Laundry money used to mean finding $4.23 in Brad's pants before tossing them in the wash, but now it has a whole new meaning to me. Every time a unload a wet bag full of dirty diapers into my washing machine, I get a warm fuzzy feeling and see dollar signs floating in front of my head.
I was going to take a nap with the kids today because, let's face it, I NEED one. But, instead I sat down and figured out my diaper savings. I looked through all my PayPal transactions and added up how much I have spent. Then, I did some math to figure if this is all worth it. :) :) :) By the way, this is the one year anniversary of me joining Diaperswappers.com and buying my first cloth diaper! Here it goes...
I used Pampers for Jocelyn which averaged $0.26 each, but sometimes I bought bargain brands. So, for the sake of my math I am going to use $0.22 per diaper so y'all don't think I'm trying to make it look like I'm saving more than I really am. ;)
Jocelyn (June 2009 to January 2010)
average 6 diapers per day @ $0.22 = $1.32 X 30 days = $39.60 X 7 months = $277.20
Jocelyn (January 2010 to June 2010)
average 2 diapers per day (nap and bed time) @ $0.22 = $0.44 X 30 = $13.20 X 5 months = $66.00
The past year of using disposable diapers for Jocelyn would have cost approximately $343.20.
Sam (October-November 2009)
average 10 diapers per day @ $0.22 = $2.20 X 30 days = $66.00 X 1 month = $66.00
Sam (November 2009 - February 2010)
average 8 diapers per day @ $0.22 = $176 X 30 days = $52.80 X 3 months = $158.40
Sam (February 2010 - June 2010)
average 6 diapers per day @ $0.22 =$1.32 X 30 days = $39.60 X 4 months = $158.40
The first 8 months of diapering Sam with disposables would have cost approximately $382.80.
$726.00 is how much we would have spent on diapers in the past year. (not including wipes)
Now, I have added all of my pay pal diaper spending up and gotten a total of $692.74. Yes, I got a little carried away from this time last year when I told Brad I would only need $400 for all the diapers we needed (which wasn't a lie, I just WANTED more). This amount INCLUDES more than enough extra small, small, medium, and large diapers to get my current children and any future children from birth to potty training (over 80 diapers). This ALSO includes over 150 inserts for these pocket diapers (hemp, bamboo and microfiber absorbent mix and match fabric inserts). This ALSO includes materials that I purchased to make my own diapers (fabrics, snap press, snaps, elastic, thread). This ALSO includes the wet bags that I bought to store soiled diapers(in the house and in the diaper bag). This ALSO includes the cloth wipes and heiny spray that I have purchased recently and started using at home AND on the go. This ALSO includes cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories that I have purchased for friends (because I am too lazy to do the subtraction). This EVEN includes all shipping and handling charges incurred whilst buying these things online. This total of $692.74 includes ALL cloth diapering related things that I have purchased in the last 365 days. I have even resold a few that didn't work for me, and I have not subtracted that number from the total I have spent...so this number is quite inflated. :)
Now, in addition to the $692.74 spent on cloth, I have also spent about $30 on disposables. I used newborn sposies for the first two weeks with Sam, and I bought some for Sam and Jocelyn when we traveled back to California for my brother's wedding in December. So let's say the total I have actually spent on diapering altogether (minus wipes) in the past year is $722.74.
So it seems that my cloth diapers were paid off this past weekend! Strange timing, huh? So far I have saved a whopping $3.26 by cloth diapering!!! Of course this is excluding the money I have made back on selling items, and the money I am starting to save by using cloth wipes. But hey FROM NOW ON every time I use a cloth diaper I will be saving a quarter (roughly). This time next week I will have saved $12+ more dollars, and next month I will have saved $50. Even if Jocelyn were to never wear another diaper and Sam was potty trained at exactly 2 years (not holding my breath for that one) I will have saved almost $700. And that is not including future children! If we have two more kids, and both of those kids are magically potty trained on their 2nd birthdays, we will still save at least $3000 on diapers, even if I buy disposables for vacation once a year. The cloth wipes just add to the savings.
I'm not saying that cloth is financially lucrative for everyone. It is definitely NOT! Some people buy all new diapers, and it would cost AT LEAST $2000 for a stash like mine if bought new. If you have, and only plan on having one child, and you don't start cloth at birth, it might not end up saving you too much. You also don't need as many diapers as I have, and there are one size diapers that grow with the baby, so you would need significantly less diapers. The fact is that if it is done the right way (buying used and hunting for deals), you can still go nuts and get tons of cute diapers while SAVING a bunch of money. People with twins, more than one small child, or planning on more than one child should really consider this option as an investment.
So, it took a year to catch up with us but now the savings are going to pile up. I'm thinking about actually putting a quarter in a jar for every diaper I use from now on so that I have a tangible representation of my dedication to cloth! Can you say diaper vacation? :)
I thought I might add that I have yet to spend a single PENNY on formula. That might change very soon, so I thought I'd share my pride about my breastfeeding success while I still can! I know some people cannot do it for whatever reasons, but I am SO thankful that I have been able to make it work this time instead of just giving up at 6 months when my production started to dwindle (like I did with Jocelyn). Plus, I started supplementing Jocelyn with formula when she was 3 months old. Sam has never tasted it, which just means more money in my pocket!
Boob juice + cloth diapers = money in the bank!!! :)
