Cloth Diapering: Penny Style!

One way to really trim your budget quickly and "go green" at the same time is to use cloth diapers. Did you know that the average cost of diapering one child for two years is about $1500?!?!?! You can start cloth diapering for around $300 or even less! A lot of people think that washing them would make it not worthwhile to cloth diaper. However, the cost to wash and dry them is minimal (its normally just one extra load of clothes a day)! You can check out the other reasons to cloth diaper here.  I'm not going to lie; it's pretty intimidating for most. There are TONS of websites and tutorials to help you make the switch. It can be very overwhelming at first because of the TONS of options and ways to cloth diaper! Today is the first post of many about cloth diapering! I will try my best to give the best info and links as possible and I'm sure there will be more additions as we go. One of the best resources I have found is The Real Diaper Association. They have a guide that is great for beginners. I have found that there are quite a few ways to cloth diaper on a tight budget! 

First lets go over the bare minimums of what you will need: cloth diapers, wipes, a wetbag, a pail & cloth diaper friendly detergent. A diaper sprayer makes getting the poo out of your diapers easier but is not a "have to have right now." You can also save money by hanging your diapers to dry instead of putting them in the dryer. 

Now, think of how much you spend on disposables a month (or whatever you spend per paycheck if you budget that way). That is what you want to try to stick to if your budget is super tight. 

To start out you want to have enough diapers to last at least one day. Newborns average around 12 diapers or more a day. Older babies and toddlers average around 9 a day. Here is a good page for details on just how many you will need.

Ok, lets go over how to start your cloth diaper stash! There are many different ways but I will outline a few. 

1. "Pre-loved diapers" - some people may be weirded out by this but most cloth diapers can last thru multiple babies' diapering years! Here are a few ways to find them:
1. your local "eco friendly" store (may have some on consignment)
2. consignment stores (esp ones focused on children)
3. Diaper Swappers (a cloth diaper & parenting forum - you just make an account and look in the marketplace section)
4. your local cloth diaper group on FB
5. Cheapie dipes B/S/T on FB (a group where diapers posted must be a maximum of $12 shipped)
6. various other diaper b/s/t groups on FB
7. online cloth diaper retailers (those listed below are only a few options)
1. Kelly's Closet
2. Niki's diapers
3. Diaper Junction
4. Jillian's Drawers
8. craigslist, bookoo, etc.
2. Upcycle!!! One of the cheapest ways to start out cloth diapering is to make them yourself out of things around the house! If you have basic sewing skills you can easily make prefolds or flats. You can use old towels, t-shirts you no longer fit or can no longer fit because of a hole or stain,old sheets, old receiving blankets, basically anything absorbent! You can use old wash cloths or any of the materials listed above to make wipes. Old wool sweaters or sweaters purchased from a thrift store are great to upcycle into wool soakers and covers! Just remember they need to be made from wool not something acrylic so check the care tag. One thing to remember is you DO NOT want microfiber to touch your baby's skin. I will do more posts on upcycling later but here are a few tutorials: 
1. http://prefold2fitted.blogspot.com/2012/02/hand-towels-to-prefolds.html (one of my favorite blogs with all kinds of DIY cloth diapering tutorials!
2. http://fernandfaerie.com/sewing_prefolds.html
3. http://verybaby.com/sew-a-prefold-diaper-the-real-way/ (you can use other materials than the fabric listed)
3. DIY!! There are numerous patterns around to make your own cloth diapers. You wont really save much money if you have to go out & buy a sewing machine but if you already have one you can save quite a bit even with purchasing the materials needed. I will go more into detail in later posts. Check out Arfy's blog for more useful free patterns!
4. New yet inexpensive diapers - There are a few brands that are very inexpensive to purchase new. Alvas, Sunbabies, & kawaii baby are a few of the more well known pocket brands. There are some on ebay for super cheap but those can be hit or miss. Some have delaminated with the first wash. Most are from China so they can take MONTHS to get to you. They are an option just be cautious!
5. Prefolds or flats & covers- Whether they are new or "new to you"; this is one of the most inexpensive ways to cloth diaper. You get more bang for your buck. You can just lay the prefold in the cover or can use snappis or boingos to secure them on your baby and put the cover over them.

Accessories: For a pail you can use a trashcan. During the summer Walmart and Target normally have cheap colorful small pails you can use. You can purchase inexpensive wet bags at Target in the baby section near the diaper pails. You can also just use plastic grocery bags in a pinch for short trips and just double bag it. You can even make a diaper sprayer yourself from stuff you can pick up at your local hardware store! If you plan on hanging your diapers to dry you can use an outside line or if you don't have anywhere to hang them you can get an inexpensive foldable drying rack and set it in the tub. 

I'm sure I will be adding to this as we go. Hopefully, you will have found this helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask below in the comments section!