Nappies on a budget.

How to afford a set of cloth nappies when you’re on a budget?  Someone wrote to me recently about being able to afford cloth nappies. They really liked my designs and absolutely wanted to put their baby in cloth, but didn’t want to spend $30 on a nappy. I can relate: I felt like this too when I first started. Although I knew it would save thousands in the long run, it still felt like a lot of money to set up a full-time stash of cloth nappies. So here are some tips on how to save money while building your stash.

Just buy the shell.

You can buy Extremely Nappies without the inserts, and stuff them yourself.  Plain PUL would cost you $20, patterned ones $22.  You could stuff them with old hand towels, or a less bulky option is to get some cheap microfiber towels and fold them in 3.  You can always buy bamboo boosters later for $4 if you need to.

Have a baby-shower.

Everyone always brings presents to a baby shower (even if you tell them not to). If you ask for Extremely Nappies as gifts, you can get a full set of nappies from your closest friends. They’d spend the same money on the cute little suits anyway, which might only get worn a few times. The gift of a nappy is a gift that keeps giving: they’ll be used every day for years and save you money.

Old-fashioned terry toweling squares.

I started out with terry squares, and persevered until their limitations drove me to find something better (limitations such as they don’t last overnight after a certain age, leakage onto all the clothes…etc).  Sometimes you can pick up terry squares at op-shops for dirt cheap, which is better than buying them new as cotton is such an environmentally damaging crop. You’ll need to learn to fold them into shape, and to carefully use a nappy pin or snappy to hold them on. You’ll also need to invest in waterproof covers for these.

Sell your stash at the end

Modern cloth nappies have good resale value. You can also buy secondhand nappies: on some brands you’ll have to replace the elastic and Velcro, but if you’re handy with a sewing machine and are prepared to get a few duds that can’t be repaired, buying second hand is a good way to get started for less.