Reasons to Switch to Cloth: Reason #2- Cost

Reason #2: Cost

Who wouldn’t want to save a few bucks? Well in this several hundred dollars?

If you compare the cost of disposables with the cost of cloth the winner is obvious. Let me outline the cost savings for several different cloth diapering systems, starting with the cost for disposables.

Disposable diaper costs:

(I am using average costs found on the diapers.com website for Huggies diapers, if you were to buy store brand diapers the cost may be slightly less).

Newborn 0-6 Months, 10 diapers per day, $.20 per diaper = $364

Infant 6 Months-18 Months, 8 diapers per day, $.25 per diaper = $728

Toddler 18 Months-2 Years Old, 6 diapers per day, $.30 per diaper = $328

Potty Training, 2 Years Old-3 Years Old, 4 diapers per day, $.50 per diaper = $728

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $2148

Cloth Diaper Costs:

Please note that it is rare to rely on one cloth diapering system for the entirety of baby’s life in diapers. Different systems work better at different times.

(These estimates are based on doing laundry every other day).

System #1: simplest system- Prefolds and Covers

There is a relatively new product on the market from the makers of BumGenius called Econobum. It is a one size prefold and cover.

(2) sets of 3 one size diaper covers with 12 one-size prefold diapers = $50 per set.

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $100

System #2: One-Size Pocket Diapers

(2) sets of 12 BumGenius One-Size pocket diapers = $204 per set

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $408

System #3: Sized Pocket Diapers

24 Fuzzi Bunz, Size Small = $396

24 Fuzzi Bunz, Size Medium = $396

24 Fuzzi Bunz, Size Large = $396

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $1188

System #4: Fitted Diaper with Cover

24 Kiwi Pie One-Size Fitted Diapers = $600

24 Newborn Kissaluvs Fitted Diapers = $288

6 Wonderwraps One-Size Diaper Covers = $90

6 Thirsties Size Small Diaper Covers = $72

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $1050

System #5: My Choice

12 Newborn Swaddlebees Fitted Diapers = $144

10 One-Size Kiwi Pie Fitted Diapers = $250

4 Wonderwraps One-Size Diaper Covers = $60

4 Thirsties Diaper Covers, Size Small = $48

8 Swaddlebees Size Medium Side Snap Velour Diaper = $176

12 Swaddlebees Size Large Side Snap Velour Diapers = $264

10 Tiny Tush Elite Side Snap, Size Small = $110

(10) Hemp Doublers = $40

Total Cost (Birth-Potty Trained) = $1052

Accessories to add to the cost of cloth diapering:

Large Wetbag = $20

Small Wetbag = $15

After adding accessories to the most expensive cloth diapering system you would still be saving $925.

You may also want to figure in the costs of water use (the extra load of laundry every other day will probably make a difference in your water bill) as well as the cost of laundry detergent.

Because I pay to bring my trash to the dump and disposable diapers would greatly increase both the quantity of trash and the frequency in which I’d need to go to the dump- I think this equals out the extra laundry detergent and water usage.

I hope that these basic figures will help you see that cloth really is a huge cost savings over disposables. Also take into account that diapers can be used with second and even sometimes third children- or sold used if they are in fairly good condition. I bought my BumGenius diapers for $16 each and sold them used for $10 each on Craigslist.

From a financial standpoint cloth is by far a more solid investment!

Reasons to Switch to Cloth: Reason #1 The Environment, Part one.

The Environment, Part One:

You must excuse me, I have to preface this post by saying that the older we get the more my husband and I embrace our "hippyness". You may not share our passion for a clean, green earth- but please read on despite our differences : )

Let's talk trash.

The first itch I had to try cloth was back in the summer of 2009. My husband is in charge of trash duty so I rarely even looked at our trash bin, except to tell his how stinky it was. As I was outside more and more that summer I began to peek into the can (to throw out trash from my car, deposit litter from the street, etc..). What I witnessed was incredible. More than half of our large outdoor trash can was filled with diapers! I'm sure if you've ever had an infant you may have noticed the same thing. Our trash output more than doubled after having a child and what was doubling was the diapers!

OK, so diapers double your household trash output, what's the big deal? I'll contribute my 3+ years of diapers to the landfill and then it'll be over with. Well, IF your child is potty trained by 3 (which in disposables is no easy feat) this means you will use approximitely 9,360 diapers (average 60 diapers per week). Experts estimate that this comes out to be over 3 tons of diaper garbage per child.

To make things worse- did you know that we still do not know how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose? Most estimate between 200 and 500 years. Truth is, we can't say for sure because we have not seen proof that even the earliest diapers (invented over 50 years ago) have decomposed yet.

Please take a long careful look at what kind of legacy you are leaving behind for your children, your children's children, your children's children's children, etc...