Today’s guest post is from BC reader Kristie from Atlanta:
It was upon learning our first child was on its way that the cheapskate in me reared her head. I knew that I wanted to be at home with our child as much as possible, and the only way I could do that was to spend less money. I crunched the numbers on everything from crib bedding to car seats, and when I added up just how much money we’d be spending on disposable diapers I was shocked. This cost can vary widely depending on which brand you buy and how many diapers you use each day, but a safe estimate is about $1500-2000 for a child potty trained between 2.5-3 years old. That’s not even accounting for disposable training pants! Those figures led me to research cloth diapering.
I’d seen some “modern” cloth diapers that a friend was using, and they didn’t look scary at all. They closed with Velcro instead of pins, had soft fleece lining on the inside, and didn’t need a cover. She told me I could buy these new-age cloth diapers on the internet, so I went searching for the best deals. There was a lot to choose from in many price ranges, but since my mind was on our budget we bought many of our diapers in gently-used condition on Diaper Swappers.
Cloth diapers are made to withstand heavy use and vigorous washing, so by the time one baby has grown out of them there is still a lot of use left. We built up our “stash” of diapers with less than a $350 investment by buying them this way. If the idea of used diapers just doesn’t appeal to you, there are plenty of diapers that can be bought new on a budget as well. A great resource is AffordableDiapers.com. Our daughter is 7 months old now, and we have been in the “green” on our diaper investment for a while now. Once she outgrows a diaper, I sell it on diaperswappers.com or trade it there for the next size I need. Diapers hold their value very well, and can often be sold for 75-85% of their original price. So far I have not had to invest any extra money to get bigger sizes. I just use the money I made from my re-sales!
Another way we cloth diaper on a budget is by using a clothesline. Clothes dryers are only second to refrigerators in how much energy they use in your house, so cutting back on dryer use can save you money! My husband installed a simple clothesline in our backyard made from 4×4 posts and wire specifically made for clotheslines that he bought at our local home improvement store. By hanging the diapers out to dry, we not only save money on electricity, but we also keep the diapers in better shape so that their re-sale value will remain high.
I’m sure you’re thinking “who wants to wear a crunchy diaper that was dried on a line?” Well, they don’t have to be crunchy! All you need to do is add a small amount of an all-natural fabric softener to your diaper laundry (Ecover and Simplicity are great all-natural brands), and fluff them in your dryer for 5 minutes BEFORE you hang them on the line. Your diapers will come off the line soft as can be and smelling like sunshine. If your homeowners association frowns upon clotheslines, there are many collapsible indoor drying racks available that can be purchased inexpensively as well.
On top of all the money cloth diapers have saved us, we have only had TWO diaper “blowouts” in 7 months of diapering, even throughout the exclusively breastfed days. The real elastic on diapers (or on covers if you’re using that style of diapering system) holds everything in perfectly. Our daughter has never had a single diaper rash, either. I am so glad that the cheapskate in my pushed me to try cloth diapers, because now that I’ve used them you couldn’t PAY me to use disposables! I never have to run out and buy diapers when we’re low…I just do a load of laundry.
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