I am a vacinating, circumcizing, disposible diapering (for now), playtex nurser feeding Momma. So why then would I be considering a change (no pun intended) to cloth diapers?
Well, much like my desire to save money feeding Rocky I also am interested in saving money changing Rocky's diapers (pun intended). However I'm honestly not sure if there is much savings in cloth diapering comparatively. Baby food yes--diapers, not so sure...so I'm hoping someone can either confirm or debunk my theory.
We spend on average:
$35 a month for diapers.
$7 for the Diaper Genie refills.
$42 a month for disposable diapers and disposal.
I looked on eb@y for cloth diapers...and while I'm not even sure what I'm looking at I'm going to guess that it would run me about $100-$150 to get started on cloth diapers.
$150 start up-and I'm not even sure if those diapers would last him until he is 2 or not...
I also understand that to properly wash cloth diapers that they need to go through the wash 3 times. So to me that would mean filling and putting the washer through a wash and rinse cycle THREE TIMES EVERY DAY, where as right now I'm running 3 cycles of laundry for ALL of our clothes once a week. So you'd have the added cost of water, electricity, and gas to utilize cloth. So while most people say there is a HUGE savings...is there really?
I'm thinking--and again debunk me--that there really wouldn't be...
The baby grows which means you have to constantly (or every few months) purchase new, larger cloth diapers or shlls? NO?
You pay your water bill by the gallon-I'm guessing a washer uses 10 gallons of water for each cycle...how much does one pay for a gallon of water X 3 cycles per day.
Time? How much is your time worth? This one will likely be the cause of angst. Shouldn't you dedicate your time to your child? Well absolutey...but for the same reasons why not working appeals to me not being a "slave" to the washing machine also appeals to me.
Finally the cost of laundry soap--I'm sure you need some kind of special soap to wash all of these new found britches Right?
So what will my final decision be...paper or cloth? How "crunchy" do I want to get?? That I suppose is ultimately the question...
{26 weeks}
1 day ago
3 comments:
I just started cloth diapering my 10 month old twins a month ago. Like you I wanted to save money as we are a one income family as well. I scoured crai*gs list and found some used deals to started with. I got 12 Bu*m Genius 4.0's for $100, and the lot came with a wet bag, a sprayer, and 12 wash cloths. This was a great deal as they were practically brand new and I am sure no one could ever find it again. I then purchased 10 Fuzzi*bunz one size for $80, again found on CL. SO I have 22 diapers and it lasts almost 2 days, I do need more but I am slowly building my stash.
If you buy one size diapers like the ones listed above, you will not have to buy more as he grows. As for ashing, I used just regular powder T*ide. There are special ones you can use but this one is said to be fine. I put the diapers in the washer and run a cold cycle with 1 tablespoon of powder, then I run a hot cycle with 2 tablespoons and then an extra rinse. So a bit of a hefty wash cycle, but the more diapers you have, the less often you have to wash.
I am really happy with our decision, and even plan to sell our diapers for cheap when we are done. I am far from an expert but if you have any questions you can message me.
Cloth. Best decision I ever made, but it's not about the money...... It was about the distaste for disposable diapers. The cost savings won't be high enough to keep you using cloth if that is the only motivator. I used "kushies" for all three of my kids. All girls though, boys might be different. the softer skin, the organic feel to the diaper etc kept me using them. It is less convenient, but if I could recommend one thing for cloth it would be diaper liners. If they were not soiled I would was them with the diapers and reuse them too. Only tossed the messy ones and if the poo shook off I reused the liner. It really helped keep the diaper from staining and looking yucky. My girls are 20, 18, & 16. I WILL buy them all cloth diapers for their kids if they want them. I can't say enough about them! Good luck, you write a very nice blog.
Www.kushies.com
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