So, I bought a new pair of boots, and in trying to justify the purchase to myself and Andy, I started thinking about all the things I do to save money.
How we’re cloth diapering was discussed here, but not the costs. A lot of people will say that, in the end, the costs associated with cloth diapering doesn’t really save a lot over disposables, while others say that you break even with your first child and the savings come with subsequent children. I contend that disposable diapers are WAY more expensive than cloth. And, from my experience, I’d also say that anything that is cheap is also good for the Earth (hanging clothes on the clothesline, gardening, driving a high gas mileage car…), so we’re doing our part!
I also added in 20% of the cost of our new washing machine because we probably wouldn’t have bought such a nice one if we weren’t washing diapers 2-3 times each week. The amount of electricity used seems fair, as it also includes water since we have a well and sewage since we have a septic tank. We do not currently have trash removal, but if we used disposable diapers, we would have to pay for that as well!
The ongoing costs of cloth diapering from this point will include a few more covers as Meg gets bigger, but the current ones should fit her until she’s at least 18 pounds, and electricity. Our electric bill may increase a little in the winter when I can’t hang the diapers out to dry as often, but I really don’t very often now anyway because they have to hang outside all day and I usually need the clothesline space if it’s a Saturday and I’m doing lots of other laundry.
I totally paid for those boots just in cloth diapering the last 6 months ($186.00 saved!!!!), but now I’m looking for other ways that Andy can thank me for being so frugal! Up next, canning, canning, canning.
Nice! I think we’re going to get more expensive cloth diapers (because apparently for me laziness beats out frugality), so we won’t be able to save quite that much, but it will definitely pay off in the longer run.
Also, we’re going to the cloth diaper store in STL that you told us about when we fly in next week! I’m very excited about it, my mom is interested to see it, Greg is fine with it, and my dad, well, he’s grumpy that it’ll be rush hour and dinner time… but anyway, it should be good stuff!
I’m with you, Elizabeth! I was thinking about ease and about daddy and babysitter’s happiness when I went with more expensive diapers. We went for the pockets, AIOs, and onesize diapers, but I may be game to try prefolds with the next kid. Just think, this savings is only for 6 months of use! Justin and I think we can save over $1000 using cloth with Morgan (birth through potty training).
I think it should be pointed out that, in our case, we needed a new washer anyway and got an “Energy Star” one for a bit more than we otherwise would have spent, but really any washer will do. It’s more convenient to have certain features, but we made it work just fine with our washer in St. Louis.
Point is: if you already have a washer, any washer, then you can ignore the additional $100 and assume a savings of $286 over the 6 month period. Not a small chunk of change for a growing family, methinks.
When Brooke first told me she was using cloth wipes, I laughed and told her I would bring my own when I visited. Guess what? The first time I visited and used her cloth wipes, I realized how much better they clean than the disposables. She has made up a spray bottle of cleaner and you just spray that on the cloth wipes. It’s much softer and thicker and does a good job of cleaning a poopy mess. See, even a grandma can learn something!
all this talk about diapers and wipes…….somebody needs to remind everybody that that baby is pretty darn cute!!