Fluff Talk Thursday- Cloth Diapering on a TIGHT Budget

Today I am participating in Happily Domestic's Fluff Talk Thursdays. The topic today is "Cloth Diapering on a TIGHT Budget", something I am getting to be very good at. I am on my 2nd kiddo in cloth, and started almost 4 years ago.  I have not bought a single new diaper for Sophie, since she was born and we are going on 2 years CDing with her. This is how I do it.


I knew I wanted to cloth diaper when I was preggers with Logan, my first. I chose to cloth diaper because I new that after Logan was born I would be switching from my well paying full time job, to a lower (umm..extremely lower)  paying part time job, and then with the birth of Sophie- no job at all.  Money was going to be tight with just the hubby's income.  I didn't want to have to worry about the weekly expense. I stocked up on cloth diapers while I still had the money.  The investment is well worth it in the long run!!!

Here are some tips on building your stash the cheap frugal way:

*If you know you want to CD when you are pregnant, and you are going to be having a baby shower thrown for you, find cloth diaper gift regestries. These can be found on most websites and some stores (I had gotten some from Walmart's online store).  Many of these stores even have new baby "starter" package deals. My mom and my sister got me my first set as a shower gift. The package came with diapers, a couple of covers, and inserts.

*Look for gently used diapers. At the time, they were sold on ebay. Today you can look on Craigslist or even put a request up on Freecycle. There are also several networking sites you can join that have cloth diapering communities where mommas are selling or trading pre-loved diapers. Check out Cafemom , DiaperSwappers, and the Mothering.com community forums.  Some online diaper shops even sell them. You can also check your local natural mom's maternity/baby store, as there are some that sell pre-loved, or hold Diaper Swaps.

* Which brings me to Diaper Swaps. These are great! At a Diaper Swap a bunch of mom's get together to sell or trade diapers that their kiddos have out grown.  This is also a great way to check out new diaper styles. And as a plus you get to meet some really cool moms.

*Shop Around. When I started CDing 4 years ago,  there were not that many cloth diapering brands out there. I could count on one hand how many brands there were to choose from. Today, there are so many options. There are inexpensive brands out there that work just as well, if not better than the popular ones. Actually, my favorite and best working diaper covers are the old school "rubber pants".  These contain night time leakage the best for us. The elastic around the legs and waist work well  on the kiddos that moves around a lot in their sleep. You can find them in multipacks for less than $10.

*Enter blog giveaways. I have added some great diapers to my stash this way!  Check out the blogs on my sidebar. Most of them hold cloth diaper giveaways.

*Make your own diapers, or search on Etsy for someone who does. I started making my own and never had to buy a new diaper! I have used old t-shirts, sweat shirts and pants, flannel nightgowns and old recieving blankest. Flannel material goes on sale at Joanne's all the time and I even found a store near me where all their material is $1.99 a yard! I have bought elastic and velcro in bulk off of ebay. Here are some diapers and inserts I have made :)

OK, now that you have a supply of clothdiapers, here is how to keep on budget:

 * Most importantly- CONTROL YOUR IMPULSES!! Those expensive, extremely cute, very soft looking diapers are JUST GOING TO GET POOPED IN!!  And unless you live somewhere warm, they will get covered up 99.9% of the time! When ever I feel myself getting the urge to splurge, I chant my mantra- "They're just going to get pooped in, no ones going to see them but me, my kiddo doesn't care" :)

*Repair worn out diapers and covers. Yes, I am that cheap frugal. I have replaced worn velcro on covers. I have even added new elastic to my stretched out Kissaluvs that are almost 4 years old and going strong!!

So that's how I  cloth diaper on a TIGHT budget. Make sure to stop by Happily Domestic to check the linky for more of Fluff Talk Thusday!