I had decided before I was even pregnant that we were going to cloth diaper. I'm a low-key crunchy mom, so I LOVED that we wouldn't be producing massive amounts of garbage. What I liked most about them, however, was that I could afford everything I needed to cloth diaper until potty training for not much more than we wound up spending on disposables when Bubba was a newborn. He hated being wet. Like there would be less than an inch of blue on the wetness indicator and he would be having a full blown meltdown. Our poor, precious peach couldn't handle moisture on his poor, precious peaches.
So we spent (I kid you not) almost $300 on diapers in his first month. I hadn't wanted to buy a whole newborn sized stash (and couldn't get downstairs to the laundry room after my c-section anyway), so we figured they'd be easier.
Now Bubba just turned 9 months old and he is in cloth diapers full time, except for at night because I was exhausted from changing him every two hours throughout the night. I can now literally change diapers with my eyes closed, though. So that's a skill. I guess.

Anyway. You didn't come here to listen to me ramble on. You came here to save money.
So here's how I got EVERYTHING that I use to cloth diaper for under $300:

Diapers:
I have a stash of just over 40 diapers. Before I had ever even touched a cloth diaper I was convinced that stuffing pockets would be the bain of my existence, but for my shower my friend Kirstie got me a 6 pack of Alva pockets. I love them and now my stash is made up almost entirely of them (I won't go into detail about what my other diapers are because I don't love them as much and don't want to bad mouth them). I don't find pockets annoying to stuff and now that I've done it so many times, I don't even think about it anymore. I bought two more 6 packs of them from Amazon for about $40 per set. Then I found a seller on eBay who gives an awesome discount if you buy in bulk. I got 20 diapers for $99.99!
So you can easily get 40 diapers with inserts for $200!



Wipes: I bought two packs of 24 baby washcloths for a total of $16 and they are awesome. They grip the ick really well, they're just the right size, and they've lasted super well. I kept a bin from some Huggies wipes that we got in the disposables days and it's still trucking. I fold them so that they will come out of the wipes container (like this tutorial). To make my wipes solution I use a capfull of rose water (for soothing and nice scent), a tiny squirt of 70% rubbing alcohol (to keep bacteria from growing in the wipes) and then I fill the bin to just past the little vertical lines at the bottom with regular tap water. I put my stack of wipes in and smoosh them down so they absorb the solution, then I flip them over and let gravity spread the solution through the rest of them.

Pail & liners: I got a large step garbage can from Wal-Mart for $15 and I use these liners I got for $11 (I have two) in it. It fits usually 3 days worth of diapers and I haven't noticed a stink except when I open the lid. I just take the whole bag out to the laundry, turn it inside out, and wash it along with the diapers, then put another one in the pail.

Travel: I carry a small stack of the same wipes with me along with a mist bottle that has the same solution as I put in my wipes bin in it and I just spray the cloth. I got this set of travel PUL bags for $9.99. I just pop the dirt diapers and wipes in there while we're on the go, then toss them all in the pail when we get home.

Swimming: Yes, I even got swim diapers in that budget! I got these ones for $13 and they'll fit for aaaages.



Cleaning: I use Purex Free and Clear and have since day one. Since moving to Arizona where the water is much harder, I've started using Borax as a detergent booster and I've been using more Purex as well. For stains I use Buncha Farmers; my sister-in-law sent me a stick and this stuff is incredible. I ended up buying a big pack of them and I give them to my new mom friends as gifts. In stick form it works great, but I made a spray solution by grating it and dissolving it in hot water in a spray bottle and it's awesome and so much easier!


Rashes: the Grovia Magic Stick ($13.95) really is magic. We put it on every night after bath time just preventatively and Bubba has really only had one rash ever. It twists up like a deodorant stick, so it's not messy, and it smells seriously amazing. We're only about half way through the stick after 9 months of use, so it's totally worth the price, and it's one of the only CD-friendly rash creams I've found.

So your total cloth diapering setup comes to a total oooof (drumroll please):
$290!*

I mean... when Parenting.com says the average cost of diapers in the first year alone is $2448?? That's what I call savings.

Now, keep in mind that you're obviously going to have to buy detergent and pay for water. And it is time consuming (if you HATE doing laundry, cloth is not for you), so of course there's still an extra cost involved, but even then... this is just the more fiscally responsible choice (aren't you proud, Dad?)

Products mentioned:


*Doesn't include