How to Save a Ton of Money Using Cloth Diapers

There are a few sources that debate if cloth diapering really saves you money when you account for the detergent, water and electricity used in washing them. And good for them looking deep into it! I appreciated it.

Cost Comparison: Disposable Diaper vs. Cloth Diaper

A part of this comparison hinges on what disposable diaper you choose to compare to cloth diaper costs. In this article, they estimate each disposable diaper at 25 to 30 cents each but many eco friendly baby diapers are more in the 35 to 50 cents each range. This difference can seem small in cents, but is up to double in spending and adds up over months and years. Encouragingly for cloth diapers in my research, it was unanimously agreed that cloth diapers DO SAVE YOU MONEY in a compound way vs. using disposable (aka: a snowball effect of money being saved) when used more than one year and definitely when used for more than one baby.

The Upfront Cost of Cloth Diapers

Another part of the savings debate is the upfront cost of cloth diapers. To begin cloth diapering you need about 24 cloth diapers (here is the full list of what you will need). Depending on the brand, 24 cloth diapers will cost:

$150 – $500

Maybe you can only afford the cheaper end. I say go for it. In my opinion, that in itself saves you money and you will end up saving money even in the first year, and hopefully those diapers last even longer than a year of wear. Maybe where your diapers are made really matter to you and you want a diaper made complexly in the USA, for example. I featured multiple brands of cloth diapers a the bottom and listed where they are made. I encourage you to explore your options!

If your budget allows, however, I might consider some of the more expensive brands but high quality diapers. I, myself, felt like I dove deep into some of these reviews and was driving myself a bit crazy trying to decide if I trusted those reviews and if I should get the cheapest option or invest and get the more expensive brand.

What won me over to try the more expensive brands: Thirsties and bumGenius?

Quite simply, my trust and love for MaMa Natural and her videos on cloth diapering. They were so helpful, I read every article she wrote on cloth diapering and so much more and ultimately, I trusted her and went with mostly bumGenius diapers. I AM SO GLAD I DID.

I love my bumGenius Original One-Size Pocket-Style Cloth Diapers above all for multiple reasons – you can check out all my reasons here I am now a bumGenius fan and this is not even an AD! Though I still like certain qualities of Thirsties brand, use them daily and like that they are completely made in the USA, I wish I would have gotten solely bumGenius.

Don’t Forget Your Baby Registry

Ok, so how tempting is it to just load your baby registry with the most adorable little baby outfits – cute little bowties and suits and corduroy jumpers, ruffles and headbands and dresses galore! It was a bit overwhelming knowing what to choose to out on a baby registry, even though it is such a wonder to have friends and family that want to gift you items and celebrate this little life! That’s why I posted my registry and tips for you to follow right here. You will see, cloth diapers are a whole section.

I was gifted 100% of my cloth diapers and ALL other needed items for cloth diapering. (THANK YOU wonderful grifters!!! You’re a Godsend. Literally.)

That’s right, 100%. My upfront cost to cloth diaper was $0.

Prioritize your top essentials for cloth diapering on your registry! Even though it’s tempting to load it with cute clothes and muslin swaddles! Here are my Top Ten Essentials for Cloth Diapering. Consider simplifying your registry so that these items stand out or at least star them as must-have items!

Buying Used and Selling Used Cloth Diapers

Though these diapers go through a lot of crap – literally and figuratively, they can stand up to it and can even be RESOLD. Say what?!

There are lots of options when it so comes looking for used cloth diapers. An adorable shop near me sells both new and used cloth diapers. Try looking locally on Facebook Marketplace, asking people from a community you are a part of, Poshmark, Mercari, eBay and other online secondhand stores. I see a bumGenius cloth diaper lot (my favorite cloth diaper) for $75 on Poshmark right now, but often I see a lot for more around $200, which is still a deal for that brand!

Ok, I know buying a used cloth diaper feels different than buying a used pair of jeans. Maybe it’s not for you, but hopefully the seller has deep cleaned their used diapers so they are fresh and clean and you, of course, will want to deep clean them yourself before using them. See how to do that here.

I also realized that there are a number of families that initially choose to cloth diaper and even try it for a while, but find out it doesn’t fit into their lifestyle. That means a win for you because you can find barely used or even NEW cloth diapers for a fraction of the cost. Maybe you will sell your own cloth diapers one day and get back some of their initial cost. Some brands like Thirsties and bumGenius hold value because of their known durability! That’s one of my pros for each when I put them head to head in a comparison.

How You Wash and Dry Your Diapers Matters

As you can see in my Cloth Diapering 101, I only launder two loads of cloth diapers a week. I wait to wash them until I have a fuller load (about every three days) so that I only have to do two loads a week. This saves you time too! That equates to not adding that much of a cost to wash your diapers. This detergent also goes really far and is still an eco-friendly option.

I rarely did and now never dry my diapers in the dryer in order to save money and because sun drying them is amazing for getting stains out and is FREE! And when the suns not out or rain and snow make an appearance, I just hang them up on a drying rack either outside or in the basement.

Ok, but let’s get down to it.

What does it cost us to cloth diaper and how much do we REALLY save?

I used this nifty laundry cost calculator to determine how much it is to do a load of wash for us. Plus the cost of diapers and you have your rundown:

Cloth diapers (all gifted through our baby registry) = $0

Cost per load of laundry (hot cycle, extra rinse) = $0.29

Two loads of diaper laundry per week: $0.29 x 2 = $0.58

52 weeks a year: 52 x $0.58 = $30.16

Average Cost Per Year Cloth Diapering: $30

vs.

Average Cost Using Disposable Diapers: $800-$1,200

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Average Total Savings Per Year:

$770 -$1,170

(This doesn’t even include the savings on reusable vs. disposable wipes!)

Times this by the average three years until potty training and you’ve got yourself a Total Savings of $2,310 – $3,510 per child! Woo!

YAY! That’s a TON of Money Saved!

Wow. Be inspired and get out there and start saving wonderful amounts of money cloth diapering!

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Add these items to the must-have’s of your checklist or baby registry. Click any of the links above or pictures below to easily shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This can help me build up this site of wonder! Wouldn’t that be fun?!

My #1 Favorite bumGenius One-Size Pocket Made in USA + China	My #2 Favorite bumGenius One-Size All-in-One Snaps Made in USA + China	My #1 Favorite bumGenius One-Size Pocket Made in USA + China
My #3 Favorite Thirsties One-Size Pocket Snaps Made in USA	My #6 Favorite Thirsties One-Size All-In-One Hook and Loop Made in USA	My #4 Favorite Thirsties One-Size Pocket Snaps Made in USA
MY #5 Favorite Thirsties One-Size All-In-One Snaps Made in USA	My #5 Favorite Thirsties One-Size All-In-One Snaps Made in USA	My #3 Favorite Thirsties One-Size Pocket Snaps Made in USA

Explore More Brands of Cloth Diapers

Bambino Mio One-Size All-in-One Hook and Loop Made in United Kingdom	Bambino Mio 6 Pack One-Size All-in-One Hook and Loop Made in United Kingdom	Bambino Mio One-Size All-in-One Hook and Loop Made in United Kingdom
GroVia USA Brand Made in USA, Pakistan and China	Nora's Nursery USA Brand Made in China	Nora's Nursery USA Brand Made in China
Smartipants USA Brand Made in USA	Charlie Banana Hong Kong Brand Made in China	ALVABABY One-Size Pocket Chinese Brand Made in China
Kanga Care Rumparooz USA Brand Made in USA	Kanga Care Rumparooz USA Brand Made in USA	Kanga Care Rumparooz USA Brand Made in USA
OsoCozy Prefolds + Covers A Tried and True Old School Method of Cloth Diapering Made in USA AND THE most adorable:"Diapers sewn in the USA by stay-at-home moms and grandmas"	OsoCozy Orgnaic Fitted Diaper Made in USA AND THE most adorable:"Diapers sewn in the USA by stay-at-home moms and grandmas"	SmartNappy Hybrid Diaper Made in USA (Can Use Disposable or Washable Inserts)
MaMa Koala USA Brand Made in China	Haha Go Made in ???	Haha Go Made in ???