Clothonomics

Is it worth it?

If you're looking at cloth diapering from just an economic standpoint, how much money does it save?

This article suggests that using cloth diapers is like paying yourself $18/hour to do the diaper laundry, based on the amount of time it takes to launder diapers and the savings over disposables (She estimates 15 minutes every other day....I do mine every day and probably only spend 10 minutes per day on them, including the time it takes to fold them, put them away, and get distracted by The Fish several times).

I've seen other estimates that cloth diapers save anywhere from $1100 up.  It really depends on what kind of diapers you buy, and how long it takes your child to potty train.  Diapers range from the inexpensive (good quality prefolds like we use are about $2 each, plus the cost of covers) to all in one diapers which can be around $25 each (but they're REALLY easy and  REALLY cute!).

The more kids you reuse the cloth diapers on, the greater your savings, obviously.

By the way, the article estimates the price of cloth wipes at about $1 per wipe, but I think that's exaggerated.  If you have an extra flannel receiving blanket that you don't need, you have several cloth wipes.  You just need to cut it into squares, and if you're ambitious, topstitch two squares together to make it more substantial.  (I was lucky enough to have a sister and niece who did this for me, so mine cost me exactly nothing!)  Otherwise, go to your local fabric store and look in their remnant bin for flannel fabric or go to Goodwill and look for old flannel shirts.  You're wiping up poop with it, it doesn't have to be pretty.  :)