Cloth diapering: Money in the bank

This week, NZ and I had to purchase our second pack of disposable diapers since we've arrived here in China. And, let the truth be told, Pampers and Huggies are just as expensive here as they are back home. Some things ARE cheaper here, but diapers are not one of them.We paid $20 for a 70 pack of Huggies.

If you remember back to this post, I was considering cloth diapering. In fact, I had started a trial run with the gPant system. My trial run has turned into a way of life. I find the gPant system so easy to use, and am happy with my choice to cloth diaper.

NZ initially seemed a little hesitant about it all, reminding me that "we can afford disposables"..and he was "more than happy to pay for them". But for me, being a cheapskate, and thinking cloth diapers are like totally adorable, and do-able, had to try them for myself.

Sal in his Gpants

But, here were are five months later ( I started cloth diapering at 7 weeks), and gPants are our primary diaper source. We do buy disposables, but use them only when out and about for more than a few hours, and at bedtime.

I'd say on a typical day, we use 1 to 2 disposables, and the remaining 7 or 8 changes are with cloth. Our kid pees A LOT. I was hoping for fewer changes as he ages, but he doesn't seem to be slowing down. Right now a 70 pack of diapers lasts us a little over a month, rather than only one week.

While at the store picking up the disposables this week, NZ stole my heart by exclaiming, "We really save a lot of money using cloth, don't we?". This got us to discussing just HOW much we're saving...and we came up with the following breakdown.

 (Breakdown is based on 10 diaper changes per day)

At $20 per 70 pack, and 4 weeks in a month, we're saving $60 per month using cloth for the bulk of our changes. Multiply that by 12 months, and we've got $720 more in the bank than we would have if we used only disposables.

We did luck out on the initial investment of the gPant system. I have a trade going on with my sister-in-law who also uses the same brand, as she has loaned me her mediums and I have loaned her my smalls. Sal's grandparents also gifted us 4 large Gpants, 12 soaker pads , 6 extra rubber snap in liners, and a few boxes of disposable liners, so NZ and I are really saving almost all of that $720 per year.  I have spent about $60 on the 3 small pants, 12 soaker pads and a box of liners. So to get really technical, we're saving about $660 per year after subtracting my investment.

I'd say if someone were to go out and buy the diapering system on their own, they'd be looking in the ballpark of $200-$250 to fit a child from birth to potty training age. I get by with 4-6 gPants, and 12 soaker pads for each size.

If Sal is to potty train between two and a half & three years old, we're looking at a savings of over $1,500- $2000.

That's money in the bank.

Makes washing poop out of diapers sound a lot more appealing now, doesn't it?