cloth diapering

**tabithapatrick** · 11-08-2007, 11:08 AM

Okay, so my daughter is now 10 months, and we have one on the way. I have decided to switch to cloth diapering. HOwever, it seems that it is SOOOO expensive! I thought it would save us money! My mom says to just use prefolds from Babies R Us, and vinyl diaper covers and not to buy the fitted ones. Anyone have any advice on this? Did it actually save you money??? What kind did you find worked best? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

**missyali** · 11-08-2007, 12:22 PM

I like Bumpkin diaper covers with regular cloth inside and a terry cloth doubler. Don't forget the rice paper liner. More expensive? Haven't done the math in a while. I am guessing no. My main reason is environmental. Any additional savings are just a bonus for us. There is a big start up cost. I am guessing 3 packs of diapers ($36), 6 covers ($54), 36 doublers ($18), rice papers ($10) About $118 for your older baby. You could always buy more diapers and doublers for both kids to share.I'm rambling now...

**lullaby80** · 11-08-2007, 08:36 PM

No, it didn't save us a penny.

This is only because I wanted to try every single diaper on the market. We're cloth diapering only because of environmental reasons and use disposables at night.

Prefolds w/nylon pants would be the cheapest option for sure, some diaper communities have co-ops where you can get some for cheap. You can also sew your own from old towels etc. if you really want to save some money. Also if you know how to knit you can make your own wool diaper soakers which are amazing.

There is more discussion on this topic in the natural living (?) forum. Good luck!

**Edna_E** · 11-12-2007, 01:27 PM

I think a lot of the cost and/or savings depends on how you go about it. I planned on washing frequently and so didn't buy too many. I washed them at LEAST every other day, and hung them to dry (they dry really fast) usually at night so I could fold and put them away in the morning. I did not use liners, and had 3 pairs of plastic pants for outside them. I never checked the price on others, but it was not terribly expensive, and I do think it is better environmentally, and you have lots of dustrags later (I'm still using them up and my son is 20)

**nuisance26** · 11-12-2007, 01:56 PM

~I bought one of the most expensive diapering systems there is and I still saved TONS of cash. I went with Motherease one size snap terry diapers and snap covers. I was able to get most of my diapers and covers on Ebay for 1/2 price. There are many people who try lots of brands and then leave the ones they've 'tried' just sitting in a pile while they use their favorites. Most of the ones I bought were used only a few times and were in very good condition. I spent about $200 to diaper my son and then invested another $100 when my daughter came along so that I'd have enough in my rotation to wash every 3 days if I wanted to. It cost me less than $1 a week to launder and air dry the diapers. So our total cost was about $550 for 2.5 years cloth exclusively with our son and 2.5 years daytime with our daughter. There's my math for you. Even if you paid full retail I believe you'd still save money.~

**mmy2grls** · 12-02-2007, 06:44 PM

I cloth diaper part time. I use prefolds and dappi diaper covers, I spent about $50 on all of this with my first born and saved them so I was able to use them for my 19 month old 6 years later.

I do have some fitted velcro cloth diapers that I absolutely love that I got free from a baby pantry.

Cloth diapers save me money as long as I have enough to last a few days and that gives me one washer full to wash and then dry. I think it's economical if you have enough were you only have to wash them twice a week.

One thing I absolutely need are the disposables liners for messy diapers.

You can spend as much or as little as you want on cloth diapers but I think the important thing is having a good attitude about cloth diapering.