Cloth diapers, will ship

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Little Brother is potty training and I am unloading my cloth diapers. All are usable, but their condition ranges from "excellent" to "has holes but still works."

Here's the full description: http://denver.craigslist.org/bab/4646508387.html

*EDIT*--many of these have been sold. Updated list at http://community.babycenter.com/post/a52310446/destash--bg_kawaii_flips_prefolds_and_more

Am willing to send pictures. Will ship for free if you order $40 worth of stuff, otherwise I will charge a flat $5 for shipping. I take PayPal and have sold on the BabyCenter cloth diaper swap, so if you're a member there, I can send you a link to my feedback.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

If it's easy to get to and the cost is reasonable, I don't see why not. Especially if it's a top-loading machine; those are actually better for cloth diapers as they like a lot of water. I cloth diapered two children with an outside cellar laundry, and that was tricky--I would dash down there while the kids were eating breakfast or sleeping or whatever. But if you just have one, you can strap baby to your front or back (a good carrier is worth its weight and gold) and head to the laundry. (FWIW, this is what I did when I was nine months pregnant and had a sixteen-month-old, almost up to my due date--I just buckled that thing under my enormous belly, and down the stairs we went.)

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Hypothetically, sure. But your situation does present some challenges.

As a general rule, you want to wash every other day. I have often bent that rule, but one does pay in odor. The trick is that you have to run two cycles! You have to do a rinse cycle (or quick wash, as I used to do when I had a front loader) and then a full wash--with extra rinse. Which obviously could get pricey.

So I'm going to refer you to the BabyCenter cloth diapering board (let me know if you have trouble finding it). You're bound to find someone on there with a solution. Something else to consider would be using as much cotton as possible. It is less prone to odor than are microfiber and hemp and it can even be used to stuff pocket diapers. And you would definitely want to avoid all-in-ones with a front loader.

Hope that helps! You know where to find me if you have more questions :-).

[deedeezee]

Jumping in in case it is helpful! (I keep an eye on used diaper sales bc I eventually have to unload mine)

I used AIOs and had a front loader and did my wash every 3 or so days.  I used PlanetWise wetbags and zipped in between changes. Odor wasn't too bad!

I did one rinse load and a "sanitize" cycle (setting on my machine), with extra rinse.  I do think with the first baby, and your first cloth diaper experience, that AIOs or easy hybrid/pockets are a good way of "trying it out."  Just my two cents, though. I started with AIOs/BumGenius "Flips" hybrids (they make organic cotton inserts, disposable inserts, and microfiber), then pockets, then added cotton with wool longies (knitted pants).

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

$10 a month for disposables is not possible. The math on your link doesn't add up. 8 diapers a day, for instance, even at twenty cents a diaper--which is hard to find and definitely less than my Costco--is $48 a MONTH, not $174 a year.

Disposables might be better, yes, but let's use more accurate numbers!

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Those giant boxes are roughly a one-month supply for an older baby. Honestly, I would probably use disposables in your situation unless it was really hard to get to the trash :-). FWIW, Target or Walmart diapers are cheaper than Costco and I have found them totally acceptable.

[deedeezee]

I echo FP - $10 a month is definitely, positively, not possible.  I have access to Costco and loads of diaper sales/coupons, and it is just not possible.  According to Costco, size 1-2 is $0.15 per diaper, 3 and 4 are $0.19 and $0.22, respectively.  (I should add this doesn't include wipes)

Also, I would avoid an assumption that Kirkland will work.  They probably will!  But each kid is different - my DD (who was almost entirely disposable diapered) could only wear certain brands or she would break into a rash. 

If this is your first, I would encourage you to start off with disposables and then just see how you feel after the first month. Those are pretty much the worst months with cloth anyways (newborn diapers are ... ick).

[deedeezee]

ok, that makes sense mathwise.  sorry if I read too quickly!

You can definitely look into diaper sales pre-baby and stock up on a few spare packs.  Again, those newborn diapers are pretty yuck - I admit I used disposables for the first 1-2 weeks because I didn't want to recover from the baby AND deal with meconium on the cloth diapers.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Sorry, read too fast. Yeah, I bought an occasional pack of disposables.

[mrsggrowsveg]

I would probably be interested in your Bum Genius diapers.  I just retired half of ours because they wore out.  Are any of the other ones all in ones like Bum Genius?  That is the only kind I have so I'm not familiar with other brands.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

These aren't the all-in-ones; they are pockets. You take the stuffing out before washing and put it back in afterwards. The Kawaiis work similarly, but the inserts they come with aren't as large.

You don't say how old your little one is, but if s/he's up and walking, you might want to think about mixing in some cotton so s/he learns what it's like to feel wet.

I just uploaded photos to Photobucket: http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/jholcomb421/library/?sort=3&page=1

[Primm]

Looks like disposables are the winner here, unless I'm missing something.

Like an imperial fuck-ton of landfill.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Looks like disposables are the winner here, unless I'm missing something.

Like an imperial fuck-ton of landfill.

Well, yes, but FWIW disposables have their defenders as far as water usage and detergent pollution and so on. And I'm not going to guilt-trip someone who would LOSE MONEY using cloth diapers. They are a crap load of work (no pun intended). Think how much landfill space would be saved if everyone who would SAVE MONEY used them--but the huge vast majority of those people, like two friends of mine who are SAHMs with their own washers and dryers, do no.

And she also hopes to potty train early, which makes a big difference. I added it up in a blog post once:http://frugalparagon.com/2014/07/15/potty-training-frugality/

[sheepgetlambs]

FWIW, DH is in the paper industry. The cheapest of the cheap disposables available today are "yesterday's" top line name brands. Target's Up and Up brand are high quality and generally cheaper than most other stores.

I used cloth diapers for both kids, with some disposables mixed in. I could wash less often because I had lots of diapers AND I used a big pail filled with water to soak. It was the kind used to dispense drinks to a crowd (found it at the Container Store). Once a day I balanced it on the edge of the toilet (seat up) and let it drain. Then I refilled it with cold water from the tub plus a splash of vinegar. Rally cut down on the smell. Also, line drying in the full sun kills stains and odors.