When you bring home a newborn, you’re likely focused on two priorities: cutting down on time spent and trimming expenses.
We can’t give you back those lost hours of sleep, but we can show you how to reduce diaper costs by choosing cloth over single-use diapers.
There are several styles of cloth diapers, but this piece concentrates on two common types: pocket and prefold. If you’re curious about switching to cloth, here’s what you should know about these well-liked options.
We’ll also share tips on how to save money with cloth diapers.
Method 1: Pocket Diapers
I spoke with Kate Fenner, whom you might recall from the coupon-savvy features like This Mother Rarely Pays for Groceries. Here’s Her Couponing Strategy, about how she handles cloth diapering.
“I use what are called pocket diapers, ” Fenner said. “They fasten with velcro or snaps, and they’re as simple to put on as a throwaway diaper.”
A pocket diaper features a
Cleaning soiled pocket diapers is straightforward, as Fenner notes. “It’s very simple. Make sure the diaper isn’t overloaded with solids, and it goes in the washing machine like any other laundry. No specialty detergent is necessary — just use your usual laundry soap.”
Pocket diapers can also be dried in the dryer with your other garments, which makes cleanup as easy as tossing in a laundry load.
Wondering what to do with solid waste? When you change your baby, simply wipe or rinse solids into the toilet.
Some families use a diaper sprayer to blast waste into the toilet. If there’s a sizable mess, you can dunk part of the diaper to rinse it off. Then, place the diaper in awet baguntil laundry day.
“We keep a large wet bag in the nursery, and that’s where the dirty diapers wait until laundry time,” Fenner says. “For outings, we carry a small wet bag in our diaper bag. When we change her, the dirty diaper goes in and we zip it closed!”
How many diapers are needed? Fenner keeps around 30 pocket diapers for her daughter, which she considers typical for one child.
“They go through diapers much faster when newborn, so you might need to launder more often.”
Method 2: Prefold Diapers
Prefold diapers work a bit differently from pocket diapers.
Rather than inserting absorbent inserts into a water-resistant shell, with prefolds you fold an absorbent cloth around your baby’s bottom, secure it with pins or Snappis, and then add a waterproofdiaper cover. (Some parents fold the cloth and place it inside the cover before dressing their baby; do whatever feels easiest for you.)
The Eco-Friendly Family has a helpful photo tutorial of various folding techniques, if you want to see prefolds demonstrated.
My friend Kristina Darnell used prefolds for her two daughters, and opted to rent diapers from a linen-style service rather than buy her own.
“After comparing options, we chose a service that supplied prefolds and covers, with all laundering handled for us weekly,” she said.
The service delivered about 80 diapers each week, and all Kristina needed to do was fold, use and stash them in a wet bag. “At week’s end, you put the soiled diapers in a large bag on your porch, and the delivery van picks it up and leaves a fresh bag with 80 clean diapers.”
Yes, that means your infant is technically sharing diapers with other families using the service. But Darnell said this didn’t bother her. “The company laundered thousands of diapers. You may not get the identical 80 diapers back week after week, but they’re washed at very high temperatures, so it’s not a concern.”
Using a diaper rental service alsosaved time. The Darnells didn’t have to wash diapers themselves or remove solid waste — everything went into the pickup bag and back to the service for cleaning.
How to Save Money With Cloth Diapers
Both Fenner and Darnell agreed that cloth diapering can cost less than disposables.
Pocket diapers are roughly $7 each on Amazon, while prefolds run about $2 per piece and diaper covers cost about $5–10 each, totaling about $7–12.
How does that stack up against disposables? As Darnell noted: “A rough estimate for disposable diapers through a subscription like Amazon Mom would be about $0.16 per diaper, or $540.80 per year, before counting wipes, extra trash pickup and so on.”
That estimate covers nearly 3,400 diapers. Since most kids wear diapers for at least two years, disposable diaper costs could approach $1,100 just for the diapers themselves.
Compare that to cloth. Fenner said, “We spent roughly $200 on our whole cloth diaper stash, and they’ll certainly last until our daughter is potty trained, and might be reused for future children.” You’ll also need to account for wipes, detergent, wet bags and your water bill.
But to maximize savings, you’ll want to launder diapers yourself. Renting through a cleaning service adds extra expense. “Our first-year cost was about $1,118 for everything related to diapering, including wipes,” Darnell told me. For her, the time saved justified the price.
Here are some more ideas to save money on cloth diapers:
- Buy used. Marketplaces like Craigslist often list gently used diapers at low prices from families clearing out their stashes. Some parents “strip” used diapers before using them again, meaning they give them a deep clean. Fluff Love University offers stripping guidance.
- Local Facebook buy/sell groups are another solid place to find secondhand cloth diapers.
- Check retailers like Alvababy for discounted cloth diaper deals.
- Visit DiaperSwappers, a forum to buy, sell and trade used cloth diapers.
- If you sew, LittleHouseLiving explains how to repair worn diapers or make new ones from salvaged fabric.
There’s another notable saving many parents overlook. Children in cloth diapers often potty-train sooner than those in disposables, anecdotally. That can mean cutting six months to a year — or more — off diapering costs once they’re trained (or even longer if you practice elimination communication).
When your children are fully potty trained, remember to sell your cloth diapers to another parent to recoup some cash.
Your Turn: Have you tried cloth diapers? What was your experience, and what budgeting tips can you share with other parents?
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