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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cloth diapers - as cheap as possible

We've been using cloth diapers with Sam for two months now and I've learned a few tricks to keep it really cheap.

When I first researched cloth diapers I was shocked at the cost! It seemed every popular website wanted to charge $400 for a decent supply of diapers. While I'm all for saving the environment my main goal is to save money. $480 is what we paid per year for diapers at Costco. There was almost no savings.

We finally settled for the following:

Gerber 6-Pack Premium 6-Ply Cloth Diaper - Prefold $11.99
We bought 3 packs and they last about 4 days so buy according to how often you want to do laundry. I'm about to buy one more pack which will bring our total to $47.96 (24 diapers)

Kushies Tafetta Waterproof Infant Diaper Wrap - Boy $7.49
We bought 4 to start but I'm about to get 2 more so we don't have to do laundry quite as often which brings our total to $44.94

The infant covers will last until he's 22lbs or until his legs get too big for the holes. Then we will probably switch to a cover that has snaps because the only thing bugging me about this whole set up is the Velcro. It sticks to everything in the wash and over time it will lose it's grip.

In addition, a friend gave us 4 hand made pocket diapers (which can run $10 per piece so this was a nice gift!) along with a big pile of flannel wipes which also work as inserts for greater absorbency.

Our grand total is $99.40 with tax. Now we are saving money!

I will admit I'm still tempted with the other options on the market. There are beautiful colors, cover/insert combos that make it impossible to get your hands dirty, adorable patterns, etc. Every time I get tempted to buy pretty diapers my husband talks me out of it, sometimes by just saying "honey, you're in charge since you're obviously really passionate about it" which results in me rethinking if we really need more diaper options!

2 comments:

Amy Sullivan said...

It's funny. I've always thought cloth diapers to be such and pain and just as expensive as disposable, but I'm hearing of more and more people that are making it work, for cheap (yepper, there's the key word!).

I'm excited to hear how it goes for you. I still have one who is in diapers so it gives me something to think about.

crazywildberry said...

Never did cloth. I would have been the one "stuck" doing the crap load of the work, so I opted out. I save money by buying all thrift store clothes for our kids. This means mega bucks in savings. And I don't feel that guilty about my decision either. I am glad that I could help you though. If I find more of those cloth wipes lying around, I will let you know. Happy Diaper Changing! LOL!