Due to the recent news coverage about low income parents, money stretched to the max, allowing their children to sit in wet or soiled diapers for an inappropriate length of time. If you’ve ever disposable diapered a child (I have) then you are acquainted with the extraordinary cost diapering a child can be. Some of you out there are amazing couponers and can purchase your diapers for fairly cheap, but the average low-income parent does not coupon or have the means to spend hours of their week researching the best deals. The news coverage talked about how some parents were going so far as to dump out the waste in the toilet and immediately reuse the diaper.
All this prompted the Flats & Handwashing Challenge to show people that cloth diapering with “flats” (see a definition here) and handwashing them (many low-income families don’t have regular access to inexpensive washing facilities) is a very feasible alternative to disposable diapering.
Here is one cloth diaperer’s experience with the challenge:
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2 dozen Swaddlebees flats – $15.95 per package of 6 flats
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1 Zabi Baby Bamboo Flat Diaper – $11.25 per flat
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2 Hemp Babies Flat Weeds Diapers – $7.50 per flat
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2 EcoFluff Bamboo Flannel Flat Diapers – $8.00 per flat
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1 Zookies Cover -$15.00
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1 Flip Cover – $13.95
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2 Thirsties Covers – $12.75 each
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1 Econobum Cover – $8.95
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I used Rockin’ Green Hard Rock ($15.95)
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and Eco Sprout ($13.98)
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1 Snappi – $3.95
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1 pair of gloves (to save my hands from getting…errr… too dirty)
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A portable drying rack from Ikea – $19.99
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A tub, water and my two hands!
If you consider most children are diapered for about 30 months this cost breaks down to just under $7 per month–less if you purchase cheaper covers and flats or if you make your own flats out of old sheets.
For our family, cloth diapering our son is the right choice for us. Would I use flats and covers and hand-wash if that was our only option for cloth diapering? Yes, I would. If it came down to buying disposables on a weekly basis or washing flat diapers every other day, I would definitely go with hand-washing cloth. I enjoyed using the flat diapers and learning the different folds – my husband enjoyed using them too! I’m so glad that I took part in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge -it was a wonderful learning experience to find out about a more budget friendly cloth diapering style and I am so glad I did it!


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