Several people have read my gushing about cloth diapers and asked for a run down on the basics of it all.  So I’m going to try to answer those questions here!  If there’s anything I miss or you have more questions, leave me a comment.  In this economy, we’re all doing our best to save a little money here and there.  If you’ve got kids in diapers, this is a fairly easy way to do that.

First of all, my stash:  I started with a Just the Basics package from CottonBabies.  This gave me 12 prefolds (the old-fashioned flat diapers), 4 pull-on plastic covers, 2 Snappis (to fasten the diapers with), and a BumGenius (BG) One-Size to try.  I bought 2 additional wrap style covers at The Red Hen in Carrboro.  For wipes, I use old baby washcloths as well as scraps of material that a friend sewed for me.  I also just bought 6 more of the BumGenius OS diapers last week.  That gives me a grand total of 19 diapers, so I do diaper laundry every 2-3 days.

In addition to diapers, I bought a few extras.  My diaper pail is just a plastic trash can from Walmart.  It’s small enough to not take up a lot of room but it can hold all of my diapers.  It has a push button removable lid.  It’s easily cleaned, which is a big plus because it does get poop in it!  I have a small spray bottle (also from WM) to put my wipe solution in.  And I can’t live without the pail freshener from Simply Clean.  Right now the changing station is in our living room, so we make liberal use of it to keep the odor down.  I also bought a small wire utility cart to keep everything in.  It holds all of the diapers, wipes, and other supplies.

Diaper Changes: To be perfectly honest, I always go for the BGs first.  They are the easiest.  Basically, these diapers have a pocket in them that you stuff with an insert to soak up the wetness.  I stuff mine as I stock them in the diaper cart so they’re ready to use when I need them.  These go on just like a disposable diaper.  The best part is that they are one size…they fit kids from about 8-35 lbs.  These should last me through potty training!  When I take them off, I pull out the liner and make sure to fold the laundry tabs in and fasten them so the velcro doesn’t get caught in the washing machine or dryer.  Easy peasy!  The prefolds are a little harder because you have to develop your folding method.  There are several out there, but I use kind of a modified Angel Wing fold.  Basically, I lay her on the diaper, fold the front into thirds, pull it up, pull the back “wings” to the front and fasten with a Snappi.  This works well for us right now.  We then put a cover on, either a wrap style or a pull-on.  The key is to make sure none of the diaper is hanging out of it because the wetness will wick out and you’ll end up with wet (or dirty!) baby clothes.  It’s not hard, but it does mean you have to pay attention.  When we take these off, the prefold goes into the diaper pail and the cover (assuming there’s no poop on it) goes back into the diaper cart to be used again.  I try to rotate them so I’m not using the same one all the time.  They are waterproof, so there’s no need to wash them after each use.  To wipe her bottom, I spray a little of my wipe solution (there are a lot of recipes out there, but mine is water, vinegar, tea tree oil, and aloe vera gel) on a wipe and clean her off really good.  If she had a rash, I would use plain water to avoid irritating her skin.  Once done, the dirties go into the diaper pail and I sprinkle a little of the pail freshener on top.

Laundry:  It’s really not that hard.  I wash every 2-3 days, depending on when I get close to running out of clean dipes.  I take the pail out to the laundry room and throw everything into a cold rinse.  The pail freshener makes a great pre-soak in this cycle!  Once the cold rinse is done, I run a full wash on hot with a couple tablespoons of Simply Clean detergent.  (For most loads, a tbsp is sufficient…I like to use extra on diapers.)  Then I put them in the dryer with several dryer balls and that’s all it takes!  Occasionally it’s nice to hang them out to dry because the sun bleaches out any stains that might have accumulated, but it’s not necessary.  You do have to be careful of the detergent you use because it can build up causing the diapers to repel moisture or cause other problems and you should never ever use fabric softener.  But generally the laundry side of it is the easiest part!  Once done, I go ahead and stuff the pocket diapers so they’re ready to go and restock the cart with the clean wipes, diapers, and covers.  It’s really not at all difficult.

Other tips: Newborns are very easy to cloth diaper, especially if you’re breastfeeding.  Because they’re only taking in liquid, that’s pretty much all that comes out.  Once they start solids around 6 months you may start having more solid poops.  (And I honestly don’t remember about formula fed babies, but I’m thinking they may have more solid poop even before eating solids.)  When this happens, you need to shake off what you can into the toilet but otherwise everything stays the same.  At this point, it also starts to smell a bit more so you may want to have your pail in a bathroom or your laundry room.  The pail freshener will help a lot.  If something doesn’t work for you, like diaper style, fold, laundry methods, or anything else, there are a ton of resources out there to help you find the options that do work for you.  Just google whatever you’re needing help with and dozens of sites will come up.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what to expect and how it all really works.  Like I said, it’s really not much more work.  We use disposables when we’re out and at night to make things a bit easier, but where we used to go through as many as 10 disposables a day, we now average 2 or 3.  A pack of diapers that would typically last maybe a week now lasts an entire month.  The upfront cost can be high, particularly if you go with the more expensive and easiest diapers.  But the long term financial impact is HUGE.  Not to mention the environmental impact!