Before Petra was born, I made the admittedly bold decision to switch from disposable diapers to cloth. Now, there were plenty of people who did and still do tell me that it's too much work, time, etc... but I'm a stay at home mom-I can do it. And the diapers I found are absolutely fantastic. They're called one size all-in-one pocket diapers. (I got Coolababy ones off of eBay and I love them.) Brilliant little things, if you ask me. They've got the liner attached to the waterproof outer layer, with a pocket that you stuff absorbent liners (and really any other absorbent material) into. Beautiful. It's such little work... I'm doing laundry constantly anyway, what's one more load, really? They're really very cute, too. They come in a rainbow of colors. Another thing I'm in love with is that they're one size fits all. That's right, you heard me. One size. They've got a system of snaps that adjust the diaper to every size the kid will go through in her diaper-wearing life. I'm sure I'll still use disposables for the few times we're out of town for a few days at a time and don't have access to laundry, but it's working for us so far.
But, I must admit that beyond the positive effect this has on landfills, my other reason for doing it is cost. Disposable diapers are ridiculously expensive. 20 bucks every time I go grocery shopping on diapers? No thanks. I'm done with that. I won't succumb to the consumerist trap any longer. For a one time investment of about 150 dollars, I'll have 2 dozen diapers plus inserts that I can use for the whole three years (roughly) that Petra will be needing diapers. That's in contrast to about 7 disposable diapers a day at about 20 cents apiece for about 3 years... that's $1533, which means over three years I'm saving $1383. Not to mention wipes. And I'll be making my own cloth ones. That's pretty great, and makes a big difference for us.
I've been doing away with all disposable things that I can in this house. Replacing paper napkins with cloth, using cloth bags at the grocery store, not using as many baggies and re-using them, I got a DivaCup, and we are being gengenerally less wasteful. Just about the only thing we're stuck with is toilet paper. Can't see another solution for that. I still need to break the paper-towel habit that we've acquired. We simply don't need to dispose of our income. It feels great not doing it, and it's better for us all.
The DivaCup is awesome isn't it!?
ReplyDeleteI would totally do cloth if we had another. Those ARE cute!
We're in the same boat of reducing. I agree, so much better all around!
I just need to stop using those plastic baggies that are so nice for snacks! Cloth baggies? ; )
Yes, it is! I'm way excited about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO hard to get away from the baggies! Ah!
I'm so jealous! I really wanted to cloth diaper Alex but I have not been able to put that much at once into diapering. And I'm scared to buy and then end up not being happy with the brand.
ReplyDeleteI do like to use little tupperware containers for snacks. Means more washing, but cheaper than buying the bags all the time. And I tried to do away with the paper towel habit and couldn't do it! Funny how much we rely on those little things like that.
I haven't tried the cup but have heard good things about it. Maybe I'll give it a try.
The best thing I've done for saving money and being better for the planet is switching from commercial cleaners to vinegar/water and also I use baking soda when I really need a good scrub. My kids and Eric HATE the vinegar smell but I've gotten used to it. I haven't had to buy cleaner in a LONG time!
How much for just one of those diapers? Maybe I could give it a try and see how I like it.
Do you have a wet bag?
I don't have a wet bag yet, I've just been using normal plastic bags from the plastic bag stash to store when out. I still need a toilet sprayer, too. They attach right by the toilet and you can spray the diapers off right into the toilet. No swirling and soaking. They're only about 6-10 dollars apiece, depending on the number you buy at a time. For the Coolababy ones, that is. They are the Chinese brand. Which doesn't really bother, me, they're all made in China anyway. FuzziBunz, Happy Heinys, and Bum Genius etc. (bigger brands) are more expensive. Some people even sew their own or sew and sell online. I bought two to start with just to make sure it was going to work, too.
ReplyDeleteZack and I talked about it. I would like to try potty train kylyn by her birthday in Feb 2010. She be two, so seeing as I stay home, and she is extreamly smart, if I stick to it, I think we can do it. Do you still think it would be worth it to switch to cloth diapers? I would like to just because it would save us so much money...the bigger the diaper size the higher the price, and the smaller the diaper count, its rediculous, I think it would be worth it to switch, but I'm not sure. We dont have a washer and dryer, but do laundry at my parents twice a week. We do have a laundry matt in Warren we could use. How do cloth diapers work? How do you wash them, rinse them etc? I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteI think it would totally depend on how long she would end up using them and what brand you bought. The pocket diapers can also be used as training pants, though, so that's cool. Check out this blog, it's the best and has tons of info. www.allaboutclothdiapers.com
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