Buying Diapers {When You're on a Budget}

I recently found myself perusing the disposable diaper aisle at Target. Not a place I frequent these days (the diaper aisle, not Target.), but our vacation was coming up and we had decided it would be easier to use disposables while on the road. 

Hello, sticker shock! I even texted my husband in disbelief. Something along the lines of, "come hold me while I cry." I left without any diapers that day. (And found some a few days later on clearance. Shew!)

My little adventure into disposable land got me thinking...could you cloth diaper for what you would spend on a few weeks of disposables? Absolutely. Will it be fancy? Not really. Will it get the job done? Yep.

 

A box of diapers runs about $25. I know all of the coupon queens out there can snag them for much less, but for the average Alice, $25 is what will be shelled out. $25 can go a long way to cloth diaper your baby. Multiply that six times and you are suddenly in the cloth diaper business and never need to buy a disposable diaper again. I like that. 

Here is what I would buy with $150.00...

1.) Twelve Flat Cotton Diapers - Why flats? Because they are cheap, easy to clean and customizable. They dry FAST so you don't need as many. They are the original "one size" diaper and can be folded to fit just about any baby. You can read all about flats here. 

2.) Six One Size Diaper Covers - If you are planning on cloth diapering a newborn, make that NEWBORN covers. One size covers won't cut it. You can buy six newborn covers now and the one size covers down the road. And guess what? You can sell those newborn covers to fund your one size covers. Cloth diapers have excellent resale value! 

3.) Two Medium Wet Bags - You can cloth diaper with only one wet bag. I did it for about four months. But two make life so much easier, one in the wash and one in use. Easy peasy. 

4.) One Small Wet Bag - This is for when you are out and about. If you don't plan on cloth diapering on the go you can skip it. But can I just say? Cloth diapering on the go is not that hard. Give it a chance before you count it out. 

5.) One Snappi - This handy device is a must. It's cheap and well worth the investment! Diaper folds can be intimidating, but with a little practice and a Snappi they are no big deal. 

6.) 30ish Cloth Wipes - The cheap flannel wipes are what I started with. Six months in and they are still going strong. If you're really crafty you can even make your own. I'm not crafty. So I bought some. 

That's it. Really. With those items you can cloth diaper your baby full time and never look back. If I could talk to my pregnant self this is exactly what I would tell her to start with. Pregnant me was terrified of flat diapers. Now? I love them. Along with about 15 other cloth diapering options. Ahem.