Cloth Diapering: Good for your pocketbook and the planet!

Before I had Lucie, I never thought much about diapering. I mean, it seemed like a given that we'd use disposables and that would be that. But one of my very best friends cloth diapered her daughter with great success and I got to thinking.... why not try it?

When we found out I was pregnant, we got nervous about the added cost of having a baby in the house. (Who doesn't?) So I started looking into different ways to save some money and diapers were the first thing on the list. We ended up buying 18 Mother Ease one-size diapers and 3 air flow covers in each available size. All of the diapers were bought used from myuseddiapers.com costing a total of about $350. Yes, it is a larger up-front investment than buying disposables; but here's the best part- not only will these diapers fit Lucie until she's potty trained, but they will also be used on all future children as well. I've read that the average cost of disposable diapers in the first year of parenthood is upwards of about $2500. So when you look at it that way, it's pretty much a no brainer.

I've also heard it said that cloth diapering will ultimately cost about as much as disposables in the long run because of the additional laundry loads, etc. We've been at it for almost 11 months now and have found that it really hasn't changed our utility bills at all. I wash a load of diapers about every other day, and when the weather is nice, they are dried outside on the clothesline. I also make my own laundry detergent which is a super easy way to cut laundry costs. 

The first question people always seem to ask is "What do you do with the poo?" The answer is simple: flush it down the toilet!! We bought a diaper sprayerand cleaning the poo is a piece of cake. (Ok so it doesn't exactly smell like cake, but does it ever?) People seem to be pretty grossed out by the whole poo thing, but seriously, as a new parent, you're going to have to deal with poo regardless of how you choose to diaper your baby. Better get used to it now.

Long gone are the days of folding and pinning and scrubbing your cloth diapers. There are so many different types of cloth diapers on the market and they are about as easy to use as disposables. My husband was the biggest skeptic of all, and now he's a pro. Just a couple of snaps and viola, a clean, dry, happy baby. And more money in the bank for Mom and Dad to have a date night.

Now, using cloth diapers has great implications for our planet as well. Think about the millions upon millions of diapers sitting in landfills all over the world. It's kind of astounding really. But if I'm going to be completely honest, "going green" wasn't and still isn't my main motivator. The financial benefits are what truly sealed the deal for me.

And as a final thought, I'd like to point out that the only times I've ever had any kind of blow-outs or leaking accidents have been with disposables. Seriously. My cloth diapers have never let me down.

I am by no means a cloth diaper expert. All I know is that it has worked amazingly well for my family. So maybe give the idea of cloth diapers a moments' thought. You may be surprised at how easy and financially savvy it really is. And hey, if it doesn't work out, you can always sell them back online. Can't do that with disposables, can ya? :)

What do you think? Have you had any experiences good or bad with cloth diapers? Which brands have worked the best for you? Any tips you'd like to share?