Cloth Diapering Plunge

I think I'm going to take the plunge into cloth diapering.  I briefly mentioned the possibility a few weeks ago. And a couple friends are probably laughing because I've been 'thinking about it' since I was preggo.

[Disclaimer: this post has some boring budget breakdowns & mentions poop.]

One reason I had decided not to do this earlier was because Miss Adelyn is a serious pooper. We used to do prunes in the morning, but she would poop 4-5 times a day!! Off of prunes, on a pretty regular formula/ solids diet, she is down to 1 (sometimes 2) times per day.  4-5 times a day with a poopy diaper didn't seem worth the switch over to cloth.

But now that her intestines are less enthusiastic, AND our local kids resale store has bum genius at $4 a pop AND I'm almost out of disposables at home, I started thinking about it again.

Our sweet girl is a heavier wetter (meaning more diapers per day)ever since we switched to formula. [More about that another time.] As I did the cost breakdown, it seemed like a no-brainer for our student-loan-living budget.

Here's why.

She uses 5 diapers per day minimum. (This girl produces some serious wet diapers at night so we use size-up huggies snug n dry overnight and I do not plan to change that.) I've been ordering diapers on diapers.com which seems to be slightly discounted. Also, we now live in Boston without a car, so lugging a box of 200+ diapers either on my bike or in the stroller doesn't sound like loads of fun - especially through the snow, which I hear we might get some of this winter... At the price I've been getting them it's approximately $.23 per diaper x 5 per day (minimum) = $1.15 per day.

Even if she is perfectly potty trained on her 2nd birthday, we still have 478 days of diapering to go.
At $1.15 per day, that's $549.70

But wait.

Our local kids resale store just took in a ton of bum genius 4.0 diapers (seemingly the most popular brand on the market) that are in GREAT shape. They are selling them for $4.00 each.

FOUR DOLLARS. 

We have an in-unit washer/dryer that is apartment sized, so I do laundry every couple days anyway. And it's unlimited included already in the cost of our rent. So water cost isn't really a factor.
I was thinking 15 would be a nice number. (Wash every 2 days, but still have enough for that day while the others are in the wash.)

$4 x 15 = $60.00

Plus, I think I'll get flushable inserts & probably put at least one in per day before her morning nap, which usually ends with a lovely 'present.' $8 for a box of 100 on amazon. If I have to buy 8 boxes of those over the next 16 months, that's $64.

So far, our total is $124.

Okay, so for Addie, we're only saving $425.

Not that much money in the grand scheme of life.

But wait, again.  We'd like a few kids. Somewhere above 3 and under 10. ;) ;)

Let's say we can use these diapers for 2 more kiddos after Adelyn, starting at age 3 months.

That's 640 days of diapering per kid.
1280 days for 2 kids.
At $1.15 per day.

$1472 to diaper 2 more kids from 3 months to age 2. 
Plus the $425 from Addie.
Now our total is $1897 saved.
And maybe we'd be able to use them on a 4th... I don't know how long they last.

Lord willing, $1897 would be a doable amount to spend on diapering over the next couple years.
I am so so so thankful that we are not in a place where we literally HAVE to cloth diaper to make ends meet.

On the other hand, with the flushable liners, no-smell pails, and in-unit washer/ dryer, the hassle factor is very minimal for me. I recently picked up a couple at the resale store I mentioned and haven't minded them at all. It feels almost the same as regular diaper-changing. In fact I would be happy not to have to empty the diaper genie (or beg Ben to) or remember to order more diapers.

And for basically no hassle, doing something I don't mind doing, I could think of other ways to spend the $1897.

Like saving for a car. Or a downpayment.
Or new shoes.
Or all the many children's books I dream of adding to our library.
Or fabric.
Or amazing handmade gifts for all my friends.
Or Christmas.
Or missionaries.
Or finishing off those undergrad loans.
Or putting a tiny debt in the grad loans.

Plus, there's the cute factor of a cloth-diapered bum.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll share a picture with you once we are fully cloth diapered over here.