How Much Will Cloth Diapering Save Me?
Mar 31, 2009 Budget Environmentalism, Eco Friendly Parenting
After spending about $350 or so on various cloth diapering supplies (cloth diapers
Payback for us won’t come as quickly as for others. We always bought the store brand Target diapers, which are significantly cheaper than name brands such as Pampers. A mid size pack of Target diapers runs under $11 pretax, versus $16-45 for Pampers, depending on the number of diapers in the package.
The number of diapers in a package drops as the diapers get bigger, so that they can keep charging the same price per package. This makes it hard to do more than approximate things.
And I haven’t even tried to figure in the cost of disposable wipes. Diaper costs alone should be sufficient to show the benefit in a reasonable time frame.
$350 is around 32 packs of diapers. Less actually, since that’s pretax, so I’ll call it 30 packs. Still too many but I would rather overestimate than under.
It’s hard to figure out how long to assume each pack will last on average. Call it two packs a month at the size I buy. I’m guessing here, based on a newborn using 8 or so diapers a day while an older child uses 5-6 a day.
So 32 packs would go for 16 months.
I’m skipping a few factors here. On the disposable side, there’s the cost of going to get the diapers, which is small as I can combine it with other errands. However, the need for them in the past often caused trips to Target that could have otherwise been combined with later trips. The more you shop the more you buy, you know?
As noted above, I’m also skipping the cost of disposable wipes.
On the cloth diaper side there’s the cost of doing laundry. Probably a load every other day in the early days, then spread out depending on how well I can stand waiting. Plus the time to handle the laundry, including hanging them out on the clothesline in good weather for them to dry. But I do that with all the laundry these days, so I really don’t think of it as a big deal anymore.
There’s another factor to consider. One site I saw said it’s an average of 30 months of diapering with babies. However, I’ve also heard that cloth diaper babies tend to potty train earlier. I like that benefit, even if there’s no obvious cost savings with cloth. But it does mean that the financial cost of disposables adds up for longer.
And one more subtle cost factor. This is absolutely my last baby, so I can’t spread the cost out over multiple children. I had my OB make sure of that with a tubal ligation during my C-section. Too bad I didn’t discover cloth diapers sooner.
But cloth diapers have a resale value if they remain in decent condition. When the time comes, I can go to a forum such as Diaper Swappers and get something back for what I’ve spent already. That can bring the payback time frame way down.
Overall, I’m enjoying these early days of my cloth diapering adventures. I hope it continues to go well for us. The money saved and the decreased waste make the extra work worth it for me.
Tags: baby, baby supplies, cloth diapers
Trying to Get Cloth Diapering Started
Mar 10, 2009 Budget Environmentalism, Eco Friendly Parenting
As I posted after she was born, Selene is a very small baby. Or perhaps I should say was. Little rascal has quite the appetite, and she’s not so tiny anymore.
She might even fit into the bumGenius diapers we have for her at last.
That’s what I’m trying out today. First time I put one on her, even as tight as I could get it, she just swam in it. Tiny, tiny baby girl! We
My mother is rather surprised that we’re doing cloth diapers, but she understands the bit about saving money. She was worried about the water use, though. A good point, but I got a great tip from a reader that I’ll be trying to save on water when I wash the diapers. She suggests soaking the diapers in the wash for a half hour, rather than doing multiple cycles. I sure hope it works for me! Thanks, Deoxy!
The diapers are fitting a bit better now. I don’t have a scale to say what she weighs now, but I would have to guess at least 7 pounds.
One challenge we’re facing is that our little miss is a queen of futile diaper changes. Yes, she’s one of those who manages to save up for just after you change her. Or during. Those are… umm… fun too, really….
Obviously that can be a bit of a hardship with cloth diapers. We’ve gotten better at catching when she’s really ready for a change, rather than just getting started, and I hope this will keep the number of quick changes down.
I know we’ll still end up using some disposable diapers. There’s pretty much no way my mother-in-law will put up with cloth. Since she is a highly willing babysitter once baby can take a bottle, there’s only so much complaint I can have about that. Doubly so since she usually buys her own diapering supplies.
I have to say, Selene looks awfully cute in a cloth diaper. It makes getting her dressed a bit more interesting, fitting her clothes over the diaper, but I can deal with that. I just like being able to cut down so much on waste.
Tags: baby, baby supplies, cloth diapers
Cloth Diapers vs. Water Use Reduction
Feb 16, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting
Talking with my mother the other day about our plans for cloth diapering baby Selene once she’s big enough to fit the bumGenius 3.0 diapers we have brought up a very good point.
Cloth diapers take a lot of water to wash.
Recent storms may change matters somewhat, but all the talk has been on water restrictions lately. I’m really hoping this doesn’t turn out to be a problem.
However, I do have things I would give up sooner than my cloth diapers, if it’s left up to me. I’d be quite delighted if my landlord would let us just kill the front lawn, and maybe add in some drought tolerant plants instead. The gopher seems to be leaving things alone at long last, thanks, I would imagine, due to the hunting prowess of the neighbor’s cats. I know they caught at least one gopher.
I’ve also been scolding my husband for some of the ways he wastes water already. I don’t think he’ll go for a bucket in the shower just yet, but if things get bad this year he might.
If the discussed water restrictions hold this year, things could get interesting. I hope to see enough rain, or rather enough snow in the mountains, to get us out of the drought, but if that doesn’t happen I have no doubt that restrictions will happen.
But I just can’t see giving up the cloth diapers. My mother is concerned that it might be a sensible solution, even though she agrees disposables are more of a waste overall. Going to have to keep on planning as the season goes on.
Tags: cloth diapers, parenting, water restrictions, water shortage
Buying Cloth Diapers at Last
Jan 5, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting
Here I am, in the final stretch. 8 months pregnant. Time to get those cloth diapers I keep wanting.
We’re keeping it simple at first; just a 3 pack of bumGenius 3.0 diapers. I want to try them out before committing to a full supply, just in case it turns out that some other brand actually works out better for me. It’s such a switch from before I’m feeling probably more cautious than I need to be.
My husband and I are pretty excited about this, if a little doubtful about how certain family members will view it at first. But I just look at all the reviews explaining how easy it all is, and I feel much reassured.
If nothing else, the cash savings should catch his parents’ attention. They’re not green most ways, but they certainly respect trying to save money.
I’m also getting cloth wipes. They’ll be an interesting switch from the convenience of disposable wipes, but as I pointed out to my husband, once you have cloth diapers, cloth wipes are sensible too. They all fit into the same load of laundry.
Tags: baby, cloth diapers, cloth wipes
My Big Green Goal for 2009 – Greening Baby
Dec 30, 2008 Eco Friendly Parenting
I can’t believe I’m nearly 8 months pregnant. Where does the time go?
In terms of being green, there are a lot of things I like to do. But in 2009, my focus is pretty much going to be on greening my baby experience.
Some of it will be pretty easy. I already have the minimal driving habit, although we are going to need a second vehicle. Our current car won’t hold the entire family after the baby comes, and with all the doctor appointments babies need, calling on family for a ride just won’t cut it. It would be necessary too often.
But we are looking used, and fuel efficiency is a big consideration along with budget.
Clothes and many other supplies aren’t a big issue. We have tons of handmedowns coming. We still own our original cradle and crib.
A king size pillowcase makes for a wonderful sheet for a cradle mattress. They’re the perfect size. Just a little trick my mother taught me that saves trying to buy cradle sheets. Crib sheets, on the other hand, may need to be purchased, although I think we still have some in decent condition.
I still have to actually buy my cloth diapers. Time to just buckle down and get the research done so I can finalize my decision.
Then the fun part of explaining them to my mother-in-law. Oh, probably my side of the family too, but I know who tends to be the most vocal about when I do something out of the expected. But cloth diapers really aren’t what they were when she had kids, and I expect that by the time baby is 6 months to a year old, she’ll get it.
At least, that’s how long it took for her to quit complaining about me breastfeeding my first. She does understand the benefits now, though, and is a huge proponent of it. Just took a while.
We’re also looking at making baby food at home. We already own a VitaMix
Tags: baby, cloth diapers, pregnancy
