How to Cloth Diaper for cheap – under $15

Want to start cloth diapering, but don’t want the big expense? Don’t worry, I’m gonna show you how to enter the cloth diaper world, with just $15.

Cloth diapering is supposed to save you money but now a days getting started is so expensive!

I have found the MOST EFFECTIVE and INEXPENSIVE way to start your CLOTH DIAPER STASH and am sharing all the secrets with you here.

There is so much information out there on cloth diapering that it begins to become overwhelming and most people just end up throwing in the FLOUR SACK TOWEL (pun intended).

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Why You Want to Cloth Diaper

1. Save Money
   • When first pregnant, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers mainly because of the savings. According to countless sources, including my own, you can expect to spend anywhere from $500 – $900 on disposable diapers just in your child’s first year of life!

2. Potty Training
   • Cloth diapers help with toilet training because they allow baby to understand when he has a dirty diaper. Disposables are designed to pull the moisture away from baby so he isn’t able to learn the difference between wet and dry.

3. Cloth Diapers are Better for Baby’s Skin
   • Sodium Polyacrylate is the chemical inside disposable diapers that keep them dry which is why people feel disposable diapers are better for baby’s skin. But if you change your baby’s diaper when needed, cloth diapers won’t cause a rash.
   • Most disposable diapers contain the chemical dioxin which is known to cause cancer in humans.
   • You can obviously choose a totally chemical free disposable diaper but the problem with those is back to my first point being that it will cost you a pretty penny.
   • A common question I get is “what if my baby is allergic to the cloth used in cloth diapers?”. At that point, you would just find a type of cloth that your baby isn’t allergic or sensitive to. You can change the material that sits against baby’s skin to whatever you feel is right for your child.

Cloth diaper inserts are ANY PIECE OF ABSORBENT CLOTH

For more info on cloth diaper inserts, click the video here.

4. (Good for Environment)
   • I have this one is parenthesis because it’s really hard to prove cloth diapering is better for the environment. Yea, you’re not throwing the diapers into the waste bin but you are having do an extra load of laundry which will then mean using more laundry soap and water. Then if you don’t line dry, you’re also using more electricity and gas to dry the diapers.
   • Most cloth diapers are made from cotton, which according to NWF.org, is a crop dependent on pesticides, even if you buy organic.
   • If you want to make sure cloth diapers are going to be better for the environment then you want to do these few things suggested by Standford Magazine.
     • (1) line dry line dry line dry. The biggest carbon footprint you’ll make when using cloth diapers is using the electric dryer so always line dry if you can.
     • (2) only wash if there are enough cloth nappies (another word for diaper) for a full load.
     • (3) reuse your cloth diapers for the next child.
     • (4) use an HE (high efficiency) washing machine.
     • (5) only wash the outer part of the cloth diaper when the lining is soiled.

Want to learn how to clean cloth diapers? Click here for a video guide.

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How to Start Cloth Diapering under $15

After 4 years of trial and error I found the perfect cloth diaper, with an unbelievable price tag.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to figure out what type of cloth diaper is going to work best for you. Espeically since terms like “all in one, all in twos, flats, prefolds, fitteds, pockets” and so many others are out there just slapping you in the face with more required researching. uuuuuuuuugh – No thanks bro.

Before I tell you my favorite cloth diaper cover, let me start by saying cloth diapering doesn’t have to be this cute baby trend.

We are here to save money and find an inexpensive alternative to disposables.

The 2 things you’ll need:

Since our goal for today is just to see if you even like to cloth diaper, you will only need ONE diaper cover and 1 pack of flour sack towels to get started. This should last you a full day because the covers only need to be changed if the side lining gets soiled .

Other than that, you would just wipe the inside of the diaper cover with a wipey and put it back on as if it were new.

1. Econobum Cloth Diaper Covers (also called liners or shells)

This is the material you see on the outside part that acts as a shell or protective case. They are a plastic type fabric and 100% waterproof to keep everything inside the diaper.

Econobum Diaper Covers are my go to for this because I have NEVER had a problem with leaks.

It’s pretty embarrassing when someone hands you back your baby because his cloth diaper didn’t do it’s job correctly and now your poor guest has a shirt wet with your child’s urine. *insert dramatic horror music*.

I was already the “weird mom” for using cloth diapers on my baby instead of getting with modern times and using good ol’ dependable disposables. So when people are already doubting your methods and then they have proof as to why your method is not gonna work, it makes it all even worse.

Lucky for me, I had my husband’s 100% support and comedic personality to always turn things around and make it go from horror to hilarious.

Now trust me when I say, I’ve tried a ton of different brands. Top name brands, knock off brands, even home made cloth diaper makers but all of them failed the leak test.

Econbum Diaper Covers go for $12 a piece but you also get the option to choose from their “seconds” collection which are marked down to $10 a piece – no added tax either.

Don’t be fooled by the title “seconds” because that doesn’t mean second hand. It just means there is something imperfect about the diaper so the company doesn’t feel they should be sold at full price. I have purchased most of my cloth diaper covers as “seconds” and I cannot find any differences between the full price ones and marked down ones.

Even better, they’re an all-in-one size option! They can adjust to fit like a size 1 disposable diaper, all the way to a size 4.

click one of the links below to take you directly to Econobum Cloth Diaper Covers.

Econobum Diaper Covers $12

Econobum “Seconds” Diaper Covers $10

2. Flour sack towels

The second thing you’ll need are cloth diaper inserts. This is the fabric that will be touching baby’s skin and will soak up all the urine.

As I said before, cloth diaper inserts are ANY ABSORBANT PIECE OF CLOTH.

So you can use anything from flannel, to microfiber, to cut up blankets, or even old ripped up shirts. It all just depends on what will ultimately work best for your mindset and your budget.

Now that we got that out of the way, my favorite inserts to use are plain old flour sack towels. They are my secret ingredient to making the perfect cloth diaper concoction.

What makes flour sack towels so great? Lots of things!

• they are thin enough that they dry super quick, especially if you rather line dry all your clothes.
• they are easy to find at your local convenience store. Whenever you’re out shopping, just go to the kitchen section and there they’ll be, conveniently waiting for you to pick them up.
• they fold into whatever shape you want them. Example: for my boys, I would just fold the towels up into a rectangle but for my girl I would fold them up to have more of the cloth towards the front.
• cost. on top of everything else, flour sack towels are inexpensive. Depending on where you purchase them from, you’re looking at paying .75 cents to $1.25 per piece.

click one of the links below to take you directly to some flour sack towel options.

Target Flour Sack Towels $4/pk of 4

Walmart Flour Sack Towels $4.47/pk of 5

Amazon Flour Sack Towels $16/pk of 12

Click the video below to see how to fold a flour sack towel & get an up close look at the Econobum cover.

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