Cloth Diapering

One method to reducing your trash output, and rescuing your wallet from sure despair, is to use cloth diapers! Or, if you are just par excellance in the potty training area, you don't need diapers at all! I have a wonderful friend who uses Elimination Communication with her first born babe, and boy is she wonderful!!! I am barely familiar with the method, so I will not pretend to teach it to you, that one is something you will have to look into on your own!

The cheapest I found diapers for in the disposable department was 17 cents apiece. Sure, you can get them a little cheaper when your tiny one is in size newborn, or 1, but they also use more diapers at that stage, so for our calculating purposes, we will say that the cost versus quantity balances out. The brand I found to be cheapest, without leaking all of the time, or breaking, etc, is the Target Up&Up brand, and if you buy in bulk, and buy two when they offer $5 back, or buy online with your RedCard, save 5% and have it shipped for free so you save gas $$, you can whittle that price down.

Your child will need 5 diapers a day, if not more. 5 x 365 days a year is 1825 diapers. X2 years of use, on average, is 3650 diapers!!! That is a TON of TRASH!!!!! In America, we use 18 billion diapers a year, and “18billion diapers add up to 82,000 tons of plastic a year and 1.3million tons of wood pulp -- 250,000 trees.” now multiply that by .17 per diaper and you have a whopping 620 dollars! And I didn't include tax, or needing more diapers in the beginning 6 months, so that is the most conservative of estimates!!! Don't forget wipes! (If you click on the link, the author addresses the energy analysis of cloth diapering, because you have to remember that the cloth uses water, and lots of cotton, but it's put in perspective.) 

Now, I particularly like BumGenius cloth diapers, because they are easy! They come with velcro or snaps for closure, and they are adjustable so that they fit a newborn (not preemie mind you!) and grow with your child! They are easy to wash, just take out the inserts, and wash on their own cycle. They come in an assortment of colors, and will last the two year average necessary, but if you happen to need them to last longer or the velcro and elastic wear out early, you can by pre-cut replacement kits for a buck apiece!

Brand new, these diapers go for a whopping $17 a pop! However, I have never spent more than $10 by buying used through eBay! You will need about 20 to be covered ;) unless you prefer to wash more, or less frequently...that was just the magic number I found that worked for our family. Then, when you are all done with your diapers you can resell them! I bought my lot for 200, that is twenty diapers for ten bucks each, then sold my whole lot for 100. That's right, for 2 years I only spent 100 on diapers!! Boo YA!

For the poopy part of the situation, you have a couple of options. You can buy a spray nozzle that attaches to your toilet, and spray out the insides. Or you can buy some disposable liners, made out of bamboo or silk, that are biodegradable, which you lay right on top of your diaper inserts, touching baby's cutie-patootie, that you can lift out and flush! Imse-Vimse is a great brand for that, or look up “diaper liner” on eBay and you can acquire rolls of 100 for 6 bucks a pop.

Another piece of diapering is wipes. Those little wet rags of goodness can really take a bite out of your budget! Instead, I propose cloth wipes! And trust me, once you switch, you will never go back to disposable! For the wipes themselves, we used old towels and cotton receiving blankets, which we cut down to the size we wanted ( about the size of a disposable wipe) and stacked them, back side out, then sewed around three sides, turned them inside out like a pillow case, then sewed up the last side! This way you have a rough side for sticky messes, and a soft side for the rest.

Then, for the cleaning solution, I use my mom's recipe: 1 part Baby Shampoo, 1 part Baby Oil, and 1 part Water, plus a little essential oil for some fresh scents!

Again, you could also try the EC method and forgo the whole diaper scenario, also scoring major mom points while you're at it! Saving the whole lot of $$ and your sanity when it comes to toilet training, because you are way ahead of the rest of us.
Stay tuned next week for a diaper giveaway!!!