well?
I’m planning on doing a link-up, and there will be a button made at some point.
I’ll post a reminder as it gets closer, but I’m giving it a full 2 1/2 weeks – I think that’s plenty of time to decide on whether to join in and to write up your testimony if you do decide to do it. If you have written a post about your testimony in the past, you can definitely just link to that as well.
If you’ve never devoted an entire post to sharing your salvation story, I hope you join in!
More details and a button coming soon!
Lately I've been thinking alot about the Future. But not in the way you might think.
At first I was thinking about the Future in regards to everything it may or may not hold. What will happen with our jobs in the Future? Will we live in this house forever? So much has changed in this past year - what will life look like at this time next year? Will I have as much trouble getting pregnant with our next baby as I did getting pregnant with our first? How many kids will we have? Mostly just questions of the unknown.
But lately, my thoughts about the Future have been more focused on my actual thinking about the Future. Sure, it can be fun thinking about what might be, but is it really healthy? I've been convicted recently that it's not, not in the way that I have been thinking about it.
Two Exceptions
I don't think there is much good to be done in thinking about the Future, except as it may affect our present actions.
If I'm thinking about the Future only so I can plan appropriately for what I need to do today, there really isn't too much of a problem (got that tidbit from "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis, and I agree).
If I'm thinking about and focusing on Eternity that is a very good thing, because it has immediate repercussions in the Present - I'm going to live in a more godly manner today if I'm living with Eternity in mind. (see Chapter 15 in "The Screwtape Letters" for a good discussion about this whole subject).
But in this post I'm talking about thinking on my physical Future here on earth.
If I'm thinking about the unknowns of the Future, it only brings about two reactions: worry about the Future or discontent with the Present.
Worrying About The Future
When I start thinking too much about what might happen in the Future, it's almost impossible not to worry. I get to thinking about all the "what-if's", wondering what will happen, and then wondering what I should do if it does happen.
It's so easy to forget that worry is a sin. And I mostly worry about things in the Future - I don't worry so much about what is happening right now. Worrying about Future events that may or may not happen is a huge joy-stealer in my life - how am I supposed to be joyful when so many cares and worries are loading me down?
If not thinking about the Future helps me to worry less, not only am I sinning less by not worrying so much, but it's so much better for my mental and physical health as well
(Kara wrote a good post on worry, and that's where I found the above quote.)
Dreaming About The Future
But not all thoughts of the Future are filled with doom and gloom - sometimes I like to dream about the Future. And really what is wrong with that?
I think sometimes it's okay to just dream a little, but if my mind is often consumed with daydreams about things that may or may not happen, I don't think that is healthy. It's not at all helpful for appreciating the moment - in fact, focusing on what might be in the Future takes my attention away from being thankful for all those everyday gifts that I have right now (this also ties in with the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp, which for me has become partially about living fully in the Present, not with the Future constantly in mind).
And then on top of that, there is bound to be some disappointment if my actual Future doesn't live up to my expectations, or I may find myself discontented with the moment and wishing it away for the sake of things in the Future. How ungrateful that is! The Lord showers blessings on us every day, and I'll miss most of them if I'm always looking for the next thing.
Minding The Present
Right now, today, is all I have. I have no gaurantee about anything in the Future - why do I spend so much time thinking about my Future here on earth when what I do with each Present moment is what will really count for Eternity? What eternal value is there in focusing so much on the earthly Future? There isn't much.
Can focusing much of my thoughts on the Future help me live better today? Not really, unless I am only thinking about the Future so I can plan present tasks. But then I still have to be careful not to let worry sneak in, and that is so easy to do.
Can thinking about the unknowns of the Future help me serve the Lord better? No. It takes my attention away from the Lord and focuses it on temporal dreams or fears.
(Katie wrote a great post recently, "On Tomorrow", that also touched on this subject - I borrowed the quote from her.)
I don't want to focus so much on the "what if's" or "maybe someday's" of the Future. I don't want to waste the Present - this moment is all I have any control over, because once it has passed me by it becomes the Past, and I can't have it back.
I want to appreciate every gift and make the most of every moment that is given to me right now, because what I do right now is what will matter for Eternity. I think I could honor the Lord much better if I think less about the Future (or even the Past, but that is a different subject), and just practice minding the Present.
Obviously I'm still working on it, and this is a struggle I'll probably have until my Future no longer includes this physical world, but only Eternity - but then it won't be the "Future" anymore, it will just be a never-ending Present with my Savior.
And that is the most beautiful thing to look forward to.
At first I was thinking about the Future in regards to everything it may or may not hold. What will happen with our jobs in the Future? Will we live in this house forever? So much has changed in this past year - what will life look like at this time next year? Will I have as much trouble getting pregnant with our next baby as I did getting pregnant with our first? How many kids will we have? Mostly just questions of the unknown.
But lately, my thoughts about the Future have been more focused on my actual thinking about the Future. Sure, it can be fun thinking about what might be, but is it really healthy? I've been convicted recently that it's not, not in the way that I have been thinking about it.
Two Exceptions
I don't think there is much good to be done in thinking about the Future, except as it may affect our present actions.
If I'm thinking about the Future only so I can plan appropriately for what I need to do today, there really isn't too much of a problem (got that tidbit from "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis, and I agree).
If I'm thinking about and focusing on Eternity that is a very good thing, because it has immediate repercussions in the Present - I'm going to live in a more godly manner today if I'm living with Eternity in mind. (see Chapter 15 in "The Screwtape Letters" for a good discussion about this whole subject).
But in this post I'm talking about thinking on my physical Future here on earth.
If I'm thinking about the unknowns of the Future, it only brings about two reactions: worry about the Future or discontent with the Present.
Worrying About The Future
When I start thinking too much about what might happen in the Future, it's almost impossible not to worry. I get to thinking about all the "what-if's", wondering what will happen, and then wondering what I should do if it does happen.
It's so easy to forget that worry is a sin. And I mostly worry about things in the Future - I don't worry so much about what is happening right now. Worrying about Future events that may or may not happen is a huge joy-stealer in my life - how am I supposed to be joyful when so many cares and worries are loading me down?
If not thinking about the Future helps me to worry less, not only am I sinning less by not worrying so much, but it's so much better for my mental and physical health as well
(Kara wrote a good post on worry, and that's where I found the above quote.)
Dreaming About The Future
But not all thoughts of the Future are filled with doom and gloom - sometimes I like to dream about the Future. And really what is wrong with that?
I think sometimes it's okay to just dream a little, but if my mind is often consumed with daydreams about things that may or may not happen, I don't think that is healthy. It's not at all helpful for appreciating the moment - in fact, focusing on what might be in the Future takes my attention away from being thankful for all those everyday gifts that I have right now (this also ties in with the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp, which for me has become partially about living fully in the Present, not with the Future constantly in mind).
And then on top of that, there is bound to be some disappointment if my actual Future doesn't live up to my expectations, or I may find myself discontented with the moment and wishing it away for the sake of things in the Future. How ungrateful that is! The Lord showers blessings on us every day, and I'll miss most of them if I'm always looking for the next thing.
Minding The Present
Right now, today, is all I have. I have no gaurantee about anything in the Future - why do I spend so much time thinking about my Future here on earth when what I do with each Present moment is what will really count for Eternity? What eternal value is there in focusing so much on the earthly Future? There isn't much.
Can focusing much of my thoughts on the Future help me live better today? Not really, unless I am only thinking about the Future so I can plan present tasks. But then I still have to be careful not to let worry sneak in, and that is so easy to do.
Can thinking about the unknowns of the Future help me serve the Lord better? No. It takes my attention away from the Lord and focuses it on temporal dreams or fears.
(Katie wrote a great post recently, "On Tomorrow", that also touched on this subject - I borrowed the quote from her.)
I don't want to focus so much on the "what if's" or "maybe someday's" of the Future. I don't want to waste the Present - this moment is all I have any control over, because once it has passed me by it becomes the Past, and I can't have it back.
I want to appreciate every gift and make the most of every moment that is given to me right now, because what I do right now is what will matter for Eternity. I think I could honor the Lord much better if I think less about the Future (or even the Past, but that is a different subject), and just practice minding the Present.
Obviously I'm still working on it, and this is a struggle I'll probably have until my Future no longer includes this physical world, but only Eternity - but then it won't be the "Future" anymore, it will just be a never-ending Present with my Savior.
And that is the most beautiful thing to look forward to.
Edit: Good news! I was just testing the technique that I originally thought would allow anyone to find the sign-in e-mail for any blog, and I realized that when I originally tested this it sent it to the account e-mail that I was signed into because it was the same e-mail I had listed as my contact e-mail in my profile - so people actually can not find your e-mail sign-in this way.
However, in the past Blogger has reset my settings (without my permission - so annoying) to the default settings which did make my private e-mail visible for a short period of time, before I discovered it and hid it again. I've wanted to change my e-mail sign-in ever since this happened so that I'd have the peace of mind of knowing that if Blogger "reset" my settings again, it would be my blog e-mail (instead of my private e-mail) that showed up anyway. The instructions below are still the only way I've found to change your sign-in e-mail, but I will let you know if I ever find an easier way!
I had a few requests for me to post the "how-to" on switching your blogging account from one e-mail address to another - this is handy if you created your blog with a personal e-mail address before you were aware of blog security (like I did). If you are concerned about making sure your private e-mail stays hidden, it may be a good idea to switch your blog to a different account.
1. So the first thing to do is to create another e-mail address that you want to be associated with your blog. This can be with whatever service you want, but I think you'll have to set up a Blogger account with this e-mail if it's not a Gmail account.
Update: Jessica told me of an easier way to change your e-mail, but this will only work if the e-mail you used to set up your Blogger account is not a Gmail address.
If it is with another service, you can go to your Google homepage, click on your username in the upper right-hand corner, click on "Account Settings". Under the "Security" section, you can select to "Change Your E-mail" - then change it to your new blog e-mail address. You'll also want to update your contact e-mail in your Blogger profile if you have it set to your old e-mail. Then you are done.
If, however, your sign-in e-mail is a Gmail account, you'll have to go through the below steps.
2. After you create that e-mail, go to your Blogger account and click on the "Settings" tab. From there, click on "Permissions".
3. Click the "Add Authors" button, and enter your new blog e-mail. Click "Invite".
4. Open your new blog e-mail account and accept the invitation.
5. Go back to the permissions page signed in with your original e-mail. It should show your original e-mail as the administrator, and your new e-mail as a contributor. Click on the link to make your blog e-mail an "administrator" too.
6. Once you have both of your e-mails set up as administrators, sign in with your new blog e-mail. You should have access to all aspects of your blog from that e-mail now.
7. Once signed in with the new e-mail, go to "Permissions", and remove the other e-mail. That e-mail address will no longer be associated with your Blogger account. Don't delete the old Blogger account though, because it will delete your entire Google account associated with that e-mail, and any pictures you uploaded previously to your blog will be deleted too, unless you use an outside service.
8. Make your new Blogger profile look all pretty.
If all you want to do is switch to another e-mail, then you are done! However, if you are like me, you were following all of your blogs with your original e-mail. This is a problem because if you use Google Reader, you want to be able to read in Google Reader and comment on blogs with the same account, so you don't have to keep signing out and signing in with the new account every time you want to comment. There are two ways to handle this problem.
1. Just keep your original profile up and running, list your blog as your "website" in that profile, and read and comment with that account. I don't know of a way to find out the e-mail address associated with a Blogger profile, but I'm not certain - there could be a way to find the e-mail associated with your profile that I don't know about.
2. Or, if you're like me and get a little OCD about this stuff, you can re-follow all of your blogs with your new account and then un-follow with your old account. Unfortunately, there just isn't an easy way to do this - you have to re-follow individually. Yes, it takes forever, but it was worth it to me to just have everything transferred to one new account, and for my peace of mind. One advantage of this is you show up at the top of the follower list in the little "followers" gadgets, so you might get more new traffic that way - I consider that a little bonus for all my hard work.
And that's it! I hope this is helpful, and let me know if you have any questions - I'll do my best to find the answers for you!
However, in the past Blogger has reset my settings (without my permission - so annoying) to the default settings which did make my private e-mail visible for a short period of time, before I discovered it and hid it again. I've wanted to change my e-mail sign-in ever since this happened so that I'd have the peace of mind of knowing that if Blogger "reset" my settings again, it would be my blog e-mail (instead of my private e-mail) that showed up anyway. The instructions below are still the only way I've found to change your sign-in e-mail, but I will let you know if I ever find an easier way!
I had a few requests for me to post the "how-to" on switching your blogging account from one e-mail address to another - this is handy if you created your blog with a personal e-mail address before you were aware of blog security (like I did). If you are concerned about making sure your private e-mail stays hidden, it may be a good idea to switch your blog to a different account.
1. So the first thing to do is to create another e-mail address that you want to be associated with your blog. This can be with whatever service you want, but I think you'll have to set up a Blogger account with this e-mail if it's not a Gmail account.
Update: Jessica told me of an easier way to change your e-mail, but this will only work if the e-mail you used to set up your Blogger account is not a Gmail address.
If it is with another service, you can go to your Google homepage, click on your username in the upper right-hand corner, click on "Account Settings". Under the "Security" section, you can select to "Change Your E-mail" - then change it to your new blog e-mail address. You'll also want to update your contact e-mail in your Blogger profile if you have it set to your old e-mail. Then you are done.
If, however, your sign-in e-mail is a Gmail account, you'll have to go through the below steps.
2. After you create that e-mail, go to your Blogger account and click on the "Settings" tab. From there, click on "Permissions".
3. Click the "Add Authors" button, and enter your new blog e-mail. Click "Invite".
4. Open your new blog e-mail account and accept the invitation.
5. Go back to the permissions page signed in with your original e-mail. It should show your original e-mail as the administrator, and your new e-mail as a contributor. Click on the link to make your blog e-mail an "administrator" too.
6. Once you have both of your e-mails set up as administrators, sign in with your new blog e-mail. You should have access to all aspects of your blog from that e-mail now.
7. Once signed in with the new e-mail, go to "Permissions", and remove the other e-mail. That e-mail address will no longer be associated with your Blogger account. Don't delete the old Blogger account though, because it will delete your entire Google account associated with that e-mail, and any pictures you uploaded previously to your blog will be deleted too, unless you use an outside service.
8. Make your new Blogger profile look all pretty.
If all you want to do is switch to another e-mail, then you are done! However, if you are like me, you were following all of your blogs with your original e-mail. This is a problem because if you use Google Reader, you want to be able to read in Google Reader and comment on blogs with the same account, so you don't have to keep signing out and signing in with the new account every time you want to comment. There are two ways to handle this problem.
1. Just keep your original profile up and running, list your blog as your "website" in that profile, and read and comment with that account. I don't know of a way to find out the e-mail address associated with a Blogger profile, but I'm not certain - there could be a way to find the e-mail associated with your profile that I don't know about.
2. Or, if you're like me and get a little OCD about this stuff, you can re-follow all of your blogs with your new account and then un-follow with your old account. Unfortunately, there just isn't an easy way to do this - you have to re-follow individually. Yes, it takes forever, but it was worth it to me to just have everything transferred to one new account, and for my peace of mind. One advantage of this is you show up at the top of the follower list in the little "followers" gadgets, so you might get more new traffic that way - I consider that a little bonus for all my hard work.
And that's it! I hope this is helpful, and let me know if you have any questions - I'll do my best to find the answers for you!
I live in a small town with a tiny library. For most of my book reading needs, I go to a larger library in a neighboring city. But recently I discovered that our tiny little library that’s just a few minutes from my house actually has a pretty good movie selection.
I made a trip to library recently to get a couple movies, and as I was waiting for the librarian to check them out for me, I saw written on a board behind her that September was Banned Book Month. The library is encouraging people to read books that have been banned.
I’m not exactly sure what I think of this, because a lot of those banned books are banned because they are inappropriate. But as I thought about what books they are encouraging people to read, I began to wonder about the greatest book that has ever made a “banned books” list – a book that is banned in 52 countries today, because it tells the Truth.
I wonder if the Public Library system included the Bible on their list of recommended banned books?
I guess I inadvertently may have participated in Banned Book Month in September.
How about you?
I made a trip to library recently to get a couple movies, and as I was waiting for the librarian to check them out for me, I saw written on a board behind her that September was Banned Book Month. The library is encouraging people to read books that have been banned.
I’m not exactly sure what I think of this, because a lot of those banned books are banned because they are inappropriate. But as I thought about what books they are encouraging people to read, I began to wonder about the greatest book that has ever made a “banned books” list – a book that is banned in 52 countries today, because it tells the Truth.
I wonder if the Public Library system included the Bible on their list of recommended banned books?
I guess I inadvertently may have participated in Banned Book Month in September.
How about you?
I am just overwhelmed at God's goodness as I write this!
I can't go into details, but Derek has been going through a situation at work. Basically, if things went one way, it could make his job for the next year alot more stressful. From all appearances, it looked like this change was going to be inevitable, and we were both kind of resigned to it, though we did pray that things would just stay the same if at all possible.
Well, Derek recently had the meeting that would decide whether this thing at work was going to change or not, and I was praying for the meeting, that if at all possible the Lord would work it out for things to stay the way they are.
But with the Lord, nothing is impossible! It was decided that the changes were not going to happen after all! When I heard, I just wanted to cry, because I know it was wearing on Derek, but the Lord worked it all out for us!
I'm just amazed at how the Lord cares about the little details about our lives. This wasn't anything too drastic or earth-shattering - it just would have caused a bit more work and stress. But the Lord heard our prayers, and showed His love to us this way.
This reminder that the Lord cares and wants to hear about even the little things we have to deal with in this life came at such a perfect time for me. I know the Lord not only did this for Derek, but He did it at this precise moment in time to remind me that He's got this - He's got everything under control. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), He loves us (1 John 3:1), and He works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28), even when it is in a less obvious way than in this instance.
What an awesome God we have!
I can't go into details, but Derek has been going through a situation at work. Basically, if things went one way, it could make his job for the next year alot more stressful. From all appearances, it looked like this change was going to be inevitable, and we were both kind of resigned to it, though we did pray that things would just stay the same if at all possible.
Well, Derek recently had the meeting that would decide whether this thing at work was going to change or not, and I was praying for the meeting, that if at all possible the Lord would work it out for things to stay the way they are.
But with the Lord, nothing is impossible! It was decided that the changes were not going to happen after all! When I heard, I just wanted to cry, because I know it was wearing on Derek, but the Lord worked it all out for us!
I'm just amazed at how the Lord cares about the little details about our lives. This wasn't anything too drastic or earth-shattering - it just would have caused a bit more work and stress. But the Lord heard our prayers, and showed His love to us this way.
This reminder that the Lord cares and wants to hear about even the little things we have to deal with in this life came at such a perfect time for me. I know the Lord not only did this for Derek, but He did it at this precise moment in time to remind me that He's got this - He's got everything under control. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), He loves us (1 John 3:1), and He works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28), even when it is in a less obvious way than in this instance.
What an awesome God we have!
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