Cloth Diapering Anniversary

We are celebrating a year of cloth diapering around here. One year ago, we started cloth diapering with our third child, our 11-month-old son, as something of a frugal experiment.

In the past, between coupons, sales, closeouts, and manufacturer deals, we spent very little on disposable diapers. When I could get diapers for $3 per package, I would buy dozens of packages, even when we didn’t have a child in the sizes available. We never paid anywhere near full price for diapers and I never had to run out to buy diapers in a pinch. Since I got disposable diapers so inexpensively, the idea of using cloth diapers to save money never made sense to me.

That was until a year ago, when we moved to the boonies. Living more than 40 minutes away from the nearest Wal-mart, CVS, or Walgreens (and even further from my personal favorite, Target), I would not be able to hop on over to snag the hottest deals. Trips to the store would be infrequent and I would be forced to pay close to full price for diapers.

Two of my sisters-in-law cloth diaper, but I had never considered it as a frugal option for our family before. I started researching pocket diapers, the type of cloth diapers I had seen used. After shopping around, reading reviews, and looking for deals, I decided to try some Chinese-made pocket diapers I found on ebay. They were $3-$5 each including shipping, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose (for reference, bumGenius diapers, a well-known brand, sell for $18 each).

We found some of the cheap ebay diapers were good, some were bad, some didn’t fit right, and some were perfect. I stumbled across alvababy.com, another Chinese brand and researched all I could about their diapers.

After I bought a couple Alva diapers to try, I found that they gave free diapers in return for finding mistakes on their website and submitting corrections. I taught English as a second language before having kids, so correcting their sometimes awkward English was right up my alley. I made enough corrections to complete my diaper stash. I also received several other free gifts like baby leggings and a diaper pail liner.

I ordered some microfiber towels sold on ebay from a spa supplier and made additional inserts to use as doublers for my heavy wetter. I also bought a kissaluvs diaper pail liner (before I got the free Alva one). I bought a small plastic trashcan with a pop-up lid at Wal-mart. We were set!

For less than $100 I had a full stash of cloth diapers and accessories. They have taken me through a year and we can use them on future babies or sell them used and get our money back (cloth diapers hold their value well). Not a bad investment if you ask me!

Another great option is the 30-day test drive offered through Diaper Junction.

Have you considered cloth diapers to save money? Why or why not?

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