Diaper Economics 101

Most moms I know in my day-to-day life use disposable diapers.  Moms that notice me changing my kiddo's cloth diapers eventually always ask, "what do you do with the poop?"... However, I've noticed that the most common response is, "I think they're great, but they're too expensive."
Okay moms!  When you go car shopping, do you buy the brand new $100,000 Lexus because you can make the payments or do you buy the $5,000 gently used Honda because you can pay for it all now and have no payments ever again?  Not that disposable diapers are ANYTHING like a Lexus.  Disposables are rough little peices of paper with toxic chemicals inside that we wrap around our baby's most gentle parts and call it good because we can afford the payments!  Okay... calming down now.
Let's get real.  You're concerned about the upfront cost.
There are some great low-cost options to start your stash out there!  If you could spare just $100, you could have enough cloth diapers to start today using Econobum (www.econobum.com) -- and this will get you all the way through Potty Training!  But... but... but... so you see all those moms out there using fancy AIOs and Pocket Diapers, and that's what you want too!  Start with Econobum, and spend $16/month on a cute or easier diaper rather than $40/month each kid on something you will throw away!  The other beauty of cloth is that you can use them again and again and again for every child!  If you were using disposables, Consumer Reports estimates that you will be spending $1,500-$2,000/year for EACH CHILD on disposables!  You can even find many great deals on gently used cloth diapers if it doesn't bother you to use another family's diaper.  They all get washed anyway!  Another great option for low income families is the Cloth Diaper Foundation (clothdiaperfoundation.org) where you can apply to get started for just shipping!  The Cloth Diaper Foundation will send you enough gently used cloth diapers to get started while you build your stash.  When you're done, you just mail them back!  Alright, now let's pretend for a moment that you just found out you were pregnant -- let's even pretend it took 2 months to figure it out!  That leaves you 7 months to save for diapers.  I spent about $40/month each kiddo on my children for disposables back in the day (and I have 2 in diapers, so start multiplying).  If you put $40/month away for 7 months, you would have a really nice stash of cloth diapers!Okay, okay, so I've convinced you that you can afford the diapers!  But what about the extra water and detergent costs.  I'm going to have to wash these things!  I'm sorry, but having kids means you're going to have to wash a lot of extra cute little things anyway!  The moms at Cottonbabies.com say it costs them an extra $3/week to wash diapers once a week.  However, I'm going to guess most moms wash every 3 days, so we'll bump that to $6/week.  Not too bad.  I've actually never noticed the extra cost myself.  I buy laundry detergent anyway, and $6/week split between your water and heat bill, you'll never notice.And you have to admit, that warm fuzzy feeling you get when your kiddo's diaper matches his/her outfit AND is helping the planet AND you know it's chemical free AND your saving money!... now THAT is priceless! ... well, the price is at least LESS!

If you are new to cloth diapering, here are some great links:Getting Started...The Cloth Diaper Foundation: clothdiaperfoundation.orgDiaper Companies...
Econobum: Econobum.com
BumGenius: BumGenius.com
Kissaluvs: Kissaluvs.com
Nifty Nappy: NiftyNappy.com
Apple Cheeks: AppleCheeks.com
Bum Essentials: bumessentials.com
EnviroBum: EnviroBum.com
GroVia: Gro-Via.com
Fuzzibunz: FuzziBunz.com

Cloth Diaper Stores...
Cotton Babies: cottonbabies.com
Diaper Junction: diaperjunction.com
Kelly's Closet: kellyscloset.com
Eco Baby Gear (Portland): ecobabygear.com

Laundry...
YoreGanics: yoreganics.com

Information...
Real Diaper Association: realdiaperassociation.org


(PS- Sorry for all the written out web addresses, the Link option on Blogger doesn't seem to be working this morning) Tweet This

Content Planning

Here is a rough outline of my book content so far... imagine it via photography of course!

1. History of Diapering
.....a. Different Cultures
.....b. Invention of the Disposable
2. Health Concerns
.....a. Toxic Chemicals
.....b. Baby's Health (Rash, Athsma, etc.)
3. Environmental Concerns
.....a. Landfills
.....b. Water
4. Economical Impact
.....a. Cost Comparisons
.....b. Impact on the Business World
5. Cloth Diapering Today
.....a. Types
.....b. Washing
.....c. Hospitals & Daycares
.....d. Traveling Tips
6. Cloth Stories (Moms, Companies, Activists, Organizations) Tweet This

Portland Tribune Newspaper Article

A re-vamp of the Gresham Outlook's newspaper article has now been published in this month's Sustainable Life section of the Portland Tribune Newspaper!  Yay!  This newspaper will get an even larger market of people to learn more about cloth diapering!  Baby steps... baby steps... I love it!  Also, I'll be teaching another Cloth Diapering 101 class next month at Eco Baby Gear in SE Portland.  Just more wonderful ways to spread the word!  "Nobody likes change, except for babies in diapers!"

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For The Love of Links!

Hey everyone! The compilation begins. I'm going to be collecting as much information via the web that I can over the next two weeks. So if you find any great links please post them in a comment in this blog! Things I'm especially looking for: information on any studies related to chemicals,health, and the environment and diapers of any type, hospitals that currently use cloth diapers, specific landfills dealing with diaper issues, history articles, groups or organizations for cloth, great stories about moms, etc. Thank you again for your help and support! I'm excited to start researching!

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Cloth Diapers in Hospitals Idea

Alright, so I've been brewing up some ideas about ways to both promote cloth diapering and help my "Dirties on Diapering" book project.  I've been especially excited about one idea that has been brewing in my brain lately.  I think it would be awesome to find some cloth diaper companies interested in donating some cloth diapers of any kind to a "Newborns in Cloth" project.  I go to the very well known Children's Hospital at Emanuel here in Portland, Oregon every week for my daughter's occupational and speech therapies.  I though it would be fun to make packages for nurses to give new moms as gifts that include one cloth diaper, a packet of informaiton about cloth diapering, and a free newborn photo shoot by me in the cloth diaper they receive!  I would of course get a model release for shared rights with the company that donated the diaper so that they get the photo in return for donating the diaper.  I wouldn't be making any money, but would at least be creating some awareness!  Also, I am adding a donation button to my webpage here to my paypal account for the project.  However, note that this is no longer through Kickstarter, so it is a donation only and nothing more.  The reward is simply helping more mamas choose cloth diapers, and in return helping our earth, baby's health, and even parents!  This way might be slower than having all of the funding up front, but I am excited to do this project no long how long it takes!  And I'll keep everyone up to date on any and all progress!  Thank you again for your support, and I'd love to get your feedback on my recent idea! Tweet This