Frugal Diapering

Cloth diapering your little one can be very inexpensive, depending on your tastes in diapers and where and how you shop. There are work at home mom (WAHM) diaper brands that can be very spendy (and quite trendy) that could cost upwards of $35-50 a diaper! Then there are prefolds that are $2 each.

Here are some tips on keeping your cloth diapering costs down:

Buy in bulk! Certain brands like bumGenius, Flips, GroVia, and FuzziBunz periodically have sales where you buy so many diapers and you get one or two diapers free. It's an awesome deal if you already know you like the brand.

Company loyalty. Certain online stores will reward you for shopping with them again and again. I have taken advantage of the rewards program that Kelly's Closet offers – it's wonderful! Free diapers for buying diapers and accessories? Yes please!

eBay diapers. I personally have not tried any of the eBay diapers available (e.g., Sunbabys, Coolababys, Babyland, etc.), but I hear they do hold up fairly well. They typically cost around $6-7 each.

Prefolds/flats. You can buy prefolds or flats for your little one. I have used the Econobum prefolds and I absolutely love them! They are so absorbent and dry very quickly. We even use them as nighttime diapers! You can buy a kit that comes with 12 prefolds and 3 covers for $50. If I were cloth diapering full time on a tight budget, I'd buy two kits and be done with my stash. You can get 12 flats for about $25, so that's another inexpensive option, as well. You only need a few covers to get through the day, so you could easily cloth diaper a baby full time for about $100.

Make your own diapers. There are so many patterns or tutorials out there – some are free, some are not. You can easily create diapers out of old t-shirts, all those flannel receiving blankets I'm sure you received at the baby shower, and hundreds of other materials you may already have laying around the house. You can also make your own PUL, fleece, or wool covers. You could even get fancy and make your own all-in-one or all-in-two diapers! The options are endless and can save you a lot of money if you are crafty enough and have the time to do so.

Sell your diapers. When you no longer reach for those few diapers or your little one has outgrown his/her newborn or sized diapers, sell them! (Well, as long as you won't use them for future babies.) You can make a good return on your diapers, especially if they are in good condition. If you aren't using it, why keep it? There were many diapers I tried out and didn't like for numerous reasons. I sold them and used the money to buy more diapers I did like.

Buy used or "seconds" diapers. There are used diapers available all over! Check your local cloth diaper boutiques, online selling forums, Facebook groups, and even some online cloth diaper shops for used cloth diaper deals. (Kelly's Closet has a gently used diaper page!) You can get more bang for your buck there, as well.

While you can certainly spend a pretty penny when building your cloth diaper stash, there are so many ways to save money. There's no reason not to!

Bio: Jennifer Esposito - I've been cloth diapering my daughter, Adele, for a little over a year. She wore her first cloth diaper when she was 6 days old and was in them full time at 3 weeks. I've been married to my best friend for 4 years. I'm an editor by trade, and during my free time I like to run, sew, or read.