We have been using cloth diapers just a little over 2 years. I wrote an article about how we spent $230 to purchase 63 used BumGenius cloth diapers, saving us about $1300 if we bought it new. With my analysis below, we saved over $500 in 2 years by using these cloth diapers for MBP.
Hybrid Cloth Diapering
We don’t use cloth diaper exclusively. When MBP turned 18 months, we started using disposables at night. My goal is to go back to using cloth diapers at night, but it is just easier to use disposables. We also uses disposable diaper when we’re on vacation and whenever we have to go out for more than 2.5 hours. It is more convenient to pack disposable diapers. I spent $130 on disposable diapers so far. During the first month, I received a $100 credit from Amazon by using their baby registry. You can only used this for diaper related item. I got the newborn and size 1 diaper and 9 packs of baby wipes for free
Washing Method
We washes cloth diapers every 3 days. We uses 47 BumGenius pockets diapers. Our laundry typically have 24 cloth diapers coming out of the wash. We wash twice, one on lite with no detergent and one on extra heavy with detergent, both on cold. We uses Tide Original HE Powder to wash the cloth diapers. The inserts are dried using the dryer and the shells are line dry. All our appliances are also electric. Our bill went up by about $5 – $7 per month. I used $7 increase in utilities for this assumption. In theory, this increase is not just for the cloth diapers. We also wash more just by the fact that we added an additional person in the family who uses clothes.
Diaper Wipes
We also used cloth diaper wipes. I made these wipes out of a 10 year old queen fitted sheets and 3 pillow cases. The sheets are 100% cotton but has been beaten up over the number of years used. It cost me about $5 for the thread.
Diaper Pail
We have one Dekor diaper pail and 2 Dekor diaper pail liner. I bought it new and cost us $29.95 for the pail and $19.69 for the liner.
Cream / Oil
We uses coconut oil instead of cream. Sometimes, when MBP has a rash we also uses Desitin. The Desitin is free from the NICU, when MBP was discharged. We still have these up to now. I didn’t include this in the calculation.
Disposables Comparison Factor
I used the Costco diaper and wipes for this analysis. I used these because this is where we get our diapers. Using this calculation, there will be excess diaper. In my opinion this is realistic in our situation, because we err on the side of changing more often. We will keep this excess for kiddo #2 or give it away
On Year 1, we changed MBP’s diaper 7 times on average. A LOT more on the first 6 months until he was sleeping through the night. He was only on size 1 for the first 3 months and we upped a size to size 2 up until 10 months and we upped to size 3.
| Disposable Diaper | Price | Qty | Total | # of changes | (# of changes / ct) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size 1 (192 ct), up to 14 lbs | 29.99 | 4 | 119.96 | 630 | 3.28 |
| Size 2 (174 ct) (12-18 lbs) | 29.99 | 9 | 269.91 | 1505 | 8.65 |
| Size 3 (198 ct) (16 - 28 lbs) | 35.99 | 2 | 2 | 420 | 2.12 |
| Diaper wipes (900 wipes) | 19.99 | 3 | 59.97 | 2135 | 2.37 |
| Diaper Liner | 26.99 | 2 | 53.98 | ||
| Total | 575.8 |
On Year 2, we changed MBP’s diaper 6 times. We changed his cloth diaper every 2.5 – 3 hours during the day and triple the liner or put him on disposable at night.
| Disposable Diaper | Price | Qty | Total | # of changes | (# of changes / ct) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size 3 (198 ct) (16 - 28 lbs) | 35.99 | 6 | 215.94 | 1095 | 5.53 |
| Size 4 (180 ct) (22-37 lbs) | 35.99 | 7 | 251.93 | 1095 | 6.08 |
| Diaper wipes (900 wipes) | 19.99 | 3 | 59.97 | 2190 | 2.43 |
| Diaper Liner | 26.99 | 2 | 53.98 | ||
| Total | 581.82 |
Comparison
Using the factors I mentioned above, we saved $504.74 by using cloth diapers. We could save more if we use cloth diapers exclusively. These cloth diapers are still holding up well and ready for kiddo #2.
| Year 1 | Cloth Diaper | Disposable Diaper (costco price) |
|---|---|---|
| Cloth Diaper | 229.78 | 0 |
| Cloth Wipes | 5 | 0 |
| Cloth diaper sprayer | 29.99 | 0 |
| Disposable Diaper | 55.44 | 461.85 |
| Disposable Wipes | 0 | 59.97 |
| Diaper liner refill | 19.69 | 53.98 |
| Detergent | 36.5 | 0 |
| Utilities | 84 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 460.4 | 575.8 |
| Year 2 | Cloth Diaper | Disposable Diaper |
|---|---|---|
| Cloth Diaper | 0 | 0 |
| Cloth Wipes | 0 | 0 |
| Disposable Diaper | 71.98 | 467.87 |
| Disposable Wipes | 0 | 59.97 |
| Diaper liner refill | 0 | 53.98 |
| Detergent | 36.5 | 0 |
| Utilities | 84 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 192.48 | 581.82 |
| Cloth Diaper | Disposable Diaper | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Cost | 652.88 | 1157.62 |
| Savings | 504.74 |
Other reason to choose cloth diapers
The cost is just one of the reason we choose to use cloth diaper. Disposable diaper sits in the landfill for 500 years. We are lessening our carbon footprint by using cloth diaper.
Do you use cloth diapers? How much did you save?
