A reader commented on one of my posts about cloth diapers, wondering if cloth really are more economical than disposables. People choose one or the other for a variety of reasons – in our case we chose cloth because of the environmental impact, wanting to avoid chemicals next to our baby’s tush, and of course – frugality. I do all sorts of “green” things, but most of them are also cheaper than the non-green alternative, and diapers are no exception.
So I thought I’d break down the numbers, which I hadn’t actually done until now. Our son is 12 weeks old. Here’s what we’ve spent so far:
- $20 on used sheets and t-shirts at thrift stores. we also used hand-me-down receiving blankets that we got for free. And I had enough left over from the sheets to make a ring sling, so the actual cost for the diapers is even lower – but I’ll leave it at $20 for these calculations.
- $10 on a large container of all natural liquid detergent from Costco. We use it for all our laundry – it has no chemicals in it (the cleaners are all citrus based) and works great. I use two tablespoons for a load of diapers, and the container holds 1.56 gallons, so I think it last quite a while if I only used it for diapers.
- $6 on two large containers of vinegar. I’ve used up one since our baby was born, but I use vinegar for everything from cleaning toilets to conditioning my hair. For diapers, a container would do 42 loads (I use 1/2 cup in a downey ball for each load).
- $8 on two large bags of baking soda. I use this for everything too, so I’m not sure how long it would last if I were just using it for diapers. But I’m still working on the bag I bought before our son was born. I put about 1/2 cup of baking soda into the first wash cycle when I wash diapers. The second wash has the detergent and the vinegar. That’s all I use.
- Water costs $2.80 for 1000 gallons in our town. Our washing machine uses 40 gallons for a load, but I use the medium setting for diapers, so I’m going to estimate 30 gallons. I wash each load twice, so 60 gallons to wash a load of diapers, which I do about three times per week. That’s 180 gallons per week – which costs 50 cents. So in the 12 weeks that we’ve been washing diapers, we’ve spent $6 on water.
- Drying is free. I never use the dryer for anything anymore. We can’t have clotheslines here, but I have four drying racks (all came from thrift stores) and I use them to dry all our laundry, including diapers. I’m amazed at how well the sun bleaches stains out of the diapers. When I take them out of the washer, most of them still have stains. After a couple hours on a drying rack in the back yard, there are never any stains at all. It’s like magic – I love it!
So the grand total so far is $50. The detergent, vinegar, and baking soda I have now will last at least another four months, so the only extra expense we’ll have will be water, at about $2/month. I don’t know how much electricity we’re using to wash the diapers. Our total combined electricity/gas bill is usually below $100/month, even with the extra money we pay for wind energy. The usage comparison from this year to last year has actually shown a decrease in electricity usage, so the extra to run our washing machine and water heater a bit more is obviously not a lot.
Making our own diapers was a huge part of the cost savings here. But people who buy fancy cloth diapers can recoup most of their costs by selling them when they’re child doesn’t need them anymore (I went searching for used cloth diapers online before our son was born, and couldn’t believe how close in price they were to the new ones). If you’re not into sewing or buying fancy diapers, you could also buy inexpensive prefolds. Cloth diapers have become a bit of a trend lately, but there’s really no need to use brand name diapers – they’re just going to get pooped on anyway.
Anyway, I’m glad I broke this down and saw exactly what we’re spending. By the time our son is seven months old, we will have spent about $60 to keep him in diapers. I haven’t bought any disposables, but I doubt I’d be able to get 7 months worth for $60.
And to reward yourself for reading through yet another post about diapers, go check out Cake Wrecks. I promise you will laugh.
Kacie says
That’s really cheap! I’m glad it is working out for you.
Cloth diapering is the most frugal choice–as long as you have your own washing machine, I think.
I’m stocking up on disposables on sales, and so far I have about 540 diapers for about a nickel each.
Not as cheap, but it’s what we’ve gotta do :)
Kelly says
I bought my cloth diapers, all new. I spent about $500 on diapers that are one size and should fit my daughter until she is potty trained. I also made my own wipes for a very minimal cost. I do laundry every third day or so, so even considering the time, energy and water used to wash the diapers, I figure I should break even by the end of this year, before she is even a year old, and then not have to spend any money for future children on diapers. But even if I were to have multiple children in diapers at the same time, I wouldn’t need to buy too many more, just do laundry more often. You can find calculators online that figure out the cost of cloth vs. disposables. Buying brand new cloth diapers (yes, the fancy name brand..Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz) wasn’t the most frugal way to go, but in the end, I will still come out ahead. And then there is always the resale value. Cloth diapers really hold their value. I feel that along with breastfeeding, cloth diapers is one of the more frugal things I have done since having a baby. Don’t even get me started on all the very UNFRUGAL things I have bought!
Andi says
Thanks for doing this post, I have a coworker interested in cloth diapering when the time comes so I’ve been sending your posts to her!
and I love cake wrecks, too!
Frugalchick says
Thanks for the breakdown. Seeing the numbers motivates me to keep on sewing cloth diapers for my coming baby.
MP says
Hi
(I so enjoy your blog, which is why I come and comment so often.)
A few things you’ve not mentioned – your “green” diapers are awesome when you think about the “life cycle” cost and break down. First, it isn’t a product you are purchasing in expensive packaging (though the packaging is recyclable). Second, there is no gasoline/petrol used in the process of transporting the product from the mfg to the distribution center, to the market. Then, of course, the HUGE savings of not running out to just buy these because you “ran out.” And, most importantly, these aren’t going to sit in a landfill for many years to come.
Many people I know use diaper services – however, with the cost of gasoline, I’m certain it is not the most “green” of decisions.
My only concern is your water useage and the two-cycle approach. Although the water is cheap, it is sad to think of the hundreds of millions on this planet who don’t have safe drinking water. But, I guess there is no way around that – AND, the products you are using in your laundry are probably easiest on the sewer system you have.
Alissa says
I wanted to address the comment about the water usage. This is the most common rebuttle I get when I tell people I use cloth diapers, and I find it very frustrating. I think what people don’t realize is that there is a HUGE amount of water and electricity used to manufacture disposable diapers (which are manufactured 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!), not to mention all of the nasty chemicals used in the process, which pollute the environment (and, quite possibly, drinking water!). And then there is the packaging, manufacturing, shipping, plus the gas people burn driving back and forth to the store constantly, to buy those diapers. Additionally, I always find it bizarre that people only pose this argument in regard to cloth diapers. What do you do when your clothes get dirty? Do you wash them, or throw them away and get new ones every time? Which seems like the most environmentally responsible thing to do? Also, cloth diapers only add one load of laundry every 3 days. It’s really just a drop in the bucket (no pun intended!) compared to all of the other laundry that comes with having children. How ’bout dishes? If disposable was better, wouldn’t we all be eating off paper plates with plastic utensils, and using styrofoam cups? And simply “throwing them away” when we’re finished with them? (“throwing them away” is in quotes, because it’s a ridiculous phrase…that stuff doesn’t really go away, it goes to a place…called a landfill). Also, washing cloth diapers every 2-3 days uses about as much water as a potty-trained child would use when flushing the toilet. Yet no one questions why we allow our children to use the toilet! It seems we’re only concerned about the extra water usage while they’re in diapers. Also, we are very conservative with our water usage overall… and even with washing cloth diapers, I would dare say that we use less water overall than the average citizen.
Anyway, this was not specifically directed to the above commenter (who did note all of the other positives of cloth diapering!), but just a general response to all of the “but what about the water” questions that we cloth diapering moms get on a regular basis.
I think we should also note that Frugal Babe used recycled materials to make her cloth diapers – so she wasn’t even contributing to the manufacture of new materials in the process. Way to go, Frugal Babe. :)
FrugalBabe says
Thanks for all the feedback here. Alissa, I agree that we cloth-diaper parents probably use less water than most. It’s part of an environmental awareness that goes hand in hand with the decision to use cloth diapers. We’re constantly aware of our use of resources – water, gas, paper, etc. We xeriscaped our yard to cut down on water usage. I take 5 minute showers, and reuse water from rinsing veggies to water my garden.
neimanmarxist says
perhaps you could publish a little “diaper” guide? i would like to do this when i have a baby; it is far greener and cheaper than the alternatives and i commend your decision. could you explain- where you got the pattern, and what exactly the cleaning process is?
Frugal Trenches says
Great post! I read the other day that to diaper a child (including buying wipes) for 2.5 yrs (and a lot of kids in disposables are in for longer!) costs £1500 = $3000
FrugalBabe says
neimanmarxist, I used the patterns here:
http://www.geocities.com/mytafadhali/DiaperSewingTutorials.htm
Cleaning is pretty simple. I do two wash cycles – the first with cold water and about a half cup of baking soda. Then when that’s finished, I run another wash with hot water (cold rinse), about 2 Tbsp all-natural detergent, and a half cup of vinegar in a downey ball. When it’s finished, I hang them to dry on a clothes rack, and set them in the sun for a couple hours to bleach out the stains. We use a dry diaper pail, and wash diapers every other day. It’s much easier than I thought it would be.
Alissa says
Frugal Babe,
I love that diaper tutorial – is there an actual pattern to go with it? Or did you draw your own? (Looks like I’ll be sewing some newborn diapers soon… :)
FrugalBabe says
Alissa, We used a basic (shaped, but not fitted) diaper that I bought on craigs list as a guide. We made a paper pattern by tracing it and using the tutorial patterns as a guide. I just tried going back into the site I used (I’m sure there was a pattern there…), but it’s down right now. I’ll check on it later and see if I can find some more details. I’m sure your diapers will turn out beautifully! (and congrats on needing new ones!!)
Kelly from Almost Frugal says
Some of those cakes are REALLY SCARY! Did you see the baby cake? And the bride one? Aye, yaie, yaie.
Survival Supplies says
Yeah cloth diapers are a great way to go, stinky and laborious but still invaluable. Not to mention how much waste they reduce in the world.
NtJS says
FB-
Our little one is 6-1/2 months old. We ran the numbers last night with our Cloth Diapering spreadsheet and we would have spent over $700 on disposables by now. That’s over 2000 diapers!
Stefanie says
I really hope your blog is still around when I have kids. It’s totally inspiring and full of useful information, and I would probably be referencing it daily :)
Jeremy says
Wow! That is really amazing. I read in another of your posts that you spent a total of $100 in 20 months on cloth diapering. I am scared to tally what we have spent. We went the organic route at the beginning, which is definitely pricier. And when our daughter got those cute, chunky little legs, we had to find diapers that worked for her.
I will say that properly caring for all of our diapers and accessories will allow us to reuse or resell what we have.
Our journey has also included EC–elimination communication–so it has been a quest to find what works best for that. I am enjoying reading your blog!