In lieu of having something else to talk about (I’m still kicking around my nighttime diaper post… it’s coming!), I wanted to do a Dave Letterman-style top ten list of why I love cloth diapering. Surely, I have more than ten reasons, but these are a few notable notions.
10. It’s good for the environment. Naysayers will try to bring up the whole electricity/gas/water thing when it comes to washing the diapers. But when you take into account the resources, gas, chemicals etc that go into make disposables, just to have the end result end up in a landfill for 500 years? NO CONTEST. Not even a WASH. Cloth diapers FTW! (that’s “for the win” to the rest of y’all)
9. It saves money. Sorta. If you really want to and need to save money? You can do it EASY with cloth diapers. Now, the avenue I’ve chosen with the fancy fitteds is probably not as cost efficient as I could be. And if this were my first child instead of my last, I’m sure the savings would add up quick. Still, I imagine I’ll come out ahead in the end after I’ve sold the diapers post-potty-training.
8. They’re darned cute. It’s a lot of fun to get into different fabric prints and styles and such.
7. They’re a gateway to other handmade goodies. I wouldn’t have been exposed to the wonders of shippers (shoes and slippers in one, yo!), swing dresses, Kahootz and other wonderful items were it not for cloth diapering.
6. WOOL! Cloth diapering opened my eyes to wool pants and from there to knitting myself. I love to knit! I knit ALL the time! I never would have even thought of it if it weren’t for the diapers. And that’s the truth.
5. They’re leak proof! If you use them right and know what styles work best with your kid, then it’s possible to NEVER experience a leak with cloth diapers. I can’t remember the last time we had any sort of leak. Try THAT with disposables!
4. The kids love them! As mine are both getting older, they enjoy picking out their own diapers and even have favorites! It becomes a fashion accessory, if you will. A precursor to special underwear too!
3. They make changing time FUN. Yes, you heard me. Changing diapers is rarely fun, I know. And the really messy ones are never a blast and a half. But cute cloth diapers do make diaper changes a lot more interesting. I’ve actually come to enjoy diaper changing. It provides a great bonding moment for me and the kids.
2. I hear tell that cloth diapering eases the transition through potty training. I’m too skeered to try this myself, but I’m counting on it to be true!
and last but not least….
1. It has introduced me to a wonderful community of women who love to talk about cloth diapers, wool, crafts and LIFE. I love finding a new group of people to share my life with and I need the interaction too!
So if you cloth diaper, what are your favorite parts? Do share!
After doing the math, I figure I will save a total of $4,000 ($2K each for twins) that will go in their college fund. Nothing to sniff at.
Plus when I do wash and only throw away the wipes (I do disposable) into the trash, I feel darn good. When I see my neighbors’ trash bags crammed full of used Huggies, I cringe.
I totally agree with your reasons, and I have one more of my own. Cloth diapering has gotten me into line-drying my clothes. To save energy and get the benefits of sun bleaching I started hanging the diapers out to dry. Since then I’ve been hanging more and more laundry out. I love it. The clothes smell great and I feel like I’m doing a good thing for the earth, plus I’m saving money on the electricity bill. It’s totally win-win-win.
Cloth diapering has inspired me to hang more out on the line as well. My mom did all the time (including the dead of winter) and now I look back and admire how GREEN she was.
We enjoy it. We used Swaddlers for the first five weeks because we reasoned that infants rip through so many diapers that it would be tough for us brand newbie parents to manage a newborn cloth diaper rotation while taking the time to find a brand we like. I will tell you now that if we have another kiddo, he or she will be sporting cloth diapers immediately. It’s just not that difficult. My reasons for using cloth are very similar to yours. Here’s the post. http://blog.thedailyfuss.com/2.....oodie.html
Jen
The Daily Fuss
Too funny about diapering being fun. Picking out which diaper to put on next is the most fun part. I am a mom of boys but I can’t resist matching my son’s diaper to his outfit.