Cloth Diapering in a Military Family

Let's face it, just about no one enlists in the military for the fabulous salary. As a stay-at-home Mom and U.S. Air Force spouse, I have to work hard to stretch every dollar. When my husband and I found out that our second son was on the way I started looking around for ways to economize even further than we already had.

One day when I was talking to a new friend I had made at a house warming party, and she told me about her decision to cloth diaper. She showed me her daughter's adorable diapers with their cute girlie prints and explained how much money she and her husband were saving on diapers. I kind of nodded and smiled, but my husband's ears perked up when she mentioned how cost effective cloth diapering could be. A second friend echoed the same opinion when I asked her about her cloth diapering. She had cloth diapered her last three children and had nothing but good things to say about it. Needless to say, after some prompting from my husband and a LOT of internet research later I agreed that we should try to cloth diaper our upcoming bundle of joy.

Almost eight months later, and we're still growing strong! My husband and I LOVE cloth diapering, and we already know 100% that we're going to cloth diaper any subsequent children we have. Here are a few reasons that we, as a military family, have chosen to continue to cloth diaper:

1. The obvious reason, it saves us money: We are currently a family of four living on a Senior Airman salary. Cloth diapering has saved us so much money. We no longer have to buy wipes, diapers, diaper pail liners or tubes of rash ointment. All in all we spent a shockingly small amount of money on our stash. We were given some cloth diapers at my baby shower (you can't beat free!), I bought second hand diapers in a local B/S/T group, and I bought pocket diapers and covers from Kelly's Closet. I even got a few free diapers thanks to their great coupons! With diapers, wet bags, detergent, and pail liners we spent about $400. $400! I get dizzy when I think about how much we spent diapering our first son in disposables compared to our second son in cloth.

2. The cute factor: Paper diapers may be trim, but they aren't known for being super cute or original looking. Yes, I know functionality is key and all that matters is that they catch the poop/pee, but sometimes it's nice to have something cute to look at while you're cleaning it. Plus, since they are so cute, my diapers can be conversion starters. When you move around often it can be hard to meet new people and make new friends. My adorable Spence bumGenius is eye catching on the playground, and I've been able to strike up conversations with other Mommies and make new friends.

3. Fewer rashes and trips to the doctor for prescription strength rash ointment: Since we live hours away from any family it's hard when my kids get sick. If you don't know anyone, your support network can be almost non-existent. Being a first time Mom when we moved to our current base, I ended up Skyping a lot with my Mother to get her opinion on every illness my son had. He used to get terrible yeast rashes, and I'd hold his raw little baby bum up to the laptop camera just for my mom to say, "Poor baby! You need to take him to see the pediatrician!". My second son isn't plagued with the rashes his elder brother suffered from, and I attribute that change entirely to cloth diapers. No more disposables that don't breathe and are filled with skin-irritating chemicals = much fewer rashes.

I'm so happy that my husband and I made the decision to switch to cloth diapering. And you know, you don't have to be in the military to appreciate a little extra money in your bank account!

Bio: Meridith is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base with her husband Nathan, and their two sons. She is a stay-at-home Mom and fledgling blogger who loves reading, canning, gaming, and (of course!) cloth diapers.


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Cloth Diapering in a Military Family

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One Size Cloth Organization with an Extra-Small Budget

Our main reason for choosing to use cloth has been to save money. So it should come as no surprise that when it came to diaper organization, thriftiness was kept in mind. We spend the majority of our day in our family room so that’s where many of the hasty diaper changes occur. We keep the bulk of our stash in the hallway just outside the family room. The diapers are easily accessible in bins on a wall shelf, along with an organized tote to carry all the essentials for a quick change.

The fabric bins were found at the dollar store. They measure 6” wide X 10” deep X 6” high. I can fit roughly six double stuffed diapers in each. In an effort to make it easier to grab what we want quickly, I try to organize each bin by what it contains (for the sake of my sanity, we’ll pretend that my husband listens when I tell him what style of diaper is in each bin). As an example, my four bins pictured below left to right are 1. pockets with single inserts & swim diapers 2. Velcro closure 3. pockets with double inserts 4. Prefold/flats/fitteds/covers.

The bins hide the diapers perfectly on the wall shelf in our basement hallway, and we simply take down a diaper and toss it in the changing tote when it’s time for a change.

We received this 31 tote as a shower present with our first child, but never really found a use for it and it was banished to the closet for years. I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what made me think of this tote when I was looking to organize our cloth diaper supplies, but it has done its job. I used this, because we had it at the ready, but there is no shortage of totes that cost a fraction of the price and would do the job just as well.

The tote contains an assortment of diapering necessities. The large middle section has a foldup changing pad, cloth wipes stored in one of those “free” containers that you get from buying $25 worth of disposable baby wipes. One mesh side pocket contains a small bottle with wipe solution (or water), sample sized CJ’s Butter (we don’t frequently need it, but I like having it handy), and things for fastening diapers. The other pocket contains disposable liners and stay dry liners…nail clippers and a bulb syringe, because let’s be honest, it’s never more obvious that your kid has a boogie than when their sweet little face is looking up at you during a diaper change…and after going to war to get rid of that boogie it’s even more obvious that their finger nails need clipped.

We also try to keep things simple in the laundry room. We have a swing top trash can and pail liner for storing diapers until wash day. I have a dollar store bucket in the utility sink that dirty diapers go in until I have time to rinse them out before they too go in the pail. For drying pockets and covers, I use a simple retractable clothes line. No smells, very little maintenance, and most importantly, very little investment make cloth diapering simpler than I previously had imagined. I love knowing that we’re saving so much money without having invested much just to keep our cloth diapers neat.

Bio: Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and is the mother of 2 boys. In her spare time she enjoys doing crafts, home improvement projects, and gardening.


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One Size Cloth Organization with an Extra-Small Budget

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A Modest Stash for a Modest Budget

The first question I got when I told my husband that I wanted to cloth diaper our third baby was, "how much is it going to cost?". We are a frugal family, we stick to a budget, and try to keep a simple lifestyle. Cloth diapering was more of an environmental decision for me and a way to avoid nasty chemicals, so I wasn't sure how it would fit with our budget. I knew I wouldn't need a large stash for one baby, and I planned to wash every other day anyway. I spent a lot of time researching and "window" shopping on Kelly's Closet. We knew that our baby would be at least 8.5lbs and that we wouldn't be starting in cloth until his circumcision & umbilical stump healed, so I went with mostly one size diapers. I purchased two six packs of bumGenius 4.0s and earned two free diapers {Rumparooz one size pockets} with those orders. We also had a few fitteds and some smaller prefolds/sized covers. I had about 25 changes total. A simple and modest stash, yet plenty for frequent changes. Once baby outgrew the fitteds/prefolds/covers, I sold them and added a few more bumGenius 4.0s to our rotation. I've since added to our stash, including a few Flip covers & organic day flats, hemp inserts, and I've earned two free Kawaiis {love these at night}, a Rumparooz, and another bumGenius 4.0. Right now we have about 30 changes, which feels like a lot for an older baby who only uses 6-8 diapers a day!

We initially spent about $350 to start our diaper stash. I was able to sell what we outgrew {cloth diapers retain their value quite well!} and spend about $150 more to fill out our stash. If we were using our preferred brand of disposable diapers, we would have spent at least $800 in the last year. Instead we saved $300 and have a cute fluffy butt baby to boot!

Bio: Aimee is the mama to three little ones, photographer, and sometimes blogger at thefamilyofcottons.blogspot.com loving life with her husband on the Vineyard.


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A Modest Stash for a Modest Budget

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Penny Pinching & Cloth Diapers: Perspective from a Broke Mom

"Well, that's everything! Congratulations, and we'll see you in two weeks to find out the sex of your baby. Any questions?"

Um… YES! For starters, can someone pick my jaw up off the ground for me? I seem to have dropped it. Because apparently I'm pregnant. Secondly… how am I going to pay for my own small human? Adorable as they are, they aren't cheap. I'm an actor. My boyfriend is a culinary artist (or a cook, for those of you who don't know the lingo). What on earth are we going to do?

When we found out that our very unexpected (but VERY wanted) little bundle of joy was on the way, we had our fair share of panic attacks over how to provide for said tiny joy bundle. Almost immediately we began researching ways to save money, and do you know what was the number one expense we found ourselves facing? Diapers. Not medical bills. Not feeding or clothing our little human. Diapers.

^The unexpected joy bundle.

Almost immediately we made the decision to use cloth diapers. We began buying them anytime we had extra money in our account. When asked what the new baby needed most, we instantly responded with "cloth diapers!", and then proceeded to tell the inquiring individual what brands were our favorites (bumGenius, GroVia, and Rumparooz).

How did we come to this conclusion? Well, let's start by looking at prices. A case of disposable diapers will run you a minimum of $24. The average newborn will go through roughly a case and a half (at LEAST) every two weeks. That's three cases in a month, if you're one of the lucky ones. At $24/case, that's a minimum of $72 a month. At the lowest rate, that totals out to $864 in your first year alone, and we haven't even factored in the price of wipes (which you will go through faster than a frat house goes through cheap beer). Most babies aren't potty trained until they are at least two and a half years old, so that brings our total to $2,160. Add in $9 on wipes every three weeks… $2,316

NOPE.

Remember that math we just did? Hold on tight kids, because we're about to break it out again.

If you choose to cloth diaper, it's recommended that you have at least 15 diapers in your collection. We have 19. We're over achievers that way. Let's say each diaper cost us $17 (they didn't. We found almost half of them on sale. But for the sake of math, we'll stick with $17). That would mean that between what we bought ourselves, and what was bought for us, a total of $323 was spent on our cloth diaper collection. Even if you factor in having to wash them, I wash our little man's clothes along with the diapers. We buy one jug of baby detergent every two months. One jug is $13. That makes $234 total in detergent, assuming we potty train by age two and a half. We spend $9 on wipes every three weeks. That's $156/year. Which is $390 total. Add $45 for the bidet attachment that we have on our toilet (that my mommy actually purchased for us, because mommies are the BEST) That brings our total cloth diapering cost up to….$992.

$992 vs. $2,316? That seems like a no-brainer. Especially when you consider the fact that we want to have more children, and the diapers that we have will be usable on another baby after our first little dude is done with them. BUT for funzies, let's go ahead and see how much you would spend if you had three kiddos in disposable diapers…. $6,948.

Once again, NOPE.

What turns most people off of cloth diapers? First of all, they think it's going to be super messy. Not true. Actually, we've had wonderful luck containing messes (I prefer the term 'poosplosion') with the cloth diapers. Any time we have to use a disposable? Eesh. Poosplosion. With the bidet attachment for our toilet, the diapers are practically clean already when I put them in the washing machine. They are so easy to clean, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. The other factor that deters most naysayers? The price. They see $16/diaper, and they decide that it's just too much money up front. But… well, you saw the math.

Grand total, we will be saving $1,324. For two people who have jobs in the arts, that's a lot of money. With everything that we will have saved on diapers alone, we can make sure that our son is able to do things like art classes, piano lessons, or soccer (which will require his dad and I to pretend we actually know jack diddly about sports, but hey. He's our son. We'll learn!). With that money, we can make sure that he is clothed, because let's face it: babies grow FAST. I pitched the idea to my boyfriend that we could use the money to turn his room into the Batcave, but he didn't go for it. Something about a college fund being more important. Weirdo.

Long story short: even with all the expense involved in the upkeep of cloth diapers, it was still considerably less of a strain financially than using disposable. The mess contained in the diapers is so much easier to clean than the poosplosions that disposables tended to cause. And most importantly… They're just cuter! All in all, I'm so happy with our diapers. They have served, and will continue to serve us well. I love 'em. And I can't recommend them highly enough!

Bio: Jessica Lemmons is a Texas based actor, and the author of 'Song and Dance Mom' at notastarvingartistgirl.wordpress.com. Jessica is girlfriend to Stephen, and mommy to 8 month old Eli, who would like the world to know that sleep is for the weak.


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Penny Pinching & Cloth Diapers: Perspective from a Broke Mom

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My Cloth Diaper Stash to Be + A Way to Save With Cloth

Before I can show you my dream stash to be, I first must introduce myself properly. My name is Ashley, and I am a single 23 year old childless nursing student. I have been blessed with a huge passion for little ones and helping mamas {and daddies} learn more about how to take care of their precious cargo. After all they don’t come with instruction manuals. I learned about cloth diapering two years ago and read everything that I could get my hands on, and now I consider my self and semi-expert on the topic.

When I tell other families about the cloth diaper option a lot of times I receive the same answer, “it is just too much pay out of pocket.” True-but how many times can you rewash and reuse those Pampers? Only once. It costs about $30 for a box of disposable diapers that you use once and about $20 for one cloth diaper that can last until your little one is potty trained and further on for your next one.

I have strategized a way to help those who are conscientious about spending money on cloth to finally see the light with my future cloth diaper stash to be + a way to help them save! Warning - this plan works for me, but may not work for you. Use at your own discretion. These are in no particular order.

1. {1} Changing Diapers: The Hip Mom's Guide to Modern Cloth Diapering {$8} - This book is a must have instructional tool that will help you as a new mommy or cloth diaper expert have all the facts on cloth diapering in one easy to navigate place. Sure there are plenty of cloth diapering blogs out there, but most of the time that information can be scattered and hard to find or you may not have the web at your fingertips while lounging by the pool.

2. {1} Thirsties Pail Liner {$17} - The elastic at the top provides a snug fit on pails up to 54 quarts, while an attached closure strap holds in odors when the liner is not in a pail. In my book pail liners are a great thing to have on hand, simply because its like “throwing your diapers in the trash” just like you would with disposables. First you would need to make sure the poop is cleaned out {if formula or solid feeding} and then toss them right in with the wet diapers. I like to think of my pail and liner as a hamper for my dirty diapers.

3. {2} Thirsties Wet Bags {$29} - Many cloth diapering moms skip the pail liners and jump straight to the wet bags. I personally only like to use my wet bags for traveling out and around the town. While we are grocery shopping or visiting grandma, I would change the diaper and then toss it in the wet bag. Once we returned home I would just empty out the bag and go again. I think it is great to have two wet bags on hand in case one bag becomes dirty between washes.

4. {20} Size One & {14} Size Two Thirsties Duo All-in-One {$536} - This is where most of your money will be spent, but hey it will last you through about three babies, depending on how you treat your diapers and wear/tear. Size one is perfect for newborns till about 18 pounds whereas size two is great from 18-40 pounds. I love the AIO factor and the fact that you do not have to do any stuffing and you simply wash and wear. Thirsties are widely known for their absorption and trim fitting. Aplix is great for the size ones and snaps for the size two, so baby won’t be able to run around naked.

5. {1} bumGenius Diaper Sprayer {$60} - Diaper sprayers are perfect for spraying poop out of the diapers and from keeping you from having to dunk and swish. They are not really a must have, but for me I want one in my stash. You could also make your own sort of like the one with your sink.

6. {6} Thirsties Fab Cloth Wipes, 6pk. {$70} - Many cloth diapering moms will make their own wipes out of old tee shirts and other like materials, but I prefer the Thirsties cloth wipes. They are super soft and very absorbent, which allows me to use about two per poopy diapers. This is based off of a two day washing routine cycle.

7. {2} Thirsties One Size Pocket Diaper {$40} - These are definitely not a must have in conjunction with the diapers above, but being a Thirsties lover that I am I could not pass them up. They would be great for overnight use, because you could add more inserts inside to make it more absorbent.

8. {1} Spray Pal {$25} - This is another awesome invention to use with the diaper sprayer. I tend to make a mess of things and like having the backup to keep poop off of my walls.

9. Rockin Green Laundry Detergent {$15} - Many moms that decide to cloth diaper do not know how important it is to make sure they use a cloth diaper safe detergent. Many want to just use what they do with the original clothes, but with cloth you cannot do that. I prefer Rockin Green primarily because their awesome scents come in three different categories; Soft Rock, Classic Rock and Hard Rock that allow you to choose which detergent is better suited for your water type. Of course it would be impossible to determine how much you would use over time so this would be an item you buy regularly.

10. Thirsties Booty Love Diaper Ointment {$14} - Another thing with cloth diapering is the fact that you have to make sure to use a cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream. Other harmful creams can cause an increase infection on baby’s bum as well as destroy your cloth diapers. Just like the detergent above this will be another item you use as needed.

Based on Amazon’s price of $49 for a 234 count diapers you would spend roughly around $6000 for a 3 years worth of Diapers and Wipes. That does not count the times that baby is sick and uses more disposable diapers or the trash bags, rash creams and laundry soap for baby’s poopy diaper blowouts.

Based on Kelly Closet’s price for the items above you would spend about $800 not including laundry detergent, and rash cream for about 3 years of diapering. PLUS Kelly’s Closet always offer reward points, free items, and coupons when you purchase from the, which allows for extra savings. Also when you use cloth you can sell all of you stash and receive cold hard cash!

By Ashley


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My Cloth Diaper Stash to Be + A Way to Save With Cloth

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Cloth Diapering on a Budget

My husband lost his job before baby number three was born. I had no money to start CD’ing. You don’t need a lot of diapers to start you could pick up a few economical covers like Kawaii. Even if you can only afford 2 covers you could get a lot of use in one day out of a cover as you wipe it out with every diaper change. I was able to start with the Econobum kit for $50 which included 12 prefolds and 3 covers. I also have to admit I had Babyland (China Cheapies) pockets. I would use the pocket as a cover then stuff it to get two uses out of one diaper.

Remember even if you can only afford to buy one diaper at a time that is one less disposable diaper per day and the savings will start to add up allowing you to save more money to buy more cloth diapers. If you can scrape together twenty bucks you can get some flats and one cover. Two covers if you find a bargain. That means with in a week you probably saved yourself a box of disposables. Then you can go out and buy more diapers. Here are some things I wish I knew when I started CD’ing myself.

• Clean out your closets, cabinets too. I sold enough items that were collecting dust on Craigslist. Remember the Econobum kit for $50 which included 12 prefolds and 3 covers. If your baby has outgrown clothes you could even sell those.
• You could also check Craigslist or B/S/T groups on Facebook for some preloved diapers.
• Start small. Flat diapers and flour sacks from Wal-Mart are cheap, absorbent and easy to use. You can padfold them and stuff them into a pocket diaper or use with a cover with the kite or pad fold easily. These can last you until you can afford to buy pockets with inserts or all in ones. Or keep using these if you want.
• Receiving blankets and tshirts are useable too. Heck some people prefer these. The dollar stores usually care receiving blankets on the cheap. Use these as inserts or as flats until you can afford new diapers.
• Ask around CD retailers and sites when are you having a second’s sale? I scored my first bumGenius this way.
• Borrow diapers or barter.. If you know someone who has some cloth diapers ask if you can borrow some or even trade babysitting services for a few they no longer want/use/need.
• Cheap doesn’t mean inferior quality check out the lesser priced brands. I love my Kawaii’s and they were cheap. Fairly made too. Wolbybug covers are the best. Start with a few lower priced items like covers and save the splurges for items like hemp or bamboo.
• Google cloth diaper giveaways I’ve heard some mothers who have won multiple times.
• Check your local second hand stores and garage sales. Plenty of great scores  are made at Goodwill and Garage Sales.
• Cloth diapering does not have to be all or nothing. Do not get overwhelmed by the gadgets. Your fine without a sprayer. You don’t need a fancy pail pick up any pail one at the dollar store. You don’t need 36 prefolds, 18 covers, and 15 AIO’s. Plenty of moms do fine with a modest stash of a dozen prefolds and a mix of pockets and covers.
• Google Fleece Diapers and Fleece Diaper covers with a coupon for your local fabric store you could make your own soakers. If you can’t sew maybe you could ask someone who knows how to for you for a small fee.
• Check garage sales and thrift stores for wool sweaters. These also can be made into soakers.
• If you’re stuffing pockets (Remember microfiber cannot touch the babys skin) check the dollar store, Target, and Wal-Mart for cheap microfiber automotive towels.
• Don’t be ashamed to tell others what you need. If you have family and friends who ask you what you want for a Birthday, anniversary, or holiday what you want tell them I really need some cloth diapers.

Bio: Megan Beaver is a BAMR, who CD’s, BF’s her toddler, and rocks a pixie cut. She has three kids and lives in SO Cal.


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Cloth Diapering on a Budget

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Diaper on a Dime

The newspaper headlines rarely catch my eye, but an article on how low income families struggle to buy diapers instantly got my attention. It began by interviewing a family with young twins, who explained how stressful it was to constantly worry about running out of diapers between paychecks and how they sometimes had to decide between paying bills or buying diapers. They estimated that they go through $40 worth of disposable diapers a week and on an income of $2000 a month for a family of 5. That is a huge expense. Oftentimes the end of the month left them with no money and no diapers so the mother would board the bus to go get an emergency ‘3 day supply’ from the homeless shelter.

The article went on to mention some families are even resorting to reusing disposable diapers by scraping out the feces, or leaving a diaper on until it’s actually bursts because it is so full. As the article progressed I kept hoping that it would mention cloth diapers, that is until I read what they said about it. They said that cloth was not allowed in daycare, and that it can’t be washed in Laundromats. By the time it mentioned the potentially high start up cost of cloth diapering the casual reader is left convinced that cloth diapering is not an option for families struggling to pay for disposables.

What I wish the article had said is that cloth diapering is in fact a very realistic option for families in need. The diapers that they may be able to afford might not be the fanciest, but any type of cloth diaper is far better than having to reuse a disposable and risk bladder infections, or diaper rash. You simply have to go back to basics and think outside the box.

Diapers can be made from any absorbent material lying around. Flour sack dishtowels, receiving blankets and old t shirts can be used in place of commercial flats or prefolds diapers. They can be laid in a cover or secured with a snappy (or diaper pins). Covers can be made without sewing from old polar fleece blankets or traditional pull-on pant style cloth diaper covers can be purchased for as low as $5 a piece. If someone can sew (or knows someone who can) they can up-cycle thrift store wool sweaters into wool soakers. Cut up t-shirts or washcloths can serve as cloth wipes. A peri bottle or other squeeze water bottle can be used as a diaper sprayer, or traditional dunking and swishing. If the budget allows a cloth diaper kit like the Econobum package can provide prefolds and covers for 12 diaper changes.

If the family does not have their own washer, or dryer they can do their initial pre-rinse in the sink then do their long hot wash at a laundry mat (if permitted) or in a bathtub. If they lack a bathtub a 5 gallon bucket and plungers can work as a camping style washer. Since flats (and t-shirts) are so thin they can be air dried indoors in an hour or two. Since the diaper stashes would be so small they could also be combined with regular baby laundry (this can be done as long as laundering the clothes is done with a detergent suitable for diapers and without fabric softener).

Ultimately, the newspaper article inspired me to do my part to spread the word about low cost cloth diapering. Hopefully we can all work together to spread the word about cloth diapering so that no family is forced to choose between buying diapers, or putting food on the table.

Bio: Charlene lives in UT with her adorably geeky husband and the two cutest baby boys in the Northern Hemisphere. She is a cloth diaper enthusiast, baby sling connoisseur, overall rockin' domestic engineer and avid blogger at cgmrb.blogspot.com


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Diaper on a Dime

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Diapering on a Budget

If there is one comment I hear from so many people who are considering using cloth diapers, it is that it costs too much to get started. "I can buy a few diapers or I can buy a box of disposables for the same price." Each time, I respond with different ways to build a stash.

FREE diaper coupon codes. Some cloth diaper stores, like Kelly's Closet offer them a lot of the time. This is how I started my stash, I would take a little money every month and place an order, meeting the minimum amount to get the FREE diaper.

Enter giveaways. Not only is winning fun, but it is a great way to try out some new diapers that may very well become your favorites!

Buy used. Ask questions about them. There are diaper swapper groups, b/s/t groups for many brands, Craigslist, and garage sales.

Start small. You don't have to jump into it full time. When I started out, I had 4 diapers {3 I ordered from Kelly's Closet, plus the FREE diaper}. I washed every day and couldn't wait to order more. The next month {or maybe it was only two weeks}, I ordered the minimum amount to get another FREE diaper.

Use flats or prefolds and covers. You could build a decent stash for cheap using prefolds or flats and covers. You could also make your own from old receiving blankets.

Rent them. Usually only the case for newborn diapers, but this is a great option for many people.

A friend just gives them to you. It could happen! I know that I offered up a large stash to my sister if she had decided to use cloth diapers.

Building a cloth diaper stash doesn't have to burden your bank account. I hope these options really help you to jump on board the cloth diaper train!

By Shannon


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Diapering on a Budget

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Low Income Diapering

One thing I have a lot of experience with, is cloth diapering as a low income family.  Things weren't always this tight for us and being a low income, single income family wasn't something we ever expected to happen.   Our first baby was born premature in March of this year.  I had a good job outside of our home but a month into my maternity leave I was called at home by my employer and was told that I no longer had a job to go back to.  It was a shock!  We were already living paycheck to paycheck when I was working full time and all of a sudden, there I was, home with a newborn preemie baby and unemployed.  I was a first time mom who had never had any experience what so ever with babies.  Honestly, the first diaper I had ever changed in my entire life was my newborn baby's.  I was already terrified about whether or not I could be a good mom and now, I had to worry about being able to support our family on one income.  I was afraid that we wouldn't have money for groceries.  I was afraid that we would lose our house.  There were so many things to be afraid of.  And one other thing that popped into my head...the diapers.  How would we afford diapers?

At the point when I lost my job, we were still working on building our cloth diaper stash.  Since my daughter was a preemie, she didn't fit into any of the One Size cloth diapers we had bought before she was born.  She had the teeniest bum I had ever seen and super skinny legs so nothing fit her.  I bought some Bummis Newborn Super Brite Covers and Organic Cotton Preemie Prefolds from Kelly's Closet as soon as she was born.  They fit her teeny tiny bum perfectly!  But we were using a mix of those and disposables to get us by until she got bigger.   But even once that happened, we had less than a handful of One Size cloth diapers, so no where near enough to do cloth full time.   Now...we had no money for more cloth diapers and we surely didn't have money for disposables!  At first I didn't know what to do, but I sat myself down one afternoon and made a list of ideas, I started searching the internet, I started talking to other moms and I found ways to make it work, and we found help!

Being a low income family doesn't mean you cant use cloth.  Honestly, in my opinion and from my own personal experience, cloth is the best option for low income families!  Trust me...if we had not used cloth, we would not have made it!  There are lots of ways to cut corners, pinch your pennies, get creative and crafty to make cloth diapers work.  And there are also a lot of people, organizations and businesses out there that help families with cloth when things get tough!

So here are my tips to making cloth work!

Cloth Diaper Banks and Cloth Diaper Share Programs

This is what allowed us to get started with cloth full swing!  Did you know that there are organizations out there that lend cloth diapers to families that cant afford the start up cost?  I contacted the owner of a local cloth diaper store here in Iowa.  I had actually contacted her because I was searching for cloth diapering moms in the area who may have used cloth diapers for sale.  I'm good with a sewing machine and was looking for super cheap diapers in need of new elastics or needed snaps replaced.  I was hoping that I could buy some "disaster diapers" as I called them at very cheap prices and I could repair them enough to make them work.  Well, she informed me that they actually have something called "The Cloth Diaper Share Program."  I literally cried when I read her email!  These "Share Programs" and cloth diaper banks supply families with a full set of cloth diapers to use as long as their baby is in diapers.  They are for you to borrow.  You do have to return them when you're done and you are expected to take care of them of course.  We were able to borrow a set of fitted diapers and Econobum covers and some bumGenius 4.0s.  They also sent us home with some cloth diaper laundry detergent, some cloth diaper safe rash cream and a wetbag to help get us started.  I remember feeling so proud after the first time my baby spent a full 48 hours in cloth.

Never be afraid to ask for help!  Here are some cloth diaper lending organizations that are definitely worth contacting!

- Share The Love
- Giving Diapers, Giving Hope
- The Rebecca Foundation
- Cloth For A Cause

Make sure to check with any local cloth diaper stores about lending programs.  Local business owners may offer these cloth diaper loan programs like the store near us or they may know of some great resources in your community that can help you get diapers!  Also, check with your local food bank, Salvation Army and local churches. Many of these places are able to help local struggling families in crisis.  Not all of them can help with diapers but they may be able to tell you who can!

Use Flats, Prefolds and Covers

Using flats, prefolds and covers is one of the cheapest ways to cloth diaper your baby. Cloth diaper covers are usually cheaper then most pockets or AIOs.  And the prices for flats and prefolds are much lower too.  Plus, a diaper cover can be worn multiple times before throwing it in the diaper pail so you don't have to own near near as many covers as you would other styles. When changing your baby, simply change the flat or prefold, wipe the inside of the cover with a damp cloth wipe and put it back on over top of a clean flat or prefold.  The cost of a cloth diaper stash consisting of flats, prefolds and covers is much less than as stash of other styles.

Save Money By Making Flats

You can save a lot of money by making flats instead of buying them.  If you cant afford to buy flats, there are lots of things you can find around your house to use instead.  Receiving blankets are great to use instead of flats.  We received a lot of receiving blankets for baby shower gifts.  If you have lots of receiving blankets laying around, use them for diapers.  They are absorbent and soft on babies bum!  You can also use old t-shirts as flats.  My husband has so many old, worn out t-shirts that he doesn't wear anymore and a lot of the time they get thrown in the rag cabinet for cleaning rags.  But instead of tossing them out or using them to dust the furniture, use them for diapers!  They are also soft and absorbent and cheap!  If receiving blankets and old shirts aren't an option, consider kitchen or bath towels, washcloths and handtowels for newborns and preemies or even extra sets of cotton/flannel bed sheets cut to the size of flats!

Use Cloth Wipes

A great way to cut down on your diapering costs is by cutting out disposables wipes from your routine!  Instead use cloth wipes!  These don't have to be purchased.  You can easily make these or use other items.  If you have a lot of baby washcloths, use these as wipes!  Or you can use any other soft washcloths or large towels cut up into smaller squares. If you want to make cloth wipes, you can use old t-shirts and cut them up into wipe sizes squares or you can use large pieces of fabric.  I frequently shop local fabric stores such as Joann Fabrics and keep my eye on the clearance fabrics and the remnant section.  Joann Fabrics sells their remnant pieces for half off of the current price.  I keep an eye on their ad and when their 100% cotton flannel is on sale, I go and check the remnants.  Say 100% cotton flannel is on sale for 40% off, the remnant cost will be 1/2 off of the sale price!  Ive managed to create quite a colorful stash of cloth wipes in a variety of cute prints with this method.  My wipes usually end up costing a few cents a piece and I can reuse them over and over and over!  Another great thing about cloth wipes is that you can reduce skin irritation because if your baby's skin is sensitive to the solution used on disposable wipes, you can make your own solution or just use warm water.  We use warm water and I wet the wipe using the peri-bottle the hospital sent home with me when I had my baby.  You can also use a spray bottle or reuse an old disposable wipes container with a little water in it next to your changing area.  If you can cut down on skin irritation and diaper rash, then you wont have to spend extra money on rash ointments!

Line Dry Your Diapers

Line drying is actually better for your diapers then drying in the machine.  It helps reduce wear and tear and prolongs the life of your diapers.  When your washing dirty diapers every other day, line drying can drastically reduce your energy bill and save you a lot of money!  If you don't have a line outside or if its too cold to dry outside, you can drape your diapers over hangers and hang them on a shower curtain rod to dry!  Kelly's Closet also sells several great indoor line drying  products!  Be sure to add these to your gift registry!

There are lots of other ways to save money when creating your diaper stash that I mentioned in my article called "The Road To Cloth: Budgeting, Saving and Starting Your First Stash."  Be sure to read the article for all of my tips on saving money and getting a cloth diaper stash started.  But here are a couple of great tips from that article, if you're a low income family getting started.

Shop Kelly's Closet!  If you're going to purchase prefolds, flats and covers, keep an eye on Kelly's Closet and order when they are featuring a free diaper coupon.  Also, take advantage of the Free Shipping with a $49 purchase.  If possible wait to place your order until you can spend at least $49 to save on shipping.  And if they have a coupon for  free diaper with a minimum purchase, use the coupon to get a free diaper and free shipping on the same order!  Plus, Kelly's Closet has the Diaper Dollars Rewards Program!  You earn points for every dollar you spend and once you get so many points, you can redeem those points for gift cards towards free cloth diapers!

Ask for diapers as gifts!  Whether its your baby shower, a birthday or a holiday, don't be afraid to tell Grandma that you want diapers!  I actually love getting diapers for presents.  These days, with so many adorable prints, its exciting opening up a new diaper.  Kelly's Closet has a cloth diaper gift registry that you can use to create a cloth diaper wish list.  Go online to Kelly's Closet and choose all of your favorite diapers and cloth diapering necessities and when a holiday or birthday rolls around, download and print the Gift Registry cards to give to your friends and family!  They can order diapers for you without having to know a single thing about cloth!

Buy used!  Several websites can be used to buy used cloth diapers such as Craigslist and DiaperSwappers!  Buying used is a great way to save money on cloth.  You can also ask local cloth diaper stores about cloth diaper re-sales.  These are consignment sales that sell used cloth diapers.  You can sell your used diapers there and can also find some great bargains.

My last tip for cloth diapering as a low income family is to talk to other moms!  Not only can you learn a lot from other cloth diaper moms, but its a great support system and you can get some amazing and sometimes much needed encouragement from other moms who have been through it!  A great place to learn and meet other cloth diapering moms is the Cloth Diaper Support Group on Facebook!

It may be a rough road ahead and some days are better than others.   But when things get tough, cloth diapering doesn't have to be!

Wishing you all the best on your cloth diaper journey!

Bio: My name is Maegan and I'm a stay at home, cloth diapering, babywearing, blogging momma to one amazing little baby girl. Becoming a mom has been an amazing adventure.  I've always been an explorer, looking to venture out into the world to discover everything I can.  I've traveled the world but to tell you the truth...there really is no place like home! Check out my life and adventures as a new mom at The Bee Hive Buzz.


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Low Income Diapering

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You Saved How Much? #schoolofcloth

When I was pregnant with my first child, I read a lot about cloth diapering. It was becoming a “thing” again. Being pretty green myself, I was intrigued. They looked much easier than my mom’s cloth diaper and they were super cute. I was able to sell my husband on the financial aspect of it. I explained how much money we would save if we invested in a stash of cloth diapers.

There are many levels of cloth diapering meaning that you can decide how much you want to spend. You can spend very little by using prefolds and covers or you can invest more by going with all-in-one diapers. Regardless, you are saving money. Our stash includes prefolds, one-size pocket diapers and a few all-in-one diapers in 3 different size. My guess would be that we invested a grand total of $700 on cloth diapers. A lot of people out there would say, “Wait, wait, wait! I thought you said cloth diapering was cheaper that disposable!” It is.

I say that we have invested about $700, but that has cloth diapered 2 kids and could diaper more if we chose to have more. Let me break it down for you. On average, a baby needs to have their diaper changed every 4 hours. If you take that average, your baby will go through about 2,190 diapers in their first year. If you shop at a warehouse store like me, you can get a box of diapers for about $39. You will go through at least 12 boxes of diapers in your child’s first year. Twelve boxes x $39 = $468. If you are lucky and your child potty trains by 2.5, you have now spent about $1,170. Just after one kid, I have already saved almost $500! That was just savings on my first child. Now that we are cloth diapering our second, we should save a grand total of $2,340!

Some may also argue that you are going to spend a lot more on water laundering all of your cloth diapers. Yes, I am using a little more water, but when an HE washer it’s probably pennies to the dollar compared to throwing away disposable diapers every day.

Not everyone has $700 to invest in a diaper stash in the beginning. Heck, we didn’t. We grew our stash overtime. Our first investment was about $250. You can do it cheaper than that if you start with prefolds and covers. You could start out as low as $100.

So when people ask if cloth diapering is really worth the upfront investment, I always say yes. Hands down, yes. You may need to invest a little bit more than expected at first, but think about all the money you are saving over time – after one or two or more kids. So worth it!

By Triana


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You Saved How Much? #schoolofcloth

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Managing the Cloth Investment #schoolofcloth

The initial investment of cloth diapers can be daunting especially to new parents because babies can be expensive even without adding cloth to the mix. A lot of what I was reading when I first started using cloth diapers said the initial investment could be between $500-$1000. I quickly learned that didn’t need to be the case once I started looking into cloth diapers. We started with 6 covers and 24 prefolds until we could save up some money. We had 3 Thirsties sized covers and 3 Bummis super lite covers along with Bummis prefolds. We used those exclusively for about 3 months washing every day until we got our tax refund and could get a larger stash. I spent about $300 over a month or so on a good stash of diapers. We got one size pockets, some best bottoms shells and flats.

That gave us about 24 diapers so we could then wash every other day. If we wouldn’t have gotten our tax refund or it had been the wrong time of year when we started we had planned on saving up what we would have spent on disposables (about $40 every 2 weeks) to put towards diapers. All the awesome promotions Kelly’s Closet as like their free diapers, shipping, and diaper dollar rewards helped us build a stash a lot quicker than I thought we would be able to.

Building a stash doesn’t need to be done all in one day it’s much easier to do it slowly because then you can learn what you like and what works the best for your little one. Buying one or two diapers a paycheck is a great way to get started especially if little one hasn’t arrived yet. Using your tax refund is another great option that can give you at least enough to get started using cloth while you complete a stash. Using prefolds and flats and covers is also a cheaper option than only using AIO’s or pockets so you can save money in the type of diaper you use. Putting money away that would normally be spent on disposables every week then putting that towards diapers is another great way especially once you are using cloth diapers full time and have that extra money. There isn’t a need to start right away with a full stash of 24 or so diapers you can start even with just 3 or 4 and build slowly as you use less and less disposables. Every little bit makes a huge difference especially on a tight budget.

Bio: Kristen is a stay at home mom to two boys, love cloth diapers and advocating for special needs kids. She blogs at crazylifeasatruckerswife.blogspot.com


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Managing the Cloth Investment #schoolofcloth

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10 Ways to Make Starting a Cloth Diaper Stash More Affordable

We know that cloth diapering is more environmentally friendly, free of chemicals, and costs less than disposables over the two or three years that your child is in diapers. But what if you can’t afford the initial start up costs? $15-$20 for one diaper sounds like a lot of money and to some, it is. Below are some ways that can help ease the financial burden of starting your cloth diaper stash.

1. Covers and prefolds or flats
This is an inexpensive way to diaper your baby because you can reuse the cover a few times before throwing it in the laundry. As long as the diaper is free of feces you can wipe it down, hang it to dry, and reuse it at the next diaper change. You will probably only need to use 2-3 diaper covers per day. Diaper covers come in a variety of price points but a basic, inexpensive cover will do the job.

2. Alternatives to prefolds or flats
If money is really tight and you can’t afford prefolds or flats there are alternatives that you can use. You can stuff your cloth diapers with almost any kind of fabric to make a diaper. Old t-shirts, receiving blankets, flour sack towels (found in the kitchen section of your local discount store), dishtowels, or even rags from a home improvement store. Note: do not choose a microfiber rag, choose one made of cotton. Microfiber directly on the skin can cause irritation and rashes.

3. All-In-Two (AI2) or hybrid diapers
AI2 and hybrid diapers are similar to covers and prefolds/flats in that you can reuse the outer shell and therefore use less diapers per day. This system comes with specific inserts that go with the shell and because of this it’s a bit more expensive than using covers and prefolds.

4. Watch for sales and coupons
Join mailing lists and like your favorite retailer(s) on Facebook to be alerted to sales and coupons. Most retailers have a sale and coupon section on their site to check periodically for deals.

Cloth diapers don’t go on sale all the time but when they do the savings can be significant. Most retailers have large sales around holidays. Be on the lookout around Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and especially Black Friday.

5. Buy used
This might be an option that is uncomfortable to some but it is a viable option to get great deals on fluff. Many times people sell diapers in excellent, barely used condition because a diaper simply didn’t work for their baby but it may work wonderfully for yours. You can check Facebook groups, Ebay, Spots’ Corner (on HyenaCart.com), Craigslist, Kijiji, and even some retailers have a gently used section.

6. Buy seconds quality
What does this mean? Diaper manufacturers will hold a seconds sale every so often. What this means is that they have some diapers with minor flaws that don’t affect function but prevents them from being sold at full price. This will often be uneven stitching, snaps or hook & loop that are slightly off center, small fabric runs, or even for a smudge of dirt that will come off in the wash. Of the seconds diapers I have purchased I wasn’t able to notice the flaw.

7. Blog giveaways
Yes, they are legit. They can take some time but they can also be addictive. I have won an entire stash worth of cloth diapers during my time entering giveaways. Be sure to complete the daily options to increase your chances of winning.

8. Daily deal sites
Sites like Zulily and Baby Half Off often feature cloth diapers.

9. Ebay
Aside from used diapers, some retailers also sell on Ebay or you may get lucky and find a retailer that is closing their store and are liquidating their stock at a low price.

10. Start slow and early
If all else fails and you know that you want to use cloth diapers while you’re still pregnant, start buying a diaper every two weeks or even every month. By the time your baby is born you will have enough diapers for at least one day and you can continue to add to your stash using the tips above until you reach your ideal stash.

Great! Now you have a few ideas for building a stash for less, but you may now wonder how many diapers do you need. Ideally you would like to have enough diapers to diaper your baby for two to three days between washes. This ends up being about 24 changes for a newborn and slightly less for older babies and toddlers.

By Regan


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10 Ways to Make Starting a Cloth Diaper Stash More Affordable

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Building a Cloth Diaper Stash for Less

There aren’t many of us who have all the money we want to spend on whatever we want to spend it on (cloth diapers, anyone?), so here’s some tips to get a cloth diaper stash for less.

• Flats and covers are the most inexpensive cloth diapers you’ll find. They work great and can last from birth to potty training.
• Flats can be flour sack towels, flannel receiving blankets, cut up flannel sheets, or even cotton t-shirts, all of which can be gotten for free or next to free.
• You can buy old wool sweaters from a resale shop and make diaper covers out of them. You’ll probably be able to get at least two covers out of one sweater. You can make either a soaker style or wrap style cover.
• Make wipes from the same things as flats- flannel sheets and receiving blankets, cotton t-shirts, baby washcloths.
• Scout out sales on the diapers you want.
• Keep your eyes open for discount coupons. You can get anything from free shipping, free diapers, or even other stuff. Some stores even offer free stuff if you spend a certain amount. Make sure to check and see if there are any limits or restrictions.
• If you already know what kind of diapers you want, buy in bulk. Some stores offer a discount if you buy a bunch of diapers all at once. If you know another mama who wants to get the same kind of diapers as you, you can order together to really save. With most bulk discounts, the more you buy, the more you save.
• Check out making your own diapers. Google it online and you’ll find a wealth of free information and patterns. Even if you’re a beginner sewist, you can make a cloth diaper. You can get several diapers out of a yard of fabric. It doesn’t even have to be fancy fabric. Cotton flannel makes a great diaper. You can even buy PUL and make covers.
• A way to get diapers for free is to enter giveaways. There are a lot of them out there. Some stores offer a giveaway once a week, and there are bloggers who have them. Google cloth diaper giveaways and check out your favorite cloth diaper store’s blog. Entering giveaways can involve some extra work and you don’t always win, but you never know. You might get lucky.
• Look into buying used diapers. Sometimes you can get some in like new condition. Some cloth diaper stores offer used diapers from their trial programs or you can check out Craig’s List or a diaper swapping group and see if there’s anyone in your area who has some diapers for sale. Buyer, beware though. Most cloth diaper stores are very selective about their used diapers, so you know you’ll get a good, usable one, but buying off Craig’s List you’ll have to exercise your own judgment. You can ask to see the diapers in person before you buy. If you do buy used, strip the diapers and wash them before you use them. You don’t know what kind of detergent the previous owner used. You can find some really great deals and get an awesome stash for little money.
• Accept hand me downs! If you know a mama who has some diapers that her baby has outgrown but will fit yours, and she offers them to you, by all means, accept them! Cloth diapers are meant to last for more than one child.

There are all my tips for building your stash for less. I have used just about all of these with varying degrees of success. Do you have any tips that I didn’t cover? Share them below!

My name is Melissa Mendez and I am the blogger behind Cloth Diapering Again, my blog about trying cloth diapering again after giving up the first time and going more green. I am the mother of two with number arriving in July and the wife of an amazing man.

Building a Cloth Diaper Stash for Less

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How Social Media Can Save You Money

Babies are expensive, period. Between clothing they grow out of WAY too fast and daycare that charges an arm and a leg, all that extra money you once had to spend on an evening out is now spent on more pacifiers (where do they GO?) and an extra car seat base for the car. Modern parents have become extremely savvy on ways to save money, and cloth diapering is no different.

We have all seen the figures; just type cloth diaper savings into Google and you can spend an afternoon looking at spreadsheets and calculators. But what if prefolds and covers aren’t your thing? Is there a way to save money even if you prefer the pocket or AIO route?

Pricing out a full stash of brand new, squishy newborn simplex got me sweating a bit. I could either become an extreme couponer and have a stockpile of canned goods in our garage or find a way to grow a stash without paying retail. Since the odds of the hubby giving up prime real estate in the garage was completely unlikely, I had to get creative.

For many moms, the idea of buying a used diaper creeps them out. If you fall into this category, have no fear; all of my tips are for scoring a brand new diaper for a fraction of retail. If you are ok with buying used, I will have more tips for you in another post.

Facebook
Even my grandparents have Facebook pages these days, so if you don’t have a Facebook page, it’s time to get one friends. Facebook is a wealth of information and giveaways. Just about every big brand name diaper has a Facebook page (Fuzzibunz, BumGenius, Rumparooz, etc) as well as many cloth diaper retailers (Kelly’s Closet of course is my favorite). All you have to do is like their pages to subscribe to their feed and wham-o, chance to win free diapers left and right. Just today I took a quick survey on the Fuzzibunz page that entered me to win a brand new, free diaper.

Maybe you are like me and have never won anything exciting in your life. Don’t stress, many sites also offer discount codes or flash sales only to their Facebook fans. You may not win that brand new diaper but buying one for 20% off feels like winning.

The last stop on Facebook is buy/sell/trade groups. These are groups that you can join and, you guessed it, buy, sell or trade specific branded diapers. These groups are a great resource and if you are patient you can score a brand new, with tags diaper at a fraction of the retail cost.

Blogs
Blogging is a great way to win free diapers as well. Many cloth diaper blogs have giveaways on their page. For instance, The Cloth Diaper Whisperer has Fluff Friday. You earn entries into the drawing by doing a variety of tasks, anything from liking a page on Facebook to blogging about the product/giveaway in your own person blog. These drawings are a little less popular, which increases your chances of winning.

Pinterest
Pinterest is another way to win free diapers. Follow your favorite brands on Pinterest and often they will pin links to sales, promotions and giveaways. It is a great source of information about cloth in general. And while you are browsing you can pin crafts you will never do with your kids.

Twitter
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about Twitter but it operates pretty much the same as the other sites. Follow your favorite brand or retailer and wait for opportunities to score free diapers or big sales.

Whether you pin it, tweet it, like it, or blog it, everyone loves free stuff. With a little bit of time and patience, you can put together a good-sized stash without breaking the bank.

Lindsay is a first time mom to a 2 month old little girl and a crazy dog. She lives with her quiet husband in Illinois and is slowly navigating the journey of motherhood one cloth diaper change at a time. Follow her adventures at thedogatewhat.blogspot.com.

How Social Media Can Save You Money

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Saving More With Cloth

Cloth diaper enthusiasts know that cloth diapering has the capability to save big time money over their disposable counterparts. The system you choose (prefolds, fitteds, pockets, AIO) will have the biggest influence on the overall cost of cloth diapering. While saving money wasn’t my #1 reason for cloth diapering, it was an important factor, I didn’t want to end up spending more than I would on disposables. I’m always looking for ways to save money so here are a few ways I have saved money on traditional cloth diaper accessories. Some of these accessories were made with things I already had so we are creating less waste by reusing as well!

Instead of buying cloth wipes, I use baby wash cloths. These are popular shower gifts & it seems everybody has a surplus of them around. I like the Target brand as they are nice and thin. I also made some out of old receiving blankets by just cutting them into squares & serging the edges. They’re not the prettiest thing but they’re also not cleaning up the prettiest thing so they work just fine.

A quick google (or Pinterest) search will bring you to tons of recipes for wipe solution. I have also found recipes to make wipe bits, although that project is still on the to do list. Experiment and see what you like using ingredients you have around the home.

If you have the most basic of sewing skills, you can easily make your own wet bags. Again, you can do an internet search but it’s pretty simple. You will need some PUL, cute print & a zipper. For my daycare wet bags, I use about ½ yard of fabric & cut a little off the top. That will hold 9 hours worth of diapers for 2 kids. I also have a few smaller ones for when I’m out with one kid, a spare to keep in the car, etc. If you are able to buy fabric on sale (PUL will be the most expensive component) you can easily make your own wet bag for less than $5.

Skip the pail liner or make your own. I made some pail liners but within a couple of weeks quit using them. We have a front loading washer so it wasn’t convenient to dump the contents in. Instead I just put the diapers in a plastic pail with a lid &clean it after emptying.

Instead of buying expensive deodorizer for your pail, use essential oils. I have an extra cloth wipe that I put a couple of drops of tea tree oil & lavender on that I hang over the lid of the pail. The tea tree oil really neutralizes the odor and the lavender just smells good!

If you are into fitteds, consider making your own wool or fleece soakers/longies/shorties. Again, this is a great way to up-cycle things you may not use anymore. I found patterns and directions online & within an hour had a functional (read: not the cutest!) wool soaker to use at night. If you don’t have any wool around, check out consignment or second hand shops.

While I realize there are certainly more frugal ways to cloth diaper, I have found ways to save money in order to have a decently sized stash of bumGenius 4.0 and FuzziBunz perfect size diapers. The pocket diaper system is a must for us with daycare but by saving money with accessories, we are able to make cloth diapering even more affordable.

By Megan N.

Saving More With Cloth

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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.

Frugal Diapering

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