Cloth Diapers for Beginners by a Beginner - Part 4

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)


Lets talk money!

So I used pretty cheap disposable diapers... Target brand.

They averaged 16 cents a diaper.

That is a club pack - on sale.

Currently Eva gets a diaper change about 6 - 7 times a day.

I am not sure where this lies in the scale for other toddlers, but that is average for us.   

 As a newborn it was about 12 to 14 times a day.  

Then around 6 months or so it was 8 to 10 diaper changes a day.

Based on 30 day months - here is the average cost for us:

14 to 12 diapers a day: $67 to $57 a month

10 to 8 diapers a day: $48 to $38 a month

6 diapers a day: $29 a month

$67 a month at the high end to $29 a month at the low end.

Starting out with a newborn...

I would want to have enough diapers for 12 diaper changes a day...
with time to wash and dry diapers.

That would mean I would want at least 24 inserts and 8 shells.

A Flip day pack, that comes with 6 inserts and 2 shells is $50.

To get the target amount - 4 Flip Day Packs for a total of $200.

This is the regular price - not a sale price and they do go on sale.

Extra inserts are $16 for a 3 pack or $9 for an "imperfect" 3 pack.

So a few extra would be nice in case you hit that 14 diaper changes a day mark.

That works out to...

Low end - 6 diapers a day = 7 months of disposables.

High end - 14 diapers day = 3 months of disposables.

This all depends on the diaper.

The cost of Gro-via and BumGenious 4.0 diapers would be higher.

The cost for Econobums would be lower.

Adding boosters or doublers would be things you would add as baby grew.
Also, since you would have extra inserts as diaper changes went down,
you could double insets for nap or bed time

Right now...

 I don't have that many Flip diapers...

but with my Gro-via and Flip purchases, I have spent around $330.

If you excluded the ruining of 1/2 my Gro-via diaper stash...

I would have only spent about $215 for what I use now - diapers and accessories.

That includes wet bags, doublers, sprayer, diaper safe detergent and cloth diaper safe cream.

I did purchase both the Gro-via and Flips on sale.

Eva is 26 months old... 

and although she has shown interest in the potty - it is a few months away.

At this point I have broke even and moved into saving money.

I did not start cloth diapers from the beginning or even early on...

if I had it would be a gigantic money savings.

I will be saving all that money again when Deedle comes along.

I plan to add some more diapers as we get closer #2 arriving.

But the ones I have used for Eva, will work for the little one as well.

Aside from the cost savings, there have been these benefits...

Eva rarely has a diaper rash, and when she does it is barely there
...before it was a constant battle.

We produce a lot less trash.

No more runs to Target just to get diapers and leaving with a lot more than that...

(that is another HUGE money saver for me - seriously!)

I love how the bright covers look under skirts and dresses...

 so a diaper cover isn't necessary.

I found Charlie's Soap which per load is cheaper than my regular detergent...

and I love it.

Since October...

I have been using one small pack of disposables that we had...

for traveling out of town,
for babysitters and my dad who can barely work a disposable...

 and for nursery care at church/Bible study/MOPS.

I still have 10 or so left.

When those run out...

I am going to try the Flip biodegradable disposable inserts.

Overall - I am really happy with cloth diapering.

I only wish I hade taken the leap sooner.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

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