Why Cloth Diapers?
I wish I could say my motivation was to save the environment but it really was the cost. Just living on Ben's salary while I'm home with Mina has been hard and it won't be easier if we have to pay for daycare after I go back to work. Not spending an extra $20 on diapers each week helps (I know if we bought in bulk and used coupons it would be less than that but it is still a good chunk of money). Most of our initial diaper stash was shower gifts or purchased with gift cards from showers. I think we spent $30 of our own money up front. Since then, I've spent about an additional $50 as we've had money, but we have everything we need. I have even been able to make diapers out of old swaddling blankets and fabric so we could have made it even cheaper. Surprisingly, our water usage hasn't gone up much with the cloth diaper washing and I usually line dry the diapers so utilities are adding no more than a few bucks each month. I haven't done exact math on how much disposables would cost but have seen several estimates and we are definitely saving a lot of money.
It is also nicer on the environment. Between compost, recycling and cloth diapers, our family usually only fills two plastic grocery store bags of trash each week. That feels pretty good.
The absolute adorableness of cloth diapers was an unexpected perk. Just slap a diaper on and Mina is dressed. We usually try to put a shirt on her if leaving the house, but at home it is just a diaper.
There are plenty of other reasons like chemicals in disposables and less diaper rash but these were the main reasons we gave it a shot. Check out some of the links for other great reasons to cloth diaper.
What About the Poop?
It really isn't that bad. I am easily grossed out by a lot of things and washing diapers doesn't bother me. You spray/shake the poo into the toilet immediately so none is sitting around or getting in your washer. There is a good chance you will be washing poop off of baby clothes at some point anyway.
But it's less convenient?
Yes, it is a little extra work. I really enjoy hanging the diapers up to dry because it is my personal relaxing time outside in the fresh air. Maybe I'm weird. I do diaper laundry every other or every third day. It doesn't take that much of my time but it is a process. It might not be something I would want to do after a long day at work. But I don't want to take a smelly bag of dirty diapers to the garbage either. The washing machine does most of the work, and I don't mind doing the rest. I'm also not working right now so that might make devoting time to laundry easier. I am, however, washing less poop off clothes.
What if I still want more info....
http://simplemom.net/cloth-diapering/ This Cloth Diapering 101 series is what made me believe I could actually do this. It's a lot of information so don't try to get everything all at once, but it is a great resource
PaddedTushStats.com Comparisons of different brands of diapers and diapering products as well as several resources for finding where to buy.
Where can I buy some?
www.dearestdiapers.com This is the only place I have purchased cloth diapers. There is a decent and expanding selection. But I love the great customer service and pretty amazing weekly promos. Free, fast shipping is another plus.
www.diaperjunction.com
www.abbyslane.com
More Cloth Diapers on the Of Pastry and Pacifiers Blog
http://littleschwanda.blogspot.com/2013/02/baby-of-cloth-diapers-that-is.html
http://littleschwanda.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-project.html
http://littleschwanda.blogspot.com/2013/03/all-on-line.html
http://littleschwanda.blogspot.com/2013/04/best-tax-break-ever.html
http://littleschwanda.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-fluffy-vacation.html
No comments:
Post a Comment