The Finances of Cloth Diapering

We have a HUGE factor working against us when it comes to cloth diapering.

We live in an apartment with no washer/dryer hook ups. So, if we are going to do laundry we have to pay an arm and and leg to wash in the little laundry room downstairs or cart all of our dirty clothes to the laundromat. I thought for sure this would put an end to our cloth diapering adventure before it had even started.

Thankfully, I have smart friends and new blogging friends who walked me through the cloth diapering decision. Here are some of the questions I asked, the research I did, and the links I found most helpful while diving into all of this.

1. Since we lived in an apartment with no washer/dryer, would a cloth diapering service be an easier and cheaper way for us to cloth diaper?
   
   The short answer: NO!
   The services I found in Dallas were Green Baby Diaper Service and Bluebonnet Diaper Service.
   
   Diaper services cost about $75-$100 per month, or $1,000-$1,200 per year.
   
   I could use disposable diapers for about the same amount of money. And, since we've already determined that I'm not really that green, just cheap, this was not a good solution for us.
   
2. Is it even possible to cloth diaper in an apartment with no washer/drying hook ups?
   
   The short answer: Absolutely YES!
   Somehow I came across this great blog that addressed my very question: The Accidental Pharmacist: Cloth Diapering in an Apartment. She explains exactly how she cloth diapers without a washer/dryer, why it works for them and even the cost behind the process.
   
   
3. Would cloth diapering with no in-house washer/dryer be cost effective for us?
   
   The short answer: NOT REALLY
   I'll admit - I was totally overwhelmed at how to even calculate this. It almost made me throw my hands up and say HUGGIES!
   
   Enter my new blogging friend, Kacie, to the rescue. She has a great financial blog called Sense to Save and addressed my issues specifically here: "Is it cost-effective to cloth diaper if you have to pay per wash?"
   
   Factors to be considered:
   
1. the number of disposable diapers a child goes through before being potty trained
   Newborns use 10-12 diapers a day, while infants/toddlers use 6-8 diapers a day
   Average child uses 8 diapers a day before being potty training~3,000 in one year, so 6,000 diapers total if you potty train at two years old
   
2. cost of disposable diapers & wipes$45 for XL case of Pampers (252 diapers)
   $.1785 per diaper
   $1071 total for two years of Pampers diapers
   
   $12 for case of Huggies wipes (360 wipes)
   .0333 per wipe
   $292 total for two years of Huggies wipes (using ~12 wipes a day)
   
   
3. cost of purchasing cloth diapersTwo 12-pack Bum Genius 4.0 = $406.80
   (we'll talk about brands and types of cloth diapers coming up!)
   
   
4. number of loads and cost of laundry to wash cloth diapersOne load of diapers = $2.50 for one wash and one rinse
   Hang dry = FREE!
   Wash three times a week = $7.50 per week
   $780 total for two years of washing diapers

THE BOTTOM LINE: Disposable diapers will cost about $1,400 for two years, while cloth diapers will cost about $1,200 for two years.

I was ready to throw in the towel and stock up on Pampers, but then I realized that I'd start seeing the savings BIG time when we finally got our own washer/dryer AND when we used the same diapers on our second child. 

And there you have it. We decided. Even though it would be a little extra work to cloth diaper in our apartment we were going to try it out.

So, up next, what kind of diapers did we get, how do we wash them, and more!

Need some more resources? Check these links out:

• Tiny Tush: Save Money with Cloth Diapers
• The Natural Mommy: Reducing the Cost of Birthing and Babies - Part 2
• Baby Cost Calculator
• CostHelper

Miss the first posts in the "cloth diaper" series?

1. Why Both With Cloth Diapers