If you want to get specific, saving money is one of the big reasons to start cloth diapering in the first place.  Considering the cheapest diapers out there still cost at least $20 a month, it doesn’t take too long for virtually any cloth diapering setup to save you money.

However, I totally get it.  A lot of people are reluctant to switch to cloth diapering not just because of the thought of nasty laundry chores or difficult to manage diapers, but because of the cost.  And while by NO means do you need to go whole hog from the word go (you can just buy a diaper here and a diaper there as you are able), it still represents a significant investment.

So here are my tips for cloth diapering on a budget.

• Use baby washcloths as cloth wipes.  A pack of 8 Gerber washclothes is pretty cheap and you can find even cheaper options that will work just as well.  Just fold them and store them in an old plastic disposable wipes container.  Then, when it’s time to change baby, just run them under the warm water of the faucet and voila.  You’ll never have to buy another wipe again.
• Prefolds are NOT that hard to work with!  There are many folds that work for many different babies.  Prefolds are enormously versatile workhorses.  And, if you’re crafty enough, you can easily make them into prefitteds which are easier to deal with.
• Or you can buy prefitteds, which are still much cheaper than most diaper options out there.
• Most PUL covers are pretty cheap anyhow, but you can get even more thrifty if you can sew by making your own fleece soaker out of an old fleece receiving blanket.
• If you’re really desperate and have diaper pins available, you can always use an old tshirt as a diaper when in a pinch.
• Look for gently used diapers on Diaper Swappers FSOT (For Sale Or Trade) forums.  You can find some really good deals here and a lot of people buy ALL their diapers used.

You don’t have to break the bank to cloth diaper your baby.  I’m already enjoying not having to buy a ginormous box of diapers each month.  Though my middle child still wears disposables at night (we don’t have quite enough diapers on hand to diaper both kids full time), we only have to spend about $10 a month.  I can’t wait for the day when that number becomes $0 a month!

So what are your favorite money-saving tips?

Tags: budget, Diaper Swappers, fleece, prefitteds, prefolds, saving money, soaker, wipes

For this past week I have been agonizing over wanting a Goodmama.  I would look at them forlornly on Diaperswappers.  I would wander aimlessly at Spots Corner, stroking all the Goodmamas there.  I would look at the Goodmama site, reading every little bit of information, coveting every diaper they ever made.  I would whine to my husband about how I waaaaaaanted one, and how we neeeeeeded one.  I would dream about the squishiness and how I had plans to rub the new diaper all over my face (to better feel the true squishiness it has to offer).

I suppose that poor Rob just got tired of listening to me whine and lust over these diapers and told me to just buy one.  We’d just not go out for lunch on Sundays for the rest of the month - no big deal.  So Wednesday night I stalked Diaper Swappers.  I stalked Spots Corner.  I searched high and low for the perfect goodmama diaper.  I sent inquiries to a few sellers, not to have anything resolved.

By the time I went to bed, I was having total cold feet and not feeling right about buying a goodmama.  I was second guessing the reason behind why I wanted the diaper.  Was it because they were supposed to be so wonderful?  Did I want to buy it because the “cool kids have them” and thus buying my popularity?  Who, in my life, would even care that Kitten had a goodmama on?  I decided, at that point, that if I am THAT worried about a diaper, maybe it’s just not the brand for me.  I mean, I shouldn’t have to think about something that hard, right?  So I decided that I would look into the other diapers that were similar.

This means I spent more time skulking around on Hyena Cart, and looking to see what I could find that was available.  And?  NOTHING.  If I wanted something in a cotton print, I could get it.  If I wanted a bamboo side snap, I could get one.  But not the front-snap OBV like the goodmamas.  Even using the search tool at Diaper Swappers didn’t seem to help.  Until, that is, I realized that it’s Piddle PODDLES, not Piddle POODLE!  Ha ha ha!

So after I found the right name, I found a beautiful brand new PP with the cutest monster on the butt.  I was so excited and snapped it right up.  We just can’t wait for the diaper to get here (I hate getting stuff from the States!  It takes sooooo long!).  See?  It’s just so adorable, and squishy!

Tags: Diaper Swappers, Fitted, Hyena Cart, Piddle Poddles

In light of my recent goodmama diaper related posts, I wanted to get this out there to those who are new to cloth diapers or thinking about trying it out or who don’t know a thing about it:  Cloth diapering is as expensive as you want it to be.  It may look to an “outsider” or a “newbie” that all diapers are ridiculously expensive.  And, I guess it would appear that a $20 or more cloth diaper is outrageous when you can go down to Walmart and buy 88 or more disposable diapers for that same price.  Of course, here’s the difference: You throw away those disposable diapers, never to be seen again (except for the 500 years it takes them to decompose of course) and you wash and reuse the $20 diaper.   Often, that diaper is used several times a week (if you do laundry every other day like I do) for several months.  If it’s a one-size diaper, it can be used several times a week for several YEARS.  And if you’re having more children later on, that diaper can then be used for those children as well.  When put in that perspective, a $20 diaper is a darned good deal!  Plus, if you take care of the cloth diaper, you can turn around and sell it when you’re finished (Diaper Swappers is great for this!).  You definitely cannot sell a used disposable diaper!

Another point that’s often overlooked:  You don’t need to buy ALL the diapers you need right off the bat.  You can buy them one by one, little by little.  Go ahead and keep using disposable diapers while working cloth into the cycle as you’re able.  Before long, you may be able to use cloth a majority of the time and just use disposables for naps and bedtime.  That is what we’re doing with Liam right now.  We have plenty of diapers for 1-2 days for Evie, but not quite enough for 1 full day for Liam.  No biggie.  We’ll keep using ’sposies during naps, when out and about and at bedtime for him until we’re able to make the full switch over.  The only reason that Evie has enough diapers for 1-2 days really is because I’m using prefolds on top of my pocket diapers.

That’s another thing: Prefolds are insanely cheap.  Yeah, if you look hard enough, you can find some pretty pricey prefolds out there made of bamboo velour or custom dyed or embellished with embroidery and appliqués, but you certainly don’t have to buy those.  In general, you can get simple cotton prefolds for $1-$2 apiece that work just fine.  I found some good prorap covers to go over the prefolds as a waterproof cover on Diaper Swappers’ FSOT forums for $5 apiece that looked just like new.  The prefolds work great and get the job done.  I suppose, if I really needed to, she could wear them around the clock and they would serve as her only diapers just fine.  A lot of people do it that way.

For the most part, $50 a diaper is pretty expensive about twice what I would ever want to pay for a diaper.  I have never spent more than $25 and I pretty much never will.  (Never say never, right?)  I’m far too frugal for such silliness.  Plus, I’m a big fan of one-size diapers.  The benefit being that Liam can wear them too and they’ll last her a looooong time.  For what it’s worth, even the pricey goodmama diapers are one-size and have a reputation of lasting a long, long time (as well as having amazing resale value).  The prefolds, unfortunately, aren’t one-size but they’re so cheap that buying new ones isn’t a big deal.

Basically, when it comes to cloth diapers, you spend as much as you want to spend on them.  They truly are less expensive in the long run.  I plan on this being the first in a series of the Economics of Cloth Diapers, detailing the price comparisons to disposables and the longterm benefits of using cloth.  In the meantime, check out this interesting article from Jillian’s Drawers comparing a couple different diapering systems to disposables and showing that virtually no matter what method you choose, you’re always going to save money.

Tags: cost comparison, Diaper Swappers, disposables, Goodmama, prefolds, prorap

As I said, we’re very new to this whole cloth diapering thing.  New, but EXCITED.  Or, actually, I am.  My husband is mildly interested.  But, considering Evie wore only ’sposies on Mother’s Day when it was his job to change her diapers all day, I’m guessing he has some catching up to do.  Then again, he might be more interested once we get more “convenient” diapers in our stash.

Yesterday, Evie spent the day in infant prefolds (folded with the “bikini twist fold”), a homemade fleece liner and prorap covers.  I thought it went pretty well.  We only had one pee leak early on in the day and I think that was because I hadn’t made sure that all of the prefold was tucked into the prorap.  Oops!  I also think I need to perfect my fastening technique.  I think I’ve been making it too tight for the little dear as she has, at times, seemed uncomfortable.  And, well, the prefolds aren’t as comfortable as they could be.  I think they could stand a few more washings.

We put her in a BG 3.0 for bedtime and that worked great.  Not even the barest hint of a leak all night long.  And she had a significant poop overnight that I wasn’t even aware of until I changed her diaper this morning.  Whoops!   But I don’t think she’d sat in it for too long, which is good.  I was impressed that the diaper held up as well as it had.  Just as impressed as I was Saturday night she wore a BG 3.0 to the drive-in and had an Epic Poop and it was easily contained.  Now that’s something even your average ’sposie has trouble with!

I did some laundry last night and washed the pail liner I’d purchased at Walmart with the diapers.  Unfortunately, it was a pretty cheap liner.  It bled blue dye on the microfiber inserts and some of the prefolds.  To top it off, a big hole tore open in the side during the wash cycle.  Ugh.  That’s what I get for being cheap.  So I went over to Diaper Swappers and got a Wahmies pail liner off of FSOT.  It’s what I should have done in the first place.

***

In other news, I got an email this morning that gDiapers has released their new little g pants.  The new colors are Golly Molly Pink, Grasshopper Green and Goodnight Blue.  They look really cute, too!  Also, you get get flushable liners for 10% off for the next three days only.  That’s definitely a good stock up opportunity!

Tags: bumGenius, Diaper Swappers, Epic Poop, FSOT, gDiapers, little g, new, prefolds, prorap, sale, Wahmies

I’ve been spending more and more time over at the Diaper Swappers forum.  If you are new to cloth diapering like I am and haven’t heard of this place, you gotta check it out.  It’s like a cloth diaperer’s dream.  These gals, they are HARDCORE.  Well, most of them are.  But that’s what makes it fun.  Because they are INTO IT.  And they sort of make you want to be into it too.

But I’ve also noticed that there are several different and distinct categories of mamas who cloth diaper.  We are not like the bumGenius and one-size-fits-all.  And there’s no real way of knowing what your Cloth Diaper Personality is going to be until you actually start to use cloth diapers.  You may go in thinking you’re going to be one and end up being the other quite by surprise.  As far as I’ve noticed, the personalities are as follows:

The Couture Craver
The mamas are constantly on the lookout for the newest and hottest diapers.  The special embroidery, luxurious fabrics, trendiest designs… they spend hours searching hyena cart for the latest and greatest.  And price is of little consequence.  These ladies will sell off less exciting portions of their “stash” in order to get the $$ needed for the cutest fitteds or covers out there if they have to.  The Couture Craver has little use for bumGenius diapers, as they only come in five colors and no prints.  If they use prefolds, they are dyed for maximum eye-candy-ness.  These are the ones who will take photos of their stash to post causing everyone else to drool and ask, “Where did you get THAT?”  Nothing wrong with these ladies, but they have an eye for fashion and design and “it” factor.  If you want to see some cool diapers, ask these mamas where they shop.  Just watch your willpower when you do!

The Practical Purchaser
There are several types of practical when it comes to cloth diapers, but I’m talking about those who look for function over form.  Sure, the latest cover is adorable, but does it hold in wetness?  Yes, prefolds are inexpensive, but are they the most efficient option out there?  This is the mama that cringes at the notion of plunking down even $15 for something that isn’t going to deliver bang for it’s buck, and beyond.  I have to admit, I am one of these mamas.  I will see an adorable diaper cover or fitted and think, “Hey… maybe I can one or two of those…”  But then I start thinking sizes.  I could buy one and my daughter might be able to wear it several months or it might just be several weeks.  The Practical Purchaser is drawn in by the allure of the one-size diaper.  bumGenius is the end-all, be-all.  A diaper that works well and lasts for the (usually) the entirety of the diapering years?  That kind of practicality can be hard to resist.  These are the mamas that are drooling over the new bumGenius one-size organic diapers.  Anything that says, “You won’t have to buy any more diapers” is aces in a Practical Purchaser’s book.

The Eager Economist
This is the mama who hangs out at the FSOT (For Sale or Trade) forums at Diaper Swappers, and often scouts for good deals on the FFS (Free For Shipping) forum.  She also is the sort who will, if she has to, happily use prefolds with the cheapest covers she can find.  She prides herself on finding the best deal out there.  If there’s a coupon code, she knows what is is and where to use it.  She might not have a lot of extra money to spend on diapers but is a firm believer in cloth diapering so she perseveres.  Hence the deal scouting if she wants at all to have the “fancier” diapers.  Or maybe she has the money to spend but has an inherent inability to spend it.  I can understand and admire that, having that sort of issue myself.  This woman is also hardcore.  She will take pride in never paying full price for a diaper EVER.  Believe me, if anyone can do it, she sure can.  And she is quite happy to sacrifice convenience for low price.  In other words: a force to be reckoned with.

The Granola Gal
These are the mamas who are into every organic and natural.  They want no synthetic fibers to touch their baby’s bottoms.  They are serious about lessening their family’s impact on the environment and line dry all their diapers as well as using natural detergents for their diapers.  They get very excited about natural fibers like hemp and bamboo.  And if they can find all of these natural fibers in a diaper that is adorable to boot?  Well then stand aside!  She is willing to spend a little (or in some cases, a lot) extra in order to buy only organic and even if a particular diaper fits all her other desires, if it isn’t organic then it’s not cutting it.  These women are true environmentalists and chances are, they drive a hybrid.  Not to stereotype, of course, I mean them the greatest respect.  They want the best for their baby AND for the earth.  What could be more noble than that?

So there you have it.  I’m sure there are more Cloth Diaper Personalities out there, but this should cover the basics, don’t you think?  So tell me, which personality are you?

Tags: Cloth Diaper Personality, cloth diapers, Diaper Swappers, personality