I am three months into cloth diapering, and I don’t want to say I know everything about it, but I do support cloth diapering, which has a positive impact on the environment. I’ve been told I am doing it wrong, I have had pee cover the baby and the bed while the diaper was on, I’ve had to clean tar-like poops with a scrub brush, but with all the negatives, I still see some incredibly healthy positives that make cloth diapering worth it.

Eighteen billion diapers fill our landfills in America, with an estimated 95% of parents using disposable diapers. It takes approximately five hundred years to decompose diapers in a landfill. Disposable diapers are convenient, but they are no easier to use than a cloth diaper, and the clean-up for a cloth diaper impacts the environment less in the long run.

Cloth diapers come in all styles and are comfortable and cute. They stand for environmental awareness and sustainability. While using cloth diapers on the run, you can discard the dirty ones in a trash bag within your diaper bag and clean them when you go home. Cloth diapers and children’s laundry can be washed every 2-3 days in small loads. Below is my cloth diapering process.

I started with Thirsty diapers for $139.50 for five and a cloth liner at twelve for $18 I place the liner inside the diaper and fit it to a newborn size (making it tight around the thighs.) I later upgraded to Pacific Neutrals seven for $65, which were cheaper, softer, offered more padding and protection. It also came with an insert to place the liner in, I use the Naturally Natures liner, which fits the Pacific Neutrals perfectly. You can get twelve inserts for $29. These bamboo inserts are more natural and sustainable. I still use all the diapers and inserts leaving me at seventeen and forty-eight inserts at $410. Last I got these very thin liners which I don’t personally use, but you can place this liner inside the diaper if the insert is in the insert pouch. This is for extra protection, but doesnt protect the diaper much from contamination.

The clean-up is as hard as you make it. I have two small plastic tubs I got at the dollar store. I fill the pink tub up with laundry, take it to the laundry room sink and fill the blue tub up with hot water. I add one cup of Oxi Clean Stain Remover or a tablespoon of bleach. While filling, I separate the clothing from the diapers and place any peed-in liners and diapers into the filling bucket. I put aside any diapers that are pooped in. I take the filled basket onto the top of the washing machine and place the dirty clothes into the pink bucket. Then I scrape all the poop off with a scraping tool into a lined trash can. I then use a dollar store scrub brush to scrub the diapers under hot water (be careful you don’t give yourself a shit steam bath, lol. I then place that into the blue bucket with the rest of the soaking diapers and inserts. I let it soak for over an hour, sometimes overnight, drain all the water, and wash it in the machine.

I feel like cloth diapering is rewarding. After throwing away so many disposable diapers, clarity came, and I realized the impact of cloth diapering on the environment. I think disposable diapers are great for travel and nights to prevent leakage. I highly encourage anyone traveling and using disposable diapers to dispose of them in trash cans and not to leave them out in the world. Have fun shopping for cloth diapers. Their styles are so cute! Be confident that what you’re doing has your baby’s and the world’s best interest in mind.