Cloth Diapers - Adventures in Budgeting

When I found out I was pregnant with Little M I decided to find a way to save on disposable diapers or cut them out entirely. Not long after that I learned about cloth diapers and how to use (and wash) them properly. The problem I ran into was how to get around the high cost of cloth diapers. I know that at $15 dollar a pop you are still saving money in the long run but I did not (and still do not ) have $300 to drop on name brand cloth diapers. I did some searching and found some great deals on eBay (I ended up going with the Happy Flute brand) but recently I realized that Little M would start eating solid food soon and the poop would not be the same. I needed an easy way to catch the poop and transfer it to the trash without having to get it off of the cloth diaper. So I began searching online and finally found these:

At $8 (regular price) for 105 liners it was definitely worth a try. You couldn't buy 105 disposable diapers for that price so this is an awesome deal. So I bought them and I tried them.... and I LOVED them. Now that Little M has more solid poops, I can use these and not have to worry about scraping a mess into a toilet and prolonging exposure to such wonderful smells or possibly ending up with an even bigger mess. Before I forget to mention it, I believe the cloth diapers cost me about $4.50 a pop (that includes one cloth diaper and 2 microfiber cloth inserts).
You can buy these liners here: gCloth liners

When it comes to washing the diapers I have had a lot of success with Charlie's Soap:

It does not take a lot to wash one load. I have been using the same tub for 6 months now and just now need to buy more. One scoop of this soap and a downy ball full of vinegar in cold water (if the diapers are lined with plastic like mine are) and they come out nice and clean every time. I bleach the inserts a couple of times a week. I would bleach the diapers as well but that would ruin the cute designs and no one wants that :) I always hang the diapers to dry but the inserts are OK to put in the dryer. I made the mistake of putting a few diapers in the dryer and learned the hard way that this will cause the plastic to separate from the diaper (then come the leaks). You can buy Charlie's Soap here: Charlie's Soap

I may be a little biased toward drugstore.com because I always find the best deals there. That could change one day though :)