Let's discuss the real reason that the Flats & Handwashing Challenge exists. While each one of the participants is doing the challenge for their own personal reasons, we all have one thing in common. We want to spread awareness that cloth diapering is the most budget friendly diapering option out there. Sure, there's Elimination Communication (free!), but really...that isn't diapering.
I know that my flat stash (let's be real, my *entire* cloth diaper stash) may be expensive and a bit exuberant, but a functional cloth diaper stash and all necessary supplies could cost you less than $50. Let's break it down. (I know there are many, many different ways to to store/wash your diapers and even more cloth diaper options to choose from. For this blog post, we will go over the way *I* would choose to cloth diaper on a $50 start up budget.)
First, you need to find a way to store the diapers until it's time to wash. Wet bags are nice, but they are pricy. A 5 gallon bucket works perfect for this and it can serve as both storage for dirty diapers, and place to handwash your diapers if necessary. We had ours on hand already when we started this challenge, but you can pick one up for $2.85 at Home Depot. You can store them dry in the bucket or, if you have a place to safely keep your bucket away from children/animals, you can fill it about halfway with cool/room temp water and place your dirty diapers there until it is time to wash. (Since we are handwashing this week, we use a wet pail. We keep it in the tub with the shower doors closed and the bathroom door closed as well.)
Next, diapers! There are many different options to choose from but if you are looking for budget friendly, flat diapers are definitely the way to go. Not only are they inexpensive, but they are very customizable. There are so many different ways to fold flats to fit many different sized babies/toddlers. Often times, one flat will work from birth through potty training. You can choose exactly where you want the most layers for absorbency. Best of all, they are the easiest diaper to clean. Because they are only one layer, they dry fast and you don't have to fuss much with the wash. Just rinse, wash, rinse, dry. Done & done.
The amount of diapers you need will depend on how often you want to wash. If you plan to wash every day from birth, you'll need 12-15 diapers. Double that if you plan to wash every other day. If you are planning to cloth diaper an older infant or toddler, you can get away with 8-10 diapers a day. The most common flat diaper is made from birdseye cotton. Birdseye is fairly absorbent and gets softer after each wash. (These generally retail for $2-$3 each. Different brands to check out include Cloth-eez, Blueberry & Osocozy.) Bamboo flats are also available, but are a more expensive option. In addition to these birdseye cotton flats, other inexpensive flat options include flour sack towels ($4.88 for a 5pk from Walmart), old flannel receiving blankets (free!), even old T-shirts (free!).
How are you going to keep those diapers on your baby? The most popular option these days seems to be the Snappi. It comes in 2 sizes. Size 1 fits best on newborns/infants, while size 2 is meant for average to large toddlers. A size 1 Snappi costs $3.95 with size 2 being 60 cents more. My favorite, the Boingo, is a newer fastener option. They are sold in a pair ($5.50) and you can use both to secure at the hips or one to secure the wings in the center. Then there is the old standby, diaper pins. I, personally, am not very coordinated so I don't trust myself to not poke myself or G, but many people swear by them. These are more readily found locally and are generally fairly inexpensive. (For example, you could pick up a 6 pack at Toys'R'Us for $2.99.)
Now, flats are not waterproof. We do use them coverless often around the home, but they become damp as soon as G wets himself. If we are going out, during naps and overnight, a cover is necessary. The most inexpensive option is to invest in a couple of good quality one size PUL (polyurethane laminate) cover. These generally run between $10 and $20 and they will grow with your baby. They can be washed with the diapers and dry quick. My personal favorite are the Sweet Pea OS covers. They retail for $10.95.
So, let's say you have a newborn, and you plan on washing your diapers each night. You decide on birdseye cotton flats and will use some of your flannel receiving blankets as back up should you need more than your usual 12 diapers. You decide you want to try both the Snappi & a pair of Boingos. You plan to store your diapers in a bucket and go coverless at home but still need 1 PUL cover for naptime/overnights. How much will that cost (pre-tax)?
12 Osocozy birdseye cotton flats - $23.88
3 Flannel receiving blankets as a backup - $0.00
1 size one Snappi - $3.95
1 pair of Boingos - $5.50
1 5 gallon bucket - $2.851
1 Sweet Pea OS Cover - $10.95
Total = $47.08
You know what else costs about the same? A 3-week supply of Huggies. Every 3 weeks, you would spend the same amount of money on disposable diapers as you would buying a reuseable cloth diaper stash & accessories. That is approximately $50 to diaper one child from birth until potty training (2.5 years, let's say) as opposed to the $2150 you would spend on disposables. AND...you can reuse your cloth diaper stash if you have more children saving even more!
There is the expense of washing to think about. I spend $7 more a month in electric/water in order to cloth diaper. Add in the detergent use for the extra loads, it's really about $10 extra a month to cloth diaper. So if we add that cost to the initial cost of buying your cloth diaper stash, you are looking at about $350 total for 2.5 years. Still WAY less than what you could spend on disposable diapers.
For this entire example, I used retail costs. If you take advantage of cloth diaper sales groups, store specials or upcycle your own flats, you could save far more. Cloth diapering with flats is a fantastic, economical and safe way to diaper your baby on a budget.
If you don't currently cloth diaper, what is holding you back?? For those of you that do cloth diaper on a budget, how much did you spend on your stash?
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