Cloth Diapers... do they really save money?

I had a conversation with a friend last night about cloth diapers...

I've had lots of people ask me about them so I thought I'd post about them

Heres the breakdown. Cost wise if you would like more info on how to get started please visit my friends blog she is the one who got me hooked.

Cloth Diapering 101

These are the cloth diapers I use. I started out with one stay dry pack.

Which comes with 6 stay dry inserts(cloth)

2 outer diapers (hold cloths in place)

I was scared to spend a bunch of money on cloth diapers so I just got one... cost??????

............

$49.95

I got them from diapers.com but cottonbabies.com also has them.

I kept hearing how you needed to spend like $400 bucks to get started on cloth diapers!

NOT SO! I liked them so much I bought 2

Totaling my cloth diapering to

4 outer shells

12 stay dry inserts

(you can get organic if you are concerned with going as green as possible)

Instead of buying burp cloths give these a try!

Another side note I do still have disposable diapers that I had stocked up on. But he isn't quite in that size and I bought these because I was tired of buying disposable diapers. I put him in a disposable diaper at night. (I use a size bigger than what he really is because he pees a lot at night). I haven't completely switched over is what I am trying to say. I now can do that because I am all set up. But start off slow. Cloth diapers should not be a financial burden. Make them save you money!

I use these because I don't want to touch poop. Its a lot easier to deal with and they are biodegradable. NOT NECESSARY! You can totally deal with the poop (I recommend this for first time moms or moms that get uber grossed out like me!)

Cost: $10.15 per 100 sheet. (on amazon)

Sometimes I risk it (like if I know he isn't going to poop any more that day (don't ask I just know) ) I haven't gone through my whole roll yet. I even cut some in half to make them last longer. But they work a ton better if you just use them like you should.

This is a need if you are going with cloth diapers. This is a pail liner. Keeps odor in and works really well. I have an old garbage can with a horrible lid that barely stays on and it still keeps the odor in! I love this liner and highly recommend it. I got white because then you can throw it in with the rest of the cloth wipes.

Cost: $16.50 (on amazon)

So my grand total on what I spent to get going on cloth diapering (and I have been using it for a while now)

Total: $126.65

All prices were checked on Feb 2 2012 (of course prices change)

When will this start saving money?

Well lets put it this way... I spent

about $45.00 on a HUGE box of pampers diapers (only ones that wouldn't leak)

about every 1 1/2 months I'd have to buy it.

So in 3 months I'm saving money

Assuming he is in diapers till he is 24 months...

thats $720 dollars spent

even being generous and saying I went through 45.00 worth of diapers every 2 months thats

$540

NOT INCLUDING WIPES!!!!

I also have started to use cloth wipes for pee pee diapers. I use probably about 4 disposable wipes a day. And I just made the wipes with some old tee shirts. So it cost me nothing.

Bottom line Do cloth diapers save money? YES!

******Way to save even more money... just got Indian prefolds which for the biggest ones they have as of Feb. 27 2012 cost $2.00 each. I got 6 for $12.00

Think of getting one flip day pack and then those thats six more diapers.

They are super absorbent!******

Buy them from cotton babies they have free shipping.